It is always wonderful to go to Granada but if it means to reach one of the highest mountains in Spain, it is even more.
So, last Sunday 6th August, I left in my car early in the morning, at 4.30 am and reached Granada by 6.30. It was still dark but I could see many people going to the start of the XXI subida al veleta. It is a hard race since you have to do fifty kilometres from Granada at around 600 metre altitude to reach along a steep winding road the Veleta, 3391 m., in the Sierra Nevada range of mountains. My aim was to do it on bicycle and see if I could do it running and walking next year. A friend of mine, Manuel from Barcelona – not the Fawlty Towers waiter – was doing it running. He was staying at a hotel in Granada, so I met him at the start before the race. He was glad but worried because he had some discomfort in his knees. There were about 250 people decided to fulfil this adventure. I also met a friend of Manuel, Pedro, who was going to accompany him in a bus supplied by the organisation for friends and relatives who wanted to see the runners.
At 7:10, the race started. I let everybody go out to start riding on my byke. It was a nice morning, not hot yet and still a little dark. We had to do two laps in a main avenue in Granada to take the old Sierra Nevada road along Cenes de la Vega, Pinos Genil to reach Sierra Nevada ski resort, Pradollano, which could be seen below, to go on climbing the road as far as Veleta. The first 11 kms are slightly uphill, nearly flat but after that it is a continuous hill. There was a lot of vegetation, mainly pines, along the first thirty-five kilometres but the last kilometres the vegetation decreases with only plants, mainly aromatic plants. I met along the road people from many part of Spain, such as Manuel from Seville, who had started running two years ago and had taken part at Seville marathon. He told me that he had improved his time in races by doing 1´30´´ series. I also met a man from the Czech republic who sang with his wife at hotels in the area of Málaga. I also met a man from Alicante who had taken part at Madrid Alpine marathon or Pedro from Guipúzcoa, who is 67 years old and took part at Galarleiz mountain marathon in July. When the real hills started, I saw that some runners reached me and went faster than me on the bicycle. The atmosphere was really nice and we all encouraged each other.
After 37 kilometres and at 2500 m. altitude, we reached a place where there are some open air bars. I rested in one of them having a cheese sandwich, two cokes and a 1.5 litre bottle of mineral water. There, I met a man with his teenage son who had gone to see the race and other cyclists who had done the route as far as there. They encouraged me to go on. There were many people having a drink in the tables at the terrace. Then, I continued the climb although I had to push the bicycle more than ride it since I went nearly as fast as on the bicycle and it was less tiring. I saw some runners going up who had to walk. You could notice the pressure of the altitude in your head but not too much. We were lucky that it wasn´t cold or windy at that altitude. I had to ask for some water and dried fruits at some drinking stations because I had no water left. The people were very kind and offered me even some food such as dried fruits or energy drinks, e.g., Red Bull. After some pauses to take photos or to answer a phone call from Manuel, who had reached the summit in 6 hours 40 minutes or my wife who wanted to know how I was, I reached Veleta in 8 hours 35 minutes. I was very glad up there. I told a man from the organisation to take a photograph of mine at the finish. They offered me some fruit, water, energy drinks. Then, I went to the geodesic point where the Veleta is. There was a young Italian there who asked me to take a photo of him and I asked him to take one of mine. From there you can have a beautiful view of the area surrounded by high mountains. In clear days, you can even see the seaside and the Atlas range of mountains in Morocco.
After a few minutes relaxing, I got back to the place where the restaurants are. It was very fast. I had to be careful with the bends and the brakes. There, I was told that the runners were taken to Pradollano, Sierra Nevada ski resort. So, I went on riding down to the main square where Manuel and Pedro were waiting for me. We were all very happy to have done this. Manuel showed me the beautiful trophy that everyone that reaches the summit gets : a carving showing the route you have just done. We had a drink there and met other runners who had managed to reach Veleta. Manuel also got a bag for me with products given to the runners such as sandwiches, drinks, cereal bars and so on. After giving the trophies to the winners, they took the bus supplied by the organisation and I rode back to Granada. It was wonderful to go back in just one hour thirty-five minutes from Veleta to Granada – without considering the time spent at Pradollano – while climbing there had taken me eight hours and thirty-five minutes. On the way back, it was quite hot. Around 40º Celsius in Granada.
