The Race
It was two weeks ago on Sunday that I participated in Trail de Faverges series. I enrolled in Maratrail de la Sambuy, a 49 km trail race with 2,800 m elevation gain. The race took place in Faverges, a small town situated in the southeast of France. Faverges is located just 25 km away from the more well-known Annecy. I considered it my first real ultra trail race since I settled in France (EcoTrail de Paris does not count :-)).
I am currently living in Ile de France, and surrounded by numerous forests with runnable trails. Hélas, the hills in this region on average do not rise more than 180 m. Hence, it is impossible for me to incorporate long climbs/descents in my trainings! Moreover, the surrounding trails are generally not as technical as those in the mountains. As such, it was with apprehension of suffering and DNF that I counted down to race day.
Weather
The race started at 7am in the centre of Faverges. The morning temperature hovered around early-teens but reached around 30°C by late morning. However, the heat was actually quite bearable with the occasional breeze. Or maybe because Hong Kong’s sweltering summer had trained me well! Indeed, I could take the heat so well that I actually declined the occasional volunteers’ offer to spray water on me with their hose or their little watering cans! However, as I was wearing a sleeveless top with no sunblock coverage, my shoulders and my upper arms got burnt by the sun. They turned lobster red the following day, and my skin started shedding like reptiles on the third day.
Picturesque Landscape
It was a picture perfect day – clear blue sky, verdant forest, and magnificent mountains. Around the midpoint of the circular race route, one could have an unobstructed view of the snow-capped Mont Blanc massif. Towards the end of the route, runners prepared their descent to the finishing line with a postcard view of Lake Annecy’s turquoise waters.
Route Description
The forest trails were quite technical with plenty of roots and rocks. Some sections were so narrow that it was only wide enough for an Indian file. It was on one of these sections that I tripped and fell off the trail. Fortunately, I managed to grab the edge and pulled myself up. Other than suffering from a great fright, and some scratches on my limbs, I was otherwise unharmed and able to continue the race. If I had not grabbed onto the edge, I would have tumbled down and suffered more than just some superficial scratches.
The long descents from the peaks were not fun either. Gravel covered the trails, and some of these fragments were actually quite big. So, running down on these paths definitely trained my quads, ankles and agility.
Race Organisation
It was a very well organised race. In the beginning, I was worried that with only 350 participants, I would get lost! However, signage was clear and plentiful — even a person like me without any sense of direction could not get lost. Organiser stocked the checkpoints with the essential refreshments – Coca Cola!, cheese, oranges, cereal bars, sweet bread, sausages etc. Friendly volunteers were spread out along the route at the various junctions.
Results
350 people started the race, with 241 at the finishing line. The 9-hour finishing cut-off time was tighter than the others I have come across, and I was barely able to scrape through.
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