What It’s Like Running The Camino de Santiago
Part 2: learn how it’s possible to run the Camino Frances
So you want to know what it’s like running the Camino de Santiago?
Demanding and lonely.
Running the Camino de Santiago is the biggest challenge that I have undertaken - testing my body, mind, and spirit. Imagine running 45km a day for 2 and a half weeks straight. That’s more than a marathon every day in the Spanish countryside whilst your friends and family go about their day-to-day lives. It’s almost one million steps, one foot in front of the other. It’s near complete isolation each day as you pass hundreds of other pilgrims out on the trail.
It is also one of the most rewarding things that I have ever done (up there with learning Spanish during my travels throughout Latin America last year). It’s life condensed into 24 hours each and every day. It’s easy, you get up, run, eat, journal, explore, and sleep. It’s a break from the ‘real’ world where you can be and think whatever you want.
It’s something that I would recommend to anyone who has the capability. There are few other places that are so well equipped for you to push yourself to the absolute limit. With a town or water source every five kilometres on average, you are never too far away from hydration or satiation.
The following paragraphs go into depth about my experience running the Camino Frances across Northern Spain in May 2024.
Planning
Route Planning:
My planning for the Camino - as with most of these things - was pretty rinky dink, thrown together the day before the adventure. It’s funny, when I used to travel I would have everything organised well ahead of time; now I consult a few blogs on the bus from the airport to the city and cherry pick the items that sounds the most interesting to me. In keeping with this theme, the Camino was no different. I had a few town/albergue recommendations from friends which I tried to squeeze in where I could. However, where I stopped each evening was primarily informed by distance.
To plan the route, I simply opened Strava and plotted a line day-by-day that would have me running around 45km per day. I plotted the route that was most used on the global Strava heatmap as I hadn’t done any research into route variations. SPOILER: there are quite a few.
In hindsight, I definitely should have used some apps to help plan my route. Most people use a combination of apps throughout their journey. The big three are Wise Pilgrim (Camino Frances), Buen Camino, and Camino Ninja.
Wise Pilgrim: this one cost me £4.99 but was worth every penny. It is essentially its own guide converted into an app. The ease which which you can calculate distances to and from towns, the elevation profile, the bio about all of the towns, and the accommodations information including number of beds, price, reviews, and contact details.
Camino Ninja: is a popular one on the trail. I used this one specifically as it would show the distance and elevation ascent/descent between two points. It also had basic information about the accommodation, but I didn’t use it for this.
Buen Camino: this one was recommended to me in the Pilgrim’s Office and seemed to be quite a well rounded app, but I never quite managed to wrap my head around it - largely because I was already using Wise Pilgrim.
With these apps in hand, it would have been far easier to plot a better route. Checking which towns had accommodation, supermarkets, cooking facilities etc. Sure, it is easy to change plans on the fly, which I ended up doing. But I would implore anybody else to not plan their route entirely based on lines on Strava when all of this information is available to you.
Laugh as you will, but this was the extent of my planning. My friends told me I looked green at the party I attended on Saturday and the food poisoning had taken full control on Sunday, so this was the limit of my functioning the day before departure. I noted the distance, elevation, and town names in an excel spreadsheet and moved on to packing.
For those curious, at each of the route variations, this is what I chose:
From Saint Jean Pied de Port - I chose the Napoleon route to Roncesvalles instead of the Valcarlos route. This is the more popular route, however, it is closed between November 1 - March 31 and during periods of heavy snow outside of these dates.
From Sierra de Atapuerca - I chose the low route taking in the towns of Villaval, Cardañuela de Riopico, Orbaneja de Riopico. I then followed the route to Castañares skirting the south side of the airport and following the route by the river into Burgos. All reports state that the road route into Burgos is industrious and uninspiring.
From Población de Campos to Villalcázar de Sirga there are two options. Like most other people, I opted for the river route. La Meseta is known for being flat, but it is also the section that has the most trail near to highways, so any break from this is a blessing.
From Calzadilla de la Cueza and Ledigos - I took the standard route.
From Sahagún - I took the route via Bercianos del Real Camino. This was primarily to stay in the donativo albergue here as it worked well with my daily distances, however, I loved my stay at the albergue here and would recommend it.
