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Last weekend was all about running and having fun. The 1st edition of the Valenciana 100 ultramarathon took place in the Northwestern sierra of Guanajuato. The 100 (and 50) mile race was organized by Hans-Dieter Weisshaar, a veteran in the ultrarunning world who some of us met at some races in the US (Leadville, Rocky Raccoon).

Octavio and I traveled to Guanajuato on Friday’s morning in order to arrive to Valenciana in the afternoon. After checking in at the hotel, we walked towards Hans’ place, just in time for the pre-race briefing. There we met the rest of the runners (Edith, Cinthia, Rubén, Brooke, Jean-Jacques & Hans) and the race crew (Jessi, Ana, Dick, Martha & Susi).

After Hans’ welcome speech, he explained the course and rules of the race, then we enjoyed a delicious carbo-load dinner made by Susi (Hans’ wife), consisting of lots of pasta with bolognese sauce, a green salad and chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream for dessert. After some chat, all of us went to bed around 7 p.m., hoping to catch a good rest before the early wake up at 5:30 a.m.

Around 6:30 a.m. all of us were back to Hans’ place for having some strong coffee and cereal as breakfast, then we gathered in the patio for the start of the race. At 7:10 Hans started the chronometer and the race begun. 8 runners embarked into an all-day adventure, 4 of us going for 100 miles and the rest for 50 miles.

We ran in small packs, Octavio and I in the middle, having some chat and enjoying the chilly weather which would supposedly last for most of the day. After a couple of miles we crossed the little town of Santa Ana and a few ravines before getting to the 1st aid station, Hans’ camping bus. We got some fluids in as well as a little bit of food, then continued the climb to the nearby forest.

One of the course’s remarks was that its dirt road passed along or nearby to most of the mines in the Northwest of Guanajuato. Octavio and I agreed that the race could be easily dubbed “La ruta de las minas”. After a few more climbs we got out of the forest and went down to the hills towards the Mineral de la Luz area.

We arrived to one of the little stores at Sangre de Cristo, where the 2nd aid station was located. We drank a bottle of cold mandarin-flavored water and registered our split times. Cerro del Cubilete looked so much closer now and we increased our pace while enjoying the views. Before arriving to the next aid station we met Edith, who was coming back from it. She was running at an amazing pace and looked very strong and happy. We cheered her up and said goodbye for the moment.

The 3rd aid station was located at Cubilete’s parking lot, Rodrigo was taking care of all the supplies there. I grabbed a turkey & cheese sandwich and a bottle of Pepsi, then headed towards the nasty rocky road that climbs around the mountain to its summit. We arrived to the summit in almost no time, meeting Cinthia and Rubén along the way and talking about the weather which started to get more windy and a little bit rainy.

After shooting a couple of pics below the giant Christ we met Jean-Jacques, he had increased his pace in the last miles and reached us in a very determined way. He touched one of the church’s pillars and quickly headed down the mountain, Octavio and I followed closely. A couple of minutes later the 3 of us got back to Rodrigo’s aid station. We tasted some more delicious food like burritos, chips, cookies and fruits. I put on a light rain jacket and a pair of gloves and we all headed back to Sangre de Cristo.

We followed the same course on the whole way back to Valenciana, passing through the same aid stations in the opposite order. Our feet started to ache a little bit, confirming the toughness of running on a rocky dirt road. After almost 4 hours we got back to Hans’ place, registered our time, drank some electrolytes and headed out again towards Presa La Esperanza.

This part of the course consisted of a short 2.5 km loop along the dam’s shore, the only single trail section in the whole course. At the turnaround point, each of us had to take page from a book written in German. The page would serve as proof that we got to the farthest point in this short loop. This system reminded me of the Barkley ultramarathon, which implements it along the whole course but in an extremely difficult terrain.

We met Hans on our way back to the start, he had been running closely behind us for most of the time. We exchanged smiles and continued our way, a hot meal was waiting for us.

I was really hungry when we arrived to Hans’ home. I ate plenty of food, including hot soup, sandwiches, burritos, cookies, fruits and coffee. After refilling our water bladders we headed out again towards Cerro del Cubilete, the weather didn’t seem promising.

