Cross alpino de Morla de la Valderia
July and August.
Have been getting out for 2 short runs a week and have done a bit of mountain biking. Nothing too serious though. Yesterday afternoon it was time to dig out the off-road runners, still coated floury white with Picos limestone dust and head for the village of Morla as we had done
last year.
Miguel Mushroom was Gran Canaria-bound having narrowly missed out on the ill-fated flight from Barajas last Wednesday and Jorge has injured his knee so this time it was just me and Oscar. We left at the last moment and almost didn’t go at all. A one and a half hour journey over a 2000m mountain pass to a race which is barely a 10k seemed a tad eccentric to most but then it’s this very journey which makes the races the other side of Morredero so appealing.
The afternoon was hot and windless and we were held up over the pass by slow moving traffic and the usual distractions (birds of prey, meandering cattle and the views). Got to Morla a mere 5 minutes before the start but the organizers didn’t seem to mind us joining in at such short notice. In fact they seemed pleased to see us.
About 60 runners gathered in front of the tiny village church and they rang the bells to start the race. We tore off along dusty paths and trails which were for the most part stony and uneven. The climb which formed the first half of the circuit seemed tougher than last year and I had to walk a couple of times. Descended reasonably well but then almost had to walk again on a flat, grassy section as my legs seized up. Finished in 49 minutes, a minute slower than last year. Back in the village the main street had filled with folk who had come for the annual fiesta and it was only polite to stay for the garlic soup and chorizo free-for-all. .
The winner of the race won a cup and a leg of ham. Then Bierzo Baggie’s race number came out of the hat in the prize draw for 10 monster slabs of locally made chocolate. This was a pleasant surprise as the last time I won something was in the Tipton beautiful baby contest in 1970. Coming home with my rucksack stuffed full of top notch chocolate, much to the delight of my 3-year old daughter who loves the stuff, suddenly made it all feel worthwhile…simple pleasures, yum yum.