From La Virgen del Camino - I took the scenic route. Rolling dirt trails vs the same on the road, a no brainer.
From Astorga - I took the scenic route via Castrillo de los Polvazares. This is a little artists village just off the main trail that has cobble stone streets and beautiful houses all throughout. Also an opportunity to bypass some road running.
From Molinaseca - I took the scenic route via Campo, once again to get off the road.
From Pieros - as above, I took the scenic route via Valtuille de Arriba.
From Villafranca del Bierzo - I took the road route. This late into the journey I was trying to save my legs from the extra kms and ascent. This resulted in a gentle climb up the old highway for ~15km. I would probably recommend the scenic route. Though be warned this adds another couple of kms and “a not insignificant amount of ascent and descent.”
From Triacastela - this is the biggest variation on the map, the route via Samos adding an additional 8km. The monastery is colossal, of the same scale as Roncesvalles, if not more magnificent. I did take this route, there is an option to head back onto the main trail or continue along the road. I WOULD recommend the detour to Samos, but WOULD NOT recommend continuing along the road. Head back to the safety of the trail after you pass through Teiguín.
Via O Pedrouzo - I skipped this town largely by accident as the trail follows through the forest. A lot of people spend their penultimate night here. Do so if you fancy, there are only 19 more kms from here to Santiago.
The Packing:
As aforementioned, I was in an absolute state whilst I was trying to do all of this preparation, so I am incredibly impressed that nothing was forgotten for my Camino or trip to Morocco and Spain immediately after.
There are a few options when it comes to luggage. You can carry all of your luggage all of the way. You can send your bag forward each day to where you will be sleeping for about €8 per day. This is great if you’ve picked up an injury or are otherwise unable to carry your luggage. But not so great if you are still feeling chipper and fancy continuing on to the next town. Another shortfall here is that some super traditional Albergues will not let you stay there if you have not carried all of your own luggage. I did not know this was a thing until a lady was turned away from the donativo based albergue in Tosantos. I almost suffered the same fate as a vegan, as some others I’d met had also seen people turned away for not eating meat (and therefore not being able to participate in the communal meals).
The final option, also happens to be the one that I chose. Given that I was going travelling immediately after my trip, I opted to send my duffel bag directly from Saint Jean Pied de Port to Santiago de Compostela. I told them what date I would be arriving and forked out €70 for the service. NB. The bags are picked up from Saint Jean every 2-3 weeks (or so it says on their website), so I was fortunate that mine was being transported within the next week.
Packing List:
For Running:
Carlton FC Bucket hat
Running cap (superfluous, I only used the bucket)
Ear warmer (didn’t use once)
Neck gaiter/buff (didn’t use once)
Gloves (good for the mornings, sometimes I’d still have them on after lunch)
Cycling sleeves (these were the perfect inbetween layer, meaning I didn’t need to put on a second shirt to keep my arms warm. They also kept my arms out of direct sunlight in the afternoon. Not essential, but they were great to have)
2 running tops
1 running singlet
2 running shorts
3 pairs of underwear
3 pairs of running socks (including one pair of Injinji toe socks - these are the key to going blister free)
Salomon Speedcross 6 (would have been better off with more cushioning, you could even get away with road/hybrid runners. It is not a technical trail at all except for ~2% in the mountains.)
Crocs (I almost didn’t pack these, but having a comfy pair of shoes to change into at the end of the day is a godsend)
1 waterproof jacket
1 pair of sunnies
2x Running poles
Head torch
General clothes:
1 short sleeve button down shirt
1 singlet (unnecessary, wasn’t that warm in the evenings in May)
1 quarter zip fleece
1 thermal top
1 pair hiking trousers
Electronics + other:
Too many charging cables (take only what you need in a ziplock bag)
Too many toiletries (take only what you need in a ziplock bag)
Portable charger
Kobo (e-reader I used once)
Journal (heavy but essential)
Polaroid camera (also essential - my Polaroid + Journal are my two most prized possessions)
Pen
1 pair of sunnies
Passport
Camino Passport
Wallet (NB. a lot of places are cash only)
Towel
Headphones (shokz open fit)
Earplugs
2x dry bags
The total weight of the above was 6.5kg. I was carrying 2x 500ml flasks, adding 1kg when full, and maybe 100-500g of food at any one time. Due to the abundance of towns and places to get food on the trail, I wasn’t required to carry too much food along the way.
