Belledonne is a wild and mineral mountain. Our choice is to make you cross the massif by the most direct and somptuous tracks, finally almost as the skyline of Belledonne isn’t yet on the program! It so happens that our friend of the construction industry didn’t have to prepare you a rolling way and that’s better. Follow the guide…
Welcome in Mountain, welcome to Belledonne
Those recommendations are provided without any pretentions, they’re simply to help you to join Aiguebelle. They’re valid both for the 85km and the 144km.
10 RECOMMENDATIONS
1 – You will invest in a good headlamp (with extra battery)!
The tracks of Belledonne are sometimes not clear, see absent. At night you will need a good headlamp to illuminate the reflective marker and guide you.
2 – The altitude you won’t overlook
40 consecutive kilometer above 2000 meter, many passes above 2400 meter…..this explains in part the low percentage of finishers. The altitude fatigue physically and mentaly both physically trained and non-trained athletes. You can train especially for it, but it can’t be improvised. Here we advice you to read: “Train in Altitude” by Grégoire Millet et Laurent Schmidt.
3 – Very well rested and and in ascending form the start you’ll take
For many of you it will be necessary to manage 2 nights outside, without to forget to get up very early the 1st day. Get rested and quiet in your head. The “post-it” method works well, write what can eventually trouble you before the race, this will put a temporary pause to your hassles.
4 – Long and slow training you will do!
Don’t overlook slow training, such as fast-hiking. In Belledonne we walk a lot, the virtue of the walk is that is less traumatic. Not knowing to walk slowly can quickly become a weakness. Walk fast can be learnt, boost also.
5 – The road book, the walking plan and the profil you will study!
On previous edition, many runners registered by adding kilometer and elevation to assess their rate of progression. And they completely missed to take care about the difficulty of the ground. We provide a walking table with difficulty colors and annotation, read it well!
6 – A mind and a body you’ll forge
Physical, agility and resistance aspect are the key points of these technical tracks. Train your suppleness, proprioception, you’ll come out less worn. Quick and simple relaxation movementat the top of each pass will help you to save time. A tonic trunk (cladding) will save you from many worries. On the mental side, forge positive images (memories of arrival lines, moments of solidarity). For music lovers, associate them as much as possible with songs that you can listen again during the race.
7 – The race gestion you won’t disregard!
Everybody is different with gestion, some basics however are offered by the iad station with beds, soap…..abuse it as soon as possible. A non-stop race in Belledonne is very elitist approach. Slow speed preserve the alimentary canal, so you should be hungrier than on other fast races, and you must have the possibility to eat, so enjoy it with good reason.
8 – Volunteer and landscape will be delight you
In Belledonne we’ve the feeling of welcome, the people of this mountain are full lot ressources to offer you, enjoy!
The landscapes crossed aren’t insignificant, let yourself be carried!
9 – The mountain and your body you’ll respect!
Needless to say again, any cut of trail and trash will be disqualifying.
Moreover your safety is our priority, but it also should be yours. We invite you to take responsability because althought everything is done to make you share Belledonne in very good conditions, mountain remains mountain, with its uncertainties.
10 – And finally your speed marker you’ll forget
Belledonne wins at the amazing speed of 5 km/h. The first 60 kilometers are run on the speed average of 6km/h by the best, and some descents are lower than the climbs. You are on the realm of slowness…..but all those slowness will transcend you!
We would like to finish with a citation which may have been born in Belledonne:
“we don’t climb the mountain, they’re the mountain that raise us”
Good trip to all
The Echappee Belle Team
