Epic. I am astonished at your ability to put together such coherent, informative and visually stunning films whilst enduring a complete sufferfest. As the bloke said right at the end: "Bravo Stephen, chapeau"
Wow that was something a bit special, from the scenery to your burnt out quads that was a brilliant watch, massive congratulations for seeing that through till the end, truelly inspirational 👏👏👏
Awesome footage. That’s me there @18:55 in the pink shirt. I remember you saying something like “pretty much all downhill here to the finish..” then we had that bummer of a last climb w ~350m ascent out of the last aid station 🤦♂️ brutal, brutal, brutal race
You take a dose of beautiful european scenery and combine it with one of the toughest ultra trail races on the continent. Then you put a camera in this mans hand and what do you get? - another epic and entertaining movie from Film My Run😆😆. One can only imagine the exhaustion, especially just before going into night number two. Fantastic effort!!!👏👏
Very kind of you to say sir, thank you. It can be a struggle to get the camera out sometimes, but also it's sometimes an automatic response in a situation. I hope it motivates some people!
When you're 20 hours in and realise you're only half way there, that is mind boggling. I'm amazed you were still standing at the end. I'd be wanting some sleep during the race, not that I'd dream of tackling it. Well done! 👍🏻🏃♂️
I did have a few minutes of sleep on a couple of occasions. I took 20 minutes sleep at one of the aid stations and I also lay down on the trail for 10 minutes at one point.
Good luck Bruce. I think they have changed the course a little since I did it to make it marginally more runnable. So hopefully not as much of a hike as it was for me!! You will love it though.
Sorry Stephen my last message wasn’t for this video. It was for somebody who ran the UTS. I have watched this video before. Absolutely amazing how you keep going and recording when you are ruined! I can’t even be bothered to take photos when ruined! 😂 This looks sooo brutal. Just to point out, I won’t be looking to do this next year! 😂👍
I wouldn't argue with you. I liked your comment when you said 'you had lost patience with the course'. Congratulations for staying with it and grinding it out.
I've been eagerly waiting for this video since we chatted in the hotel spa the day prior...great to share it with my family today, thank you Stephen 👍 I ran the 100k and chased the cutoffs, such technical terrain, quads smashed before half distance, 3rd of the field DNF'd...huge respect to you and everyone else who took on the 100 miler 💪
Incredible film. I'm amazed by how someone so incredibly gifted and SO tough comes across as humble and just a genuinely lovely, down to earth guy. Hope to bump into you on the trails sometime Stephen. Thanks for the great content.
Wow, beautiful sceneary and a serious distance over challenging acsents and decents. Well done, love your videos and love the fact you include the emotional ups and downs and all your self-doubt. The mental game is what keeps you coming back. Amazing.
Hi Ben. Thank you so much for watching this. It was definitely my hardest race to date. I hated it for a lot of the time I was doing it, but I loved it looking back! It's all about the head!!
What an amazing film. Well done Stephen have a great achievement and we could feel your pain. I’m doing Val D’Aran this year and watch this video regularly for motivation! Many thanks Michael
Hi Michael. You will have an amazing time. Vielha is lovely and the race is incredible. Just be ready, it’s monumentally hard!! Good luck and let me know how you get on!
Nice job Stephen! Really enjoyed the editing and your storytelling. Great music selection as well. I’d originally planned on running this race as a means to get into UTMB which I’m running this year, but I’m considering adding it back to my list just for the experience itself - it looks like a beautiful (and challenging) course!
Thank you Jeff. Honestly, if I can get anywhere near your standard I will be happy! I've watched your Tor De Geant a few times now and your Namibia series has been outstanding. I think you would like Val D'Aran a lot. Although I am probably forgetting all the awful bits!
Love your videos Stephen. Very inspiring! I am sat here with a sprained ankle wishing I could train for my upcoming ultra in July (Ultra Trail Snowdonia) but this is a great alternative. Congratulations on on an amazing run.
I’m always amazed by your ability to churn out these brilliant videos! The race looked absolutely brutal so well done for ticking off another one! Truly impressive stuff!