For my Camino Portugués hike, I will alter the following:
Two sets of running kit
Thermal bottoms instead of trousers
Minimise toiletries to only the essentials
Minimise electronics and chargers to only the essentials
Dismiss the singlet and casual shirt, I can wear my clean set of running clothes
Dismiss secondary running cap, ear warmer, and neck buff
Adding a sleeping bag liner (I was often using the complimentary bedding sheet - akin to an oversized hair net - as my blanket)
This has since been repacked and comes in at a much more respectable weight of 4.8kg.
NB. It is important to note that hiking poles CANNOT be transported in carry-on luggage. So if you are travelling around afterwards like I did, it is more wasteful, but more economical to buy poles before you begin and donating them after you finish. I really dislike the idea of doing this, but I have paid nearly 3x the price of my expensive hiking poles in checked luggage fees.
Accommodation:
As mentioned earlier, I really didn’t do much planning at all about where I was going to stay. Thankfully, doing the Camino in May is still shoulder season and there wasn’t as many pilgrims on the route as there is in summer months. As such, I did not need to book any of my accommodation in advance, with the exception of Santiago de Compostela. I found out that there was a music festival happening 36 hours before I was due to arrive and lucked out finding some cheap accommodation, as dormitory beds were starting at €60.
There are 5 main types of accommodation on the Camino de Santiago:
Municipal Albergues: these are owned by the government and are exclusively for pilgrims. The cost of a bed hovers around €10 across the board. They typically have kitchens and operate on a first come, first served basis. I found these to be more reliable for finding a bed, as they often have >100 beds available. On the flip side, they are often quite soulless compared to more intimate private/donativo Albergues. The beds are typically in rooms of 30+.
Special Mention: Albergue Municipal de Peregrinos - Iglesia de Jesús y Maria. This is inside an old monastery and provides washing and drying services to pilgrims for free.
Private Albergues/Hostels: typically accept reservations and are also open to non-pilgrims. Usually have a slightly higher price point for the additional facilities they provide. They also commonly have a bar or restaurant attached, which can mean that they do not offer a kitchen to make your own food. These can have a lot of character, but fall between municipal and donativo Albergues when comparing the level of connection.
Special Mention: La Casa Magica - a quaint little albergue with hammocks, a foot bath, single beds, and some of the best damn paella I’ve ever eaten.
Association/Donativo Albergues: I would recommend these wherever possible. Towards the end, I skipped the facilities of bigger cities for the connection found in these type of Albergues. Commonly run by a religious order, these Albergues are kept afloat by your donations. They will typically include dinner + breakfast and often have the opportunity for you to assist in the cooking. Some will also offer an evening prayer or reflection circle after dinner. They typically have less beds than other Albergues and thus there is a far greater chance of connection with your fellow pilgrims during and after mealtimes.
Special Mention: Albergue de Peregrinos Parroquia de Santa Maria - this one is well known for singing nuns. There is a vesper in the church at 5:30 where they sing along to a guitar. At 6 there is sing along with the opportunity to sing a song from your own country, mass at 7, and a pilgrims blessing at 7:30. All organised by the order of nuns that manage the albergue.
Hotels: as the name says on the tin. Nicer establishments that offer private rooms for a higher price.
Paradors: these are often five star accommodation. They are found throughout Spain and are typically renovated castles, hospitals, or buildings with some historical significance.
Book a private room at the end of the journey! You will appreciate the luxury of lying in bed naked with your kit all over the floor after living out of your tiny backpack/vest for the past couple of weeks.
Training
Once again, this is something that I absolutely blundered. I ran 7 times in the three weeks leading up to starting, totalling only 75 km. Arriving in the UK from Australia at the end if April , my priority was spending time with my friends, rather than getting out and running. My discipline completely went out the window as I couldn’t drag myself out of bed in the morning. Ironically, the inspiration for this journey - Nick Butter - also shared that he had hardly done any running in the lead up to his Camino journey.
