We ran downhill to a trailhead and began a traverse of several kilometers to get back to the GR52. Sylvie started out running with me, saying she was going to try to stay with me to Menton. I pondered this and decided that running with her would be fine, maybe a nice way to finish. But my legs had other ideas, and when Sylvie slowed for a small uphill, I couldn't help but keep my normal pace and move on ahead.
Besides, as much as I wasn't racing for anything except to finish, and as much time as I had gained on her (over 5 hours at that point), I was STILL worried that anything could go wrong. Only when I reached Menton would I finally be able to relax. In the meantime, I was enjoying the calm start to the day and the new scenery to gape at.
I reached a dirt road next to a farm about the same time as Bram, Erwin, Rodolphe, and Vincent. We did a quick map check and agreed we needed to head north to find the GR52. Soon we were on the trail that would take us all the way to the sea - no more detours or variants. We had also returned to the interesting ridge, making gentle climbs, descents, and traverses while weaving between small peaks. Very cool.
The 4 guys and I leapfrogged back and forth as they stopped to take an occasional photo and I stopped for SPIZ and cookies. We went from trail to dirt road, back to trail, following the well-marked route. It was a beautiful morning and I felt fine.
I passed several group 1 runners, including Nathalie, Antoine, and Claude. A group of women SOMFY runners cheered me on as they let me pass. I expected to see Christian J soon, but never did find him. Either he was having a great day or he had taken a wrong turn (unfortunately it was the latter, but he found his way back on track eventually).
The first of two big descents started gently enough, a bit of downhill here, some more there. I ran through some pine woods, always an enjoyable experience. Then I came out into the open and found a dry, rocky, ledgey trail. It immediately reminded me of Texas Hill Country, and I felt right at home.
A SOMFY runner ran past me, moving downhill very well. We came upon some roads and together figured out the trail markings. Some pavement, more trails, now I was heading downhill at a good clip. So far, so good.
Even better, I heard a "whoop!" from John above me! I yelled and cheered for him, then stopped at a switchback turn to give him a high five - no time for a kiss right now, we'll get one later! He was all smiles and looking great. And moving really fast, wow.
That made me happy as I finished running downhill and into the Mediterranean village of Sospel.
It was rather surreal, running over cobblestone and passing shoppers, tourists, and people going about their normal day.
I found the ravito in a little park, and Xavier remarked at John's speed and quick disappearance a couple minutes prior. I ate and greeted Dawa who came running in behind me.
The first sign of our last destination:
Just one more climb to go, let's get started. I followed a road out of town, and Laurent appeared behind me. We reached the trailhead at the same time, so I motioned Mr. Fast to go on ahead, and soon he was gone. Bram and Erwin caught up to me as well. They have excellent climbing speed. Erwin and I missed a turn while we were talking, but Bram got us back on track (thanks Bram!). Then they moved on ahead of me.
I found a water fountain John had mentioned, had a brief moment of trail-finding angst, but was soon back on track, headed for some woods and the Col du Razet.
The trail through the woods was wonderful, dark and cool. I ran holding one pole lightly at each side, imagining I was some kind of hunter or warrior, striding effortlessly toward some unseen destination. The woods made me very happy, especially since I had expected the entire section of Southern Alps to be stark and dry. This was much more like Missouri, oddly enough.
I found the col and took a traverse trail over to the next col, very close now to the Italian border.
The trail started downward in a very rocky fashion. I was highly focused on my footing, and somewhere along the way I missed a GR marking for a turn. Continuing down on the rocky road, I came to an intersection that greatly confused me. There was no sign of the GR, so I got out the map and tried to make sense of it. Finally I continued forward in hopes of meeting back up with the trail in front of me. I thought I saw some runners pass below.
At a switchback in the road, I found the GR52 again, thank goodness. I also found Bram, Erwin, and Vincent climbing up the trail in the correct manner. Oops, sorry guys. I felt rather bad about missing part of the descent and climb.
Then a strange thing happened - Laurent was also climbing up the trail toward me. Huh, he must have gotten lost or something. I let him go on ahead, and he didn't look very happy. I guess John will win the stage, but Laurent shouldn't lose that much time.
While chatting with Vincent I noticed some huge blackberries hanging right next to the trail - awesome! The "wild berry trifecta" was complete. I grabbed as many as I could, asking Vincent how he could just walk right by these delicious things. He probably wondered how I could walk by all this scenery and not stop to talk pictures.
After one last little climb, we emerged at the top of the Col de Berceau with our first view of Menton. It made me so happy I had to pause and appreciate the moment.
Just one more descent of 1100 meters, and I was home free. I took a deep breath and started down.
And stopped dead in my tracks at what I saw. I'm pretty sure my mouth was hanging open too. Because there was Laurent, struggling with all his might to get down the mountain. His legs, possibly his thighs, had given out and it was too painful for him to go down in the forward direction. So he was working his way down BACKWARDS.
