Kilian's GR20 attempt - it's on!
As the last few days of painstaking preparation come to a close, Kilian’s quiet resolve and fine-tuned determination conceals an eager exhilaration.
It seems that Kilian Jornet is ready for the GR20 on Corsica. He plans on going at 4 a.m (local time) today the 15th June.
Full Salomon team release as follows:
Zero hour approaches for the Quest and Kilian has spent weeks poring over detailed maps and timing charts, compiled by some of the best trail-blazers in the business, applying meticulous attention to detail and the odd insider’s arcane insight. But even the best-laid plans can come unstuck, so Kilian is not allowing his attempt on the sub 37 hour record, impregnable since set in 2005, to detract from his customary sanguine approach to that slender strait that separates mountain from sky.
Kilian pays high attention to detail
“I’m not too fixated on the record. For me, the most important aspect is the opportunity I have to share this experience and excitement with the people of Corsica, so many of who have helped me to prepare for the run. I want to give them something special in return.”
If Killian can keep to the rigorous set of clocked waypoints, set out along the along entire route by his crack reconnoiter team, he is hoping to reach the end of the GR20 in Conca around 35 hours after leaving Calenzana this Monday morning at 4:00. The 190km roller-coaster, high altitude trail has been sliced and diced into 32 separate sections and a time, based on Kilian’s anticipated speed, attributed to each one. The first opportunity he will have to measure himself against the clock is at the Ortu refuge (1,570m), around 2 hours after setting out, followed by another 90 minutes later at the Crete Asco.
But Kilian can easily track his progress by watching his shadow first shrink and then grow again across the rocky landscape, as the sun traverses the sky and begins to drop towards the horizon. Watching him closely will also be the members of the Federation Francaise de Montagne and Escalade, the official body charged with validating the record. There are eight in all, placed at critical passage points, but others can be concealed anywhere along the route, ready to ambush Kilian and demand to stamp his “official“ (bought at the local stationers) logbook. The wardens of the 10 refuges that Kilian will visit along the GR20 are also on hand to sign the logbook but this isn’t a prerequisite for the record.
The weather forecast is for bright blue skies and, although the air at altitude is expected to be refreshingly cooler, running hard beneath a sweltering sun will be a serious drain on Kilian’s resources. The other alternative is hardly more appealing. Running in the dark is a very tricky business and from 22:30, somewhere between the Onda Refuge and Muratello, Kilian will need to keep his wits about him as he enters the dreaded dark-period that will present him with what is expected to be his most daunting challenge.
“Unfortunately, what little light the moon will provide, won’t help me much in finding the path and it’s so counter-intuitive to run in the dark anyway – almost like running blindfold. You have to stay extremely alert because you never know what is lurking just beneath your foot…” If all goes well, he should be running into first-light as he comes to the Prati refuge, giving himself around 6 hours to cover the 40km or so and totaling an overall running time of 24 hours – exactly a day after setting out.
11 hours remain of his estimated time to complete the course in the target 35 hours but, after the difficulty of running through the night, the long downhill section that constitutes the final leg of the GR20 will be no picnic for his, by this time, long-suffering body. “Pacing will be paramount. By the time I get to the last 10 hours I will be dead inside – the pain in my limbs will invade every thought. The only thing left to me will be the countdown of the remaining kilometers to the finish…“
Though the opportunity is certainly there for him to add his name to the list of epic achievers that have helped, since it’s creation in 1972, to create and perpetuate the legend that is the GR20, as Kilian himself would assert, this is all about one man, the mountains and his manner.
Follow Kilian’s Corsican quest on www.salomonrunning.com
GR20 in short
Created: 1972 / Location: Corsica
Starts: Calenzana / Ends: Conca
Length: 190km / Elevation Gain: 12,500m
Highest point: 2,225m / Lowest point: 1,055m
Average completion time: 15 days
Record Non-stop: 36h53m04s / Record Holder: Pierre Santucci
Hazards: Fog, high winds / Aspect: tough-steep-rocky
