Inspired by a friend, and desperate to get out of the house after two months of very strict lockdown here in France, I did my first C25K run on 18th May 2020.
On Saturday 2nd October 2021, three days before my 61st birthday, I ran the Trail du Gévaudan, billed as a marathon.
The day began with a glorious blue sky, plus a complete inability to eat breakfast due to anxiety, Garmin beeping a low battery warning, and leaving home very late. Once at the start, I couldn’t find the bag drop, nearly got run over when leaving my bag, realised almost everybody else had trail poles, and spotted another runner’s Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc race kit. Gulp. What the hell am I doing here?
Got out phone to set up Strava, found several lovely good luck texts, and remembered HU pompoms. Told myself I was going to do this – nothing was going to come between me and my finishers’ T-shirt and beer!
Off we jogged through the village, finally crossed the official start line, and set out on a beautiful but narrow riverside path. Within minutes we’d crossed a stone chaos and reached the forest, where the path became single-file only, and we queued to tackle a rapid descent (complete with grab-ropes!) and then a steep uphill scramble.
Eventually emerging onto a flatter road around 5k, I was met by a little boy with a huge smile and a handful of blackberries: “Here, these are for you!” Another forest path took us down to and through the village, where at around 8k we finally reached the first feed station, offering saucisson, bread, mini cakes, chocolate, chopped banana and apple, pizza, chocolate and more!
The route, mostly through woods, then dropped for a while before heading back up to reach a new peak at around 15k. Somewhere around this point my left knee started to grumble about the uneven terrain, but remembering that my late Mum, aged 86 and riddled with bone cancer, had managed to walk on a broken hip, I decided a temperamental knee was no excuse for a DNF. In any case, I wasn’t racing, I was just aiming to get round! So from then on I walked the ouchier steeper downhills, and ran at easy pace on the flat sections.
After that came a high plateau with utterly stunning views, where I slowed right down to take in the surroundings, and did airplane arms too, inspired by the nearby wind turbines! Further on, between farms and hamlets and before heading up to the highest part of the course, I stopped to read the names and dedications on a memorial to the maquisards (French resistance fighters) who’d been killed in battles, or subsequently executed, in the villages through which we’d just run. It put the challenge of doing a marathon into perspective.
The route profile had suggested that the second part of the course was much faster, being more or less downhill through woods and fields. Nobody mentioned that it included climbing up wood-and-earth steps and over giant boulders, or encountering a slope that the organisers officially deemed a “Dangerous descent!” (what? worse than the others? oh yes!) just 2k from the finish.
Ah yes, the finish. Well, it was another steep uphill, on cobbles and – somewhat surprisingly – not 42.2k from the official start, but 45k! Strava stats say 46.45k overall distance, 1835m elevation gain, and actual moving time of 7:46:52. Chip time, including all stops, queues and feed stations, was 9:05:05.
TLDR? I finished the race and had a wonderful day which seemed to fly by, except in the most demanding ascents (km4 was 170m+, and kms 12 and 17 both 179m+).
Would I do it again? Probably not. It was such a special experience that I feel inclined to keep it as a one-off. I would, however, love to volunteer. And, of course, there are so many more routes to explore out there…
The local paper’s photos give a good impression of the scenery and atmosphere, and are at: leveil.fr/puy-en-velay-4300...
Well done! 
Race report - Runaway Train Trail race - DNF 😞
Another question