Congratulation! I like how you make your video, these video types are quality, and it is well told. I feel how I am there living this magnific adventure. Good job!
Hey Stephen. I have been waiting for this video ever since returning home from Val d'Aran last year. We greeted you as you arrived in Vielha. I'm glad we made the final cut! I only did the 50km race and DNF'd from that. They sure are the toughest races. I am having another go this year (if I can sort out my plantar fasciitis!).
Great video, well done! Ran the PDA as my first truly mountain ultra and learnt a lot! Can't imagine facing the climb up to the Collomers 100KM+ into your race that you did. Agreed on the difficulty and technical nature etc. But also stunning scenery to run in, i'm back again this year!
@@FilmMyRun PDA again, mainly because i want to try and put into practice what i thought i learnt last time. Also have CCC to look forward too which i'm guessing is definitely a mental thing... 😬😂
Great video 👍 I have never done a utmb race, when i see the queues up the climbs it puts me off, I hate queueing, there are lots of ultras in the alps that are not oversubscribed 🤷 I might do the UTMB when I am 60, just to say I did it...
amazing! congratulations you are a great runner. I loved your video! It's very inspiring of you, the sacrifice you've made. This year I am going to do the same race and it has been beautiful to see how you have achieved it.
Great perseverance! It is amazing what torture the mind can allow you to go through! Do you have any tips for preparing your quads better for events when you don't live in the mountains?
Thanks Jeff! Preparing your quads is just about slamming them in training. Doing lots of long downhill training. You need to break down the muscle fibres to allow them to rebuild stronger. People often neglect downhill training and it is absolutely vital to do as much downhill as uphill work
@@FilmMyRun thanks. Mine are certainly feeling thrashed after completing UTA 100 over the weekend. It was a changed course and ended up being a lot more dirt firetrail roads than normal and a lot less stairs and elevation gain (2600m compared to 4400m). I ended up about 2 1/2 hours quicker, yet my legs are feeling at least as trashed as last year. Most of the ups were runnable grade so it made it feel like you had to try and run everything. I was feeling gone and very tired by 30km but persisted on, and very surprisingly I held my position from that point (so I know others were suffering too). I drank more water in that 100k than any other race. I couldn't stop craving water. Have you done any big races outside of UK/Europe? There are some races in Australia that you could look into if you were coming down anyway but I guess alpine type races are very dependant and there is always the possibility of course changes and cancellation at the last moment and travelling as far as you would be that would be even more annoying than those signed up locally.
What an effort! I've viewed most of your ultra videos and love all of them. Like the UTMB, I think I'm looking at participating in this one in the coming years as well. Did you have time to take any naps / sleep during this race, and where did you do it? Cheers
Stephen your incredible pal.. To keep pushing and pushing and pushing... I'm lying in bed after completing the Brighton marathon today and it's nothing compared to your stuff.... When you decide to start doing some planned group runs over the downs let me know 😂👍👍 Please keep the incredible content coming. Well done 👌
Great video, great achievement, congrats!. The races in high altitudes of the Pyrenees are all technically very difficult (apart from the harsh elevation gain/loss).-Subscribed!
@@FilmMyRun Gran Vuelta del Valle Genal in Malaga, Nov 2022: 130 k, +6500m, stunningly beautiful landscape, top atmosphere (especially the start is incredible), top organization, very recommendable ultra, certainly one of the bests in Spain.
Yes, it's just a consequence of UTMB races being so popular. We were stood there for a good 15-20 minutes whilst those ahead climbed over a small style.
Great video! Really gives the motivation a boost. Ran the CDH (105km) last year, and wonderful to see and recognise all those places we enjoyed, and the places where we suffered:-) Are you running UTMB this year?
I'm doing TDS ......again, this year. It will be my third time on the start line, so I'm determined to finish it this year. UTMB full next year. What about you?
