A Brutal 55 km Mountain Trek!

How my husband & his sister conquered the biggest mountain in El Salvador

Hola, amigos 😎

We sure had a busy February! It feels like it flew by—helping at the Airbnb, caring for stray animals, and supporting Tom and his sister with their ultramarathon!

My cuñada (sister-in-law) came in early February to join Tom for the big race, and stayed with us for 9 days. We had a great time with her here, and had some much-needed chats.

I told you about my car accident (getting rear-ended) in this recent post. Since then, I’ve had a stiffer, sorer neck than ever, but thankfully Tom’s sister is a physio and helped me find some relief. I’m doing daily exercises and stretches to help with the healing/rehab process, which can often take months, so I have to be patient and give my body time to heal.

For several months, Tom ran, ran, and ran some more. Then, February was upon us, and Tom and Tanya had to prep for their ultramarathon for a few days, making sure to have all the things—electrolyte tablets, headlamps, duct tape for blisters, nasal strips (to maximize breathing), hiking poles, etc. I packed up a bunch of carb-heavy meals—since long distance runners prefer carbs—and we loaded up the family along with our kitten—who proved a great road-tripper—and drove up to San Ignacio early Friday morning.

San Ignacio is the last little mountain town on the way up El Pital, the tallest mountain in El Salvador (2,730 meters). They registered for the race at Hotel Entre Pinos (between the pines) while the girls and I watched the ducks and horses by a pond on the hotel property.

It felt like all the months of training and anticipation for this race were finally becoming a reality!

That night, we all went to bed around 8, and I didn’t sleep much—partly because I had a little kitten with me, but mostly knowing I’d have to get up at 2:15am! I came downstairs and found the two of them scurrying around, making sure they had all the bits they needed. We hopped in the truck, and I dropped them off at the hotel at 2:50 am on February 8th. It was pitch black out, and all the racers seemed hyper-focused and excited!

Here’s a video of the official countdown to the big race, everyone taking off with their headlamps, and me yelling, “You guys got this!” as “my peeps” run by…

I went back to bed for a few hours, and then the girls and I spent the morning relaxing and enjoying ourselves…

And meanwhile, they did it! They ran 55 kilometres up and down and all around El Pital—quite the treacherous endeavour! It took them 11.5 hours…and it was beyond challenging!

As Tom said,

“I expected a brutal uphill climb for the first 13km from San Ignacio up to the top of El Pital (1900 metres of elevation gain), so that part of the race didn’t really surprise me. Although we did get lost a couple times in the dark when we missed a trail marker and had to back track a ways. There were parts of the climb that were so steep, we had to pull ourselves up using a rope.

What I wasn’t expecting was the brutal pounding that my knees took on the incredibly steep descents after we started going down the mountain. By about kilometre 25 my knees were stiff and sore and it hurt to bend them. Then we hit steep downhill sections of road that were smooth rock covered with a thin layer of sand which made them slippery and dangerous. I found it nearly impossible to run these sections with any kind of speed. I had expected the last 42km to be mostly downhill with a few short uphill sections, but the ascents that we’d find every so often would be steep and sometimes a kilometre or more in length. I remember many times coming around a corner hoping that I would see the summit of a climb only to see another giant hill in front of us that we needed to climb. I can tell you that when you are 40-45km into a race the last thing you want to encounter is a hill climb that seems to have no end.

When I decided to sign up for this race in September I had barely begun running again after 10 months of struggling with plantar fasciitis. I had let myself go and I weighed about 20 lb. more than I do now. I wanted to find something that would inspire me to get back into shape, and so I thought I should find a challenge that would be on the verge of impossible for me to do with only 5 months to train for it. During the race there were many times I asked myself why I was putting myself through this kind of suffering. But by the next day I had already forgotten the pain and was grateful that I pushed myself to do it. And it was extra special to be able to do the entire race with my sister. We ended up finishing in the middle of the pack in 24th and 25th place out of about 45 runners.”

Tanya said,

“There were definitely sections of the trail where you would be running and wondering—praying—that you’re on the right track and that you wouldn’t have to go back if you missed a trail marker.

The trails were far more brutal than I expected or prepared for. Steep ups and even steeper downs. At times, just wide enough for your two feet and on the edge of very steep mountainsides, while bushwhacking through coffee farms and the not-so well-travelled trails of Salvadoran mountains. Every section seemed to come with its own challenge. At the height of elevation, I felt nauseous and light-headed. I wasn’t sure if it was the altitude or if I needed more calories. There were a couple times I thought I’d throw up, and at one point I almost cried. It was the first race/event I’ve done where I truly thought I might not be able to finish.”

Considering that Tanya was an athlete in her 20’s, is in excellent shape, and did a 50-km run (with Tom and her husband) up and down a Canadian mountain (Mt. Robson) in 2020, I’m convinced that this was certainly much harder than anything she’d ever done before!

The girls and I took our little Pumpkin to the pet friendly hotel just a 5-minute walk from our Airbnb, and she sat with me while the girls splashed around happily in the pool.

She also ventured over to the open-air restaurant to beg for food—being a former street cat—and ended up getting some water thrown her way! Later, when we left her in the bathroom at the Airbnb, to get dinner after the race, she jumped onto the toilet, and then out the high window…and was by the front door to greet us upon our return.

I’m so proud of Tom and Tanya for finishing what was hands-down an excruciating trek!

Tom called me just after 2, thinking they had a ways to go still. But then he called again a few minutes later to tell me they’d been confused by the lack of markers, and now they were almost done!

I quickly packed up the girls and went to meet the beyond-exhausted runners, their knees aching, and feet and toes all duct taped up. We all enjoyed celebrating with some delicious Mexican food. And, by the next morning, they were both talking about running another race—this time maybe 80-km! 🏃‍♀️🏃‍♂️

I’ll keep you posted…😅

As for life here, we’re keeping busy with homeschooling, exploring, helping manage the Airbnb, Tom making regular trips to the coffee farm he helps manage, and looking after our 6 cats along with 3 friendly mountain dogs.

Honestly we’re in a season of questioning some things happening here, and don’t feel like it’s a “given” that we’ll actually build on our property. We’ve been trying to get approval to hook up to the local water for about 18 months now, without success.

But, we’re thankful for this country, the life we enjoy here, and all the beautiful people we’ve met—locals and expats alike.

❤️❤️❤️❤️

¡Gracias por leer, amigos!

Thanks for reading, friends!

Nos vemos pronto 😊

See you soon!