The craziest slant...
Oté ami(e)s traileurs,Thursday 20th of October 8:00 pm, I look nervously at my watch, We, Jacqueline and I, have an appointment at Saint Philippe Cap Méchant, small town located at the south extrem coast of la Reunion Island. Almost a year of training for Jacqueline will be sufficient enough to overcome this famous grand raid race ?
I would like to relate the adventure of Jacqueline's Reunion Grand Raid 2005 vintage. First of all, some figures: 2091 competitors, 140 km (78 miles) over an altitude range
of 8,000 metres (26,250 feet) make this the longest mountain race in
the world, a complete island crossing. The footpath leads you to astonishing name's places like: volcano route - Piton textor - mud pond - Col du Taibit - crête des Orangers - river of pebble - two arms - donkey's back church- Piton fem - Colorado..., departure hour: friday 2:00 am; arrival maximum hour: sunday 4:00 pm at Saint Denis, that is to say 62 hours of racing time allowed for the slowest participant!
On board of a Kangoo express car, transformed for the occasion in a mobile base camp (foam-rubber mattress, food for three days, map and road book Island etc...), We arrive at Cap Méchant (i.e. Mean Cape) around 10:00 pm. I set my alarm watch for a wake up at 1:00 am, and despite the usual pre-race tension, we have a nice nap in the car. Actually, it is very important to store a scarce and precious resource: sleeping time.
Friday 1:00 am, the parking lot filled up while we were having the nap. Everyone is busy checklisting all the equipment: last check of the rucksack (the organisation allows wisely to let three safe bags (new clothes / food) along the path at control checkpoint), head lamp fine tuning, people waiting for the johns, listening to the reggae band on the podium. The ambience is rather good, the competitors are focussed but no special tension in the air tonight . Everyone is enjoying this strange and peaceful moment.
On the starting line, racers are packed up, two minutes in advance, the competitors are released. I try to see Jacqueline in this headlamp flow that stretch out in the St Philipe streets (the official radio of the grand raid radioest will nickname this pack the "4000 legs" two times the number of racers).
, vain effort, I can not catch a glance of Jacqueline. From the first to the last one, we could not find more different pace. One are struggling at the very beginning to avoid the traffic jam in the inevitable narrowing of the footpath. The others walk at a brisk pace. I think that the locals support sincerely these hikers more than the athletes in the forefront.
, vain effort, I can not catch a glance of Jacqueline. From the first to the last one, we could not find more different pace. One are struggling at the very beginning to avoid the traffic jam in the inevitable narrowing of the footpath. The others walk at a brisk pace. I think that the locals support sincerely these hikers more than the athletes in the forefront.
Back to the car, I turn my radio on radioest (www.radioest.com) to stay tuned (during the hree coming days!), now start the orienteering car session. The next control point suitable for car: Volcano(hook of the oven) - plaines of sands . The race director managed every details, as a mini booklet given for the assistance to follow the racers.
A motorcarde is now heading to the volcano "la Fournaise" by the road, I follow consciensiously the pack, but while I was checking on the map my position , I lost track. Finally, I ended up the volcano by a dusty and desert road. The first racers should be here around 5:30 am, I expect Jacqueline to show up around 9:30 am.
4:45 am, it's pretty cool now at dawn, the temperature is down to 3-5 °C, I leave the Kango Express to have a look of the scenic view. I do not want to screw up the sun appearing in this volcanic landscape. I am not alone in this desert, amateurs, photographs and other devotees are here as well. Little by little the sun is rising, casting its a particular raylight on this silent and mineral place.
Gradually, we realize the lunar magnificence of the crater, a cool bubble of darkness is turning out to a warm and ihuge view sprinkled with colored rocks and mounts.
source: http://www.panoramas.re/
"Last year, the eruption
began during august 13 night, at 2:40 pm. A fissure open from
the top of Dolomieu Crater, around 2.500 meters, down to 2.000
on the east side. Fourteen hours later, when this panorama was
done, only the lower part remained active, close to Marco and
Trois Freres craters.Nine kilometers
separate emissive fissure, around 2.200 meters above sea level,
from Pointe du Grand brûlé, on the shore. Grand-brûlé,
or Enclos (Enclosure) is formed by a cliff in a horse-shoe shape.
