Norcha Race: “Never say no to adventure”

Scent of airport, hot sandwiches with jamón ibérico and croissants. A quick chat, and here we are again on the road, destination: Bragança. Endless coniferous forests, small country roads, wide rivers that intersect in the canyons, a few scattered houses, a warm wind and barren hills that border on the horizon. This is how Portugal welcomes us.

Why are we here? For Norcha Race, a multi-sport “adventure race” with 18 teams that in a maximum of 4 days will have to travel for an approximate distance of 450-500km. The first rule? Any team must be “mixed”, so at least one woman must be part of it! The second? Be ready for anything. From trekking to running, mountain biking, swimming, kayaking, orienteering and much more, this race will make us understand the meaning of adventure! The distance to cover is not defined because it varies according to the choices that each team will take, there are more roads to get to each check point, some longer, others steeper and shorter, and this will greatly change what every racer will have to face. If you were wondering if there will be any breaks or places where to sleep, the answer is: non-stop!

A very varied and international mix of teams and organizers is now in Bragança, the small town from which the race will start in less than 24 hours. We are located in the North of Portugal, right in the Tràs os Montes region, a land between hills.

7:00am, time to set off! We head towards the start line. Still no one knows the race course and after one last check, everyone is ready to go: 3, 2, 1, maps in hand and let’s go. 

In no time, the first checkpoint has been completed but many others are missing. Now we leave for the first 60 kilometres of cycling through the Montesinho National Park, also called Terra Fria, the cold land. We follow the first team. In a short time we find ourselves in the midst of boundless meadows and thousands of chestnut and olive trees, long dirt roads and that scent in the air that reminds you of something ancient. We hear noises in the distance and see large clouds of dust, a few seconds later the first teams arrive running fast. We decide to follow them, and soon we find ourselves in a denser forest, full of oaks along the ridge of a small mountain and later, descending along the road, we arrive in Vinhais, the first transition point. 

“The elevation gain of 1659 meters was difficult to handle, but perhaps the hardest part will be the 47 kilometres of the trek that awaits us this night, under the rain.”

We all raise our heads towards the sky and shortly thereafter we see dark clouds approaching, torn by the first lightning. None of us would like to be in their place.

The following morning, admiring a sunrise that takes away all the bad weather, we discover the first damage made by the storm. The first case of hypothermia, some wrong roads and many, many exhausted faces: facing 1951 meters of elevation gain under a storm is not that easy. The trek and all its difficulties end along the shores of Lake Azibo: it’s time for some kayaking! We see some wet shoes and teams looking for dry clothes. There are people getting relief thanks to creams and others who drink the first of many caffeine gels. After the scouting of the lake, we see them leaving by bike towards Macedo. Under a war memorial we will find a team resting on the asphalt, overwhelmed by fatigue.

After 77 kilometres of cycling, a beautiful sun comes to warm us up, we pass through valleys rich in vegetation, canyons carved into the rock and Roman architecture, and we finally arrive in Vimioso. We head East along the Douro River, which marks the border with Spain. The first lights begin to face. We watch the sunset disappear along the mountain profile while we wait. Through the darkness and, in total silence, we see the first lights descending towards us. If a few minutes earlier the visibility was not excellent, now it is enough to cover a few meters to understand that it will be more complicated than expected to reach the canoes placed at the bottom of the valley. The first teams set off in the darkness of the forest, but in a short time we continue to see them going up and down. They can’t find the way. If orienting yourself with the light, in an unknown place, with tiredness and some pain, can be complicated, during the night it is a real undertaking.

They would go on like this for hours. The night ends. The sun is about to rise and the first teams emerge from the canyon of Douro National Park.

“From above, these waterways almost look like Norwegian fjords.”

In the last hours there have been many changes, but the teams have not stopped and, after the last rapid descents and some river crossings, we see them on sups along the Tua river. Last 100 meters and here comes the team that never left the first position from the start: Alpha Dental. Victory goes to them and we finally see them relax and rest. Legs full of cuts and lips burned by thermal changes. Tired but happy faces.

On Tràs os Montes ends our adventure in Portugal. Between beautiful landscapes, magical sunsets and a lot of effort, with a memory deeply rooted in our hearts: “Nunca dizer não a uma aventura” / “Never say no to adventure”.