A Super Fun Trail Race

Had a fantastic experience today at a trail race in Oaxaca. It was called the Sanfe trail run (Sanfe, as in Colonia San Felipe.)

Near the La Salle school in the San Felipe Del Agua neighborhood of Oaxaca, the race started where the paved road gave way to dirt, and headed straight up the mountains to the north of Oaxaca.

Perhaps a bit over 200 runners lined up for their choice of an out-and-back course over 8K, 12K or 18K, all run simultaneously. I chose 8K, and started near the back of the pack.

The mob of runners bumped over rolling terrain for the first kilometer or so, then the serious climb from about 5300 feet to 6000 feet began in earnest. I focused on keeping a relaxed rhythm, and was amused to note that many runners were already "racing" on the way up the hill. Why waste the energy, thought I?

As the one of the very few non-Mexicans in the race, I may have provoked some local pride, such as, "here's how you run our hills, guero!". Indeed, the overall level of distance running and racing in Oaxaca is impressive, stacking up well against the fields in Portland, Oregon where I lived prior to Oaxaca.

I took roughly 30 minutes to hit the turnaround point, give or take, quite a slog. As I turned around, I found myself at the back of a pack of 5 runners, young guys gunning the downhill, full of race.

Normally I'd keep my own council, maintain rhythm, run my own race. Today, I got caught up in the fun of competing and went with the pack. We barreled down that hill like no one's business, passing and re-passing each other. I felt full of run, totally into the chase. it was exhilarating! The view of the city of Oaxaca was spectacular from our vantage point, but we kept our eyes on the trail as a spill would mean serious bruising.

I'd moved from 10th up to 7th place before faltering on some minor hills close to the finish. With a couple hundred meters to go, a guy came up on me to battle for 9th place. I could not sprint, but managed to out kick the dude.

I finished in 49 minutes and change. Right around ten minutes per mile. Quite a varied pace in truth, with some uphill portions passing in more like 15 minutes per mile, and no doubt some of the down hill bits in well under 5 minutes per mile.

The day's experience was running and racing at it's best, underlining the thrill of participation for it's own sake.

Steve Lafler
Email me if you'd like to book a running tour in Oaxaca.