The trail discovers its Asian hell in Kobe

Kobe is the conjunction of two neighboring worlds that do not know each other. From the 40-story skyscrapers of a city rebuilt after its 1995 earthquake, you can see those green hills that do not even reach a thousand meters in altitude; Nothing makes you think of the enormous scars that the mountain hides inside. The road that connects to the viewpoint – there is also a cable car – has enormous metal meshes to contain the landslides, a clue to what awaits in that wild forest, a natural hiding place from urbanism, a trip to another dimension. A place where the Golden Trail Series, which includes Asia in its calendar for the first time, has discovered hell, one of the toughest tests in the world: 21 kilometers and about 2,100 meters of positive slope. A wild ride – Zegama has 600 meters more elevation gain in twice as many kilometers – that smiled at the Kenyan Patrick Kipngeno and the Swiss Maude Mathys, the only one who surpassed Sara Alonso, second in an afternoon with five Spaniards in the top-10.

The recipe for hell has many ingredients. The first is to alter the usual order in a sport in which you go up first and then you go down. It all starts from that viewpoint, 718 meters above sea level, in a flower format to facilitate the tracking of spectators and camera-runners. In essence, four petals — called

— that start with an abrupt descent and then rise towards the exit, the stem of the profile. A race at full intensity from the first paved kilometer in which the runners activate the turbo to arrive in a good position for the descent. Overtaking uphill is simple; Doing it skidding on narrow trails is something else. And after the muscular exhaustion of the descent, great climbs. They can choose: 3.2 kilometers at 13%, 2.07 at 24% or 2.9 at 16%.

The layout is a succession of stairs, the national park's formula for making such slopes passable. In sections where this option does not exist, the dance floor is made up of stones or roots. The route does not allow a moment of disconnection—only when crossing the finish line—because the road is unforgiving; nor the snakes, whose presence several signs warn of. The

share some meters that invited confusion, but the Japanese put a volunteer in each corner, with the smile as punishment. Although the organizers had to highlight some areas because someone had removed the tapes during the night, the local support for the event was a surprise.

Also for Sara Alonso, who before starring in a career from less to more was amazed because women who could be her mother were excited to take a photo with her. She is the image of Asics, created in Kobe: the Spanish woman who flies between mountains. The consensus among athletes was that the risks should be minimal: it is April and no race is worth a serious injury. The seniority of Maude Mathys, overall winner of the Golden Trail Series in 2020 and 2021: “I hope to make up for it on the climbs.” Boy did he do it. The Kenyan Joyce Njeru increased her speed, arrived in the lead on the first descent and imposed her hard pace, but the Swiss woman let the race come to her to win with 2h52m08s. Like Alonso, she also overtook her in

before winning the sprint over Theres Loboeuf, who was third. Behind came Malen Osa (4th), Marta Martínez (7th), Rosa María Feliu (8th) and Julia Font (10th).

Sophia Laukli, last year's overall winner, could not dress in short, injured because the transition from skiing to trail is not easy. She tried until the end, she traveled halfway around the world from the US and spent her last bullets in the gym. But she couldn't be. So she dedicated the day to giving the cans to her colleagues in the refreshment area. And to sign t-shirts and caps for some of the 400 local runners who carried a marker on their belt along with water or gels in a race without mandatory equipment: each one with their own decisions. The women started half an hour early with the idea of ​​reaching the finish line simultaneously with the men and ended up crossing paths in the final stretch.

When the organizers took the athletes to reconnoiter the course, most assumed the Kenyans were out of the running. Especially Patrick Kipngeno, vertical climbing world champion suspected of being a downhiller, especially after an ugly fall in Sierre-Zinal in 2022. The predictions at breakfast suggested that he would not finish the race. But his demonstration silenced mouths. Like Mathys, he let the Czech Joey Hardon, the surprise, consume his cards to surpass him in the final stretch (2h22m17s). Third was the great favorite, Eloussine Elazzaoui, winner of the 2023 final. The first Spaniard was Álex García (10th), ahead of Alain Santamaría (11th).

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