It can be seen easily here, on south and north. Lava generally
stay into this space ; the last lava flow " outside enclosure
" occured in 1986."
began during august 13 night, at 2:40 pm. A fissure open from
the top of Dolomieu Crater, around 2.500 meters, down to 2.000
on the east side. Fourteen hours later, when this panorama was
done, only the lower part remained active, close to Marco and
Trois Freres craters.Nine kilometers
separate emissive fissure, around 2.200 meters above sea level,
from Pointe du Grand brûlé, on the shore. Grand-brûlé,
or Enclos (Enclosure) is formed by a cliff in a horse-shoe shape.
It can be seen easily here, on south and north. Lava generally
stay into this space ; the last lava flow " outside enclosure
" occured in 1986."
The first headlamps are appearing at the horizon. The magical picture of runners suddenly emerging in this universe so still, eternal is indelibly printedin my memory.
copyright: grand raid reunion - diagonale des fous 2005
the top five runners do not stay long at the supply tent, but from the tenth racer, the struggling for the final victory fades away. Each in his own way, realizing the exceptionnal length of this ultra race, takes the time to discuss with his assistance, hydrates and have a bite to eat.
Again, the difference with "road run format" is huge. I have some time to kill waiting for Jacqueline to show up. Let's have a rest in the car. As far as I can tell the assistant role is all but calm. Hum, nothing like a good nap! Later on, I need to take a leak, I emerge from the back door Kangoo in a kind of hurry. Get back to the car, the rear door shut itself and........
the safety lock was on, and visibly I am stuck outside the car. I look desperately to the keys still on the dashboard, ok do not panic! Temperature is up now (18 C), I got my mobile in my pocket, I am not half naked however I feel very stupid.
the alternative is simple: option 1 break into the car (poor window), option 2 phone to St Denis to recover the other keys set. Two hours later ( and a nice sun burn), Marc and Alexandre save my ass. Luckily, Jacqueline has some delay on her roadmap. Phew ! I can offer her the clothes and personnal favorite food.
Lot of competitors, like Jacqueline, were in the red zone (heartbeat speaking) during the climbing of the Volcano, the combine effect of a heavy rain the day before and a severe cold has greatly increase the difficulty. On top of it le last racers faced a food shortage at the supply zone (the frost did increase the appetite of the previous racers).
Dailymotion blogged video
Volcan Grand raid 2005 bis (32)
Vidéo envoyée par akunamatata
Volcan Grand raid 2005 bis (32)
Vidéo envoyée par akunamatata
This first blow, no doubt, will have some consequences in the near future, in particular in the Mafate circus the next day. From now on, Jacqueline has no more free margin on the time limit. We cheer her on in order to stay above the limit at each control point. And this is working! On a critical checkpoint with only ten minues left, she increases her margin to 20 then 30 minutes on the following checkpoints.
The ultraracers that are kind of little short on time are gracioulsy "saved" at the control points. The director did recognize the odd situation in the climb to the volcano due to weather conditions. Nevertheless, the obsessive fear of the last ones is embodied by the serrefile, to be caught up by these serrefile means that you are DNF. And I tell you this is the last thing you wanna happen.
Now, a dangerous game between the prey and the predator occurs, in neutral territory (i.e the control points) the prey and the hunters gently chat together, but beware not to stay too long in the tent, take good care to leave before the serrefile. Congratulations to these anonymous racers that fought like hell to stay in the game and got to the finish line despite the sword of Damocles hanging over.
However, we need to be realistic here, Jacqueline arrived at the volcano 1869th (thanks to the mobile operator SFR and its real time checking), and buying some time to the limit, she arrives in the Cilaos circus the evening in 1735 position. Already the ogre "serrefile" has eaten up the hope and soul of 160 hikers! I leave with regret the gorgeous volcano site. And I follw the progress of Jacqueline along the path from piton textor to mare à boue (plaine des caffres), everything seems ok, she is winning over the serrefiles.
I drive back down to Saint Pierre in order to pick up Jean-Luc (my brothe in law) who wants to watch over Jacqueline saturday and sunday. 4:15 pm a SMS shows up on the mobile: DNF Jacqueline at Mare a boue 4:12 pm! I am shocked, I left her at 3:45 pm, she seemed fine for someone that had raced 50 km. I still have some doubt on this message.
Did she turn back? Was she hurt? How to pick up her now? We read attentively the roadboook, but no mention whatsoever about the place where the DNFs should be gathered. No organization phone number as well. There are bus at each point when it is possible to pick up the wounded, but we do not know where the DNFs are taken (Saint Denis, Saint Philippe?).