I´m looking forward to doing this race next year. Perhaps, some of you would like to come as well. I´m sure that Nigel would enjoy the geological aspects of it or Sweder the long and winding road and all of us the good time that we would have together in Granada and Sierra Nevada.
Great to read a first hand account of Veleta 2005. Its down on my list of things to do before Im 90. Saw a report on TVE2 this afternoon. 50kms uphill...truly awesome!
I saw that aswell. How rare for Spanish TV to show an event like that, even if it was only 5 minutes worth. I have to say that it looked horrible. Hats off to you Antonio for getting to the top. How the winner managed to get to the top in 3 hours 50 minutes I'll never know.
Anyway Antonio, what was the verdict? Will you run it next year? I reckon that it'll be easier on foot than on the bicycle, although no so much fun on the way down.
I´m glad you saw the little report on TV. I also saw part of it by chance since it was expected to be shown on Saturday evening.
They say that this is a race that "engancha" ( gets you hooked? ). Although I just did it on bicycle and often pushing it, I´m looking forward to trying doing it next year on foot. It would be great if any of the RC team felt like coming as well.
Hi.. The above is true, but seems less impressive when I admit that I was also the only Englishman in the race (as far as I can make out from the results). It is also my best finish in my short racing career - 32nd in 5hr29m.
It is a nice race - hard, as you might expect, but manageable with sensible training. I trained as if for a marathon but with a few more hills thrown in - I live in Granada so I have little choice but to train on hills, no matter what the race is. In the final few kilometres (over 3000m) I had no choice but to walk, but I wasn't too broken hearted about that. If I do it next year I will put in some longer training runs and treat it more like an ultra than I did. I was pretty tired when I finished but was feeling okayish by the next day. Better than my first marathon.
Aside from the first few athletes who post pretty fine times, it is a proper mass participation event - plenty of people appeared to finish near the eight hour mark and almost everyone was good natured and supportive. It is all on tarmac (except a short distance near the very end), which is kind of unrelenting - almost everyone has to walk at some stage. This is good because it gives you chance to look around - the Sierra Nevada is beautiful (as you can probably tell from the photos above).
The organizers are friendly and everyone who finishes gets one of those nice trophies you can see in the photo on the bottom right (new design for this year, apparently). The runners have to tolerate a lot of waiting around at the Ski resort before the buses start running back to town. I was told that this is a year in year out complaint, and that maybe will get sorted out before next year (but my guess would be not).
Final complaint about the TVE E2 coverage - That guy from La Marca who wrote three long and very boring pages about his own participation in the run and hardly mentioned anyone else (except a woman with breasts that were 'on fire') - he was also in the TV coverage. Yet there was no sight of me - I was hoping to make all my friends and relatives sit through it when I visit England in September....
Congratulations! It is really impressive to do those steep fifty kilometres in just five hours and a half. What´s your PB in a marathon or half marathon?
I´d like to do the "subida al veleta" plodding and walking next year. I really enjoyed the course although I´ll have to train a lot to be able to finish not too exhausted next year.
Are you planning to take part at Granada half marathon on 23rd October? I´d like to do it this year. Perhaps we could meet there if you like.
Hi Antonio, thanks for the encouragement and greeting!
My marathon pb is 3hr05 - I've only done one; Sevilla earlier this year. The weather was rotten and I made all the beginners mistakes in the book, including going out too hard. I went through the half in about 1hr24, which is about my best half time too! I did run in this years Almeria half as a training run for Seville, finishing fairly strongly in 1hr26. Best of all I got to set off shoulder to shoulder with Gebrselassie (I kept up for about five meters and later saw him flying along when the course doubled back). I enjoyed the run and I like your town very much. Add the Granada 1/2m last year and that is my whole running career...
