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Transtramuntana TT4500 Update Finished!!!

So the Transtamuntana TT4500 has finished for 2015 and the training has already begun for 2016! My client has come away from the event with a mixture of emotions about the event-a sense of pride, a sense of disappointment, frustration and determination to name a few. Doing any event for the 1 st time is always the hardest because your mind gets filled with things that really aren't to do with the event, How to get there, Registration, Where is the start line? Where are the toilets? And that's before you start to worry about your own ability to be able to complete the event.
My client arrived at the 1st time cut off with an hour to spare. 'It is brutal' were his exact words. I think he found the beginning hard but acceptable and this lured him into a false sense of security because he took too long at the 1st stop for a comfort break, food and water. Doing any event for the 1st time, no one knows quite how hard they can push themselves because of the fear that at mile 87 you will hit the brick wall and you will be finished is always at the back of your mind and makes you keep something in reserve, probably too much.
The next leg was a tricky stage with 40 km and a one hour extension of cut off. He then has two punctures which set him back. He then missed the next time check by only 10 minutes, He continued determined to make up that time and made it to the next time check 3 minutes short! Argghh can you imagine the frustration!!!There were alot of teams taking part but our man was alone so he had to do all the work himself apart from the odd mile here and there. There is a bus that starts to collect people not making the time checks because it starts to get dark and on the very winding roads with no street lights it becomes dangerous. 8 hours in they requested that he got into the van. He said that people were happily getting into the bus because they wanted to die but with his total determination he refused and him and two others continued on determined that they will complete it. They did complete it in 10 hours and were awarded the official t-shirt for completing it but not the medal. 600 cyclists started only 100 finished, this gives you some idea just how hard this event is. The biggest thing that was learnt from this event is to talk the same distance language. Trying to calculate miles into kilometres whilst battling up a very long hill is difficult.
So guess where he will be around about the same time next year?

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