The Grand Raid des Pyrenees
The Race
Anne-Marie Dunhill / 01.09.2010
The starting gun sounded at 05:00 on Friday morning and the trail runners were off from the village square of Vielle-Aure, accompanied by the sounds of cowbells and the cheers of the people who turned out to support and accompany them throughout the course.
The “GRP� as it is affectionately called, appears to be a race that goes from strength to strength. Last year there were 4 nationalities present and this year the organizers were delighted to welcome 24 nationalities, whilst maintaining the strong points; reasonable numbers, dedicated volunteers and tip top organization. The continued support of their sponsors such as Carrefour Market meant that the feed stations were abundantly stocked.
It was an exciting race from start to finish with Bruno Bareilles from Lourdes, who had come in second last year on the 80km taking off like a shot and leading for a large portion of the race. He arrived at the CP of Artigues at 10:43, ahead of Oscar Perez Lopez (10:55) and Carlos Sa (10:56).
Artigues signaled the first of the major ascents as racers then went up to the Col de Sencours with its clear blue lake and llamas in the wild. (There had been a moment of hilarity amongst the organizers prior to the race when they got a call saying that the llamas were eating all of the bananas that had been delivered prior to the race and a car was quickly dispatched for a quick shopping trip and delivery up the mountain).
The observatory of the Pic du Midi towered above the CP and after quickly refilling water bottles and eating a bite they started their way up to the top of the Pic du Midi. 100km winds the previous day had threatened the race route to the top but on the day of the race the winds abated and racers were delighted by the legendary panoramas. Tim Laney (race bib number 332) arrived at the top, opened his arms wide as he took in the 360° views of the valleys and stated that he didn’t want to leave. Racers invariably expressed their delight at the CP perched at an altitude of 2,887m.
This scientific station is open year round and serves several purposes, from star watching to measuring climate changes. Speaking with Julien Brown from England as he repaired his sticks with strapping tape that a volunteer kindly provided, he said, “I’ve done the Ultra Trail de Mont Blanc and I prefer this one, I’ve been through beautiful small villages and this one is a lot less commercial�. Our conversation drowned out as 5 French fighter planes appeared out of nowhere and whizzed by at eye level on a training mission.
Once the racers had their electronic chips beeped, they were off again as several more summits were awaiting them. Once of the particularities of this race is that they use a system created by Geofp. Each racers has an electronical chip on the back of their race bib and as they pass a check point they are badged by volunteers and the information is instantly transmitted to race headquarters where the organization follows each racers progression and are thus notified if there is a problem. As well, those accompanying the racers were able to sign up for a fee paying service that sent them an SMS notifying them each time their racer passed a CP.
The ascent to the Pic du Midi, although difficult, came early in the race when the runners were still fresh. Going up to Hautacam proved more difficult. (In the first Raid in France adventure race, a transition was held here as well and the area is notorious for its fog). By the time the trail runners reached Hautacam they had accumulated 4,397m positive ascent and had to pass the time cut-off of 22:00.
The race continued through Cauterets and up to the Col de Riou. Organizers changed the race route this year to avoid a paved section leading into Luz Saint-Sauveur, a change which many found difficult. One racer commented that the section would have been impossible to do without sticks. The portion from the Col de Bareges to the lake “L’oule� was stunning, for those racers lucky enough to pass through in day light.
Late in the race the weather conditions changed at the Col de Portet as a heavy, cold fog set in. The race director took the decision to deviate racers to a dirt road and volunteers only allowed racers to leave in groups of at least three from the CP of Merlans and organizers were quickly dispatched at 01:15 to re-mark the new route. Once racers reached Soulan it was smooth sailing so to speak, with only 45 minutes to the finish line in Vielle-Aure.
They were greeted on their arrival by cow bells and marching bands as the entire town turned out to welcome them back; whether they arrived during the day or at 3 a.m, the warm welcome was the same.
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