health and fitness: My first ultramarathon adventure: 100km in the Carpathian mountains

mercredi 1 juillet 2015

My first ultramarathon adventure: 100km in the Carpathian mountains

Carys Matthews loves every minute of her introduction to ultrarunning as she runs, walks and scrambles the three-day Ultrabug in Romania

Not many races start with a blessing by the local priest, a briefing on how to tame snarling shepherd’s dogs (raise your arm, hold a stick, shout with authority and never show fear) or finish with the village cow adorned with a floral wreath. But then, I wanted a running adventure, not just a new race personal best – and that is exactly what I got.

From my guesthouse in the Carpathian mountains I could see the first climb of the race. It didn’t look too terrifying – a lush green slope dotted with shepherd huts and ambling livestock, but the steep ascent proved tough – even on fresh legs – and left me with hands on my knees and calves screaming. For a moment I doubted my tame, UK-based hill training was sufficient to tackle Romanian mountains, but before I had chance to catch my breath, we were hurtling downhill at a frantic pace, with the experienced mountain runners leaving me for dust, effortlessly gliding down the valley.