We decide to come back to Mare à Boue from Saint Pierre (1 hour by road), It is dark and we discover that the supply camp was empty and cleaned. After some thoughts, we maintain our trip to Cilaos. If we run into Jacqueline so be it, otherwise we will hike to highest point of the island: the piton des neiges. 10:00 pm we arrive to Cilaos by a sinuous road. North of the island, it has been 10 minutes since the winner Charles Fontaine hit the finish line at la Redoute Stadium (Saint Denis)!!!!
We park the kangoo next to a local carnival, the stadium is not far from here. We see the competitor flow that is heading toward the Taibit pass, we point out the oddity of two worlds colliding: the first one made of young urban clubbers (probably high thanks to "zamal", creole name for pot) and the other sporty persons stuffed with vitamins and cafein, all this crowd strolling in the Cilaos streets.
In the stadium, the competitors have a harsh time trying to recover from an exhausting 20 hours long effort. Some are lying on mattress outside on the tracking field, some are having a reconforting massage. We realize how important irepresents a personal assistance (some racers even booked a hotel to take a shower and a calm nap!). We ask for the DNF list and where are supposed to be the DNF at this late hour. We are told that the DNF should be taken to Coteau Kerveguen km 59 not far from here (km 67) and they should spend the night overthere. Just to be sure, I ask for confirmation if they notice the racer #256, miracle! There is no number #256 overthere!
Hope again! Jacqueline did not give up, It was only a checking error. Hurry up, we have to go back to the car and bring back her personal bag, she should be here any minute now. We emerge from a dark alley and heading toward the carnival. Some groups are preparing to have a "ralé-poussé" (fight in Créole), We try to sneak away, but a youngster starts to cry and move aggressively, his buddies try in vain to chill him out. He pushes me flying to a parked car. Now start the scary part, a policeman with his handcuff rushes at the youngster. All is confused, there is a kind of fight but we managed to escape stealthily. Who said that assistance was a quiet job?
Back to the stadium around 10:45 pm, we are on watch, a phone call from our relatives in Saint Denis tells us that Jacqueline arrived 10 minute ago. We finally run into an upset Jacqueline at the restaurant. What are you doing? I am getting cold waiting for you guys! Chill out pfff...No time for explanations nor excuses, the personal clothes bring back peace within the team.
In a nutshell, everything went ok when Jean-Luc breaks the good new, his colleagues from the Cilaos hospital offer a room and physiotherapist for Jacqueline. She has a good massage with no waiting line and a two hours sleep in a real bed. Happiness could be so simple sometimes...
Saturday 2:15 am wake up call, time limit to departure from Cilaos is set at 3:00 am. Jacqueline checks in at 2:52 am 1610th that is to say 125 ranks won compared to yesterday (hence as many racers that gave up at mid race). We dont want to dawdle on the way, Jean-Luc and I have decided to climb with Jacqueline until the pass Taibit km 78 (+1300 height) instead of climbing the "piton des neiges".
We walk during the night on this hiking trail to Mafate circus. The sounds of the cricket, of our breathing, the altered colors by the moonlight give this weird feeling to be in a kind of introspection bubble.
We arrive swiftly at the bottom of theTaibit trail, checkpoint food, dormitory and end of the race for some participants.
Little by little, the night sounds fade away to let the roosters crow and other birds, colors are revealed, I can shoot some pictures and discover again the fantastic Cilaos circus landscape.
We met some terrific volunteer guys, singing, offering us tea and biscuits. They were more crazier than us I think. It was pretty lively out there!
Here comes the Taibit pass , reached in less than six hours, as far as Jacqueline is concerned she was doing well. Jean-Luc and I set the next appointment at à deux bras / dos d'ânes at the north extrem of Mafate circus (this circus is not reachable by car).
We have to go back to Cilaos town, and hit the road to join Jacqueline at Dos d'ânes (donkey's back), We need to be fast because the footpath down to Cilaos is 3 or 4 hours long, then we need to cross half of the island. We still had a nap at St Pierre (2 hours). Jacqueline is supposed to reach riviere des galets - deux bras (i.e. pebble river / two arms) around 8:30 pm (time limit).