I stumbled upon your video and channel while searching for my big race for next year, after completing my first 100k 2 months ago (Wildstrubel). Oh my god, what you've been through looks totally crazy. So amazing you finished! Thanks for the truly great video. Do you have a public strava link to this activity that you can share? Really wanna see the paves and grades. I'll probably scratch the cutoffs if I'll try to do this race.
Hi there. Thanks for the comment and yes here you go. However, this was the very first Val D'Aran and I think because it was harder than the organisers expected, they have made the course a little easier in more recent editions. www.strava.com/activities/5613391071
Fantastic video, Stephen. I’ll be off to do it this year. Covid got in the way of my 2021 attempt! I think you saw my video when I did the CDH route in training in 2020. One question for you, do you think a 360 camera like you use is better than a normal action camera for trail running films? I’m thinking regards to being waterproof or not, and resistant and easy to use. I really appreciate what you do, Stephen.
Thanks Martin. Your video was a great help to many including me. Good luck with it this year. You've done plenty of these things before and you know the course, so you know what you're getting in to. Good luck with it but I know you'll be fine. It's all in the head!!
Hey Stephen, Great video as always! Wow that looked hard. I am running the CDH this year so the 100km Val D'Aran race I was wondering if you could tell me how the course compares to the CCC? Is it more technical and just as steep or would you say the Val D'Aran route was harder? Thanks Wes
Hi Wes, CDH is way harder than CCC. It’s just as steep but way more gnarly and technical. There’s not a lot else you can do in terms of training. You just have to be aware that CDH will take you longer than CCC.
Thanks! That is great information. From the looks of your video some of the terrain reminds me a lot of Snowdonia…lots of lose rock and bolder fields. Well done again, amazing effort!
Hey Jason. i didn't fly. I drove straight down to Spain and stayed in a hotel in the town (Vielha). It's a small town so you can walk everywhere. If you're flying, best airport is probably Barcelona, but I've no idea how easy the journey is from there. Driving was easy. I got the ferry from Newhaven about 7am and I was there by about 1am
![Baby Kia - GLOVES & DRACS (BLACK AF1s) [Official Music Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/ajm8LeB0qQk/mqdefault.jpg)
Epic. I am astonished at your ability to put together such coherent, informative and visually stunning films whilst enduring a complete sufferfest. As the bloke said right at the end: "Bravo Stephen, chapeau"
Haha, I am not sure I am coherent most of the time!!
Wow that was something a bit special, from the scenery to your burnt out quads that was a brilliant watch, massive congratulations for seeing that through till the end, truelly inspirational 👏👏👏
It’s such a beautiful race and I did appreciate it as much as I could at the time, haha!
Awesome footage. That’s me there @18:55 in the pink shirt. I remember you saying something like “pretty much all downhill here to the finish..” then we had that bummer of a last climb w ~350m ascent out of the last aid station 🤦♂️ brutal, brutal, brutal race
Don't remind me!! I knew there was another uphill but it was a killer. Thanks MJD
You take a dose of beautiful european scenery and combine it with one of the toughest ultra trail races on the continent. Then you put a camera in this mans hand and what do you get? - another epic and entertaining movie from Film My Run😆😆. One can only imagine the exhaustion, especially just before going into night number two. Fantastic effort!!!👏👏
Very kind of you to say sir, thank you. It can be a struggle to get the camera out sometimes, but also it's sometimes an automatic response in a situation. I hope it motivates some people!
Awesome job Stefen👍👏
When you're 20 hours in and realise you're only half way there, that is mind boggling. I'm amazed you were still standing at the end. I'd be wanting some sleep during the race, not that I'd dream of tackling it. Well done! 👍🏻🏃♂️
I did have a few minutes of sleep on a couple of occasions. I took 20 minutes sleep at one of the aid stations and I also lay down on the trail for 10 minutes at one point.
Am considering to register this race for the coming year. Your movie is informative and inspirational. Thank you
You will have an amazing experience. I think they have changed the course to make it slightly easier.But still it will be tough. Good luck.
Brilliant run & video - congrats! I'm signed up for 2024, and slowly realizing what I've gotten myself into!! 😅
Good luck Bruce. I think they have changed the course a little since I did it to make it marginally more runnable. So hopefully not as much of a hike as it was for me!! You will love it though.
