La Ruta de Las Fortalezas (‘the route of the fortresses’), also known as RDLF among the trail runners, is a yearly recurring event in the historical city of Cartagena in Spain. This small city features a natural harbour surrounded by a number of small mountains with a fortress on top of each of them. Participants of the RDLF walk or run a 53 km trail with an altitude difference up and down of almost 2 km. The views from the fortresses are stunning, and the participants are treated to the historical Roman sites that Cartagena has to offer. Being also a military city, the Spanish army is very present along the route, ensuring that all goes well, that participants get food and drinks, guidance, and medical help. I have rarely seen such a well organized event.
For me, someone with family ties in Cartagena, this trail offers a perfect training ground for climbs with long summit nights. For my Broad Peak expedition of 2022, it was a lovely rehearsal where I took exactly the same food, drinks and summit backpack as I expected to do on Broad Peak. I did a similar rehearsal there for my Elbrus climb in 2018. The RDLF is a yearly event that I try to participate to every time. I’m not going to lie: 53 km in one day with 2 km up and down is no evening stroll, and there are years where I don’t make it. With my extensive year-long training before the Broad Peak expedition, the 2022 edition went easy despite looking a bit odd as a tall Dutch with a heavy backpack amongst 10,000 smaller Spanish runners.
This year though, something was wrong. I know that after my Broad Peak expedition I held back from training to maximize time with family. But still…when climbing the second 250m hill I nearly collapsed. I sat down in order not to faint. Other participants offered help but I declined; sometimes when I gain altitude quickly I could get a bit dizzy, so I thought a small break with water would do the trick.
It didn’t.
I continued until km 40 and decided to stop. An agonizing pain in my shoulder blade grew stronger, so it was time to throw the towel. Took a few days of rest and flew home to participate to a car race in Donington Park, England. On my way back from England, again a horrible pain in the shoulder blade developed, now with breathing problems. Back home I visited the doctor and took a blood test. That same afternoon the doctor called after receiving the blood test results. ‘Go to the first aid in the hospital immediately’, she ordered. I obeyed. The diagnosis was Pulmonary Embolism. Luckily not a large blood cloth, but still it meant taking blood thinners for the rest of my life. Now, over four months later, the breathing problems are still there and the doctor concluded that these breathing problem are not caused by the pulmonary embolism. So what could it be?
Rewind to 4 July 2022. I am on my way to the summit of Broad Peak. During the rotation a pain in my right shoulder blade developed. It happened as well during my training but not as severe as this. I knew I had the aerobic endurance to go to the top, but the pain just made it an unenjoyable climb, so I turned around. Little did I know…this may very well be the problem I have today. After several months of research the doctors concluded last week that my breathing problems are due to a nerve being trapped by a malfunctioning muscle which connects diaphragm and the shoulder/neck area, caused in turn by a Backpackers Syndrome that was probably developed during the Broad Peak training. It was a slap in the face, – one so overwhelming that I didn’t get back on my feet yet. I have never experienced such a serious disease as now. Just as I started training for a possible 2024 Everest attempt, I was told that a one-year recovery is expected, if it heals at all. One year!
So enough ranting… While I can hardly walk up the stairs with speed now, or can hardly carry my child, tie my shoes or lie on my back, I can do everything else including low intensity leg strength training, slow hiking and jogging. I can train, and I can get better. Everest can wait. The RDLF is there every year and even if it takes me twice as long, it remains a beautiful hike to do; I highly recommend it to anybody looking for a challenge. It is my new target.
The recovery road leading towards RDLF 2024 starts now.
Ciao!
Robin
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