The first couple of miles passed by without major highlights, except that we continued to have lots of fun while running and talking. The rain started to pour more consistently and we could get a feel of how cold the weather would get later in the evening. After some hours we arrived to the 1st aid station, completely wet but full of smiles (and hungry of course!).

As soon as we left the camping bus I started to realize that I wasn’t enjoying the course anymore. It wasn’t the pain in my feet, nor the coldness of being soaking wet, it was the monotony of the dirt road. It suddenly drained my desire of completing the 100 miles.

I also realized that it was my ego who put me into the idyllic pursuit of completing the very first 100 mile organized race in Mexico. I wasn’t doing it because of the beauty of the place or the friendliness of the people running with me, it was because I secretly wanted something to brag about later. My stupid ego trips! In the end I decided to get rid of my ego and finish still strong with 50 miles. I could run (and enjoy) 100 miles at any other day.

On our way down to Mineral de la Luz we saw Cinthia and Rubén. They already made the turnaround for the 50 miles and were happily jogging back to Valenciana. I shared with them my decision of making the turnaround as well and promised to meet soon at Hans’ place for having dinner together.

The turnaround point appeared after some hills. Both Octavio and I were happy of reaching it, but then came Hans after us… I’ll never forget his face when I turned back
and told him that I was bailing. He simply told me 2 words in strong German accent: “Two weeks!”, meaning that he would wait for me to come back in a couple of weeks for running the Capulin 100 with him. I stood with my mouth shut while I witnessed the strong man jogging downhill with an umbrella in his hand, his focus set on Cerro del Cubilete.

Running back to Valenciana was a total joy. We didn’t care of how much it could take us, we simply enjoyed the fact that it was going to be the last stretch. After a cup of coffee on our final stop at the camping bus aid station, we ran as fast as our sore bodies could to finish the 50 mile adventure. We arrived to Hans’ house at around 7:45 p.m. with a big grin on our faces. Octavio finished his first 50 miler (and first run longer than 26 km!) and I officially DNF’d the 100 miler at 50 miles.

We were greeted by Susi, Martha, Dick, Cinthia and Rubén. A giant dinner was served to us and we ate as if we had been castaway for days. Edith arrived in the meantime, she completed the 2nd lap of the 100 mile course. She was leading the race but had to bail from completing it due to safety reasons. We all know that this country isn’t very safe for being alone in the outdoors, specially if you are a woman. We chatted for some time, then each of us took a shower and changed clothes, I continued eating afterwards

Brooke finished the 50 miler at around 10:30 p.m. and had dinner too, then everybody went to bed after some time. Only Susi, Octavio and myself remained awake to wait for Jean-Jacques and Hans to come back from their 2nd lap in the 100 miler.

We were in the middle of a great conversation with Susi when Jean-Jacques arrived, he was wet and tired but focused on going for the short loop at the dam’s shore, which he did. Hans arrived in the meantime, barely 30 minutes behind his friend. He also went out immediately for the short loop.

Jean-Jacques returned shortly after, he had dinner, changed clothes, checked his gear and went out for his 3rd (and last) long lap towards Cerro del Cubilete. Hans also came back and did the same, still around 30 minutes behind. “What a pair of strong and men!” I said to myself, I was being lectured on determination. We enjoyed it for a bit, then went to the hotel to catch some sleep.

Next morning all of us went back to the house, we wanted to welcome our 2 friends. Around noon Jean-Jacques appeared at the house’s door, he looked still strong and willing to go for the last short loop, so he did. Hans arrived in the meantime, about 20 minutes behind. He also went out immediately for the last loop.

Jean-Jacques finished the 100 miles after 28 hours 55 minutes. He was the 1st place of a 2 men race. He looked tired but very satisfied. Hans arrived at 29 hours 12 minutes. Both men shook hands and congratulated each other. The rest of us were really impressed of both old men (70 and 69 years old respectively).

We celebrated everyone’s successes (and failures) with some beer and food. We had a little “family” party in which we talked about future races and dream runs, everything was peace and happiness. In the afternoon we departed to Mexico City, completely satisfied of the experience and of having met such great people. Until the next one…