What an achievement…..great effort!👍🍷
Cheers Emlyn. My hardest race to date. What was your hardest race ever??
Amazing top effort sir , I need to sit down after just watching it .
Haha thanks Steven
If that doesn't get you off the couch nothing will. Another great video. Totally amazing.
Thank you John.
Astonishing perseverance and an incredible video. I've been following you for some time, however this was truly epic. Many congratulations!
Wow, thank you Steve! It is to this date the hardest race I have done. Took some very deep digging to get it done!!
Popcorn 🍿 plated up, and ready to eat 😃
Sweet or salty????
I take my running hat off to you sir. Inspiring stuff .
Thank you so much. Definitely the hardest race I've ever done!
Sorry Stephen my last message wasn’t for this video. It was for somebody who ran the UTS. I have watched this video before. Absolutely amazing how you keep going and recording when you are ruined! I can’t even be bothered to take photos when ruined! 😂 This looks sooo brutal. Just to point out, I won’t be looking to do this next year! 😂👍
I did guess that! Good video by Craig
Wow, I've gotta make it to Spain! Those views!!
Hard work but worth it for the views yes
@@FilmMyRun Indeed! The work you put in was intense.
Absolutely Fantastic….thank you…A super inspiring, brilliant video.
Glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for commenting. Much Appreciatred
utter respect. Very impressed
Cheers Daniel. Fancy a shot at it?!!
@@FilmMyRun Maybe. I am off doing the SVP 100 again next year. That was such an amazing rush. Good luck with your new adventures :)
I wouldn't argue with you. I liked your comment when you said 'you had lost patience with the course'. Congratulations for staying with it and grinding it out.
Cheers David!
your will power to finish that race was incredible 👏 absolutely awesome
Thanks Lee
oof that looked gnarly! and epic! great vid!
Thank you
I've been eagerly waiting for this video since we chatted in the hotel spa the day prior...great to share it with my family today, thank you Stephen 👍
I ran the 100k and chased the cutoffs, such technical terrain, quads smashed before half distance, 3rd of the field DNF'd...huge respect to you and everyone else who took on the 100 miler 💪
Hey I remember. That pool was absolutely wonderful after coming back!
Excellent stuff bud. Chapeau.
Thanks Pat. Preciate it
Brilliant video Stephen. Truly inspiring and you kept going. Just amazing :)
Thank you Amy. Thanks for watching with me.
Great effort. Well done
Thank you very much Ian as always
Well done sir. That looked glorious but oh so brutal.
Thanks John. You describe it exactly!
Hey amigo saludos , que buen video , espectacular tu esfuerzo y determinacion , Eres muy Buena inspiration , Sigue adelante ..
Thank you, Gracias
Incredible film. I'm amazed by how someone so incredibly gifted and SO tough comes across as humble and just a genuinely lovely, down to earth guy. Hope to bump into you on the trails sometime Stephen. Thanks for the great content.
Appreciate that Dan thank you so much
Incredible achievement fella! WoW!
I think it probably is the best run I’ve done in terms of spectacular views.
Very well done, Sir!
Thanks Dom
That was fantastic to watch and looks an amazing race, some breathtaking views for us armchair runners who were out there with you 👏👏👏
Wow, beautiful sceneary and a serious distance over challenging acsents and decents. Well done, love your videos and love the fact you include the emotional ups and downs and all your self-doubt. The mental game is what keeps you coming back. Amazing.
Hi Ben. Thank you so much for watching this. It was definitely my hardest race to date. I hated it for a lot of the time I was doing it, but I loved it looking back! It's all about the head!!
