We catch up with Alvaro de la Camara on his Big 3 Project after a successful Paddy Buckley Round in Eryri, he heads north to the Highlands to take on the Charlie Ramsay Round.
Triumph, Torture & Torta: Trofeo Nasego Classic
Oscar Subuh-Symons
Oscar pulls on the England vest and takes his first foray into the European race scene at Trofeo Nasego. But like all debuts, there is no triumph without tragedy. In this case, navigating the vagaries of Italian breakfast buffets and finding the fine line between enough caffeine to keep you bright-eyed and bushy-tailed ahead of your race and so much that you see the face of god as you vomit into a bush whilst hearing colours. Despite taking enough stimulants to down a shire horse, Oscar manages a taste of the dolce vita, holding his own amongst the internationals and continues a great season of racing.
After a sketchy travel journey sprinting for train connections thanks to some pesky delays—I was finally in Italy, excited to experience some European racing.
When people first pointed out the race finish to me, I thought they were joking—the grassy bank at the top looked more like a cliff. But then I saw the faint outline of the finish-line tape up there and knew I was in for a very different experience compared to running my local hills
For the last 200 m of climbing, it was simply a case of emptying the tank.
Day 1 – Nasego Vertical
VK style of racing: 1,001 m elevation (according to my watch) over 4.2 km. The race started on a fairly moderate gradient for the first 600 m on the road before ramping up and from there, the steepness was unrelenting.
Having never done a VK before , I went for a “Mr. Boring-Boring” approach: using heart rate to manage my effort for the first 700 m of elevation. I know that my running-threshold HR (the max I can sustain for 1 hr) is around 185 bpm, so I tried to keep it around there for the first 700 m of climbing. I didn’t want to blow up spectacularly, since it was only going to get steeper!
The second 500 m of elevation (Strava segment) averages 38.5 %. From that point on, the course followed very narrow paths, which made overtaking quite difficult—I ended up tucked at the back of a small Italian–French grupetto. For the last 200 m of climbing, it was simply a case of emptying the tank. In the final 100m, I was praying my watch was recording elevation correctly, since I still hadn’t seen the tape—hidden around the next corner. One final painful push landed me 19th and 1st counter for the English team, which I was pretty happy with for my first race in Europe.
I realised, a little too late, that I’d taken 600 mg of caffeine in total...I would not recommend this to anyone
After the race, there were refreshments at the mountain refuge at 1,286 m, not far from the finish line. After a brisk hike down to the road, we hopped on a bus to descend the rest of the way. I sat next to a runner I’d never met before, he introduced himself as Richard from team Run2gether. As he told me about Cambogo, his hometown, and his new team, I was thinking, “Hmm, this guy sounds pretty speedy.” When I asked if he did any flat racing, he replied, “Yes—10 km, 27 minutes.” Safe to say, he ticked that box. I found out later that he’d won the vertical race—setting a new course record and finishing 1 minute 27 seconds ahead of second place, a pretty crazy margin for such a short race! The atmosphere generally amongst athletes was very friendly and humble.
Another example of this the next morning, before the Classic, I was wandering around like a zombie (waking up at 5 AM UK time is not my cup of tea!), and I was struggling with the fancy hotel egg steamer at breakfast. One of the Italian athletes popped by and introduced himself as an egg steamer eggspert and handily took over. He turned out to be Luciano Rota, who would later finish 5th in the Classic Race behind the Kenyan 1 2 3 4 sweep
To compensate for some particularly poor sleep, I had bought Tesco caffeine pills and combined these with three coffees. Thinking, “I’m so tired, I can’t really feel this caffeine,” definitely backfired. I realized, a little too late, that I’d taken 600 mg of caffeine in total. Breaking the golden rule of “don’t try anything new on race day,” I would not recommend this to anyone—unless they’ve tested it in training—as some rather non-ideal mid-race vomiting and nutrition issues ensued.
Eryri’s wet slate trails had trained me well for the descent clocking in a 3:01 km down an 18 % gradient felt pretty good!
Day 2 – Trofeo Nasego Classic
The race started with some rolling hills for the first 11 km. After a bit of an iffy start the stomach settled after about an hour, and the big climb loomed: 750 m of climbing over 6 km (Trofeo Nasego Main Ascent). Having not managed much nutrition, it was a true suffer-fest. It’s an odd feeling when your legs feel empty and you can’t get your HR up to push, especially for a shorter-distance racer like me!
Eryri’s wet slate trails had trained me well for the descent clocking in a 3:01 km down an 18 % gradient felt pretty good! However, a final little rise three-quarters of the way caught me off guard—not appreciated after that descent! I finished 22nd overall and 3rd among the England men, who had some cracking results.
I definitely caught the European racing bug and can’t wait to come back for more!
