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Grande Traversata Elbana (FKT)
Posted on March 19th, 2013
Words: Filippo Canetta
I find myself increasingly drawn to the idea of trying to set a time on a given route, or at least the fastest known time (FKT).
Running just to find out how long it takes to get from one place to another under your own power, or for the sheer pleasure of seeing how fast you can make it to the other end of a route.
Comparing yourself to others matters less than the experience itself, discovering a place by basing your run purely on your own instincts.
You run driven only by your own inner impulses, nothing else out there except a distant, invisible satellite in space, tracking our movements and our heartbeats.
With these thoughts in mind, on April 29, 2013, I set off from Cavo for my Traversata Elbana. Fully aware that this isn't a race in the traditional sense, that there's nothing to win, no starting arch, no finish tape to break, I still wanted to try to give my best on its trails.
The GTE begins its long, winding path across the island's trails from a stunning terrace over the sea at the edge of the village of Cavo, from where the mainland seems so close.
I move at a good pace, focused on the route that takes me up to the summit of Monte Grosso. The day is very humid, and the Scirocco wind piles a thin haze over the peak. My best intentions soon take a hard hit, I can't find the trail to descend. I try every direction, starting with the most logical one, but all the tracks vanish into thick vegetation after just a few dozen meters. I'm losing a lot of time. I frantically check the map I'm carrying, again and again. I start thinking that, after everything I did to get here, my adventure can't end like this. The haze robs me of any reliable landmarks. So I decide to head in the most likely direction, hoping to rejoin the trail further down. I move slowly through brambles, myrtle and rosemary that keep scratching my bare legs. Before long the vegetation gets as tall as I am, I can't even see anymore whether I'm heading the right way. I realize it's simply not possible to keep going this way. I feel lost, and I try to retrace my steps, but the vegetation I'd flattened on the way down has sprung back up, fighting my slow progress back toward the summit. I have only one option, climb back up and come back down from where I started, to a junction that will lead me onto the paved road connecting back to the GTE trail. By the time I reach the trail, my legs are covered in blood, and more than twenty minutes have passed, minutes that felt like an eternity. Relieved to be running again, I try to make up time, pushing hard down the descent. When I finally rejoin the route, I estimate I've covered more than two extra kilometers, but what bothers me most is having skipped a stretch, small as it may be, of the original course.
The middle section of the route is magnificent. A ridge trail passing first by Monte Strega, then Monte Capannello, with a stunning view of Volterraio Castle, then Cima del Monte, and finally Monte Castello. It feels like flying over the island, the view stretching across the whole route with the sea all around. I recover the first of the water bottles I'd left along the way. The little note I'd attached, explaining it would be removed, did its job. My run takes on a more intimate, personal dimension. I'm alone, in this challenge against myself, with no course markers and no other competitors in sight.
I drop quickly toward Casa Marchetti, crossing a series of private properties whose artificial boundaries have broken up the GTE's original route, forcing me to add roughly a kilometer and a half. Then it's back uphill to Monte Orello, where I find my second water stash. The descent takes me almost down above Portoferraio, where, after a quick splash at the only spring on the route, I climb back up again, heading back into the island's interior. It's hot, and I start dreading the demanding climb up Monte Capanne. Instead, it's the heat itself, drawing out all the scents of the Mediterranean scrub, that ends up helping me along on my slow progress. This time of year, thanks also to heavy rainfall, everything is in bloom. Lavender, broom and rockrose line the red-earth trail as it climbs. The trail that carries me quickly from Monte Perone to Monte Capanne is, I think, one of the most beautiful I've ever run in my life. I wish my legs still had enough strength left to hop across the rocks that pave it.
The moment I crest the ridge at Le Filicaie, the wind from the south hits me with full force, as if trying to stop me from descending the mountain toward the sea. The trail leading me to Pomonte isn't the easiest, and a few sections force me down onto all fours, slowing me considerably. For the first time, I check my watch. Six hours haven't passed yet, I try to push to reach my goal, but the finish is still far off, and I'll stop the clock at 6 hours and 16 minutes from the start.
A few days later, going back over my GPS track (the only thing I wanted to leave behind on my way through) with friends from Atletica Isola d'Elba, whom I can't thank enough for their help, I retrace my mistakes. I covered four extra kilometers and lost nearly forty minutes in stops altogether. I'll have to come back to improve my time.
PS: looking down at Monte Grosso from Google Maps satellite view, the trail I couldn't find appears clearly, in all its glory, cutting through what's now very sparse, low vegetation. I smile, knowing just how dense and tall it is now. Nature has taken its course, reclaiming its ground.
FEW BASIC RULES:
Safety: everyone must be properly equipped and well prepared
Respect for the environment: you may leave supply caches along the route, but they must be retrieved during or after completing your record attempt. Leaving any kind of waste on the trail is strictly forbidden, in fact, any reconnaissance outings are a great opportunity to help clean up and keep the trails tidy.
FEW GOOD PRACTICES
Announce your intentions ahead of time.
It's nice to invite anyone to come watch or, better yet, to take part in your attempt. This makes the effort more enjoyable and the times easier to verify.
Take photos or video during your speed record attempt. They'll make a great memento of your feat.
Consider using a GPS.
Have fun and enjoy the scenery.
All records rely on the trust and good faith of those who set them.