That was absolutely amazing. I wish I had better words. 👏👏👏
Thank you John. Appreciated
Outstanding work to get through that mate
Cheers Daz
I have no idea how you did that !!! Absolutely awesome effort and a fab video…..show the grit 💪
Cheers JC
Great video Craig! Stunning views. Wow it looked busy in places. As I’m done with the Thames towpath I think I’ll look at this race next year. 👍
What an amazing film. Well done Stephen have a great achievement and we could feel your pain. I’m doing Val D’Aran this year and watch this video regularly for motivation! Many thanks Michael
Hi Michael. You will have an amazing time. Vielha is lovely and the race is incredible. Just be ready, it’s monumentally hard!! Good luck and let me know how you get on!
Very good video, awesome running journey 😃 I’m off to book it for 2023 😂 keep em coming 👌👍
Cheers old boy.
What an unbelievably great video! Such an adventure. I hope to some day get to this level!
Thanks Donnie. Honestly, it’s mostly just being mentally stubborn!
That looked brutal!
Haha, thanks Stu. It was indeed the hardest thing I've ever done.
Brutal! Well done, I ran 100M too in Vall D'Aran, it was too hard but we could finished it, congratulations!!! 💪
Javi it was so hard!!! Well done to you for completing
Fantastic, well done Stephen.
Thanks Steve
That looked absolutely bloody amazing !
Congrats on finishing and letting me in on your journey. Truly inspiring stuff
Thanks so much! I look back on it now and it was the most amazing race I have done....even though I was crazy slow.
Incredible video Stephen, your're a TITAN!
Haha thanks David. Not sure about Titan, just bloody minded I think!!
Nice job Stephen! Really enjoyed the editing and your storytelling. Great music selection as well.
I’d originally planned on running this race as a means to get into UTMB which I’m running this year, but I’m considering adding it back to my list just for the experience itself - it looks like a beautiful (and challenging) course!
Thank you Jeff. Honestly, if I can get anywhere near your standard I will be happy! I've watched your Tor De Geant a few times now and your Namibia series has been outstanding. I think you would like Val D'Aran a lot. Although I am probably forgetting all the awful bits!
Unbelievable Stephen !! Totally inspirational 👍
Thank you Jason
Very inspiring, congratulations Stephen 😊
Thanks Richard
You got it done! Fantastic!
By the skin of my teeth!!
Well done Stephen, awesome running and a very enjoyable film! Serious perseverance
Thanks! I won’t be doing it again in a hurry!!
Wow. That was impressive.
Thank you for watching. Aprreciated.
Incredible. Reallly enjoyed watching this. Thank you.
Glad you enjoyed it Kerry! Thank you
Extraordinary......well done Stephen
Thanks Pat
Love your videos Stephen. Very inspiring! I am sat here with a sprained ankle wishing I could train for my upcoming ultra in July (Ultra Trail Snowdonia) but this is a great alternative. Congratulations on on an amazing run.
Would love to get UTS done sometime. Hope you are recovering well.
Nice one Stephen, one for 2024 i think😁
Well I won't be doing it again in a hurry that's for sure!! Worth it for the scenery and epicness but such a slog!
@@FilmMyRun there are that many of these epic races, got to do them all. Did you get a place for Kerryway in Ireland?
Such a beautiful course! Thank you for sharing this with us and allowing me to live vicariously though you!
Thanks Chad. I've subbed to your channel.
@@FilmMyRun Thanks for checking out my channel and subscribing! I'm looking forward to seeing more of your videos in the future as well.
Beautiful and brutal. Well done. Grinding it out.
Thanks Ian. Stunning yes, but when you're dead on your feet it can be hard to appreciate!
I’m always amazed by your ability to churn out these brilliant videos! The race looked absolutely brutal so well done for ticking off another one! Truly impressive stuff!
Thank you. Definitely the hardest one I've done.
Congratulation! I like how you make your video, these video types are quality, and it is well told. I feel how I am there living this magnific adventure. Good job!
Thank you so much! That is exactly what I hope to achieve. To make you feel like you are there with me.
Excellent watch and to do that and complete it is a massive achievement, you should be proud of yourself.
Keep the videos coming.
Thanks Marc
Hey Stephen. I have been waiting for this video ever since returning home from Val d'Aran last year. We greeted you as you arrived in Vielha. I'm glad we made the final cut! I only did the 50km race and DNF'd from that. They sure are the toughest races. I am having another go this year (if I can sort out my plantar fasciitis!).