Thankfully, I had a pretty good base level of fitness after competing in a 100km mountain race in November, completing seven marathons in seven days in December, and entering a backyard ultramarathon in February. I’ve relied on this base more times than I care to admit, instead of putting in consistent solid training blocks. However, I’m learning that my body is able to adapt to the demands that I put on it, as evidenced by the successful completion of another difficult challenge.
All this to say, please don’t ever expect actionable training insights from me. It is something that I strive to do better at, but as with getting quality sleep every night, I find it difficult to make it a priority.
In line with this, my recovery is even more abhorrent than my training, in that it is non-existent. Check back in with some pieces later this year to ensure I have held myself accountable to action this positive changes in my life and training.
In reality, if you are planning to attempt this you likely have the base fitness and acquired resilience to complete it. After a few days your body gets used to the expectations you are demanding of it. What really needs training over the years in the lead up to this is discipline and resilience.
If you are running the Camino, it can be as difficult as you want it to be by playing with the total number of days, average mileage per day, or how many scheduled rest days you factor in. The hardest thing about this challenge is motivating yourself to keep going when your body tries to trick you into thinking it is done.
There is a theory in endurance sports called 30/70/100. Whereby, when you think you are at your limit, you are only at 30% of exertion and likely still have 70% still in the tank. Meaning that we really underestimate the capability of our bodies because of our mindset. I heard this from David Alley who currently holds the record for running around Australia, however, if all goes to plan Sean Bell will break that record not long after this is published. You can follow his journey here https://seanbellruns.com/.
On The Trail:
The FKT (Fastest Known Time) for the Camino de Santiago is 6d 14h 49m by Óscar Pasarín (supported); 9d 6h 48m by Matej Svec (unsupported); and 9d 5h 29m by Jennifer Anderson (supported female).
Now I wasn’t going out to break any of these records. My challenge was simple, I wanted to run more than a marathon distance every day for 17 days. However, the trail passes over several mountain ranges, meaning that in addition to the ultramarathon, I also averaged over 900m elevation gain and 740m descent per day.
Without further adieu, I will give a run down (pun intended) of what each day involved out on the trail.
Day 1: 25km (9km completed) with 1,400m elevation from Saint Jean Pied-de-Port, France to Roncesvaes, Spain.
Sounds alright on paper, factor in a 4:10 pm starting time, horrific food poisoning, and roads(!) not the lovely single trails I had been imagining. Thanks for leaving us with the hardest day first, St James…
Thankfully, up towards the Spanish border the trail changed over to dirt. I’d bought some fresh Salomon Speedcross 6’s, as I’d had their predecessor and these have perhaps the best lugs I’ve seen on trail runners, however, these turned out to be the wrong tool for the job. As with the contents of my backpack, I could have gone with something softer and lighter - more cushioning and more return from each step. I have noticed a big trend away from hiking boots over the past few years in favour of trail runners (which I wholeheartedly support, as a convert myself), though you will also see people hiking in sandals. Which didn’t surprise me as much as the first time I saw this on the trail to Everest Base Camp.
Day 2: 16km with 800m elevation from Refuge Orisson, France to Roncesvalles, Spain.
As aforementioned, it wasn’t until close to the Spanish border that you get onto the trail. However, when you do it is glorious. Woods accompany you to your right and then fully engulf you as you descend into Roncesvalles. Having not eaten a full meal for the three days before last nights dinner, I was incredibly fatigued, still letting out bodily fluids on the side of the trail, and on the verge of tears. But once I reached the highest point of the entire trail, I knew it was downhill skiing and was able to really open up. There is an option to descend via a road, however, I love running downhill on trails, so enjoyed really opening up on this section. You will find that it is one of the only true downhill sections that has tree roots instead of rocks - the difference between a predictable and unpredictable step and your ankle staying in alignment with the rest of your leg.
Day 3: 42km with 950m elevation from Roncesvalles to Pamplona.
This morning I woke up without stomach cramps and told myself I was going to have a good day. And so I did. The trail is very gentle, passing through a number of quaint villages early before heading into some rolling hills which were shrouded in cloud as I passed through them. The whole day was undulating with sections running through woods and by the river. Some of the day was on typical hiking (single) trails or terrain similar to access roads. Late in the day this gave way to footpaths as you arrive into the city of Pamplona, but the sections by the river were incredibly pleasant. There is a section coming downhill into Zubiri which has rocks on a mission to sprain your ankle, but if you play it safe here you should have a very enjoyable day.
