It's not over until it's over! After an engaging running season and finishing the stunning 6D-Marathon, I couldn't call it a year yet. This Saturday, I put on my shoes for one last ride in the Zittau mountains. Located in a little enclave between the German, Czech and Polish border, the village of Oybin has been hosting for a few years now the XTerra O-See Trail Running event, with races ranging from 500m to 65km. The 25K and 50K ones are part of the XTerra Trail Run World Series and can help you qualify for more events. I'm in for the 50K / 2120 m+, which should be a realistic step after my recent training and the 6D-Marathon in July. I didnt have time to do a proper training/tapering this time, but my few hills repetitions should do the trick. I still feel quite in shape after the summer. The centerpiece of the O-See race surely is its locations, right at the heart of the Zittau mountains. Nothing compared to the Alps, but the hills can be quite steep and challenging. On top of that, the region's geography is very surprising, with huge polished rocks growing like mushrooms everywhere and transforming the forrest into a natural obstacle course. It's a unique experience to immerse and lose yourself, while following these endless trails snaking from one hill to another.
I had an amazing first part of the race, up to km 25, as the morning weather was just perfect. I grew up in Corsica and I spent long afternoons playing in the rocks behind my house, never tired of exploring and discovering hidden places. That's exacly how I felt today, while each new turn was bringing more awe and suprising challenges.
The second part of the race, around 25-35km has been a little less interesting though. It started raining and we left the funny rocks for larger paths through the forrest. But the rain did not last long and the end of the race brought a new layer of challenges, with steep hills, painful stone stairs, slippery slopes and astonishing scenery. While I had been able to run all the way down during the 6D-marathon, it was really tricky this time and I had to alternate between fast walk and careful run all the time, using poles to stay in balance. But I didn't mind, with a 10h cut-off I had all the time in the world to enjoy the race one step at a time.
It took me a little more than 8 hours to cover the 51km and 2100m+. Quite a long time compared to my previous race, but I didn't have time to get bored. The route was pretty technical all the way and I had to stay focus to keep a decent pace and not get hurt. I am very happy with my finish time and I had a lot of fun, which is the most important thing after all! It was a unique experience "taming" those hills and finding my way through all these funny rocks. I am already considering attempting the big 65k next year, as it is quite close to Berlin. All in all, this was another wonderful stone in my little trail-running zen garden.
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