AS Trail de Gorbio, Mountain Marathon

The route starts and finishes in the medieval village of Gorbio, just above Menton; twisting, turning and scrambling through the backcountry hiking trails. We drove up one fine October morning in time to collect our race numbers and get to the start line - due to limited parking we had to leave the car some distance away but we needn’t have worried about being late, this is one of the most chilled races I’ve ever taken part in…

With a start time of 7:30am we dashed to the centre of the village just in the nick of time, only to find everyone milling around sipping coffee and having a natter. With only 200 runners it’s a small race and I got the impression that most people here knew each other. While everyone was catching up on the latest gossip, one of the organisers got on a microphone of dubious sound quality and rambled some incomprehensible but possibly quite important details about the course. Then, without any whistle or starting pistol, everyone started to amble en masse along the street and up the hill. Definitely the most low-key race start I’ve ever experienced.

The first 5km is a fairly monotonous trudge up an asphalt road, but the views as you come around the side of the mountain are spectacular - especially so early in the morning when the sun is rising over the bay of Menton.

A short scramble through a forest brings you to a rough firetrack, where you can freewheel down to a sharp turn that leads to a very rocky and overgrown trail. Being a back-of-the-pack runner has pros and cons - on the one hand the front runners will have trodden the trail down so much that most obstacles are no longer an issue, on the other hand the ground can be so well trodden that it is slick with the footprints of hundreds of muddy feet. This section was definitely more of the latter; I nearly wiped out a few times as I attempted to bound over and around the smooth slabs of slippery rock. As it happens, I did wipe out quite spectacularly but that was on a deceptively flat piece of ground where I was paying more attention to the view than to my feet…

The first aid station is about 12km in and there’s a cheeky little ascent to scramble up before you can pounce on the chocolate biscuits. However, you can barely go a whole kilometre without being encouraged by one of the very friendly race wardens - mostly locals of a certain vintage who are keen to volunteer, probably trail runners or club members themselves. They also seem to have a penchant for jungle warfare, as I didn’t see most of them until they popped out of the undergrowth at the last minute. When I fell I had barely hit the floor before a sprightly grey-haired lady appeared out of nowhere to dust me down before melting back into the shadows of the forest.

There is a fair amount of rocky firetrack and concreted or asphalt roads in this race, so purist trail runners might find it a bit frustrating. However, the forested sections are beautifully springy, with enough tree roots and undergrowth to keep the legs pumping.

There are not one but three killer climbs in this event - don’t forget that the course might start and finish at the same place but it has almost 3000m of ascent, so they have to sneak it in somewhere. The final battle is the seemingly never-ending climb up to the Col de la Madone; a rocky scramble so steep that I had to engage four wheel drive and use hands as well as feet to get to the top. Once you’ve been ticked off at the final checkpoint you might be forgiven for thinking that you’re nearly home and dry - it’s only 6km downhill after all… alas it is the kind of downhill that can end a race early. After picking my way down amongst the scree, loose rocks and sharp stones I finally made it to the finish line. Bruised, battered, an hour later than expected, but still smiling - what a day!

There was no medal at the finish line, just a man selling jars of homemade jam, which was nice. I love the quirky vibe of this race and the friendly relaxed attitude of everyone involved - the volunteers in particular are just fantastic. It’s also remarkably cheap to enter; 22€ for race entry, t-shirt and dinner afterwards - what a bargain.

The AS Trail de Gorbio is a one point qualifier for the Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc, so you know it’s going to be tough but just keep one eye on the incredible rugged scenery for all the inspiration you need to get you through. Either that, or visualise the massive glass of chilled rosé you’re going to enjoy later…