Challenge – ” call to someone to participate in a competitive situation or fight to decide who is superior in terms of ability or strength”
So, what does it take to finish Ultra Race Romania?
From day 1 to day 7 you will be tested both physically and mentally as you run, walk or crawl through some of the most remote and beautiful landscapes Romania has to offer.
Each day will bring a new set of challenges to contend with, from carrying a heavy backpack with all the equipment and food needed to be self-sufficient for 7 days, to navigating the route not getting lost and failing to meet the cut off time.
Make no mistake, the terrain is unforgiving, and no amount of foot preparation will prepare your feet for the brutal assault they will face. The elevation gain is intimidating and gradients steep, some days 34%, couple this with long descents that will claim toenails and create blisters that erupt from beneath the skin like mushroom emerging from the damp earth.
Stage locations are both breath-taking and cruel. Areas of sheer beauty and others of sheer terror, a mix of fallen trees with large, spiked branches, oozing bogs, mud that coats shoes and brambles & thorns that rip skin.
Day after day, mileage and elevation increase. Day 4 beckons in the long stage, a 68.3km feast of stamina, self-determination and hope embroiled together in a mix of emotions never experienced before.
Courage – “the ability to do something that frightens one or strength in the face of pain or grief” How hard is it to take one more step? In URR this has its own meaning and one that you must grow to love irrelevant of the associated pain and suffering that inevitably keeps you company every day.
Imagine running alone during the day and night in an environment that is truly wild, the home of wild animals that no longer exist in other parts of Europe or the wider world. If this is a sobering thought, then URR is for you. Expect to be freighted but also liberated from the mundane cycle of the 9-5-day job.
So why do it…?
URR is an utterly amazing experience, challenging and rewarding all at the same time. To become a “legend” and join the URR family, will require a stamina, courage and degree of suffering probably never experienced before, but the rewards last far longer than the pain.
Would I do it again? Oh yes, definitely !
Photos by: Fisheye.ro