Guadarun Raid Adventure
Stage 6, 28 km: Full sun, and hot hot hot, along the coast of the island of Grande-Terre
Jacqueline Windh / 08.04.2013
<p>On the map, this looks like one of the easiest stages: a fairly flat 28 km run along the coast, with only one significant hill climb of just 50 m.
But I remember this stage from last time (our route this year was not exactly the same, but the distance and terrain were similar). The challenge is not so much the terrain, as the full sun and the extreme heat, and keeping your tired body well hydrated and well nourished. In 2010, I had been running near the back of the pack for the first five days, then moved to mid-pack this final day just because I did my hydration and electrolytes right. Dave and I planned to do the same today.
The route was nearly entirely off-road. I don’t say “on trails� because much of it wasn’t even on trails - the route instructions were simply to “follow the shoreline,� on terrain that ranged from very soft beach sand, to blocks of loose coral pebbles, to ledges of spiky coralline limestone. Over the first half of the course, we followed some hard-packed sand trails in the bushes behind the beach: better footing than on the soft beach sand, but very hot, since the bushes kept the sea breeze off us. Over the second half, when we were not right on the coast, we were on nice single-track trails through dry open forest: still hot, but at least semi-shaded.
Race start was on the extreme eastern tip of Grande-Terre: a long and narrow rocky peninsula tipped by a rock hill with a cross on top. We started by the beach, with a loop around the cross, mostly along the limestone ledges. Dave and I were around the middle of the pack right from the start. A lot of racers had been hobbling around the night before and that morning, but our legs were feeling good!</p>
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