Season 2016

[Bierzo Baggie]

Alto Sil 2016

Will tell the story in 2 episodes.
 
This is a race that I stumble into every year. It is perhaps getting too noisy and flash for the back of the pack runner I am turning into but that may be part of its appeal as well. In many ways the Alto Sil race is now a mini-Zegama. And with the introduction of cash prizes this year you’ll get some of the best in the world starting their season here.
 
I like the route. It resembles a British fell running circuit in many ways. There are lots of steep, rough down-hills which suit me fine. Maybe it’s a tad long for this time of year and the cut-off times are always an added worry but in 8 years I have to say that the Alto Sil has evolved into one of the best races in the whole of Spain. Certainly it’s one of the best publicized.
 
This year’s field includes a few trail running superstars of all shapes and sizes.
There is Arca from Galicia who sported the hobo beard before it was trendy. He pulls up in a battered VW Golf that looks like something salvaged from a farmyard.
At the other extreme there is Alfredo Gil from Salamanca, all finely chiselled features and gym-toned muscles, he could be lead singer in a boy band.
Then there is the local hero Merillas, record holder of the Aquilianos and soldier in the Spanish army’s elite Pyrenean mountain regiment. He’s accompanied by his partner, Azara García, who just happens to be the top European lady runner of the moment. 3 times winner Oihana Kortazar will be contesting that claim today.
There is also the small foreign contingent. Zach Miller has come all the way from the United States. Young Miller is man of the moment in the ultra mountain running scene. MLCM will be interested to know that this guy got into running when he worked on a cruise ship. Strange but true. He spent much of his time running up and down stairs from deck to deck, but the bulk of his training was done on the treadmill!
To the list of favourites you can also add the Morrocan Ismail Razga, the Basque guy Aritz Egea and top Welsh fell runner Matthew Roberts.
 
Amongst such illustrious company Bierzo Baggie feels like a fish out of water. What’s more, for the second year running they’ve given me the race number 13. Somebody is trying to tell me something…