Time: 9:30 am

Temperature: 20 degrees

11k Duration: 2:13:16

-Tenir éxit és estar enamorada de la teva vida-

I can't believe I am writing this final blog post having completed the last 10k of the trip and only have one day left before returning home to England. Time flies when you are having fun and I have definitely had an absolute blast - 7 weeks with the best people, the most beautiful locations and brilliant running routes! I couldn't be more grateful to everyone who has made it so enjoyable, the people who have shared the experience with me and of course to the Richardson family without whom none of this would have been possible. 

I couldn't have ended my trip in any better way than spending time with two of my closest Spanish friends who I met whilst living in Barcelona a year ago, Julia and Lynda... But to rewind a little before arriving in Barcelona I had a few days stop off in Menorca...

I travelled with my old flat mates from when I lived in a student halls in Barcelona and we hadn't seen each other for a year, Kim came over from Germany and Jasone and Ainhoa flew down from the Basque country. It was so lovely to be all together again and the little town we stayed in Cala en Porter, was a gem. Located on the South of the island the cove had stunning turquoise waters and a sandy beach set amongst a majestic cliff side. From there we were able to travel to the two big towns Mahon and Cuitadella and we hired a boat one day to sail the entire South side to see all the famous hidden beaches and caves, it was magical! I squeezed in a few short runs (the town wasn't big enough to do a 10k) but I needed to keep training ready for the big finale run in the mountains!

The mountain trail

Last Friday I flew into Barcelona and headed straight to Sants train station where I met Julia, we then made our way to Lleida where she lives (an hour or so outside of Barcelona). From there we took a car to the mountains, the change of scenery from the island's beaches in the morning, to the centre of the city, to the mountains all in one day was mad and I didn't quite realise how amazing the little village of Vielha would be. It felt as if we had been transported to the Swiss mountains with a river running through the middle, chalet style houses and twinkling lights everywhere. We went to register for the race, collect our numbers and had a delicious dinner (plenty of pasta ahead of the big run).

In the morning the sun was shining and the atmosphere was buzzing, there were three different races, a marathon, a half marathon and then ours: the 11km Tuca Trail. People were dressed in bright lycra with walking poles and water packs and the marathon runners had already set off at 6am, everyone was rearing to go. We began and I certainly wasn't expecting it to be so steep, there were points we had to grab on to branches because it was practically vertical so it was a very slow ascent. We made it to the top, but what goes up must come down, and it wasn't any easier! There were rocks and dirt which were sliding down with us so staying upright was a challenge, but we did our best, made it to the end without falling over and crossed the finish line with big smiles...

The rest of the weekend we spent back in Lleida with Julia's family who I met last year, they are so friendly and welcoming it was fantastic to see them all again. They made a delicious fideua for lunch and then we had a party in the evening. I felt so so lucky to be surrounded by such lovely people, especially my best trail running buddy - Julia!

Cadaqués

The last 24 hours saw me take a spontaneous trip to Cadaqués with my friend Lynda who booked a couple of days off work to see me (thank you Lynda)! We jumped on a bus which drove 3 hours up the coast, North of Barcelona, nearly on the border of France, and boy was I blown away. I know I have said this about every destination on this past trip but I have no words for how stunning this little town was. I think it is the most beautiful place I have been in my entire life. It is set amongst a national park and we did a coastal walk at sunset and there wasn't another soul about, it was so peaceful. On the way back after dinner there was a full moon with the most beautiful reflection in the calm waters of Cadaqués. It turns out there was a lunar eclipse that night, which only happens once every 10 years - I think it was very fitting, a once in a lifetime experience as rare and as special as this trip has been...