SMS checkpoints are telling us that Jacqueline lost some ground in Mafate , paradoxically at every control point she gain some ranks in the list: La Nouvelle 1476th at 11:42 am, Roche plate 1332th at 3:04 pm (limit time 3:30 pm). Lot of dropped out willl occur in the circus Mafate, those who get to deux bras will be almost sure to finish. Because the organization leaves an opportunity to have some sleep (like in Cilaos town). Here in deux bras time limit arrival is 8:30 pm, departure limit: sunday 2:00 am. Dailymotion blogged video
Ascension Col Taibit Grand raid
Vidéo envoyée par akunamatata
Ascension Col Taibit Grand raid
Vidéo envoyée par akunamatata
We have to go back to Cilaos town, and hit the road to join Jacqueline at Dos d'ânes (donkey's back), We need to be fast because the footpath down to Cilaos is 3 or 4 hours long, then we need to cross half of the island. We still had a nap at St Pierre (2 hours). Jacqueline is supposed to reach riviere des galets - deux bras (i.e. pebble river / two arms) around 8:30 pm (time limit).
Here we come at dos d'anes village 6:00 pm. To meet up with Jacqueline we need to climb down to the rivieres des galets/deux bras in Mafate (735m height , 4,5km), we estimate approx 1hour 20 to go down by this tricky footpath ...Finally we spent mote than 2 hours! The darkness (and yes dusk happens early in this latitude 6:30 pm) and the difficulty of the track had greatly complicated the task (thanks to iron ladders and other security ropes). Fortunately the weather was good for us all along this race, I could not imagine the consequence of a rainy day on this footpath. We run into numerous competitors and encourage them. Each one take the time to answer. This is the ultra race spirit!
Jacqueline attains the camp at 8:09 pm rank 1248th, km 108. The first word she says is "Physiotherapist", The Mafate route was harder than anticipated (even harder than the previous years, the route was modified).
Dos d'anes base camp is a well oiled organization (beds, food, physiotherapist & chiropodist) The french army is in charge of the logistic (electricity-generator etc..), it's straight forward and efficient. Some rare DNF are brought home thanks to military SUV. However the racers are too close to the finish line to drop out! Particularly as the organization allows one supplemental extra hour on time limit for the latest racers.
Jacqueline complains about the waiting line at the physio tent (one hour long) but it is really some good time to rest a while. We decide not to sleep here but rather up at Dos d'ânes in the Kangoo car.
We start off again at 10:53 pm (1203th) from deux bras, Jacqueline got her massage (nothing unusual for a physiotherapist herself!) nevertheless she exhibits very early mental and physical fatigue . She is falling asleep ! That's when the assistance step in, we talk with her, motivate her, well keeping her awake at all cost . We climb during three long hours before hitting dos d'ânes. One more kilometer before the next camp. Jacqueline is walking with extrem difficulty.
She could barely answer to our conversation, her head is going from right to left as if she was not able anymore to maintain her neck. She has some trouble to walk straight as well. We guide her by the shoulders on the path, saying her "straight ahead, moving on the right, careful with your right foot"...her eyes are closed now. As a robot, a part of her brain still functions and follows our intructions. The other competitors are stunned, they have proof that you still can walk while being asleep.. At the control point, she doesn't even open her eyes but find some will to turn around and showing her number on her bakpack.(2:24 am, 1138th).
Jaqueline is thrown down in the car, no time to undress. She will not move an inch until 5:00 am. She wakes up us with a vibrant "I am in good shape!" Earlier Jean-Luc and I discussed outside in the middle of tired and crazed racers. We have the nice feeling that we accomplished a good job with Jacqueline, at the 113 km mark she is almost sure to finish her challenge.
Jacqueline gone for the last part, we head back to the capital St Denis and have a rest, we should meet up with our preferred racer around 11:30 am at the stadium. I forget to check my mobile phone to follow her progression, I give a call at 11:30 am: "I am at the stadium, wherer are thou?"
Holy sh..t, she did well for this last part of the race! What a pity, I would have loved to see her cross the finish line. We meet up for the giant banner signature though (57h21'19" limit time 62h, 1275th out of 1380 finishers, 2100 registred).
Voila, now Jacqueline proudly wear her finisher T-shirt , and on top of it she seems to have no big physical troubles after these 140km and 8159m height. As far as the assistance is concerned, it was very interesting to live the other side of the race. Thanks again to the organization and volunteers who succeed to suport the racers during these three days!
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Akuna