I'm running in my home county of Yorkshire in three weeks time (off road marathon, the Yorkshireman - no pb expected there!), and assuming I don't damage my body in that, I will be running in the Granada half m. It would be great to meet there and have a chat! What kind of time will you be aiming for?
Johnb. I read the same "Marca" article and youre right. The Marca bloke only talked about himself (this is only OK in training diaries maybe you could ask Andy to set one up for you).I found Antonios description much more inspiring.
Ever thought about running any of the mountain marathons in northern Spain? (Zegama-Aizkorri? Maraton alpino madrileño? Galarleiz?)
It´s a pity that we didn´t meet in Almería last January. You could have also met Andy ( Seafront Plodder ),Nigel, Sweder, Suzie, Andy ( Running Commentary ) - as they appear in the photograph from left to right - and M. , Andy´s wife. We had a good time together.
My aim for Granada half is to finish under two hours. I´ve been aiming for that time these two last years since I did in Murcia in March 2004 2 hours, two minutes but I´ve managed to go worse since then. In Almería I did two hours 11 minutes this year. Anyway, I´ve enjoyed a lot taking part in the races I´ve been to.
It´s a pity that the weather was so terrible in Seville this year. If the weather had been the usual at the end of February there, you could have finished under three hours.
I hope we can meet in Granada half marathon in October. Good luck in Yorkshire, which, by the way, is a beautiful county. I liked Harrogate a lot and York is also beautiful.
Hi, Simon
I´d like to do a mountain marathon but I´ve got to find time to train properly although I´d take it easy doing jogging and walking a lot.
Many congratulations on conquering Veleta, Antonio ! It sounds like a marvellous event, and I greatly enjoyed your report. La Rambla de Almeria seemed tough enough, even running alongside a mountain goat (Sweder), and I can hardly imagine running 50 km uphill.
And welcome to John. 3' 06â is very impressive. I visited Sevilla last Monday. A really wonderful city, although at 38 C it wasn't the weather for a marathon then, either....
Antiono
I'm nursing a slight injury at the moment (nothing serious; a bit of a strain in my hip area. I think I did it stretching!!), so I went out yesterday on my bike. The bike has been much neglected since I started running so I took it up a hill (via Monachil, for anyone who knows the outskirts of Granada). It was hard, hard work. I suspect your bike ride up Veleta was probably harder than the run (in answer to Riazor Blue's post) . Sometimes when I'm out training (running) I'll overtake someone on their bike - now I see why... The good news is that I really enjoyed it, so I think I'll be keeping this bit of cross training once or twice a week. As you and others have already mentioned, the best bit was coming down (though these hills are steep - my little speedometer clocked nearly 60km per hour. Frightening or exhilarating, I don't know).
I reckon cycling is good for base fitness - my guess is riding up Veleta once a week will get your time below 2hrs in the Granada half....
BB (?Simon) I agree re Antonio's account - it should have been in La Marca. I suppose it is good that they carried an account of a normal person actually doing something - most of the paper is aimed at armchair sportsmen. Have you done any of Zegama-Aizkorri? Maraton alpino madrileño? Galarleiz?. I'd love to do one or more of these, and my partner Alisha and I are keen to visit the northern reaches again.
Well it's true, this is a friendly and encouraging forum. Maybe I will go for today's run after all...
I think that Almería´s Rambla is "pan comido" ( a piece of cake ) compared to
Veleta.
I hope you enjoyed yourselves in the province of Cádiz. Did you try "pescaíto frito" ( fried fish )?
Greetings to your children!
