Karst Caverns and Cuckoos: A Colorful 101K in Guangxi, China
Leye in Guangxi Province, Southwest China is one of the remoter towns in China — I flew to the tiny airport of Baise from Shenzhen. Arriving at midnight at Baise Airport there were only three of us for the 50km bus to the town. The chatty bus driver warned me to take a taxi from the bus station to my hotel even though it is close by (and China is generally pretty safe). However, when we arrived in the town he simply drove me to the forecourt of the hotel explaining it wouldn’t be possible to do this during the day! The next day I took another two-hour bus to Leye for the China 100 Leye Karst Cave International Trailrunning Race.
Leye is very green and the landscape is covered in karst lime hills. There are 11 minority groups living in this area who maintain a traditional lifestyle. Babies are still strapped to the backs of grandmothers wearing embroidered jackets. Fruit and Chinese medicine are sold on the streets. I went for a walk, sorted out my return bus ticket (the online systems are designed for ID cards which I don’t possess) and climbed up a hill looking over the town. It is hot during the day so I balance conserving my energy for the race with stretching my legs.
Waking at 4am I have breakfast, put on lots of sunblock and head to the start line for 6am. It starts raining — just enough to be refreshing as we run through small villages.
After a few kilometers we descend into a dark karst cave. Headlamps are essential — it is pitch black. This race includes over 9km inside karst caves. These aren’t just caves but huge cathedral-like caverns. There are underground pools. In some parts of the caves there are manmade paths, in others we are scrambling across slippery rocks beneath the stalactites. At some points we have to lie on the ground to crawl through tiny holes in the rocks or climb up narrow shafts and pull ourselves up using our full bodyweight.
The caves are cool and damp. The climbs out of the caves are steep and the air outside feels incredibly warm and humid. By late morning the sun is getting hot. Except for one well-maintained tourist area, the route is a mix of disused, overgrown, rocky paths and wider tracks through forests. Ponies block the path at one point. By late afternoon the buzz of insects in the trees has reached a crescendo and I keep hearing cuckoos cutting through. Although the total elevation is only 3500m in some ways it feels more because the heat is oppressive. At checkpoint 5 I take a 15-minute nap and feel refreshed. Other people are feeling sick from the direct sun. I keep going. Psychologically once you have passed halfway you know you will finish.
However, by checkpoint 7 I know I haven’t eaten enough — food has been sparse on this race for some reason and I don’t feel good. I grab my foil blanket and lie down for a few minutes — although it isn’t cold I start shivering within a few minutes. I need to slow down. By now it is dark. 10km to the next checkpoint. I walk so that I don’t upset my stomach and also because there is heavy dew on the paths and it is misty so visibility is low. As I arrive at the next checkpoint the heavens open and torrential rain starts. I put on my waterproof rain jacket and head out into the darkness. The rain looks like dash lines against the beam of my headlamp. I balance running with skipping over the wet, slippery rocks. The rain is getting heavier and in some parts I wade through deep puddles making my shoes heavy. I pass some other runners who are looking slightly dejected but also determined to finish. As runners, we all have different strengths whether climbing, running or overall strengh but the rain is testing everybody!
At the final checkpoint, I take a wrong turning assuming that we are heading directly back into town. I head back and find the ribbon trail in a quiet village with a couple of dogs barking. I see an arrow and follow it. All of a sudden I am in a colorful underground wonderland. My instinct was right that we were indeed near town. I emerged from this long underground cave just a kilometer from the finish. The streets of the town were dark and drenched. I crossed a very wet finish line. 11th place out of 33 women. Around a third of the runners didn’t finish. I finish at exactly 22 hours!
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