DMBA Trail

This trail is advertised as 27 km with 1,200 m of elevation gain, which fits in well with my preparation
for Nice. The start is at ‘Trou des Nurses’ and the finish at Fayard Park in Dumbéa.
My aim is to run this trail at a leisurely pace, without any pressure: the main thing is to cover a slightly
longer distance than in training, with a reasonable elevation gain. And, whilst I’m at it, to discover a
trail I don’t know, at least in part.

The weather is a bit damp but not unpleasant. It’s 7 am, and the race starts. We begin by crossing the
branches of the Dumbéa — the trail is currently littered with pebbles, just to warm up the ankles 🙂
Then we join the mining track, which is easier to run on, heading up towards Mont Poudéhoume.
We quickly head back down to the Dumbéa via a fast single track. Although I’m not very comfortable
on technical descents, it goes rather well. It’s actually great fun — I do make sure not to get carried
away, though; we’re only at the start of the race.
Next, along the Dumbéa, comes a flat, easy section where you can really get into your stride. But that’s
just to prepare us for the Koé wall, which I’m about to get to know all too well 😉

Right then, let’s get going on this lovely climb: about 750 m of elevation gain over 4km, and the descent
that follows isn’t half bad either…

As we emerge from the undergrowth, the target comes into view. Let’s see if our legs are up to the task 🙂

It’s always the same reward at the top of the peaks – I never tire of it.

After this fast but intense descent, the ground becomes increasingly slippery, following the rain of the
previous days. So slippery that when I fall, I have the misfortune of landing on a rock with my ribs…
Breathless, I take a few seconds to collect myself and reassure myself. It hurts, but nothing seems to be
broken — so I set off again, being even more careful. There’s no way I’m going to fall on it again.
The terrain is getting muddier and muddier; luckily, ropes along the route allow us to go up and down
without too much trouble. The kilometres are flying by, we’re still a long way from the finish and we’ve
already reached the advertised elevation gain… It certainly looks like we’ve been lied to — which turns
out to be true. I start cursing the organisers… ^^

Struggling through the mud to make progress, I’m starting to dip into my reserves. It’s getting tough,
and after Tarawera, I didn’t expect to be in such a struggle so quickly.
The last 5 kilometres are flat, even if it’s still a bit muddy. I finish at a leisurely pace
— at the same time, I don’t really have a choice, I’m knackered…
All in all, this 27 km trail with 1,600 m of elevation gain is superb, but I’m a bit disappointed with my
performance. I clearly need to keep taking my training seriously.
As for my ribs, after a good night’s sleep, they’re a bit more painful but nothing to worry about. Let’s hope that after a day’s rest I’ll be able to get back to training without too much trouble.