The Highs and Lows of Trail Des Cagous

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Gregory Merritt
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The Highs and Lows of Trail Des Cagous The annual Trail Des Cagous is a trail running festival in Parc de la Riviere Bleue in New Caledonia, about an hours drive from Noumea.

1 The Highs and Lows of Trail Des Cagous The annual Trail Des Cagous is a trail running festival in Parc de la Riviere Bleue in New Caledonia, about an hours drive from Noumea. The premier race is held over a challenging 80km course that includes 3650m of climbing and attracts the best runners from the region. On the weekend, 2015 Surf Coast Century runner up Ross Hopkins, along with his wife Christine and trail running friend and work colleague Kat McKean ventured to New Caledonia to take on the Trail Des Cagous. Read on to discover the challenges they faced as they squeezed an international ultra into just one weekend. Photo: Christine Hopkins, Kat McKean and Ross Hopkins ready to rock at the Trail Des Cagous, New Caledonia. Race report by Ross Hopkins It was set to be a whirlwind trip that involved little more than flying, driving, running and a small amount of sleeping. Such was our work commitments this was all time would allow, and although we knew it was going to be a shame to not have time to soak up the sights and culture, the thrill of a trail running adventure on foreign soil fell squarely into the category "if we can, then do".

2 Arriving in the dark on Saturday evening, we quickly learnt the art of driving on the right in our pocket sized manual hire car and miraculously navigated our one hour drive to the hotel only needing directions once from a helpful fisherman. We were lucky to be greeted by New Caledonia's top ultra running lady Veronique Chamberland who briefed us about the run, supplied us with our race bibs and produced a few bananas for us for our breakfast. Despite being on a tropical island, the shops were closed except for restaurants so any last minute supplies were not going to be possible. We finally got to sleep with the air conditioner pumping hard to regulate the thick and humid air. A 5am departure meant the first time we would see light would not be until the legs were turning over. The one hour drive to the race start took us into a National Park and we had no idea what to expect. As we pulled up, we were greeted by a sea of brightly clad athletes all wearing the latest and greatest trail running kit. The contrast against the tropical greens and rich red mud was striking, and we were surprised to see so many people keen for a big run on such a small island. Indeed we were to learn that trail running has a healthy following for such a tiny nation and apparently the minimum requirements is the top of the line Salomon gear! The race briefing was in French as we observed the familiar friendly vibe of which trail running is known. The countdown begun and before we knew it we were off into the unknown. Sure, we had looked at maps, photos and a cross section, but we still had no idea what we were in for. Veronique's weather forecast skills proved to be very questionable as the sun she had promised did not appear until we were on the plane the next day. Instead it rained steadily for the first few hours turning single track into mud and slosh and the rough 4WD tracks to slick and polished paths where ice skates would have been more effective. But the rain was actually a blessing because it kept the temperature more manageable and I think was to our advantage after spending the last 4 weeks training in the cold Victorian air at the bottom of Mt Buller where we live. I felt strong for the first 10km. After competing in the Buffalo Stampede 5 weeks earlier and with a less than ideal preparation, I was worried about how I would go. But the excitement and adrenalin carried me up and down the rolling hills, through the mud and jungle for the first 10km and I was in 3rd position. I then dropped back a few spots and settled into a nice rhythm. A big climb greeted us and at the top I saw the familiar orange tape markers that we had been following. I diligently followed the markers but after some time I hadn't seen anyone for a while. Mmmm, something didn't quite feel right. Then I started having those thoughts along the lines of "I think I have already run along here? Oh, I remember jumping over that fallen tree? I pushed on still following the markers and then my fate was sealed when I eventually came across a group of older runners who were walking and clearly making up the rear of the field. I rolled into the aid station

that I had already been past and my watch revealed a 'bonus' 8-9km loop and 'bonus' 450m of climbing. Photo: Ross Hopkins pushes on ahead of eventual race winner Ludovic Lanceleur.

