Community – Running – Family
There it is. My bag. Still full of clothes from the week in Spain. For obvious reasons, I’d love to just throw everything in the wash. But how do you unpack a bag that holds so many memories? A week of stage running transports you to another world. And it’s hard to return to the “normal” world. I’ll try to explain it for those who haven’t experienced that feeling.
Getting There
On Thursday, we flew to Barcelona. The four of us—Annika, Daniel, Dominik, and I—had signed up for the Pyrenees Stage Run at the beginning of the year for several reasons. A stage race: 230 km, 16,000 hm through the Pyrenees and Andorra. On Friday, we continued by bus to the starting point in Ribes de Freser. On the way, we already spotted the first other runners. You can tell who’s who by their bags and such. We checked into our hotel first and then headed to registration. Right away, we noticed that everything was handled in a very straightforward yet professional manner. Well, we’re used to it, but the atmosphere was very laid-back and relaxed right from the start. We thought that was great. In the evening, we had our first dinner and a short briefing. There were 150 runners in total. A small group. Very pleasant and manageable. The next morning, we set off at 8:00 a.m. for the first stage.
27 km, 2,400 m elevation gain, Ribes des Freser–Nuria
We were off. Jordi cracked a few jokes right before the start. That’s how it would be all week, and it was really nice. The course was fun, even though I had trouble with my heart rate right from the start—a problem that would become clear as the week went on. Beautiful trails alternated with stretches across barren pastureland. In some places, there wasn’t even a trail. Trail running at its finest. Dani always waited patiently for me. Team spirit. Perfect. The finish line was in Nuria—right in the middle of a meadow. Fantastic. Everyy runner was lying, chilling, talking. Post-race refreshments: absolutely top-notch. Since the only way back down from there was by train, everyone sat together on the meadow and chilled out after the run. Pure camaraderie. That’s another absolute plus for this race. Due to the fact that we were only 150 Runners, we knew each other since Day 2.
Annika and Dominik had won their mixed category. Wow. Back to Ribes by train. And the next day, by train to Nuria. Start of Stage 2
35 km, 1,700 m elevation gain, Nuria–Masella
Up to 3,000 m. Stage 2 took us straight up to Zugspitze height. It started with another lovely singletrack to warm up on. By the way, it was warm all week. Nothing but sunshine. Summer, really. After the singletrack came the rather steep climb to the highest point. I was gasping for breath. Never mind. You could only enjoy something like that. At the top, we took the obligatory photo by the summit cross before heading down the flowing downhill section.
The stage was very entertaining, apart from the last 2–3 km where there was another small uphill section. Without any particular incidents, we arrived in Masella. Anni and Dome, by the way, had won again and now had a lead of almost 20 minutes.
39 km, 2,200 m elevation gain: Guils de Cerdanya – Encamp (Andorra)
Off to Andorra. This stage was peppered with two nasty climbs. And 39 km to boot. We were taken by bus to the starting point. A lovely little village. At the start, an accordionist was sitting there playing his tunes. An incredibly wonderful atmosphere. We were sent off on the route as the first rays of sunshine appeared. We were still buzzing from the experiences of the previous two stages, and the next highlight came straight away. A marvellous downhill took us into Andorra, then over a treacherous flat section to a romantically situated lake, before we tackled the final steep descent into Encamp. Here, we really had to stay focused. One false step and it would have been all over. When the forest gave way, we felt as though we were running on tarmac (in town) for the first time. A testament to the exceptionally beautiful route chosen by Jordi and Tomas (both race directors).
9km 1400m elevation gain Encamp – Les Solanelles
Mountain sprint. Vertical km. The PSR celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2026. To mark the occasion, we got to run a proper mountain sprint. Walk. Whatever. It was a steep climb for the first 3 km. It stayed steep afterwards too. In between, there was a 100hm descent.
Then it was back up steeply through the final hairpin bends to the mountain station. At the summit: the atmosphere was just like the mountain finish at l’Alpe d’Huez. The lads and lasses from the organising team had lined up in a guard of honour and were frenetically cheering everyone on as they arrived. Stopping, walking… no chance. With so much cheering, you just have to keep running; even if it feels exhausting. We had a brilliant lunch at the mountain station. Then we took the cable car down. In the afternoon, we drove to Andorra la Vella and enjoyed our free time. The next few days won’t be easy.
22km, 2300m elevation gain, Encamp (Andorra) – Arinsal (Andorra)
The Adventure Stage. Why? There were no markings. Just us and our GPS. What fun. And I mean that seriously. The staff had positioned themselves at two or three very confusing junctions. Otherwise, nothing, nada. We got lost once, but it was only for about 200 metres. Two gruelling climbs up, two flowing downhills down. As on every day, we had to let almost everyone overtake us on the climbs (thanks to Carsten 🙂 ) and we made up ground again on the downhills. The landscape grew more beautiful with every stage, even though we’d actually thought that wasn’t possible. After a steep downhill towards the end, the forest spat us out and we ran across the finish line in Arinsal.
40km, 2,600m elevation gain: Arinsal (Andorra) – Ribera de Cardós
I felt sick early in the morning. My stomach was in turmoil. My head was telling me it made no sense. I was absolutely convinced I’d have to pull out. One phone call later, I was standing in the starting block. A decision that turned out to be spot on. Because, on the one hand, today’s stage was tough. But – and I know I’m repeating myself – the scenery was absolutely stunning. And when you run over that hilltop after nearly 1,400 metres of elevation gain in one go and see that view… wow.
The downhill that followed was right up our street again. We were able to slide over the loose scree and really let ourselves go. Yeah, OK, there was another uphill section after that, but who cares? It was just followed by a second downhill. And we let ourselves roll again. Towards the end, we went through hairpin bends with wild rosemary. It smelled delicious. We could already smell the finish line. It was about time, as the temperatures were now slowly getting a bit too warm.
27km 1800m elevation gain – Tavascan – Esterri d’Àneu
Day 7. Just one more to go, and that’s it for today. Up once and back down again. Sounds easy. If only it weren’t for the six days before that. The first two kilometres always feel as if you’re walking on eggshells. Then your legs get going and somehow everything just works on its own. At the start, we were still strung together like a string of pearls. Then the terrain opened up and everyone went at their own pace. After all those days when he’d had to stand around more than he’d been allowed to run, Dani stayed right by my side. If anyone ever needs a team-mate… you won’t be getting him ;-). Contrary to expectations, the downhill didn’t go quite as smoothly as on previous days. Perhaps we’d simply run out of a bit of energy.
33km 2300m elevation gain Esterri d’Àneu – Salardú
The final stage. Then it’s all over. But first we had to really give it our all. The first 1000hm or so were on flowing trails and were covered quite quickly. Then came some rocky terrain. Technical. Running wasn’t an option. More like jumping. On top of that, there were two short climbs that we had to tackle almost on all fours. Tough. Exhausting. But also beautiful and great fun. The last 10 km took us down a forest track to Salardú. We ran almost the whole way. Everyone was waiting at the finish. Anni and Domi had won the mixed category.
Huge respect to our kids ;-). And we’d completed eight stages through the Pyrenees.
My legs said, ‘That’s it. It’s over. Thanks.’
My head said, ‘No, it can’t be over yet.’ I’ve been to lots of races. But something like this? No, I’ve never experienced anything quite like it. This race is wonderful in terms of the route it takes. It’s also very tough. But the most important thing is the people. Jordi, Tomas and all their helpers, without whom an event like this simply wouldn’t exist. Without whom none of this would be possible. Over the course of this week, we’ve grown together into one big family. And one thought has taken root in our minds: we’ll be back next year. Gracias <3
