1000 km Run Along the Camino del Norte. Part 1
The "Paths of Unity" project was the main driving force behind the creation of the "The Running Pilgrims"... The main goal of the "Paths of Unity" was to show our society that there are no barriers between people. Barriers are synthetically created by divisions into countries, religions, and nations. When a person steps beyond these shells of conventions, they understand that we are one whole... The running format of traversing the path attracted attention to us. We communicated a lot with multinational foreigners—pilgrims, shared our ideas with them, and, by motivating others, we ourselves were energized by unity...
Another goal was to combine running, communication, and observing nature... To merge the spirit of two completely different routes—our 560 km Carpathian one, filled with the energy of silence, and the 1000 km pilgrimage route of Saint James, whose strength lies in multinational communication... To unite different cultures, different nations, different worlds... To form a new image of Ukrainians—healthy, spiritually and culturally rich...
For 19 days, we averaged 55 kilometers daily... The format of traversing the path included many interesting features... A crucial aspect of the successful implementation of the project was the distribution of efforts between running, communication, daily reporting, and the purchase and preparation of food... We had to calculate the pace and time, maintaining a certain balance so that the body could recover from constant exertion...
Nutrition was an important part of recovery... Since we had a limited budget, the main products were chosen based on cost and maximum usefulness... In Spain, our main products were milk, yogurt, canned beans (lentils, chickpeas), spaghetti, tomato sauce, olives, peanuts, cookies... The prices for which were generally lower than in Ukraine. We ate fruits in large quantities daily, buying only bananas and occasionally oranges... Cherry, mandarin, orange, medlar, and lemon trees accompanied us throughout the journey... We needed proteins for recovery, carbohydrates for energy, and vitamins for hardiness, so dairy, pasta, cookies, and fruits were the main ingredients of our budget diet...
Nutrition was an important part of recovery... Since we had a limited budget, the main products were chosen based on cost and maximum usefulness... In Spain, our main products were milk, yogurt, canned beans (lentils, chickpeas), spaghetti, tomato sauce, olives, peanuts, cookies... The prices for which were generally lower than in Ukraine. We ate fruits in large quantities daily, buying only bananas and occasionally oranges... Cherry, mandarin, orange, medlar, and lemon trees accompanied us throughout the journey... We needed proteins for recovery, carbohydrates for energy, and vitamins for hardiness, so dairy, pasta, cookies, and fruits were the main ingredients of our budget diet...
Since we planned to run most of the route, we needed to minimize the weight and volume of our backpacks... The average weight of each was about 5 kg, including food and water... We had a minimal set of clothes, a first aid kit, mats, ultra-small sleeping bags, a stove, a pot, cups, and fork-spoons... We planned food so that during the run we only had snacks like cookies, peanuts, chocolate, and part of the dish prepared for breakfast... The average snack weight was 700 grams per person... We bought food for lunch, dinner, and breakfast in supermarkets in the exact quantities needed for one meal to avoid carrying extra... Only twice did we miscalculate and had to run on an empty stomach...
The format of overnight stays was also varied... Stays in albergues (pilgrim shelters), Couchsurfing stays, nights outside the city under a bridge, at a cemetery near a church, in a village on hay under a roof, on the balcony of an abandoned house, on the porch of a country house, on the ocean shore (several times), at a World Family community house (where we helped clean the bar in exchange for shelter and food)...
We also wanted to present the beauty of nature and the spirit of the magical Saint James Way, stretching 1000 kilometers, in the most compact form possible...
Link to the track - http://www.gpsies.com/map.do?fileId=ixbupgzuotrhjxvbInteractive route map: :
Notes from the daily reports posted on social media:
Camino del Norte. Day 1
Our run has begun. We covered the first 50 km. In the Spanish town of Irún, located on the border with France, we got our pilgrim passports...
