Ever since I saw this race I knew it has to be on my bucket list. So I signed up for the longest race (30km) without planning how will I even get there. I just knew I will find a way. And so I did. I’m always excited when there’s a race I’ve never been to.
You know..Romania has a lot of hidden spectacular places, worth checking out. And to explain better what this race was about, I’m going to inspire myself from the description I found on their website www.goruntrail.ro.
This race is the object of promoting two adjacent Protected Areas, and draws the attention over the secular oak in Mercheasa, discovered in 2009 by a little girl, but also the Racos Geological Complex, where evidence of the living force inside the Earth was found, volcanoes and basalt columns that flow into emerald-colored waters.
“The Elder of the Carpathians” is the oak called 🙂
After running a few km on plain trail surrounded by trees, bovines and ovines, we have reached the Protected Areas of the Basalt Columns, where there are many admirable prismatic figures of heights exceeding 10 meters. Next, the Emerald Lake, which is actually a prisoner because water can not find the exit, the basal columns on its edge are guarded, columns that once were red and hot volcanic.
Coming up next, we got to Racos, to the Stuffed Volcano, which exploded a million years ago and touched everything around him with his red cloak.
The running turns into a fire race, as we enter through the gates of the volcano.
So yeah..everything was nice and cool, the weather was being beyond perfect..there was just one tiny problem: once I passed my usual point (I mean 22km) my legs started to fail. Is the worst feeling when your heart rate says LET’S GO, but your muscles are dragging you down. Holly cramp I say!
But at the end, when you know you did your best, plus, you exceded your limits, none of the physical pain matters. Once again, it was a good race. My 83rd race 🙂
Run the World 