Oscar pulls on the England vest and takes his first foray into the European race scene at Trofeo Nasego. But like all debuts, there is no triumph without tragedy. In this case, navigating the vagaries of Italian breakfast buffets and finding the fine line between enough caffeine to keep you bright-eyed and bushy-tailed ahead of your race and so much that you see the face of god as you vomit into a bush whilst hearing colours. Despite taking enough stimulants to down a shire horse, Oscar manages a taste of the dolce vita, holding his own amongst the internationals and continues a great season of racing.
After a sketchy travel journey sprinting for train connections thanks to some pesky delays—I was finally in Italy, excited to experience some European racing.
When people first pointed out the race finish to me, I thought they were joking—the grassy bank at the top looked more like a cliff. But then I saw the faint outline of the finish-line tape up there and knew I was in for a very different experience compared to running my local hills
For the last 200 m of climbing, it was simply a case of emptying the tank.
Day 1 – Nasego Vertical
VK style of racing: 1,001 m elevation (according to my watch) over 4.2 km. The race started on a fairly moderate gradient for the first 600 m on the road before ramping up and from there, the steepness was unrelenting.
Having never done a VK before , I went for a “Mr. Boring-Boring” approach: using heart rate to manage my effort for the first 700 m of elevation. I know that my running-threshold HR (the max I can sustain for 1 hr) is around 185 bpm, so I tried to keep it around there for the first 700 m of climbing. I didn’t want to blow up spectacularly, since it was only going to get steeper!
The second 500 m of elevation (Strava segment) averages 38.5 %. From that point on, the course followed very narrow paths, which made overtaking quite difficult—I ended up tucked at the back of a small Italian–French grupetto. For the last 200 m of climbing, it was simply a case of emptying the tank. In the final 100m, I was praying my watch was recording elevation correctly, since I still hadn’t seen the tape—hidden around the next corner. One final painful push landed me 19th and 1st counter for the English team, which I was pretty happy with for my first race in Europe.
I realised, a little too late, that I’d taken 600 mg of caffeine in total...I would not recommend this to anyone
After the race, there were refreshments at the mountain refuge at 1,286 m, not far from the finish line. After a brisk hike down to the road, we hopped on a bus to descend the rest of the way. I sat next to a runner I’d never met before, he introduced himself as Richard from team Run2gether. As he told me about Cambogo, his hometown, and his new team, I was thinking, “Hmm, this guy sounds pretty speedy.” When I asked if he did any flat racing, he replied, “Yes—10 km, 27 minutes.” Safe to say, he ticked that box. I found out later that he’d won the vertical race—setting a new course record and finishing 1 minute 27 seconds ahead of second place, a pretty crazy margin for such a short race! The atmosphere generally amongst athletes was very friendly and humble.
Another example of this the next morning, before the Classic, I was wandering around like a zombie (waking up at 5 AM UK time is not my cup of tea!), and I was struggling with the fancy hotel egg steamer at breakfast. One of the Italian athletes popped by and introduced himself as an egg steamer eggspert and handily took over. He turned out to be Luciano Rota, who would later finish 5th in the Classic Race behind the Kenyan 1 2 3 4 sweep
To compensate for some particularly poor sleep, I had bought Tesco caffeine pills and combined these with three coffees. Thinking, “I’m so tired, I can’t really feel this caffeine,” definitely backfired. I realized, a little too late, that I’d taken 600 mg of caffeine in total. Breaking the golden rule of “don’t try anything new on race day,” I would not recommend this to anyone—unless they’ve tested it in training—as some rather non-ideal mid-race vomiting and nutrition issues ensued.
Eryri’s wet slate trails had trained me well for the descent clocking in a 3:01 km down an 18 % gradient felt pretty good!
Day 2 – Trofeo Nasego Classic
The race started with some rolling hills for the first 11 km. After a bit of an iffy start the stomach settled after about an hour, and the big climb loomed: 750 m of climbing over 6 km (Trofeo Nasego Main Ascent). Having not managed much nutrition, it was a true suffer-fest. It’s an odd feeling when your legs feel empty and you can’t get your HR up to push, especially for a shorter-distance racer like me!
Eryri’s wet slate trails had trained me well for the descent clocking in a 3:01 km down an 18 % gradient felt pretty good! However, a final little rise three-quarters of the way caught me off guard—not appreciated after that descent! I finished 22nd overall and 3rd among the England men, who had some cracking results.
I definitely caught the European racing bug and can’t wait to come back for more!
Oscar originally grew up down south in the flatlands near London, but immediately saw the light when he came north for uni. Originally a cross country runner and triathlete, he was immediately hooked on mountain running after his first Lakes run up Blencathra and Skiddaw. You'll find him on steep and techy stuff and is a sucker for a sufferfest.
Oscar originally grew up down south in the flatlands near London, but immediately saw the light when he came north for uni. Originally a cross country runner and triathlete, he was immediately hooked on mountain running after his first Lakes run up Blencathra and Skiddaw. You'll find him on steep and techy stuff and is a sucker for a sufferfest.
If you have a story to tell, whether it’s from the OMM, another race or challenge or just how you use our kit, get in touch! Just pop an email to james@team-ark.com and who knows, you might just earn yourself some free kit!
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