By the time you read this, I am on my way to run in what will likely be the toughest running challenge I have ever taken on. Not only is it difficult in and of itself but it is not a nearby place to get to. 🙂
I Am Running the Grand Raid in Reunion Island
Ok, so only here would I be able to have a play on airport codes and meet both the running readers and the traveling readers. I capitalized RUN because that is the airport code for Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean. Reunion is an overseas department of France – and it takes 11.5 hours of flying from France to reach it.
So, it is quite a distance away from my home in New York! But what makes this even worse for me is that I was just in Europe on Friday – and now I am heading back to transit it to get to Reunion. I couldn’t stay the three days in between in Europe as I had things to do in the US but that would have made it much more ideal (especially with the bad weather descending on New York as I write this).
What Makes the Grand Raid One of the Toughest 100 Mile Races in the World?
The race I am running is the Grand Raid Diagonale des Fous – translated, it means the Diagonal of Fools. An appropriate name! There are 2,300 of us “fools” that will be toeing the starting line this week for this journey so I am in good company! Many of the runners that have run this and many of the other very difficult races around the world have said that this Grand Raid is the toughest 100 miler in the world. Since I have not done it yet, I am saying it is is “ONE” of the toughest.
What makes it so tough? For starters, it is not actually 100 miles – it is 175km which equals 109 miles. So, you are not done when you hit 100, you have another 9 miles to go. But, that is just one number for difficulty. The other one is probably the one that makes it worse – 35,000 feet of elevation gain. That is more elevation than Mt Everest except this is dragged out over 100+ miles.
The other component that makes this race so difficult is that it is very technical – meaning a lot of rocks, roots, and more. I have read that only 70% of the course is truly runnable, so this would be what sets it apart from a race like UTMB (also a French race with thousands running it and also over 100 miles and with close to the same gain).
There are several regions we will go through that are only accessible by foot or helicopter – so that makes quitting in any of these areas a non-starter since I have to walk out anyway!
The race starts at 10PM on Thursday night – that’s right, night. This is yet another difficult thing. My first glimpse of the early stages of this course will be at night. That combined with a sleep schedule that may be brutal with the jet lag and that could make things very interesting!
I am recording during the race and everything that leads up to it so will be making a Youtube video of the whole experience when I am back – whether I succeed or not.
My Itinerary to Reunion
To get there, I could have gone from NYC – Paris – Reunion but I really wanted business class for such an event. So, I am going through JFK-Zurich-Paris-Mauritius- Reunion. All of that is business except the last leg which is a 45 minute flight to Reunion. Coming back, I am leaving out shortly after the race ends and going from Reunion – Mauritius (a short stop in the Seychelles after that) – Zurich – Washington, DC for a meeting a couple of hours after I arrive.
I cannot wait to write about what this experience is like as there are so many different and moving parts throughout. I was going to write this post months ago when I found out I got in in the lottery but never did get around to it. That’s right, there was a lottery that was used to find who would get in since this race is incredibly popular, but mostly within Reunion and France as well as other places around Europe. I had never heard of it before my friend (who lives there) asked me to come run it with him. I said “of course” before I looked up how difficult it was.
After I made it in the lottery selection (myself and only 4 other Americans), I had to qualify with two races that would have enough points in both distance and elevation gain to actually be able to run it. The ultra marathons (races longer than 26.2 miles) that I have done during the qualification period were not eligible (things like timed races – 12 hours, etc – do not count and road races do not count). So, that left me scrambling to find a couple of races that I could do before my very busy summer started.
I ran two 50 mile races, on in Pennsylvania and one in Canada. Both had around 8,000 feet of elevation gain so I easily secured the points needed. The twist was that I had to run both of those races in 2 weeks. The first one was terrible – my worst 50 mile time ever and it really messed with my head heading into the second one just two weeks later. Fortunately, that one went great and I cut 3 hours off the previous 50 miler time.
With both of those races done, I also had to do a physical and get my doctor’s sign-off to be able to run – yes, they want to make sure that you are in good shape to do this! I got that done and then all that was left to do was the training!
From the middle of June until now, I had averaged about 62 miles per week with many of those miles coming in the form of a run of 18+ miles on one day and a similarly distanced run the next day. The longest distance I ran in training was a 32 mile run in a 6 hour event followed by a couple of 11 milers in the days following. My biggest training week was 84 miles.
The toughest part was hills – I don’t have them around me. So, I did some hill sessions on the only hills I could find as well as some stair master work. Still, I know that this is going to be my weak spot so we will see how this works out.
Anyway, I hope to post some pictures on Instagram throughout the race so head over there to keep up with it! And I will write more when I can and after!
w-o-w. one of my fave bloggers has always been one of my fave runners. just the lede alone on this is a must read. now i must find out what time zone you will be running in so i can think about your challenge come thursday. here’s to having a wonderful race and most of all—the experience and we all will be waiting for one of your best blog posts ever … along with the video. you. go. charlie.
Good luck and have fun! Which 50M did you do in PA? Some of those PA races are tough!