The Way of Legends is a fantastic opportunity to experience the natural beauty, culture, and gastronomy of this diverse region nestled between the two largest Spanish rivers The Ebro and The Duero.
Burgos province has always been a frontier region and crossroads of many civilizations and cultures and has without doubt been witness through the centuries of many significant historical events.
The Way of Legends traverses this unique region with each stage crossing through a different landscape and engulfed by a unique Local Legend
Afterthoughts
When magic happens. This is the shortest I can describe what happened during this race week. Everyone I talked to felt the same. We feel like family, we share like family, we celebrate like family but we run and compete as sportsmen. It again was great joy. I met old running pals and made new…
Day 6.
Wow! Over and finished. I crushed it today. I felt really good this morning so I decided to go for it. I finished the 13 km in 1 hour and 12 minutes and with that amongst the top people. It was a beautiful trail, mostly slightly downhill, with some interesting twists – as usual. We…
Stage 6: From San Pedro Cardeña to Burgos
Approx. 13km. +215m -325m. Finish of the Race at the Cathedral in the historic centre of Burgos Award Ceremony and Dinner Good morning! Final day. Everyone is excited. We are all ready for the end. Supposedly it’s an easy 13 km run, but at this point I will judge it when I arrive. Rob and…
Day 5.
In. 44km in 6:28:12. What a day! Let me describe it this way: imagine yourself in a bathtub, after a really hard day, with the water temperature being just right. You lean back slowly until you submerge and slowly become one with the water and yourself. That’s how the morning felt. We started right into…
Stage 5: From Valle del Sol to San Pedro Cardeña
Thursday, 26th September 2019 Approx. 43km. +590m -1125m. Good morning! I had a good night of sleep and a lot of food last night. My legs are tired, as expected but my spirits are high. I feel really well. I think I finished three bowls of guacamole only before dinner. I’m craving fat over anything….
Day 4.
I’m in. 56km in 10:37:19. Beauty and beast. What a day. Today had everything life had to offer, maybe in a slightly different distribution than what one would expect. There was joy, pain, emotion, struggle, more struggle, much more pain and this feeling of deep satisfaction, that hits you when you realize you are doing…
Stage 4: From Olmos de Atapuerca to Valle del Sol
Wednesday, 25th September 2019 Approx. 55.5km. +2,320m -1775m. Good morning! This is Kerstin, the blogsitter, speaking. Today is the day: the longest stage so far, and quite a difference in height. Also the weather conditions are still windy. Sieh dir diesen Beitrag auf Instagram an Difficult windy conditions today for the course maker @pepekoraku up…
Day 3.
I’m in. 48.5km in 7:44:36. What a day. It’s hilly here, we know that by now. But we also have loads of sunflower fields. It must be beautiful when they’re all blooming. Unfortunately, in our case they were past their prime. It was Peter and I again. We have become a pretty good team, not…
Stage 3: From Poza de la Sal to Olmos de Atapuerca
Tuesday, 24th September 2019 Approx. 47.5km. +1,060m -775m. Got a good night of sleep. Crashed at 2100 hours. My legs are really stiff, but that is expected, and my stomach seems upset for no reason. Can’t really find anything I want to eat. The thought of food is already unpleasant. Not sure why, I only…
Day 2.
8:34:16 – Piece of cake! Who wants some? Just came in, being shy of 53 km – again slightly more than announced. The last part was super hard. Almost 8 k steep downhill over gravel and whatever else does not belong on a trail. (Click on the menu arrows to enlarge video.) The race started…
Stage 2: From Sedano to Poza de la Sal
Monday, 23rd September 2019 Approx. 50km. +1,300m -1,420m. Good morning! I had a good night of sleep. Lights out at 2200 hours. I ended up being super dehydrated and had to drink for an hour to make up for it. Not good and I don’t quite understand, but it happens. Today we have another mountain…
Day 1.
8:55:03 Planned were 48km, due to hunters and a required detour it turned into 53km. Doesn’t sound much of a difference, but it is. You can ask my feet. The day started early and with a ceremony in the woods. Celtic druids were drumming and singing. Prior to leaving we received some kind of blessing…
Stage 1: From Peña Ulaña to Sedano
Sunday, 22nd September 2019 Transfer to Start Line. (bus trip) Approx.48km. +1,645m -2,045m. The alarm woke me up at 5 in the morning. I had prepared everything last night, so I needed only 10 minutes to get ready. I couldn’t eat much for breakfast, there’s the nervousness in me that we all feel. Want to…
The blogsitter takes over
Hi! Great to meet you. My name is Kerstin, Im am the blogsitter while Dirk is running through Spain – and since Dirk asked me to add a bit of my own I made this short video. If you want to give feedback or contact me, here is my Facebook Account. But you can…
Final preparation
Time has come. We finished the obligatory medical and mandatory items check this morning. All is good. After a quick breakfast and prior to lunch – they are serving so much delicious food here – I decided to do a quick warm up run. Just to setup the suspension system. Result, hilly and nice. Race…
The big hello
I finally arrived and reunited with the family. Crazy amazing. Within 10 minutes I got easily 20 hugs and cheers. Everybody is super excited and eager to get to know you. The hospitality is what you would expect from Spain, fantastic. There is fresh food and wine… All of it. This is part of why…
In transit
I’m on the plane, en route to Madrid. My mind is wandering. How will it be this time? What thoughts will come up during the many hours of loneliness? Will I gain new insights? I’m visualizing how the arrival will be. After all I know a few of my fellow runners from previous races. I’m…
It’s happening
I slept well but woke up super early. I’m so excited, I don’t want to wait anymore. In know, it’s only a matter of miles and I will ask myself the “why?” question again but that’s part of the game. This stage is with Iberia Express, from Berlin, Tegel Airport to Madrid, followed by a…
Almost there
From here on out it’s only a matter of hours. I finally packed my bag today, realizing that I carry way too many things but this time I won’t have to carry much on my back between the stages. I’m getting really excited, can’t wait to arrive. I will double check all items one more…
It’s getting real
Just bought my ticket to Madrid. I’m getting really excited. I also took another look at the multiple stages and are now as scared as excited. I seem to set myself up for trouble. Love it!
Getting the gear ready
This part I’m actually looking forward to. Getting the racing gear, that I once owned and misplaced. This is my running backpack, my walking sticks, my headlamp, next to a few smaller items – bummer. A good enough reason to go shopping for another set. I also will need new trail running shoes. The decision…
Slow but steady
It’s still slow but I feel I’m moving. It rained a few times and with the temperature dropping I took my chance and added a few longer runs. It finally feels as if I’m getting a bit stronger. I still have to do multiple 30+ km runs. I’m cutting it way too close and are…
Painful
It’s not going well. My knees are finally fixed and work again but due to business I have to travel a lot and keep finding myself in places where it’s simply too warm for me to run. As a matter of fact, I found that I apparently develop some kind of exercise triggered asthma when…
Getting in shape
My ligaments are still giving me grief but I found myself help. Dr. Wolfrom in Berlin, herself a former professional runner and now Orthopedic doctor, fixed me up. Finally! What else would be required? Well, for starters, I’m out of shape and need to pick up pace fast. So, a coach had to be added,…
Sign-Up
A last minute decision but nevertheless a decision. After a crazy year, filled with health and life issues, I wasn’t planning to run another Ultra. I had applied for a race in Africa earlier in the year and was really excited about it but in the end it was already filled and the wait list…