Sóc català. Sóc de la Vall de Núria.

For most, Catalonia means Barcelona. Lloret de Mar. Costa Brava. Football. Parties. Beaches. Summer. Independence.

For endurance sports it means Girona. Pyrenees. Gravel roads. Cami de Ronda. GR7. Traka. Trail running.

For our adult spring break - a combination of Easter and bank holidays that allowed us to leave the corporate world - we decided to head over to Catalonia combining Costa Brava and Pyrenees. After having ran Costa Brava Stage Run last year, we felt there was enough to go back and discover during a proper holiday. Still running here and there, but a proper holiday and not a stage run of 120k along the Cami de Ronda. If Costa Brava didn’t come new to us and we mostly went through the great course of the race exploring and enjoying each beach and fisherman villages, the Pyrenees were an unknown territory but a much needed second part of our trip.

Refugi de Coma de Vaca

Catalonia holds a special place in Spanish history, belonging to a country that doesn’t want to be part of and speaking its own language. Everyone is proud to be Catalan. Being Catalan is not only about geography and historical background, but also about being born with the sport in your dna. If football is the oldest religion, cycling and running are the new cults spreading in the population. Barcelona became a key city when it comes to road running and triathlon. Girona is the Mecca of gravel cycling. The Pyrenees are the playing field for trail runners.

After many summers in the Alps and watching the inspiring documentary from Kilian Jornet, we wanted to see with our eyes what trails in the Pyrenees are about. We knew little about the area and our finger on the map ended in Ribes de Freser, a village of 2,000 inhabitants close to the French border and merely 1 hour drive from Barcelona making it the optimal choice for us. Ribes de Freser is located at the intersection between Vall de Ribes and Vall de Núria, the latter being a popular ski resort and known location among trail running. Lastly, Trail Vall de Ribes - a local race - happened that weekend.

Arroz is served

Ribes de Freser had a lot in common with a typical village in the Italian Apennines. Stone walls houses. A square with two bars where locals gather every day to have their first drink suspiciously early. One grocery store. A multifunctional gym used to host all sorts of events. Weekend tourists from the nearby big city enjoying nature. For us, nothing different from where we spent many days back home. Did we come all the way here for this? Something was different: sport was everywhere.

As you drive into town, the first building on the right hosts the supermarket together with a mountain gear shop and an outdoor sports bar. Of course, the billboards on top of the bar featured a Nnormal ad. What other brand could have been? The bars in the main square are populated by climbers still wearing helmets after their ascension to Roca de la Creu, a cliff dominating the town. Posters from upcoming trail running races are on display in many shopping windows. Runners back from the trails lineup at the grocery store. For such a small village, sport was everywhere.

Image: Trail Vall de Ribes

When we signed up to Trail Vall de Ribes we had no clue about it. We simply wanted to add some sport to our holiday. Collecting our bibs the evening before got our minds straight immediately - everything was set up in the multifunctional sport gym of course. Finding a parking spot was already a feat with many campers and vans ready for the night. 800 names were printed on papers stitched to the entrance wall, roughly distributed equally between 4 distances: 9k, 16k, 23k and 42k. A number way larger than we expected. A number made almost exclusively by Spanish runners. For a race that appears hyper local, these were big numbers.

Then, the race itself. We can confirm that the Spanish like to climb. All distances have consistent elevation gains (3,400m in the 42k) making it hard for everyone. The course develops around the massif of Serra Cavallera, facing the opposite side of Nuria and offering a great ridge with views of the whole valley. Everyone at the start line was ready to fight, in good shape and fully geared - Nnormal being the top choice of course. Runners are used to have big days on the trails. Our impressions were right. If elite participation wasn’t there, the average runner level was high confirming trail running is a serious thing over here. No wonder why Spain is one of the biggest powers in the sport and with so many athletes at the highest level.

It was an amazing day of sun. It was a brutal day of scrambling on the trails. Big climbs. Steep descends. Mud and river crossings. Wind and clouds on El Taga - the highest point above 2,000 meters. Races can be incredibly tough, but most times you get to cross the finish line and all memories become greener and brighter when you have a plate of Arroz - the Catalan version of paella - in front of you and you know your day is over. And so it was for us.