Mustang Trail Race 2017 Day 13

Stage 7 was another big day with a reported distance of 26 or 28k depending on which document you believe. According to the provided profile the course had one big climb of 1000 metres and then followed a ridge line before a big drop to the village of Chuksang.  Today we had a staggered start with the slower runners starting at 7am, the mid-packers at 7.30am and the faster runners at 8am. 

It was a difficult start with the course climbing for 7k to over 4000 metres and I was struggling with the beginnings of a cold and sore throat. I passed Menai after about an hour and Stefan (the Salomon team runner from Germany) stormed past me running up to the pass. It was really impressive to see him in action working hard up the hill. Once we got to the top it was actually cold with patches of snow visible and I considered putting on an extra layer. 

We then had a long ridge line which was not as flat as I had hoped that undulated for 10k at an altitude over 4000 metres which meant difficult running. I was passed by a lot of the faster runners on this section as I struggled along it but at least it meant I was not on my own for long. The long descent to Chuksang was difficult as the path was steep, rocky and exposed made worse by the fact that you could see the village from 6k away. I managed to fall three times but was not injured. 

I wobbled into the finish in 3.59 which was pretty much on my estimate with Menai trotting in an hour or so later.

Chris from Gloucester had a good run but managed to dislocate his shoulder on the stairs of the guest house. The doctor was with the sweeper so possibly 2 hours away so poor Chris just had to wait. However two Italian runners happened to be orthopaedic surgeons and after they finished together Andrea and Ivelea set about putting the shoulder back together. It was pretty gruesome to watch and not as easy as you would see on the TV.