The first step was alerting Rudolph in the Netherlands so he and his wife Jacomien could do a dry run with the registration and provide critical translations, as it is entirely in French. My Dutch friends came through wonderfully, saving screen shots of important pages and footnoting instructions. So when I plunged into signing up it went fairly expediently…except for the part where I learned Le Grand Raid was completely booked! But there were openings for the “half” version – the Bourbon Trail, so I snagged that.
Am I disappointed? Honestly not at all, because here are the basics for the Bourbon Trail. Total distance is 58 miles with an elevation gain of over 16,000 feet (i.e., three miles!). I know Le Grand Raid runs past the active volcano and goes through a pair of villages which are accessible solely by foot or helicopter, so you know this crazy distance and elevation gain will be along hazardous trails. Training for the fifty mile run in July has me appreciating just how intense this ordeal is and discretion became the better part of valor…particularly because it appears I will be tackling the venture solo.
There shouldn’t be a lick of remorse to wind up celebrating the landmark birthday by running a marathon, a 50-mile ultra-marathon and the Bourbon Trail ultra-marathon on Reunion this year. Having learned a bit more about the world of long distance running it strikes me that Le Grand Raid requires a bit more experience than I would bring to the table. However, I did take heart to learn that my age qualifies me for the “Veterans 2” class in the race, so I guess I’m not a rookie after all --- here is an excerpt from the e-mail:
Bonjour Vance
Félicitations, vous êtes désormais inscrit(e) à la course TRAIL DE BOURBON dans la catégorie VETERANS 2 HOMMES
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