Barefoot Pat' Blog

The Tarahumara Spirit was there and we all blew our PRs, without pain either during or after.   Kristof and Renier by 2h30 (surrealistic!!!) and myself by 40 minutes. It was all about using the proper running technique, the proper training strategy, the proper gear and the proper spirit.  First, being silly, the evening before, in front of the Eiger                   Then, the next day, due to uncertain weather, the organization decided to start the race at 6 am, so wake up at 4h40 and big muesli. And off we go in the mountains.             Kristof is the only one of the Tarahumara Spirit who has a picture of him taken in this part of the t...

La Gypaete (40 km, 2500+, 3300-) is not a casual "petite ballade" even though the numbers are not very impressive, compared to other races in the area.   Still, with the temperatures we had that day, and in Huaraches, the very steep down slopes and mud slides in every forest parts were brutal and destructive, ... and suffering is NOT Tarahumara Spirit. I finally found my limits of what I can do with Huaraches in the wild!!! I started suffering when going down the Pointe d'Andey, and ultimate nightmare was in the last part, down from Lac Bénit to the finish line. With the mud between my feet and my sandals and no water to rinse, my Huaraches were slipping out of my feet, with the strings going though the skin. The pain was so excruciating that sometimes I had to go down butt first to have some relief from the skinning between my toes. One hour like this makes some body memory. But now, it is slowly healing and I learned a lesson. Unless I am 100% sure that the ...