@anthonito4u

Transcandamia 2017. / TRAILCYL

Anybody who loves trail running in Castilla y Léon knows where to begin and where to see which are going to be their possibilities for the brand-new season. This fresh start is Transcandamia.

But what it really measures your physical condition is not your position or your feelings about the race, but your muscle cramps, bruises, scratches… and at this point is where I am, measuring my level of muscle cramps.

Unbelievable though it may seem and in contrast to what it was forecasted all along the week before the race, there was no snow and no track of mud. Those, like me, who come from the gorgeous Great Britain are used to running in the mud and I was willing to have a race like the one of last year but with snow, something which is really odd in my country.

However, the weather was great and I paid more attention to other events taking place during the race. The good thing about being a slow runner is that I have more time to see what is happening around me. People jumping the queues, listening to music in their MP3s, whiners who spend the whole week crying and talking about their awful physical condition to finish in a great position after all, even a girl from Cambodia… Lots of different people, but in the end, all amazing people sharing a passion for our sport.

All in all, Transcandamia is a wonderful race, maybe not a mountain race and perhaps not a cross, but a race with 50% of possibilities for mountain runners and fast street runners trying to keep their pace the fastest ever. But both of them, attempting to get to the final ‘Anibalada’ in their best conditions, as the final slope is unique, is the dreamt finish line, at the top of the hill in a steep slope crowded of people cheering you up and giving you a hand in case of needing it.

Next year, I’ll be there with the desire of having a dreamt Transcandamia full of snow. Thanks Anibal for creating this route and sharing it with runners all over the world.

Ahora, aprendamos algo de vocabulario:

– A fresh start: Un nuevo comienzo
– Brand-new: Nuevecit@, recién estrenad@
– Measure: Medir
– But: Sino
– Muscle cramps: Calambres musculares, agujetas
– Bruises: Moratones
– Scratches: Arañazos
– Unbelievable though it may seem: Por increíble que parezca
– Forecast: Predecir, predicción
– Mud: Barro
– Gorgeous: Maravillos@
– Odd: Raro
– Jump the queue: Colarse
– Whiner: Quejica, llorón
– All in all: En definitiva
– Pace: Ritmo
– Slope: Cuesta
– Steep: Empinad@ (O como se suele decir en el monte “PINDIA”)
– Give someone a hand: Echar una mano a alguien
– Desire: Deseo

Toño Santamaría Clemente es licenciado en Filología Inglesa por la Universidad de Valladolid. Director y profesor en Speaking 2gether, academia de inglés especializada en los exámenes de Cambridge. Actualmente compagina su trabajo con el amor por las montañas.