Aaaah that was you guys!!! Thanks for being there. It was nice to see some people. I knew I was nearly home then.
WOW!😳 I’m impressed! 😳 Amazing video as always😁 I wish you good health and I’m waiting for next videos😍
Thank you! Will be starting a training vlog this week leading up to Lakeland 100 in July
Great video, well done! Ran the PDA as my first truly mountain ultra and learnt a lot! Can't imagine facing the climb up to the Collomers 100KM+ into your race that you did. Agreed on the difficulty and technical nature etc. But also stunning scenery to run in, i'm back again this year!
Are you running PDA again or stepping up the distance at all. To be honest once you get past 50k it's mostly a mental resilience thing!
@@FilmMyRun PDA again, mainly because i want to try and put into practice what i thought i learnt last time. Also have CCC to look forward too which i'm guessing is definitely a mental thing... 😬😂
Looks awesome
It was!
You sir are an inspiration, well done
Cheers Paul
Great video 👍
I have never done a utmb race, when i see the queues up the climbs it puts me off, I hate queueing, there are lots of ultras in the alps that are not oversubscribed 🤷
I might do the UTMB when I am 60, just to say I did it...
This race was only clogged up at the start. Once we were 10 miles in the field spread out and a lot of the time I felt I was on my own!
Beautiful, just beautiful. I hesitated to register for the past 2 years. I think you convinced me. Probably a DNF ahead though ;-)
No not at all! If you put the training in and you have the mental fortitude, you'll get through it. It's worth it.
amazing! congratulations you are a great runner. I loved your video! It's very inspiring of you, the sacrifice you've made. This year I am going to do the same race and it has been beautiful to see how you have achieved it.
Good luck.It's very difficult, but it is achievable if you have the right mental strength.
AWESOME 👍
Cheers Billy. Yes, arguably the most awesome race I've ever done.
Very nice work!
Thank you! Cheers!
Congratulations!
Thank you Billy
Great perseverance! It is amazing what torture the mind can allow you to go through! Do you have any tips for preparing your quads better for events when you don't live in the mountains?
Thanks Jeff! Preparing your quads is just about slamming them in training. Doing lots of long downhill training. You need to break down the muscle fibres to allow them to rebuild stronger. People often neglect downhill training and it is absolutely vital to do as much downhill as uphill work
@@FilmMyRun thanks. Mine are certainly feeling thrashed after completing UTA 100 over the weekend. It was a changed course and ended up being a lot more dirt firetrail roads than normal and a lot less stairs and elevation gain (2600m compared to 4400m). I ended up about 2 1/2 hours quicker, yet my legs are feeling at least as trashed as last year.
Most of the ups were runnable grade so it made it feel like you had to try and run everything. I was feeling gone and very tired by 30km but persisted on, and very surprisingly I held my position from that point (so I know others were suffering too). I drank more water in that 100k than any other race. I couldn't stop craving water.
Have you done any big races outside of UK/Europe? There are some races in Australia that you could look into if you were coming down anyway but I guess alpine type races are very dependant and there is always the possibility of course changes and cancellation at the last moment and travelling as far as you would be that would be even more annoying than those signed up locally.
What an effort! I've viewed most of your ultra videos and love all of them. Like the UTMB, I think I'm looking at participating in this one in the coming years as well. Did you have time to take any naps / sleep during this race, and where did you do it? Cheers
Hi Patrik. I did nap at one of the aid stations for about 20 minutes. Head down on the table.
@@FilmMyRun Thanks Stephen, WOW, not more! :) Thanks again for great content!
Stephen your incredible pal.. To keep pushing and pushing and pushing... I'm lying in bed after completing the Brighton marathon today and it's nothing compared to your stuff.... When you decide to start doing some planned group runs over the downs let me know 😂👍👍
Please keep the incredible content coming. Well done 👌
During the summer we quite often go out on a Sunday morning. You are very welcome to come along.