Day 4: 41km with 1,100m elevation from Pamplona to Villatuerta.
Dirt roads, wildflowers, poppies, and beautiful bridges. This day must have been up there with the best! It was also the day that I realised I had what it took to finish this challenge, adding to its allure. The day was predominantly on dirt roads, meaning there was plenty of room to move, but also that there was little shade. Climbing out of Pamplona is a joy, be sure to check over your shoulder often. This initial sectio takes you up to Alto del Perdón, one of the most photographed spots on the Camino. The rest of the afternoon continues through wheat and wildflower filled fields. Puenta la Reina is a beautiful little village with a stunning 11th Century bridge, I would definitely recommend stopping here to reflect on your day so far and enjoy its beauty. Cirauqui provides a seemingly pointless up and over, a town built atop a hill in the middle of nowhere. Followed by more dirt roads, with perhaps the nicest volunteer food & drink stop on the entire Camino.
Day 5: 52km with 1,050m miles elevation from Villatuerta to Logroño.
The start and the end of this day have you running along the roadside; either side of Estella at the beginning and once again into the city of Logroño. In the morning you will pass Fuente de Vino (wine fountain), which provides ~100L of wine per day to pilgrims - sadly, it wasn’t working the day I went past. You also enter into the region of La Rioja today, vineyard country and home of your favourite red wine. Expect glorious views over the valleys, lots of vineyards, and a completely different landscape than what you have seen in your first few days. Underfoot, however, you will largely still be on dirt roads until the paved final few kms.
Day 6: 34km with 650m elevation from Logroño to Azofra.
It’s a long road out of Logroño, but it does take you past a lovely park + reservoir. Today has the least climbing so far, but is also the day with the least towns along the way. It is 12.5 km to your first stop (coffee + journal break) then a further 16km to your second (pastries or lunch, surely). Expect dirt trails and a lot of time by the highway. Be sure to stop in Ventosa, they have great smoothies.
Day 7: 41km with 800m elevation from Azofra to Tosantos.
More wide dirt roads this morning, as the landscape starts to lose some of its charm. You will enter into Castilla today. Expect a few short sharp climbs, lots of wheat fields billowing in the wind and even more colours in the wildflowers - yellow and pink have come to the party. Santo Domingo de la Calzada is a beautiful little town on the way through, but provides a decent stretch of paved trail entering and exiting its limits. Today also marks the start of an unfortunate trend, where the Camino trail is in close proximity to some highways. People dismiss the Camino as boring across La Meseta (translated to the tablelands) between Burgos and Astorga. I disagree with this and would argue that the lack of distance from the highway in this section is its biggest pitfall.
Day 8: 45km with 850m elevation from Tosantos to Burgos.
The first half of today was one of my favourites. Beautiful trails through endless wheat fields. Followed by a steep climb out of Villafranca Montes de Oca, up onto a beautiful plateau. Granted, there is 12km without a town, but this section is right up there, flat fire access trails bordered by woods on either side. It seemed like everyone was condensed on this section of the trail, a real sense of community and camaraderie. It was here that I also dropped my only two sub 5 min kms for the entire trip. Either side of the following towns, there were more dense, green woods which are sure to boost your mood.
The second half of today was a different story. Coming into Burgos, there is a plethora of options. From Sierra de Atapuerca, I opted for the route with more towns, however, this meant I spent a lot of the next couple of hours running on the road. I then made the decision to enter Burgos via the scenic (river) route, though this took me past the airport and through some questionable sections where I saw no other pilgrims. Expect a slog coming into Burgos no matter which route you choose. Though I implore you to go by the river, and try not to choke on the cottonwood spores like I did.
Day 9: 49km with 750m elevation from Burgos to Ermita de San Nicolas.
Enjoy the sunrise by the Cathedral and a day of endless rolling fields once you break out of the city limits. This marks the end of monotonous stint of running close to the Spanish highways. Expect these fields to be painted with poppies and undulating hills across todays half century. There are a few minor summits which allow fantastic views of the crops in all directions, culminating with today’s biggest climb not long before reaching the converted pilgrims hospital. Expect to be welcomed by some Italian men into what may be the closest experience to Harry Potter you will ever encounter. Think beautiful stone building, no electricity, meals by candlelight, and a ceremony at the head of the building. Everything about today is exactly the reason that La Meseta should not be missed.