Hola, John
I expect you´ll get better from your injury soon. Anyway, it´s been a good chance to practise some cycling. "No hay mal que por bien no venga" ( It may be a blessing in disguise ). I find going on my mountain bike quite relaxing especially when I go on a ride along paths near the sea towards Cabo de Gata or San José. I also like climbing because afterwards I can go down fast. In Granada, there are plenty of places to enjoy riding on a mountain bike. Do you know this website where you can learn about routes around Granada or see its forum?
Johnb, like you at Veleta I was the only Brit at the Aneto marathon in 1999 (running, walking, climbing and sliding down a glacier on yer arse great fun) and also at the maraton alpino madrileño 3 years later (in my opinion the toughest of them all, it took me more than 8 hours ). Did the Aizkorri-Zegama twice (2003-4) and it was the best race Ive ever taken part in with thousands of mad Basques lining the mountain tops to cheer you on. Just like a mountain stage in the tour de France. Incredible.
Here are the links to the above marathons. Maybe theyll inspire you to do an off-road mountain marathon (just a glorified cross country run really!)
The Aneto marathon hasnt been organized again since but it might reappear one day.
The Zegama race is difficult to get into now as everybody wants to do it and theres quite a strict limit on participation. Check out the web-page. Its brilliant and you can follow the whole route on it.
Id fancy having a crack at Veleta next year or Galareiz (not so far away for me) but Ill have to con the family first (its just a stroll in the hills honest!) Keep in touch guys, maybe we could organize something
Sorry Antonio, if anyone should be apologizing for said thread hijack it is I. So sorry. But those BB links are great, aren't they? The Aizkorri-Zegama must be one of the best race web sites I've seen - really inspirational.
Antonio. The races mentioned had time limits of 8 or 9 hours and there are plenty of people who come from a cycling or mountaineering background rather than a running one. If you like mountains and can pace yourself correctly (its unlike Veleta in that you go downhill as well as uphill) then you can get around without having to "suffer" too much. I enjoy these events a lot more than the agony of a road marathon so don't think that they are necessarily any "harder" than conventional races. Its all very subjective of course.
Johnb. You might have noticed that at Zegama this year the lakeland fell runner Rob Jebb smashed the course record. Apparently the locals were quite impressed by his post-race drinking capacity as well!
Could we put a team together for the post-race drinking events? That Jebb guy is tall but puny - surely we could hold our own??
Antonio - I noticed you declined a Cruzcampo after your most recent 10k (Mojácar) - was this just because you had to drive home, or is this a training diet thing?
Simon, I think you´re right. Although those mopuntain races may seem harder, we can take it easy and as you sometimes have to walk, it can be better for your muscles and joints.
John, I didn´t have a Cruzcampo beer at Mojácar last week because I had to drive home. Anyway, I´m not very fond of alcohol. However, after Reading half marathon, I had two pints of beer at a pub near Andy´s house with Andy RC, his wife M, Andy SP, Sweder, Nigel and his three children. I really liked it. I think it was Bitter but I´m not sure. It tasted great.
Hi Antonio - this isn't quite the place for this post, but I just signed up for the Granada half (it's nearly on topic as it's been mentioned). You can do it online via todofondo.com or http://www.pmdgranada.org/marathon2005.htm I'm not sure I trust it and I couldn't seem to get it to accept my DNI (it kept saying wrong format, but there was no format guide and I was simply copying it from my little plastic card). Time will tell if I really am entered.
Anyhow, I know it's part of your plan for this year and we should be able to meet up if you are there.
It seems anyone who completed the course last year gets a free entry this year! (Last year there were little hand printed posters up on the course that were complaining about the price. This year it's only five euros if you get the entry in this month.)
It´ll be a pleasure to meet you in Granada next month. I expect you´ve managed to enter. Have you tried by just giving the figures in the DNI but not the letter?
I may go to Guadix on 17th September to take part at Prueba de fondo del Melocotón. It is 19 km long. Are you going to take part at it?
Regards
Antonio
PS. I forgot to mention Kevin when I told you about the drinking team after Reading half marathon at a pub near Andy´s house. Kevin is a friend of Andy´s who also took part at the half marathon.
