Catalan Heat

First longer run planned since the Devil o’ the Highlands ultra at the end of April. I took some time to recover, and the 2026 heatwave in France and Spain is not helping.

Today is a quiet day during the holidays, not much planned. So yet again, I woke up while everybody was asleep: mostly because it’s cooler outside and I couldn’t bear another sleepless night due to the heat. Why not head to the top of those hills we see from near Estany Banyoles? A 30K loop it is, though Komoot massively downplayed the elevation (estimating only 800m for the 30K loop).

Very nice run. I passed a triathlon race on the way and saw some foxes heading higher into the hills. They’re the type of animal you rarely see unless you’re running or cycling, as they tend to steer clear of walkers. Most importantly, it was nice and coolish! But the climb was hard, and it only got hotter as time passed.

After 19K, I finally reached the top. Komoot was way off: I had climbed 1100m already! But the worst bit was that I was out of water: all 3.5L of it. I had seen a spring 5km back, but turning around would take me off the shortest route home (adding 15K instead of 10K), and there was no guarantee the water was safe to drink.

The solution: call my wife and the boys to the rescue with the campervan. They actually enjoyed the views and the amazing rocks, and we ended up staying a few hours more. So family support saved me, yet again, from a miserable day (and thirst). We just kept the awesome parts!