It was an extremely steep, very rocky trail, and going down backwards was dang difficult. Laurent was actually moving with reasonable speed, while uttering cries of pain and frustration. I slowly worked my way down to him, thinking about what I could do.
I decided to offer a couple ibuprofens to him, and he looked at me with pain in his eyes and accepted. A group of hikers stood off to the side puzzling at this spectacle. I'm sure this wasn't something they saw every day. I continue downhill as Laurent continued his backwards journey as fast as he could go, sliding and falling and trying to keep from losing too much time.
I passed Erwin and Bram, and they commented that it was really sad. I thought instead that it was the bravest thing I had seen in a long time. Laurent wasn't giving up, despite the difficulty of the task he was undertaking.
Gilles and a SOMFY runner on this trail coming down from the col:
The trail continued steeply downhill, briefly through some trees, past the intersection with the GR51, and back out into the open. Menton was getting closer now, and I was getting excited every time I looked down at it. We had to go southeasterly for a ways before turning southwest and simultaneously taking another downhill plunge.
Vincent caught back up to me, and we talked about Laurent's battle with the downhill. Vincent decided to call Philippe to let him know what was up. Philippe told us that Xavier (the doctor) was already running the second half of the stage, so he would catch up to Laurent eventually.
We reached pavement right before passing underneath the highway, and I can't resist including the photos that Vincent took here:
We appreciated the excellent encouragement from the course markers!
After going under the highway, the trail followed little stairways, small streets, and alleyways down past walled-in neighborhoods.
Although the GR52 trail markings are spotty in this section, the additional GTA paint and ribbons helped keep everyone on course this time. Even when there was a truck parked directly in front of one of the alleys, the pink arrow pointing at the truck made it obvious where to go.
I didn't enjoy the hard surfaces, especially steep downhills on pavement, but the short steps weren't too bad. And I was almost there. And I wasn't going downhill backwards in extreme pain. So I had nothing at all to complain about.
Then I was under the railroad tracks and heading to the street at the bottom - yay!
We had been warned that we would be running about a kilometer along the sidewalk to the Plage des Sablettes. It was a nicer spot than last time to hang out post-race, worth a little extra distance. I followed red/white ribbons and ran along the sidewalk, dodging a couple pedestrians. What a lovely day.
I could see John waiting at the finish banner - we "woo hoo!"ed and waved to each other, I ran down the stairs, and then just like that, it was done. I made it!!! Winning the women's division by six hours was icing on the cake.
It was great fun watching other people finish and talking with John about his extremely fast day. John had let loose on the downhills and given it his all, finishing faster than anyone had expected. What a nice way to end it!
Bram and Erwin finished next:
Ignace finishing, with Vincent in the background:
Rodolple, Jean-Paul L, and Henri:
But what about Laurent, you might ask? Time was ticking away, but he still had some leeway to keep his overall lead. If he could get here soon. Suspense at the finish line!
John worried about winning in this fashion, although various people tried to explain to him how Laurent had taken risks in bombing down hills at high speed. It was just crazy that it caught up to him right there on the last descent of the last day. John ran back along the course to try to find Laurent and let him know how much time he still had.
Pascal had come across Laurent on the last hill and stayed with him, providing moral support. Laurent continued to descend backwards, including down the stairs where John found him. John came running back to report excitedly that Laurent was coming! The flat section seemed OK for Laurent's legs - then one last backwards effort down the stairs and he was done. With only 11 minutes left to spare (after leading by over 2 hours at the start of the day). WOW! Congratulations, Laurent!
Claude and Serge reaching the finish line:
We were wondering how long it would be before our friends and family would get news about the race. It turned out that Jean-Patrick had uploaded the standings and some blog notes several times during the race, and the final results went up soon afterwards. So everyone got to "watch from home" this time, which made it even more special. I'm sure we gained strength from everyone's good wishes and thoughts - thank you to everyone who was keeping an eye on us!
Stage 14 results:
John = 4:20:16 / 1st among full-course runners
Marcy = 6:35:03 / 6th among full-course runners
Total time for 14 stages: John = 74:55:44 / 2nd among full-course runners
Marcy = 103:27:34 / 10th among full-course runners
Post-race photos
At the Menton mayor's office (I unfortunately missed being in this picture since I was in the bathroom, oops!):
There was an awards ceremony that evening at the Menton Auberge de Jeunesse where we stayed the night.
Claude, Sylvie, Nathalie, and me:
Christian J, Antoine, Rodolphe, Serge, Jean-Paul L, and Erwin:
Laurent and John:
John, Sylvain, Pascal, Laurent, and Bernard:
Well done, top 3 runners!
Just another day at the beach :)
