Saturday, October 24. Day three of Stage3-100, which is also the Okon-35.
🏃🏽♂️➡️A dynamic start (the same as Yell-6), with narrow forest trails, cliffs and caves, followed by a steep, exhausting climb (the same as Apaga-15). And only after climbing the top you run to the places the shorter distances don't reach.
A full description of the course, but as brief as possible (first 9 km are skipped):
🏔...After the climb, a short stretch along dirt roads on top of the ridge, then a descent down one of its side spurs, followed by another climb along the edge of the Koachqar cliffs — bizarrely shaped rock formations sculpted by water and wind. This section ends at the second aid station.
🐷A long descent from the Koachqar cliffs to the village of the same name. First along a narrow trail, then long down a dirt road. To your left, you'll see the very cliffs you were just running along the top of, while ahead lies the rocky wall of the Ijevan Ridge (those running the three-day race saw these mountains from the opposite side the day before)
🚩A river crossing (more like a stream at this point), followed by a climb on dirt roads up to Sharukar — a local peak separating the valleys of the Khachakhbyur and Okon rivers. By the way, at some point we'll see the Armenian National Trail markers again. Apart from a couple of exceptions, the rest of our route follows these trails.
⛺️After the aid station at Okon Highlands glamping site, we head back into the beech and oak forests, cross the Khachakhpyur River Canyon again (this time over a small bridge), and follow a beautiful trail along the canyon towards the finish. The trail is technical and fast. There are no long climbs here, but the short, punchy hills will still be enough to leave you thoroughly exhausted!
🏁That's it, race over. You can confidently say, “Never again!” — while already knowing somewhere inside, that it's not true.)
Route details:
35 km, ~2000 m of elevation gain, 3 aid stations. Time limit: 8.5 hours.
Track on the map