@@FilmMyRun, wow that'd be amazing!!
@@FilmMyRun, wow that'd be amazing!!
Great video, great achievement, congrats!. The races in high altitudes of the Pyrenees are all technically very difficult (apart from the harsh elevation gain/loss).-Subscribed!
Thank you so much Karsten. Do you have anything planned soon?
@@FilmMyRun Gran Vuelta del Valle Genal in Malaga, Nov 2022: 130 k, +6500m, stunningly beautiful landscape, top atmosphere (especially the start is incredible), top organization, very recommendable ultra, certainly one of the bests in Spain.
oh man that conga line at the beginning would piss me off but congrats to you for getting it done. whats next? and what camera did you use?
Yes, it's just a consequence of UTMB races being so popular. We were stood there for a good 15-20 minutes whilst those ahead climbed over a small style.
Amazing Stephen. More tougher that TP100? :D I take my hat off to you. That looked a crazy course. So chuffed for you.
Haha, TP100 is tough in its own way, but yes this was a little more challenging!!
Great video! Really gives the motivation a boost.
Ran the CDH (105km) last year, and wonderful to see and recognise all those places we enjoyed, and the places where we suffered:-)
Are you running UTMB this year?
I'm doing TDS ......again, this year. It will be my third time on the start line, so I'm determined to finish it this year. UTMB full next year. What about you?
@@FilmMyRun CCC! Really looking forward. And first TVSB X-Traversee (La Fouly to Verbier).
Enjoy the journey at TDS.
I stumbled upon your video and channel while searching for my big race for next year, after completing my first 100k 2 months ago (Wildstrubel). Oh my god, what you've been through looks totally crazy. So amazing you finished! Thanks for the truly great video. Do you have a public strava link to this activity that you can share? Really wanna see the paves and grades. I'll probably scratch the cutoffs if I'll try to do this race.
Hi there. Thanks for the comment and yes here you go. However, this was the very first Val D'Aran and I think because it was harder than the organisers expected, they have made the course a little easier in more recent editions. www.strava.com/activities/5613391071
Fantastic video, Stephen. I’ll be off to do it this year. Covid got in the way of my 2021 attempt! I think you saw my video when I did the CDH route in training in 2020. One question for you, do you think a 360 camera like you use is better than a normal action camera for trail running films? I’m thinking regards to being waterproof or not, and resistant and easy to use. I really appreciate what you do, Stephen.
Thanks Martin. Your video was a great help to many including me. Good luck with it this year. You've done plenty of these things before and you know the course, so you know what you're getting in to. Good luck with it but I know you'll be fine. It's all in the head!!
Have you heard of Échappée Belle? 1400 more elevation still
I haven’t. I will look it up, thank you!
Do you use the Garmin epix on these runs? Does the battery last the entire 100 miles? Or do you do something to keep it charged up?
No not for this distance. The Epix will only last around 22 hours max and 8 hours with everything on. For this I used the Enduro.
Hey Stephen, Great video as always! Wow that looked hard. I am running the CDH this year so the 100km Val D'Aran race I was wondering if you could tell me how the course compares to the CCC? Is it more technical and just as steep or would you say the Val D'Aran route was harder? Thanks Wes
Hi Wes, CDH is way harder than CCC. It’s just as steep but way more gnarly and technical. There’s not a lot else you can do in terms of training. You just have to be aware that CDH will take you longer than CCC.
Thanks! That is great information. From the looks of your video some of the terrain reminds me a lot of Snowdonia…lots of lose rock and bolder fields.
Well done again, amazing effort!
Stephen, how easy is the travel to and from the race? Best airport and transfers ect? Thanks Jason
Hey Jason. i didn't fly. I drove straight down to Spain and stayed in a hotel in the town (Vielha). It's a small town so you can walk everywhere. If you're flying, best airport is probably Barcelona, but I've no idea how easy the journey is from there. Driving was easy. I got the ferry from Newhaven about 7am and I was there by about 1am
👏👏👏👏👏
Thank you
What is the name or brand of ur compression shorts?