Jade Dragons and Bears: Racing at Altitude in China
The Jade Dragon Snow Mountain Extreme Race started from Yuhu Village near Lijiang in Yunnan Province, Southwest China. Sitting at 2700m, the surrounding mountains are the most Southern part of the Himalayas. The climate can be warm during the day and cool at night with the proximity to the mountains making it prone to sudden changes in weather.
This 101k race was split over two days. Day 1 was 52k and day 2 was 49k. Day one of the competition started with a steep ascent to 3800m from Yuhu. At 6am, just as it was getting light, we headed up a paved road for about 2km then started on a narrow path through trees which quickly ascended over a plain above fields and towards the town of Lijiang. The sun rose. Pretty white and pink rhododendron flowers danced against the greenery. I could hear my heart beating as I climbed. Although I found climbing tough at this altitude, the recovery was quick — every so often I would stop and just a few seconds of rest would be sufficient to reenergize me to continue. Towards the top, the trees stopped and we arrived at a plateau at 3800m with small shrubs. The wind was strong but welcome after the climb. We followed the race markers up over the top of the hill and down a path of grass clumps and rocks. Checkpoint 1. I just made it just in time but many people were still behind me. The cutoff seemed tight. The path turned to woodland and so I headed back down the hill worrying about what might be in store for the rest of the race!
I reached checkpoint 2, refilled my water bottles, and headed up the next mountain. Again this climb was 3800m. The sun was getting warmer. The areas between the hills were grassy and cows roamed. By checkpoint 3 I started to tag team on the route with the same runners. One from Lijiang, one from Shanghai and one from Kunming. We all had our strengths and quickly built enough camaraderie to encourage each other as one would run ahead or another climb faster. As I got close to the finish for Day 1, the red marker ribbons stopped and I lost the course. I asked one of the helpers and he assured me that I should continue heading down the track. I took his advice then realized I was South of Yuhu Village (instead of North) (the route was updated the day before the race and I don’t think he had the latest version). The day had been hot, I knew the way to the finish line but only by taking a different route. I was tempted but decided to take the honest option and head back uphill to the original course. It cost me an extra hour but I saw some of the runners whom I had met earlier in the day. We had a good laugh about my mistake and headed to the finish of Day 1.
Yuhu Village is a beautiful Naxi minority village. During the day it becomes busy with tourists but at night it is very quiet and dark with no street lighting. As I walked back from Day 1, I found a restaurant still serving food then headed to my hotel, organized my kit for the morning, and went straight to sleep. I was woken by heavy rain, loud thunder and lightning. I was delighted because it would clear the air. Several people pulled out of the race during Day 1 because of the intense sun, humidity, and altitude sickness.
The next morning I woke at 4.15am and got ready. Based on Day 1, I was feeling slightly nervous about making the climb of 795m to checkpoint 6 in just two hours with a further ascent of 1100m to reach 4560m plus descent by 1pm. The first part of the climb was through a forest then the terrain on the upper part of the mountain changed was soft scree. It was slippery in parts. I reached the peak but didn’t hang around and made it down by 10.50am to checkpoint 7. This was the hardest part of the race.
The next two hills were long ascents. After this, we followed a large dry riverbed for a few kilometers. Running on the riverbed rocks was hard so eventually most of us gave up and just walked. After passing checkpoint 8 the route went through trees and beautiful wildflowers. I started running alongside Milk Lake with crystal marine water and white sand. Suddenly heavy drops of rain started falling and rapidly got heavier. I carried on running and was not far from an emergency aid station when I heard a shout to go and shelter. I huddled underneath a canopy with other runners and tourists. Thunder boomed around us and the rain got heavier. I started to shiver and wrapped myself in an emergency foil blanket. Other runners did the same. There was a fear the race would be suspended but after 90 minutes the rain stopped and we were allowed to continue. The sun returned and quickly dried out the land. I skipped over puddles and got my energy to run again. Even the warning sign about bears and boars didn’t bother me.
I reached CP9 with a cheery reception of ladies from the local village committee who seemed unfazed by the recent downpour and their flimsy canopy. Just another 10k to CP10. The route was pretty flat following old tracks and jumping over large puddles left by the rain. I reach CP10. The lady on the stand told us to take lots of snacks because the route was tough. During the final part of the route, obedient cattle with their bells ringing as they headed home stopped to let me across the path. I crossed a field, climbed a steep bank, and then ran across the grassy area that the race was sharing with locals offering pony rides.
Over two days I came 8th out of the 35 women (11th on day one and 5th on day two). My achievement wasn’t my ranking but completing a race at high altitude — that was the dragon I needed to tame.
Note regarding acclimatization:
With five days between two 100k races and with the second starting 2700m above the first what do you do to recover and rest?
For me the first question was whether to fly or take a train from Leye in Guangxi Province to Lijiang in the neighbouring Yunnan Province. Since I was tired from my 22hr 101k, I opted for the train and also considered that the gradual increase in elevation would be better for acclimatizing. Lijiang sits at 2400m. For me, the effects of elevation were mild and were most noticeable at night making it hard to sleep.
I finished my Leye race early on Monday morning. On Tuesday I walked approximately 10k around Lijiang. On Wednesday I did a short 8k hike climbing 600m (3000m above sea level) up a nearby hill called Maanshan. The path was overgrown on the way up but on the way down I found a clearer path. The purpose of the hike was simply to climb, not distance. However, the real joy of the route was the discovery of beautiful wildflowers. On Thursday I went to Yuhu Village and did a short climb and 15k run. On Friday I rested. So overall during the week, I balanced recovering from the previous race and acclimatizing to altitude.
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