Day 10: 36km with 350m elevation from Ermita de San Nicolas to Carrión de Los Condes.
Immediately after you start this morning you will enter the province of Palencia. The trail commenced with some more wide flat roads, eventually graduating to a canal towpath. You will pass through a couple of small towns with large dovecotes along the way. From Población de Campos, there is a choice to go via the road or along by the river, the latter is a no brainer. This will become immediately evident when you start running the final 6km into Carrión de Los Condes when you are on the hard shoulder and have km markers reminding you how slowly you are working. If you stay at the Albergue de Peregrinos Parroquia de Santa Maria, however, you will be treated to one of the best nights along the Camino.
Day 11: 50km with 550m elevation from Carrión de Los Condes to Bercianos del Real Camino.
This morning almost broke me. It’s the longest stretch on the Camino without a town - 17km of dead flat dirt roads. I’d grown accustomed to the hills, they provide a natural excuse to start walking. Whereas, when it’s flat, I often felt like I needed to keep on pushing. Today was also a day where I fell victim to overwhelm. I let myself fall into the trap of thinking about the entire 50km that I had to run today, rather than breaking it down into the distance between breaks, or my usual philosophy of only focusing on what I can see in front of me. My day turned around thanks to some lovely people met on trail, the route also provided a couple of choices today. As per usual, I opted for the slightly longer scenic route to stay away from the visual and aural effects of cars and trucks. Today you will pass through Sahagún and earn your half way certificate, though this is something that I managed to forget as I was so wrapped up in crossing the halfway point. The way out of Sahagún offers another choice, with my opting for the one via Bercianos del Real Camino, though be warned that either route here will be a bit of a slog alongside the highway. Tthe long flat stretch leading into Bercianos allowed me to catch the man who had dropped his glasses a mere kilometre before he finished for the day and was lost to me forever.
Day 12: 43km with 500m elevation from Bercianos del Real Camino to León.
More incredibly boring flat roads with little shade nor things to look at will take you into Reliegos after 20km. Then, leaving Reliegos you are treated to more running on a dirt road beside the highway, until you reach the highest point of the day and get a view of León. Where you are treated to a trail directly on the footpath into the city. A rather uninspiring day, rewarded with the best place to stop in along the route. The Cathedral and Casa de Botines must not be missed. The silver lining for today is that as it progresses, you begin to see mountains taking shape in the distance.
Day 13: 52km with 750m from León to Astorga.
Some absolutely gorgeous scenes interspersed with highway running today. If you’re lucky like I was, you’ll get to see hot air balloons rising above the Cathedral as the sun pokes its head over the horizon. The road out of Leon is long, but you are afforded a fantastic alternative route which in my two week long delirium I compared to an African Savannah (don’t expect it to actually look like one). My jovial mood subsided as the sun starting going to work on me while I ran along the side of a road that tumblewood wouldn’t have looked out of place on. As with yesterday, the beautiful mountains are drawing ever closer, encircling the horizon with snowcapped mountains. Órbigo provided an incredible medieval bridge that is sure to bring a smile to even the most fatigued pilgrims face. Think Heath Ledger in a Knights Tale and you will be transported to the right place. From here, a punishing long slow climb before descending into headwinds and into the city of Astorga. Home to another Gaudi masterpiece and immense cathedral.
Day 14: 53km with 1,050m from Astorga to Ponferrada.
Today, you exit La Meseta and start to conquer some off the mountains that have been closing in on you for the past few days. There is a big mountain pass topped with Cruz de Ferro, a big iron cross that many pilgrims deposit a rock from their home country at and make a prayer. There is a diversion early, which once again I took, and was afforded a nice jaunt through an artists village that was entirely built around cobblestone streets. However, the entire first half of the day is uphill, sometimes gentle and in other places steep. However, the sense of satisfaction and peace once you reach the top is well worth it. Sections of the route are by the road, whilst others are single trail for the first time in a long time. You are then afforded a pretty steep ascent down some rocks, meaning that you can open it up a bit, but never to 100%, lest you want to risk both of your ankles and potentially your life (which tragically has occurred on this stretch). The towns on the way down are absolutely gorgeous, as are the mountain view’s down into the valley. Until you hit the beautiful bridge in Molinaseca and are thrust back onto the footpath running uphill until you find yourself in Ponderrada. I had my solitary snake sighting a few kms out of Ponferrada.
