Written by Angela Moore - https://angemoo.wordpress.com

This time last year I was a road runner who had just completed my first Marathon, 6 minutes slower than I would have liked, but still not a bad effort. To me, at the time, it was the best thing I had ever done, I liked long distance running. A few weeks later i came across a write up on the Transylvania 100k and 50k in a running magazine, my immediate reaction ….COOL !!! … being a bit of a goth I had always wanted to go there and visit Dracula’s Castle. I laughed at the idea and tried to forget about it, but I couldn’t. I began to do a bit of research only to discover that Transylvania has more bears and wolves than any other region in Europe and it involved running up quite big mountains. It also required a bit of experience of ultra distance running and navigation. I booked myself on a trail running weekend, got myself through a 50k and next thing i know I have signed up  … GULP !!!

I put myself through a few tough, very hilly races to try and prepare for this. I completed a 30mile, a 55 mile and a 100k, but this was the one I was worried about, I had no Idea if I could do it, and what would I do if i bumped into a bear or got surrounded by a pack of wolves, what had I done !!!

Before I knew it I was standing at the start line beneath Bran Castle with Vlad Tepes roaring at me and holding a very large knife to my throat. He was very lively, it was not even 6am, and I had not had a coffee. At 6am, he struck his gong and sent us off on our adventure. I believe we had a police escort out of town, I didn’t expect to be getting one back in to town too !

The first 2k was along the road out of Bran and then we hit the trails. It was starting to get a bit hilly, it occurred to me I had set off in far too many clothes, it was getting rather warm. When I spotted what looked to be ski lifts or cable cars I knew it was about to get a whole lot harder, so stopped for a minute to take some layers off …much better !! I set off up what was the first climb of around 1000m, this was the one I was dreading and yes it hurt but the views were amazing. The runners had spread out a lot by this point. I was alone, I could see people in front and behind, but they were quite a distance away. The first part of the climb was on large open fields but then it changed, getting much steeper and through dense woodland … my first thought …. BEARS !! It was a bit disturbing … I took to gently blowing the bear whistle we were given at registration before going round bends, hoping that it would keep them away and not attract them. The climb went on and on, but worrying about bears kept me moving. I was really feeing it, but I didn’t think I was doing too badly.

Eventually the trails started heading down through the woods. I enjoyed this bit, it was clearly marked and a lot of fun. I heard footsteps behind me and it was a lady I had met the night before at registration. We started running together, quite fast through a nice downhill section. We came to a road with a race banner on it and markers telling us to cross the bridge. This took us to some clearly marked open fields and some pretty woodland. We were running really well. The markers indicated that we should climb down a very steep hill. I was hanging off trees trying to get down so I got my new poles out. I had never used them before, I managed to put them together without a hitch and they were a godsend !! We got to the bottom of the hill in 1 piece, fell out of the trees and onto a road … Then DISASTER !!!

First thing we saw were two angry little dogs running at us, luckily they got bored of us pretty quickly when we ignored them, but there were no markers in sight … A little look at the map, didn’t help much as it had been sat in my backpack and I had no idea where we were, so I got my fancy Garmin GPS gadget out with the route on it … I couldn’t make out where we were on that either. I said to my running friend .. Is that Bran Castle ??? She had a look at her map … and it was … The race started at Bran Castle and finished at Bran Castle …. we had gone the wrong way, we were following the markers to the finish !!! It appears we had gone quite a long way off route, I was gutted, I cannot tell you !!

We started to backtrack and bumped into three other ladies who had made the exact same mistake. My friend and I ran ahead…. and after an awful lot of running round without a clue we got back on the track ….. NEAR THE SKI LIFTS !!! I could have cried !! By this point we were 4 hours in and we had to do the 1000m climb again, it had nearly finished my legs off the first time !! We reluctantly got on with it moaning and swearing until we were too tired to speak. I was not afraid of bears now .. i was so pissed off about going wrong I was more like … bring it on !! Climbing up here a second time was worse, I was really struggling near the top, my legs were like jelly and I was feeling quite lightheaded and a bit sick. Eventually we were on the downhill again, following the markers. I felt a lot better and we got to speed up again. It was clear to me that we had missed a turn off somewhere and I was determined not to miss it again. My friend was also cautious. Further down the track we had different ideas about which way to go. I believed we were on the correct path, she thought we needed to go back so we agreed to split up .. I knew that if I went wrong I could find my way back to the Castle. I’m not one for giving up easily, but I didn’t fancy running round in circles all day because I couldn’t follow the route.

We went our seperate ways and shortly after … there it was, a turn off to the left between some bushes with 3 stripey ribbons hanging off them !!! I was now making progress. I knew that time was not on my side, but I was going to finish !! I was not going wrong again. This was the start of another 600m climb, only this was much steeper and all you could see was woods .. I started thinking about bears again and putting the whistle to good use. This part seemed to go on forever and ever. I thought my legs were going to collapse but I didn’t want to hang around, so I kept marching up and up … Next thing I hear .. Angie is that you ??? My friend was back on route too. The climb eventally flattened out a bit, we were out of the woods and started seeing large patches of snow and rocky mountains, and the air was a lot cooler. After a while we hit Checkpoint Gaura where the lovely cheerful marshalls gave me the best thing in the world …. a cup of coffee !!!

