After participating in the "Goverla Race" mountain race in 2019, I wanted to run through the Ukrainian Carpathians again, but unfortunately, there were no suitable mountain starts (there are many, but the main distance is more than 40+ kilometers). But in 2020, a new Runa Run Trail appeared on the map of Ukraine's trail races, just in time, so I immediately turned my attention to it. And this year I decided that it is necessary to take part in it, in addition, "Runa Run Trail" was completely in line with my personal rules, namely the main distance of 40 kilometers, namely 25 kilometers and has a height of 1120 meters, which makes me completely suited.
Registration
It was possible to register for the Runa Run Trail mountain race through the official website of the runarun.com.ua running event, where participants could choose one of two distances, namely 25 or 10 kilometers, respectively.
The route for the distance of 25 kilometers consisted of one circle and a set height of 1120 meters. During the race, the participants were expected to climb to the highest point of the Perechyn region - Polonyna Runa (1479 meters) and to the top of Vysokyi Verkh (1413 meters). At the beginning of the trail, participants could admire the beautiful waterfalls Solovey, Davir, Perestupen, and Krutylo, which make up the group of Lumshorsky waterfalls, in the middle of the trail before the participants opened a wonderful panorama from the meadow, and at the end of the trail. In addition to the beauty of the Ukrainian Carpathians on the trail route, three hydration points were also organized for the participants, where they could regain their strength with delicious delicacies.
Run
The "Runa Run Trail" was located near the town of Perechyn in the village of Lumshory. You could get to this picturesque corner from Kyiv in two ways to Uzhhorod or Perechyn, and there in the morning on the day of the start the participants of the trail were waiting for a transfer that took those who wanted to run to the starting town. I decided for myself that I would go to Uzhhorod (“Uzhhorod Half Marathon”), which is already familiar to me, and not to Perechyn, as in Uzhhorod you could pick up your starting number in advance, and in addition, Perechyn hosts “Perechyn Half Marathon” and accordingly it will be possible to visit this town, and suddenly I didn't want to spoil my future impressions.
Thursday evening for me has traditionally started at the Kyiv railway station, where once again a train was waiting for me, which was supposed to partially take me to new running adventures. Friday was also quite traditional for the pre-start days of walking around the city, evening jogging, and getting the starting number to participate in the trail. The most interesting thing was to start the next morning at 9:45.
Saturday started at the parking lot of the hotel "Zakarpattya", where the participants of the trail "Runa Run Trail" were waiting for a transfer to take them to the starting town of the race, so on the way, you could go a little darker. . Arriving at the starting town, where the running atmosphere was already raging, so I immediately decided to start preparing for the race (change clothes and hand things over to the locker).
We didn't have to wait long for the start of the "Runa Run Trail" and after a short warm-up participants for the distance of 25 kilometers (for the distance of 25 and 10 kilometers the starts were separate) began to take their seats in the running corridor and listened to the latest instructions from the organizers. and for me, it still had a few elements of a kind of deja vu.
The start of the trail "Runa Run Trail" was on an asphalt road, which after 1 - 2 miles turned into a dirt road (off-road) and accordingly began the most difficult part of the route, namely the ascent, which passed mainly through the beech forest, past the group Lumshorsky Falls, Davir, Perestupen, and Krutylo), and then to the mountain meadow and the top - Polonyna Runa. And what would conquer the rise of the participants was more interesting in this area there were many swampy areas. The first food station was waiting for the participants for about 4-5 miles, where the participants could quench their thirst with water.
Overcoming the first half of the route - the ascent, which then seemed endless in my memory, from time to time began to emerge memories of two months ago from the trail - "Risnjak Trail". During the "endless" ascent, one thing pleased me that this time I had to run on a wide road, not on a narrow path with a goose. About 6 miles later, he found new entertainment and, encountering large areas of swamp and water along the way, decided that running around them was not as fun as running through them.
About 8 to 9 miles away, the forest strip ended and a mountain meadow began, with a beautiful panorama all around. And for 10 miles the participants were waiting for the second food point where I lingered a bit, regaining my strength after the climb with delicious cookies, cola, and lard.
After the second food point, the participants had to go to the finish line through the meadow, where they had to warm up a bit, because it started to rain and a cool wind blew, then the forest again, the third food point near Lake Velyka Trusnya and then the serpentine to the finish. Overcoming the serpentine, I was again struck by memories of two months ago about Croatia, where the final leg of the trail also consisted of a serpentine. Going down the serpentine and catching up with the next runner, he suddenly noticed his wonderful partner, who happily accompanied his master throughout the distance and who was interesting to watch. So after overcoming the serpentine, I decided that my finish must be, after this little fluffy and his owner, so before the asphalt section decided to wait for them and run the last kilometers of the trail in the company of a cheerful West Highland White Terrier (about the breed is not very sure).
I managed to cross the finish line 4 hours 28 minutes after embarking on my adventures called "Runa Run Trail", running a great route, for me with elements of a kind of deja vu, and most importantly in the wonderful company of West Highland White Ter ' era.
Impression
Well, participation in the mountain race "Runa Run Trail" gave a lot of unforgettable emotions. Excellent organization of the running event, an interesting trail route, a special honor to the organizers, who did not use tape when marking the route, but marked everything with paint and signs (on some turns, perhaps additional signs would not be superfluous). And of course a big thank you to the volunteers who chatted with the participants at the food outlets and supported them.
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