Bandolerita

Waiting in the Lufthansa Senator lounge next to the Z-gates in Frankfurt, Anna and I got to see Lufthansa planes departing to all corners of the world. Though our original plan had been to take the S5 and hike a bit in the Taunus, the arrival of the extra-tropical storm Kirk made us to rethink and instead stay at the airport until our late-night flight to Gothenburg.

With all the planes in the background, it felt like the right moment to book a major trail running adventure for 2025. Having secured entry to the much-coveted 80k “Bandolerita” in Andalusia, I saw the opportunity to combine this race with a trip to celebrate that Sofi turns fifty, all while completing my status match challenge with SAS at a very reasonable cost (the beauty of booking flights five months in advance). Starting in the tiny town of Prado del Rey on 8 March, the race has 3,293 meters of positive elevation and will probably take up to 15 hours to complete given the extreme terrain in the Sierra de Grazalema. As such, it will be the perfect way of keeping me motivated at the gym throughout the winter.