After a short stop to refuel we were on out way again, the marshall showed us which way to go and it was a case of following not just the race markers but big blue triangles, permanent trail signs, no problemo. The trail was still climbing up but it was a lot more gradual. The terrain was also getting more interesting. We were up in the mountains now, the views were awesome, I wish i’d taken more photos but I was concentrating on not getting lost.

We reached the second checkpoint at Strunga. A man sat at the top of a hill gave our numbers in, and we headed off again. We were having to trek through quite a bit of snow now, no sheer drops though, so that was OK. As it was getting quite cold, I put my windproof jacket and gloves on. We noticed it was starting to get a bit foggy. After a while, we were approaching the highest point of the race at around 1900m. Visability was not good at all up here and the wind was biting and really strong. I was thinking it might start going dark soon, it was getting a bit serious now.

At the next checkpoint, the marshalls had a tent set up with food and water. We got in the tent, had a bite to eat and a giggle, got all our layers on set to conquer the rest. While we were in the tent we could hear thunder and lightning … Not ideal !! Leaving that nice warm tent was very difficult haha. The marshall sent us off in the right direction, there were now lights on the markers to aid runners in poor visability. The route was now looking a bit like the pics below, only a lot darker and foggier by the time we got there.

The marshall had told us we had a good runnable downhill section coming up to the next checkpoint. My legs felt a lot stronger after a little sit down, and I had more energy after downing a bag of crisps, so I was looking forward to this. The trail was easy to follow even through the fog, but I was getting a bit confused as we were still ascending. We were on the right track though, it was OK surely. We knew we had a right turn off at some point .. maybe it starts going down there ??? We missed the turn off but quickly realised and found it. When we turned right, ribbons were leading us through some rather large, scratchy, heathery type bushes. My main concern was, these better not rip my SKINS !!! We then came to a crossroad, no markers of any description in sight, and right at the top of the mountain. We knew exactly where we were on the map, but could not work out where to go next. We searched round for a while, but it was getting very dark with the fog. It occurred to me that we might actually be in a bit of trouble if we hung around up here too long.

It was then that we made a very bad decision. There was a track going to the left, and another to the right, but no trail heading downwards off the mountain. We decide to get off the mountain by taking the route with no trail. This is where the hell started … I will remember the next 4 or 5 hours for the rest of my life !!!

Straight away it was apparent that this was not the correct route. We were heading down nicely, and then we come across what I can only describe as a huge, and I mean HUGE, crater full of snow heading down the mountain like a ski piste and a sheer drop down to it … Right, we will avoid falling down there then. This was to be the first of many !! We were now literally sliding down the mountain on our arses on wet rocks, long grass, and other spikey plants, and coming across these snowfields every now and again. I was starting to get a bit scared, we were lost now and not in a good place. I lost sight of my friend, I called her and she called back, she was on the other side of a snowfield !!! She had walked across it !! I looked down and it was steep !! I could not even see the bottom, one slip and that would be it !!! … I said I am not crossing that (I might have used slightly stronger language) … she said don’t look down and step in my footsteps .. I then did possibly the most stupid thing I have ever done in my life… I crossed it .. I don’t really want to think about this any longer.

We crawled down for what seemed like hours, trees flicking in our faces, grabbing at plants, slipping down rocks. I had a little cry. It felt like we were never going to get out of here. We eventually reached the bottom, a stream, something told me we needed to follow it downstream … perfect !! But it wasn’t perfect. I started thinking, I am in Transylvania, there are bears and wolves in the woods, I am walking through a stream with dense woods either side of me with no idea where I am !!! I decided it was time to let people know we were in trouble, the race was over, and we just needed to get to safety.

My friend spoke to the Romanian Mountain Rescue, they said they would send people out looking but we had no idea where we were. Other runners were also missing and some guy was seriously injured, the route was being searched, but we were not on the trail. The phone signal wasn’t great, but we managed to contact people to let the race organisers know the situation. I was also told that ‘The Rescue Boys’ were out looking for us … not sure who they were but this sounded quite exciting .. ripped hunks with head torches I was thinking ??? Anyway … we continued downstream, we thought we saw and heard a helicopter … I looked up and saw about 10 .. then slowly realised they were stars .. I do not know to this day if there was a helicopter out. I was seeing all sorts in the dark, imagination working overtime I suppose. I saw a pack of wolves on the hill .. they were tree stumps. It was quite mad … or I had gone mad ?? We walked for what felt like hours, blowing the whistles and finally the stream turned into a trail and then it turned to tarmac … there were lights, and we had found a village. I don’t know how but the police were waiting for us to drive us back to the finish at Bran Castle.

I was gutted not to finish this race. In retrospect, I clearly need to learn how to navigate properly. I went to see the organisers the following morning, I got a big hug and a ‘so glad you are OK’, and they gave me a free mug for having the best adventure …. and I’m allowed back next year !!! ….. I cant wait :D