"Zegama is Zegama" said Kilian Jornet, nine times champion of the Zegama-Aizkorri alpine marathon. And how right he was! Because Zegama is unique.
This small town in Gipuzkoa, lost in the middle of the Basque mountains, may seem like a quiet place without much excitement at first sight, but don't be fooled... Every year Zegama becomes the star destination for trail running lovers from all over the world. The Zegama-Aizkorri route is 42 km long with a positive height difference of 2,736 m and landscapes like I have never seen before. Every edition the best of the international athletes fight in this very hard race, but this year the coronavirus spoiled everything. Anyway, I decided not to settle for it and took the opportunity for a short getaway in the Basque Country and a walk in the mountains.
After seven hours on the road, Zegama woke up on Wednesday morning covered in mist. I could hardly see anything around me, but around noon, when the fog gave way to the sun, a spectacular landscape opened up before my eyes. Rocky peaks, like titans from the heights; beech forests as far as the eye can see; horses and sheep in absolute freedom and a magical feeling that ran through my body. There on the summit, above the clouds, everything seemed so small, and it made me realize my own fragility in the face of the nature around me.
I'm not going to lie to you, the route was the hardest I had ever done, but also the most beautiful. It was a long and intense day, but it was short because both Zegama and the surrounding villages have infinite stories to offer, roads to get lost in and magical places to discover. There were so many other routes that in my short three days in the Basque Country I couldn't walk or run. But now I have an excuse to go back, don't I?
John Muir used to say that "the mountains are calling and I must go", but this place calls with a special voice, because this place is unique. Zegama is Zegama.
See you soon!
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