Day 15: 52km with 1,400m from Ponferrada to O Cebreiro.
After enjoying your night encircled by mountains and in the vicinity of a castle built by the Knights Templar in the 12th Century, you are thrust back into some beautiful countryside. The landscape changes quite dramatically as you pass through some more vineyards before reaching Villafranca del Bierzo. The next 16km was my least favourite of the trip, running uphill on the old highways, zig zagging underneath the new highway and roaring trucks. The route is in a reclaimed section of the old highway, separated by the cars by only concrete jersey barriers. A very slight uphill gradient means it is incredibly runnable but also very energy and emotionally draining. There is a brief respite in the pristine village of Las Herrerías before tackling the steepest, most challenging climb of the Camino. Ascending 600m in the space of 7km through some objectively beautiful wooded trails. Once again, the payoff is infinitely worth it. The mountain that you find yourself atop has incredible views of both sunset and then sunrise the next morning. A bustling little town, and a lovely place to rest your head, knowing that you’ve broken the back of the final section and it’s (pretty much) all downhill from here.
Day 16: 55km with 1,150m from O Cebreiro to Ferreiros.
The start of today breaks everyone’s hearts, mine included. Where a brief downhill is superseded by a prolonged uphill burst. Today you will be afforded to a view of mountains above the clouds, as you were in the Pyrenees. The Galician countryside may be the most beautiful of the entire Camino, though you do have to share it with 10x as many pilgrims. The sections either side of Samos reminded me of the British countryside with an abundance of dry stone walls. The trail here also becomes much narrower and enclosed by woods/forests, making it much more pleasurable. However, this does make way for a lot of farmland as the day wears on and you pass Sarria - the minimum starting point for Pilgrims to recieve their Compostela (certificate). As I said earlier, definitely take the route via Samos (and its monastery), if not simply for the beautiful trail itself.
Day 17: 52km with 1,100m from Ferreiros to Boente.
Ferreiros is the closest settlement to the 100km marker, a huge milestone for each and every single pilgrim. As with yesterday, you will be running through a lot of farmland, but a good chunk of this morning is on narrower trails inaccesible to vehicles. However, the sheer number of pilgrims on the trail almost makes the previous point redundant. Today you can expect sections by the road, by the river, through the woods; but most importantly largely away from major roads. Eucalyptus and ferns aplenty, it was lovely to be surrounded by my two favourite trees. Enjoy your penultimate day out on the trail, tomorrow will be a weird mix of emotions.
Day 18: 47km with 950m from Boente to Santiago de Compostela.
The trails today are typically a lot wider to accommodate the large influx of pilgrims. Don’t be surprised to be running along the sides of roads. Though these are typically country lanes, rather than the highways encountered throughout the middle. The trail either side of Arzúa is very built up, however, if you are planning on staying in O Pedruozo you must veer off the path before the climb into the forest. I wanted to have a break in this town, but got enchanted by the forest and blazed straight past it. The route today undulates through some generic farmyard countryside, which I have grown quite fond of through the years living in England. You hit the outskirts of Santiago de Compostela about 5kms before arriving at the cathedral, with views over the city from Monte de Gozo (mountain of joy). From this point onwards, you will be on footpaths. A touch under 2km away you will see the spires for the first time and SPOILER ALERT you approach the cathedral from the rear.
That’s all folks, congratulations on running the Camino de Santiago. Enjoy your time in the shadows of the Cathedral in Plaza de Obradoiro and prepare yourself for the incoming ‘Camino Comedown’. You have been warned…
The Lessons:
As aforementioned, the Camino de Santiago is a time to be alone with your thoughts. Much reflection and clarity arises on the trail and I dived in head first to try and extract as much as I could from the experience. As such, I found a specific lesson to ponder in depth each day and expanded upon these within my journal and this essay.
To save a link click - Life Lessons Learnt on The Camino
Here they are listed in their base form:
Day 1: Be kind to yourself, listen to your body.
