Across the sierras
So here is another attempt at a brief race report. This time it’s about the 1st edition of the Travesía en las Sierras 100 miler, which was organized by the Solo Para Salvajes folks.
The race course took of most of the same route from the 2009 Prueba de los 3 Días but in backwards direction and with a few modifications in the last 60 km because of logistical issues. Basically those consisted of 4 laps to a 15 km loop in the area known as La Pila. The time limit to complete the race was 36 hours.
Most of us had route-finding problems during the first 20 km. The course wasn’t very well marked and it seems like some marks were actually stolen. It was also a very hot day and the aid stations were not well stocked at all. We actually had to resort to buy drinks and food at the little villages we passed by. Other than that, it was a great time to hang around with friends.
For the first miles I was able to keep up with friends in the front pack: Luis, Chalita, Cinthia, Rubén, Julio, etc. Then I got lost for about 30 minutes in one of the steepest sections of the course, something that required some Barkley-style bushwhacking to re-encounter the correct trail. I met Serch and Octavio once I was back on course. There was no point in trying to speed up to meet the front runners again so I stayed with them for the rest of the day.
We had a great time running at a conservative pace, constantly progressing along rivers, valleys and gorges. We hit the 50 mile mark when night just arrived, at El Zarco. Sergio finished his race there as planned, then Octavio and I continued through the night and towards the 100 miles. We met some of our friends on our way to the checkpoint at Cerro San Miguel, who were about 20 km ahead of us.
While coming back from our first 15 km lap along La Pila I decided I was going to stop as soon as I got back to El Zarco. I was suffering badly from sleep deprivation, experiencing a few hallucinations and having close encounters to falling at the side of the trail. The whole idea of repeating that section 3 more times didn’t sound appealing so I decided it was enough for the day. I stopped at the 115 km mark back in El Zarco, just when dawn was taking place.
Julio, Chalita, Octavio and a few others were able to complete the 100 miles. The latter two with the help of our great friend Edith, who returned on Sunday morning to help as pacer, after she ran the first 50 miles with us the day before! It was Octavio’s first 100 miler so we celebrated with a huge meal at the restaurant there, then came back home for a well-deserved rest. Fun weekend! 
Rest of the photos are here or in the slideshow below:
