Uludag Ultra – UPA66

To be completely honest, I decided to run UPA66 only because there were nothing else available in July 2021 and I would be in Turkey only for a short while. I think most runners would tend to run and re-run the courses they are already familiar with, rather than trying a new race each time. Maybe it is the stubborn Capricorn in me who thinks this way. I don’t know. If I could choose Iznik Ultra or Cappadocia I would choose as my one-and-only-race in 2021 – just because their names are familiar.

Additionally, 3600+ elevation change scared me a bit, especially after three years of zero trail running. I am a road runner after all. Finding a hill to climb is my luxury I can enjoy very rarely these days.

Uludag Ultra event has a super nice website packed full with all kinds of information about the event, AND there are literally thousands of race photos telling the entire story. So I will go a bit easy on the pictures in this post and try to tell you about my impressions. But in case you don’t have the time or patience to read all this, here is what you need to know in a nutshell.

Uludag Ultra is a very professionally organised race. Everything from the accommodations, to safety measures are super nice.
66 K course was, by far the best-marked route I have ever seen. Literally impossible to get lost (let’s say almost) Perfectly suitable for runners trying to improve their navigational skills.
Breathtaking nature, especially in the Uludag Natural Park. They say there are some bears around, luckily I did not see any 😉

I never sleep well before races. Almost always something worrying happens 🙁 This time it was my son. I was in Bodrum on vacation with my in-laws and I was planning to drive directly to Uludag the day before the race. My plan was to arrive early, spend some time hiking, discover around and get used to my surroundings a bit. But my son’s fever was persistent I had to decide between staying home-in case things get serious- or head for the race and risk it. In the end, I decided that I could not risk it and decided to skip the race, be with my family. I am writing these almost one year after the race when Covid is not a serious threat anymore, but it was a big problem by then.

I woke up very early on Friday morning, reading my mails and paper as usual and silently sulking, cursing Covid. My wife found me finishing my first cup of coffee. She was told me that Kuzey had a good nights sleep and his fever is getting better. She sold be flatly that she will not listen to my complaints or tolerate my mood for missing the race. And just like that, I was back in the game.

In retrospect, now I see that I also had my doubts. After spending two years away from any serious running, I guess this is normal -especially with my injury history.

The temperature in Manila oscillates around 30 Celsius round the year. I naively expected Uludag to be warm because the race in July and the weather was scorching hot in Bodrum as well. But when I showed up at the starting line at 5:45 am, I realised that might be in trouble. I was seriously under-dressed for the occasion, the weather was very cool and the forecast said there would be much rain, wind and misery for the rest of the day. The organisation committee previously cancelled the 100K event and transferred the runners to 66K. (for some reason I don’t remember, but maybe weather also played a role)

Still, there I was, alive and kicking, undertrained, overweight but happy as a pig and this should be the spirit.

Uludag Ultra is a reverse race, elevation wise. In most races the course starts as low elevations and you tend to climb more in the earlier phases of the race. Here we started at the top around 1800 meters, run downhill in the first half and descended as low as 375, then climbed back all the way to the top at 2450 m and ended the race again at 1800 meters. The first half of the course was through a thick, dark forest. Despite the not-so-low number of runners, I was mostly alone and had some difficulty finding my way. It is amazing how dark and lonely it can get in the forest in broad daylight.

After the first 20 something kilometres, the forest clears suddenly and you see Bursa lying at your feet. Between 20 to 42nd kilometres, it feels more like a weekend fun-run than a trail rare, which is not bad thing 🙂 Lots of things to eat and drink at the stations. Although I rarely eat a lot, it is good to know that you have the option.

I’ve seen some comments about the first half of the race being too technical. It is not. It is not a road marathon course, yes, but it is not a challenging course even for beginners.

Uludag has a beautiful nature. It is futile to try to describe it here in words and pictures rarely tell the entire story. I cursed myself a lot for not discovering this park in my earlier life when I could.

One thing I have mixed feelings about is using plastic tape for course marking. Locals don’t like it. The goat don’t like it. The organisation committee does not like it but they said they have little choice and assured us that all plastic markings are being cleaned after the race. I hope they do that. Getting lost at Uludag is not easy – it is a single summit mountain and the race is around it. Maybe they should consider going easy on the course-marking next time. Learning some navigation and getting lost occasionally should be the part of game.

After Saitabat, which is around 40th km, we started a long climb. That’s not, again, a technical trail. You simply follow dirt roads all the way to the summit. The view is fantastic. In our case, we started the climb under a bright sun, 30 degrees and ended in foggy mountain air, as cool as 2-3 degrees.

You see that I don’t carry running poles. This is stupid. Smart people use poles. Use poles.

I was luck enough to have Mustafa Alemdar with me during the ascent. It is always good to have a buddy who has more experience. He was doing a “training run” for the upcoming UTMB and just increased his pace to meet his time goal after the summit.

After 55th KM, things went south. Temperature dropped, a numbingly cold rain and wind froze my brain and I remembered that I was severely underdressed to this party. I was 100% wet, everywhere. My hands went so numb I decided not to risk changing my socks or try to put on my base layer.

Hypothermia is no joke and it was pretty scary. Maybe you’ve heard about the unfortunate event in China where 21 fellow runners lost their lives because of adverse weather. Exposure, especially sudden ones in high altitudes can be very threatening, so it is always better to be prudent and carry some extra protective gear- just in case.

In that desperate moment, I came across another runner and we covered the last leg together. Having someone else in those difficult moments is very comforting.

The final descent of the racecourse passes through an old open mine, called “maden”, and it was a bit scary. A very short but steep, rocky trail with sprinkled with rocks like daggers. Can be very dangerous if you slipped. Wind and rain made it worse. I really wished I carried poles and had some dry clothes.

Long story short, it was a very enjoyable event except for the last ten kilometres where cold and rain was the trouble.

Finally, I completed the race under 13 hours, running only during the first 30 kilometres. It is true that you can complete most ultras under cutoff times if you are a steady, consistent walker. But please remember that even walking can be very taxing and difficult, especially if you don’t pay much attention to nutrition and clothing.

I can’t help but wonder how things would be like I were bit lighter, more trained and better equipped. Perhaps I am like most runners- the moment you finish a race, all memory of difficulty disappears and you start dreaming about the next one.

Today is the 1st of May 2022 and I am training again. If I can get my ass to Bursa once again, (“inshallah” we say in Turkish), I am planning to run the 100K course. I hope I can make it to the start line once more, uninjured, still overweight, with poles and cold/weather gear this time, and I hope I can see you fellow runners there.