Day 2: I’ve been fooling myself, the journey is better shared.
Day 3: Using mantras can help you get out of a funk.
Day 4: Slow down / Go slow.
Day 5: Have good days on purpose.
Day 6: Embrace micro friendships.
Day 7: Let go.
Day 8: The Camino is to listen, not talk.
Day 9: I am on the right path.
Day 10: The meaning of hospitality.
Day 11: How to care for and give prayer to others.
Day 12: Always share your talents.
Day 13: Don’t take anything for granted.
Day 14: Ideas without action are worthless.
Day 15: Say hello and take the time to listen to others.
Day 16: Take the time to be proud of yourself.
Day 17: We can do anything, we just have to want it enough.
Day 18: It’s always about the journey - never the destination.
The Aftermath
Arriving at the Cathedral Santiago de Compostela, I felt alone. As soon as I managed to scrounge together a WiFi connection, I called my family. One of their first questions after their congratulations was ‘how do you feel’. To which I responded “nothing, I feel very lonely.”
It was a strange juxtaposition of myself sat feeling lonely on the ground, whilst groups were whooping and hollering around me. Letting out big cheers when the final member of their group made their way elated through the arches and into the plaza.
Unfortunately, this sensation never really subsided for me, as I was still feeling down the next morning and into the next afternoon. I finally received some closure when I saw a Canadian couple whom I had shared dinner with two nights earlier. Whoever wrote the plot did a good job having them arrive at the moment that I was leaving Santiago for good. A was able to erase my negative emotions towards this place and replace them with happy memory.
Despite this, I do not feel like my Camino experience, my pilgrimage did justice to the essence of what it means to traverse the Camino de Santiago, so I will be returning to hike the Camino Portugués. I write this as a warning to anyone else considering running the Camino de Santiago. Go in having a clear idea of what you would like to get out of the experience, whether it be connection made along the way or simply the challenge of running 780km. Unfortunately, mine morphed throughout and it left me wanting more.
I did have an amazing experience in the post office (of all places) the day after I finished my journey. Bumping into the one and only West Wood. I had been keeping tabs on West’s process after stumbling across him whilst searching Strava for the runner I had met on my second day. Incredibly, the three of us completed the same section on one day and so I was able to keep tabs to see if our paths would cross. West had an incredible story, whereby, it was actually his fathers idea to run the Camino Frances and he was the tag along.
I almost didn’t introduce myself, but started with the ever hilarious ‘this is going to sound weird, but…’ and told him I’d been tracking his progress on Strava. To which he responded ‘are you the Aussie that’s running it too, I’ve heard about you every day for the past week. I was wondering if you were real and was hoping that we would cross paths.’
We missed each other by a day in Morocco, where I would have loved to have shared Camino stories, but this remains a very very happy accident after my run had concluded.
After the initial emotional turmoil, I was able to bounce back pretty quickly. I was worried I wouldn’t know what to do with myself when my schedule was no longer eat, run, sleep, repeat. But I threw myself straight into the chaos that is North Africa and bounced back pretty quickly.
My emotions were also kept in check pretty well by my ability to remain present throughout the journey and the immense pride that I was able to feel for myself through the final days of my run. I think if I hadn’t have had a big emotional release in day 16 this would be a different story.
Physically, things are a little bit different. I am writing this 3 weeks after completing the run. I have run 4 times. The first was a few days later to check that my legs still work (they do). The second a week after completion and Jordie killed me with a hilly 16km around Tangier’s coast. The next was a run along the promenade ending with a 100m climb. During this run I realised that either I need to stretch a lot more (read as ‘ever’) or my legs still need a little bit more time. As I had absolutely nothing to give going up hill.
My fear of dogs has restricted me from running in Morocco, but I really think that this is an excuse to hide behind my lack of motivation or discipline. I know that my body is capable of continuing training, as I have proven time and time again that the body is stronger than we ever give it credit for.
I had a massage the day after finishing my run and the masseuse unsurprisingly said I was tight, but that there was no real cause for concern. I treated myself to a Hammam whilst hanging out in Tangier, and might try to sneak in another one before I head back to the UK and begin training for my next big adventure.
Stay tuned 👀