3 that I had already been past and my watch revealed a 'bonus' 8-9km loop and 'bonus' 450m of climbing. Photo: Ross Hopkins pushes on ahead of eventual race winner Ludovic Lanceleur. Despite some extra k's Ross ran in a triumphant 11th place overall. It had taken me 1:15 to complete the technical loop and the look on the face of the man at the aid station was priceless. He didn't need to say anything because it was written all over his face; "oh no, what are you doing back here? Has something happened? This is not good". We had a chat and worked out where I went wrong. "Do you want to pull out?" he asked. Every part of me wanted to. I had dropped from 3rd position to 57th and my motivation and head space experienced a similar decline. I had set myself for 80km, hopefully under 11 hours and whilst knowing I wouldn't match it with the front of the field, I was still hoping for a placing somewhere towards the front. The lure of an afternoon at the beach, some nice food, relaxation and some element of 'holiday' was as strong as ever. Who would know? Who would care? It is funny when your head goes your body follows. All of a sudden I felt exhausted. I knew Christine and Kat would have a good day so I thought I should just call it now and we can all go back and have a nice afternoon. But, that stubborn sense of pride and determination that exists in all who pursue such a relentless and demanding pursuit kicked in. I have never had a DNF before and didn't want to start now. But actually, my main reason to push on was because I actually didn't have a justifiable reason to pull out. There were still so many people out there who were going to be on their feet for longer than me. How pathetic and insulting to them would it have been to have a sook because I went the wrong way and then quit.

4 I had been given the privilege to come over here and run, people had looked after us and also as a school teacher who constantly preaches to his students to "push through your inconveniences" and that we are judged by how we respond when things don't go well and to plan... oh boy, the conversations in my head were rocking back and forth like crazy and I just wanted to tell my head to shut up so I could simply run. But as you know, this is not that easy in the middle of an ultra. And I did sook as I walked, jogged, stopped at aid stations for lengthy periods, sat on a rock for a while on top of a hill, chatted to people and hobbled around until I got to the 56km check point (I had done 64km with the 'bonus'). I finally snapped out of my slumber and got moving. I felt strong again and pushed hard to reel in as many people as possible. There were still plenty of climbs and gnarly tracks as the head torch came out for the last few hours. It always amazes me how things can change so dramatically over the course of a long distance run and it was yet another reminder to never underestimate what it takes to endure and respond to such a challenge. I finished what was my most mentally challenging event to date and felt really happy to have finished on a high. The girls had a great run in the 38km event with Kat finishing a very strong 4th and Christine 7th. They kindly and unselfishly sacrificed their afternoon 'holiday' and were waiting patiently for me at the finish putting in a marathon 7 hour wait, so how could I be critical when they informed me that they had eaten my salt and vinegar Pringles which I had purposely saved for my finish! Veronique had won the ladies and was 5th overall; amazing effort. The first few male runners finished in incredible times proving that the sport is strong and healthy and that New Caledonia's best are up there with the best in the world. The trail was very different to what we are used to; super technical, muddy, slippery and STEEP hills. Out of the 80km less than 10km were what I would call easy running. The rest required concentration, skill and grunt. Most impressive though was the vibe out there. Friendly, non-aggressive and supportive; one of the reasons trail running is such an awesome sport to be involved in. I crawled into the driver s seat, somehow drove the one hour back to the hotel and collapsed on the bed. The girls went out to get dinner and later brought me back a cold pizza. The explanation given didn't sound plausible but my semi-conscious state didn't care as I devoured it and then entered the familiar post run state where the aches and pains battle against the exhaustion to produce an awful night's sleep. We then flew home, drove the 3 hours back to our house and had to work that night. The adventure was over, but the body and mind were still comprehending what the hell had just happened as I was back dealing with 14 year old students.

A huge thank you to Rapid Ascent for organising this and to Stephanie and her team at Trail Des Cagous for their wonderful and warm help and support.

5 A huge thank you to Rapid Ascent for organising this and to Stephanie and her team at Trail Des Cagous for their wonderful and warm help and support. Veronique Chamberland was also an amazing help and it was great getting to know her. Unfortunately she cannot come out for the Surf Coast Century but we will be lucky to have the second placed female Angelique Plaire who did the 50km last year. If anyone is up for an adventure and a super tough trail event then head over to New Caledonia for the Trail Des Cagous. Final results available here Photo: An overcast, rainy day greeted runners, which created lots of mud on the track.

C&O CANAL 100 RACE REPORT. sometimes you eat the bear, sometimes the bear eats you

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