Update

[Bierzo Baggie]

This place has gone trail running crazy over the last couple of years. There’s a race somewhere nearby almost every weekend nowadays and most of them are off-road.

10-15 years ago there was very little, maybe a half marathon or two, usually designed for the elite end of the field, the Aquilianos (which was originally a walking event) and Truchillas.

The region certainly lends itself to mountain biking and trail running and as mentioned we are in full boom at the moment. Bizarrely, this is partly fuelled by the Spanish economic crisis. Almost overnight thousands of men have been laid off from local mines, factories and constuction firms which means lots of people at home with a lot of time on their hands.The trails invite, if only to burn off a bit of frustration...

Here is another curious image from Molinaseca. We were led out by a possee of horsemen in shades. Lots of tough boys in this village as I found in my football days...



Number 60 won the sheep.

The Espino race tomorrow is another new one. I’m going with the legendary Pedro the lumberjack.