V Olla de Nuria via Barcelona

My trip to Barcelona started Tuesday. I left with Ionut to Barcelona, there Pepe was waiting for us. They went to Mataro, but first they dropped me off in Barcelona. I stayed in my friends`s Oriol`s house. Everything was nice and I need to thank him and Berta once again for being such wonderful hosts. I did some easy runs in Barcelona. My plan was to rest as much as I could before Olla de Nuria. On friday I was in Mataro by train, and did a training with Ionut.

Saturday morning we met in Barcelona, and along came also Adi, Cornelia and Silvia. We took the train to Ribes de Freser and then took another train to Vall de Nuria. Nuria looked incredible, big mountains and a nice lake. We had to wait for 2h to get our rooms but time flies when you sleep!
In the afternoon we went to run a bit, to get accommodated with the type of terrain. I didn`t use my Active Ankles and my right ankle was not feeling good. This made me a bit stressed about the race, even more than I normally am!

In the morning of the race we got up, packed our bags, had a good meal and went to pick up the start kits. It was good that the start was delayed for 15min because I had more time to warm up.The start was very fast and after a short loop around the hotel of Nuria the BIG climb started. Around 6km with 1000 climb, reaching the Puigmal Peak at 2911. I didn`t start very good on this climb and I had to let a lot of runners pass me.In the top, Pepe was waiting for me with a Red Bull. I drank a bit and started feeling a bit better. Most of the race I didn`t pay attention to other runners, I just tried to concentrate on not falling because of the very stony ground, and the awful wind that was blowing from every direction. My mind was always saying that the next peak is that last, and I was always surprised to find out that there is another one and another one...

When I realized that the big downhill is starting I tried to push as hard as I could and I passed around 10 other runners. My time was 3h 13min 1sec and I finished in 96th position. I am happy with this time because my objective has been around 3h. Could have been better if I would have motivated myself enough to push harder on some of the peaks. Most of the race was higher that 2700m, something new for me but I think I managed good the race. The race was won by my friend Ionut Zinca, with a fabulous time of 2h 15min. He had a very solid race and won with a clear margin. As I said in Facebook, he is The One, and he once again proved that he is one of the best mountain runners in the world!Adi Bostan had also a good race, finishing with 2h 37min, on the 17th position. Also the SiS girls had a good race, even though they had some muscle problems because of Marathon 7500!Thanks to this good performances Romania is 3rd in the Mountain Running International Cup!

Race Profile

Yesterday was time for relaxing in Barcelona!I am now in Bucharest and I sure need a bit of rest!

More information and results can be found on the Olla de Nuria official web site!
Also more photos can be found in my Picasa album!

Apuseni Maraton 2011 !

Another Marathon passed. This weekend I ran the first edition of Apuseni Marathon. I didn`t know what to expect but it all turned out to be perfect. The organization of the even was spotless and everything except the weather was ideal for a good run.
My race day didn`t start very good, as I was feeling a bit nervous. The race started very fast, with the guys from the half-marathon setting a fast pace. Me, Daniel, Adi, Alex and our new found friend Aida, one night before the race, we ran a bit of the first part so I knew what to expect ( 7km of fast climbing). I stayed in touch with the second group (Balan Silviu and Zsolt Kovacs). But after 4km I started to feel bad, my foot were weak and it seemed that I won`t finish in this manner. I lost some time in the last part of the uphill and got passed by some runners, including Daniel who was running fast for the half-marathon.
After the first refreshment point and the end of the climb, we had around 13 km of downhill. The first part was difficult because we had to run on a small path, but then we entered a forest road. The wake up call for my body came after 10-11 km, close to where the marathon and half-marathon tracks were splitting. I saw Balan in front of me (300m) and I started pushing.

I kept on pushing and the road kept on going downhill. We entered a village and I saw Balan who turned back because he was not certain if he is on the right track. We ran together for around 7 km until the big climb started. During this time, in the village I had a Deja-Vu feeling, because I recognized the places where me and Cosmin Georgescu got lost some years ago! The climb started also on the road, and it was not very steep, but I lost some time because I stayed a bit to much in the refreshment point. There was a small part where you had to climb and I didn`t look at the markings and went up and up, until I realized that I am not on the path anymore. I climbed extra around 20-25 m but it was more difficult to go back down on the wet rock. I was loosing hope to ever catching the guys that passed me. The climb entered the forest and a big rain came, along with small ice. It had the effect of refreshing me. I then saw Lucian Clinciu, who is a good runner, and I started going after him. I passed him and until the next control point I passed another 2 runners.

I had only Balan in my mind and I started seeing him when we reached 8 km until the finish. He was running with Bogdan Sulica at that moment. I reduced the gap to less then 100 m, but they saw me and ran very very fast on the last downhill. I ran for around 2km on the last climb with the idea that I have to preserve my rank. The last refreshment point was 3 km before the finish. There I met my friend Ioana Mica who shouted very loud at me, also telling me that if I push hard enough I will catch the guys in front of me. The adrenaline rush came into my body as I threw my water bottle and my windstopper and started running real fast.Thank you Ioana and the guys from the last refreshment point! I saw Bogdan Sulica, and stop for some meters to catch my breath and then started fast again. I passed him and he couldn`t keep my pace, but Balan was to far away for me to catch !Next time!
My time was 04:01:16 and I was 4th in 16-29 category and 9th overall.

Overall it was a great experience, nice tracks, great organization, nice people in every control/refreshment point. I knew the Apuseni Mountains are beautiful, but now I am certain.

P.S. My friends also  had good results: Daniel was 2th in the 30-39 category of the half-marathon, Aida was 3rd in her category also, and Adi improved his time in a marathon by far! Congrats!
And I can`t forget my friend Bogya Tamas who won the marathon!Good one friend but I won`t be so forgiving next time !

Results Apuseni Maraton 2011 
P.S.2: You still owe me the "extra part" of the starting kit !