26 hours, 3 minutes and 14 seconds. 100 kilometers and 6,600 meters of elevation difference between mountains: climbing to the top and descending to hell with suffocating heat. At that time, Alex and Eladio they finished the Ultra Pyrenees more than a day after the departure from Plaza Porxada de Bagà. They did not know each other when the countdown ended and the race started on Saturday at 5:30 a.m. in the morning. However, this Sunday, at 7:33, they arrived as a single person, after create a bond that will unite you forever. Àlex and Eladio were the last to cross the finish linein position 620.
The clock that presides over the arrival of the Ultra Pirineu had had to be reset. After completing the first 24 hours of the race, I started counting again, adding minutes to a mark that, in reality, was already almost 26 hours. Gilbert I was waiting behind the fences. Like so many others, he was waiting for the arrival of the last brave people who came in time to be able to finish the test before 8 a.m., the closing time of the race.
He was in that same situation two years ago. Gilbert was the last to cross the finish line in the 2021 edition. She knows perfectly well how heavy your legs are, how your head betrays you, and how hard each meter is after running for more than a day. For this reason, since she lived it, she has gone every year to receive the last runners of the ultra-distance test.
“A magnetism”
“Reliving that moment was very special and exciting for me. I saw from the outside his emotion and that of his family. A connection, a magnetism, is created between those who we have spent many hours in our legs and in our heads. You wander at many moments, and a very nice atmosphere is created with people you meet along the way. A union is created between those of us who follow behind. Enter the magic of ultra-distance“, confesses the runner, who this year has only attended the Bagá event as a spectator.
“We’ve been talking. It’s been a conversation between three people who are passionate about the same thing, who have suffered and enjoyed the same thing. Seeing them arrive, hugging their families, when they were sprayed with cava… The connection between them has been spectacular. Two people who met in the race, who have done many kilometers together and who wanted to arrive together,” she added.
#SUP100K Reaching the finish line is a victory. 🏆 Celebrate the arrival of Alejandro, number 1163, the last finisher of the SALOMON ULTRA PIRINEU 100K 2023! 🎊🥳🎉 Congratulations, Alejandro! Let the cava run! 🍾🍾🍾🍾 Te’l ben mereixes campió! 💪 #SUP2023 #ViuLaSUP2023
📸Grava CS & Sergi… pic.twitter.com/kFik9qY8D0— Salomon Ultra Pirineu (@UltraPirineu) October 1, 2023
A few minutes before 7:33 hours, “The Last of the Mohicans” started playing again. In the distance, Àlex and Eladio headed into the final meters, applauded and excited. In the background, through the arrival arch, they saw their relatives waiting for them. They longed for his hugs. A last effort together led them to success, 26 hours 3 minutes and 14 seconds after they started running.
When they began the adventure, however, they didn’t know each other. Possibly they would have met the day before, during the preparations for the race, or they would have exchanged glances before the start. Before the Ultra Pirineu they were two strangers. But fate, or perhaps luck, made them meet when Àlex He was considering abandoning at kilometer 70. At 50 years old he was facing the first Ultra Pirineu and his legs lacked strength. He had decided to sign up for the Ultra at the last minute to do it with a friend, but the few months of preparation were taking their toll on him and he felt that he couldn’t take it anymore. In 51 he had already crossed his mind, but his head told him that he could do it, that if he didn’t give up he would cross the finish line. And just, 30 km from the end, he met Eladio. “He is my guardian angel“, he confesses. Although first he was for Eladio.
stomach pains
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Eladio was walking at a steady pace until he became trapped between two large stones. Àlex found it and did not hesitate to help him, managing to get it out. From there they began to share the race. As the kilometers remained, they came together, telling each other their lives, encouraging each other and pushing each other. They supported each other when, to both one and the other, the stomach and muscle pain.
With 11 kilometers to go, it was time to do the rest. “Eladio told me: ‘Start running! We’re doing it, but start running, we’re not there!’“. And so they did. Hand in hand they arrived in Bagà with half an hour to spare before the closing time, applauded by the fans who got up early to receive them and with runners like Marta Molist (winner of this edition) or Miguel Heras (second this year) waiting for you. Because that is the mountain. Go out alone, face nature and your mind, and arrive with a huge backpack of friendships and learning.