We crossed the bridge that connects two countries and started from the French town of Hendaye... The first day was filled with meetings with interesting people on our path... We talked with a man from Wales, who is a druid and planned to traverse the Camino by river in his canoe... We met a Frenchman who was returning from a walking journey that lasted more than a year... He walked from France to Santiago de Compostela, flew to Latin America where he spent almost a year traveling on foot, then returned to Santiago de Compostela and was now walking back to Paris...
We also remembered a woman from the USA, who was walking along the road singing a song she had just made up. She told us about a group of young people on the Camino, who decided to connect the three main pilgrimage cities of Christianity... Walking from Santiago de Compostela to Rome, and then to Jerusalem, each carrying a musical instrument to perform various compositions together. Good people and beautiful landscapes intertwined...
Town of San Sebastián:
We used Couchsurfing to spend the night in Zarautz, at the home of a very cool guy, Iban, who told us about the specifics of the Basque Country and with whom we felt the temperament of this nationality...
We started the day accompanied by our hospitable Basque friend, who joined us for a few kilometers on his bike...
For the second day, we met two Portuguese cyclists, moving at our pace, jokingly calling each other Asterix and Obelix because of their similar proportions...
We continued along the Bay of Biscay, enjoying the views...
For the first time, we stayed in an albergue—a shelter for pilgrims. Arriving in the evening, dinner was already prepared... This albergue operates on donations... Accommodation and communal dinner are provided for a monetary donation, with a box for donations in the sleeping area...
Camino del Norte. Day 3
After a night in a very colorful albergue near a monastery, we set off. Among the dozens of pilgrims, we met a guy from the USA named Matthew. He is walking the Camino del Norte and preparing information for a guidebook... We talked to him and shared the idea of our project. By the way, Matthew told us that the Camino del Norte is considered the most difficult and at the same time the most picturesque route among all the Caminos, due to the combination of mountain and coastal landscapes. In his description, he also mentioned us -"These two Ukrainians, Viktor and Dima, are trail running the Camino del Norte from Irún to Santiago. Traveling around 50km each day, they're moving a bit faster than we are!"...
The further we ran from the coast, the more the landscapes changed... We started paying more attention to the architecture of the buildings...
This day we were accompanied by heat... The route moved away from the coast, and the soft coolness was replaced by scorching sun... At lunch, we even took a siesta break...
Markings along the route..
Over 158 km behind us... We stopped for the night in Bilbao, the capital of the Basque Country...
Camino del Norte. Day 4
That day we left the Basque Country... A region that is part of Spain, but so different from it... Even the language is drastically different... Instead of the now familiar Basque greeting "aupa," we switched to the classic Spanish "hola"... Overall, the attitude towards pilgrims on the route from the locals is impressive... For example, choosing a large orange and lemon in a local shop, the seller, seeing that we are pilgrims, didn't even take money from us...
Town of Portugalete...
Our shadows love asphalt more than we do...
Finally, we found ourselves by the coast again, once more feeling its beauty... Here's a pilgrim's lunch break...
An old bridge for loading ships with minerals that were once mined in coastal areas...
Camino del Norte. Day 5
Today we received another dose of stunning landscapes... The path ran along the sea coast on one side and rocky mountains on the other...
Reaching today's overnight stop quite early, we fortified ourselves with oranges and went to rest on the beach... Finding a comfortable spot by the bay, we fell asleep... We woke up to the tide starting to submerge us... We spent the night using Couchsurfing. We were warmly welcomed by musician Pablo and artist Laura...
Camino del Norte. Day 6
That day we accidentally stumbled upon a marathon in the town of Santoña... We decided to support its participants by running the first kilometers with them, then continued on our way...
Today, we didn't choose the place for a siesta; the place chose us...
Interestingly, the main route passes through several bays, the shores of which are not connected by bridges. You can detour via highways or use a ferry... We usually ran an additional 5-10 km via highways to bypass the bay waters. But once we decided to act like normal pilgrims and took a ferry...
Having covered over 300 km of the Camino, we stopped for the night in a donation-based albergue... We were immediately called to the table... A great tradition when all the pilgrims gather for dinner and share their impressions... The albergue even had a guitar, so we organized a small concert...
Camino del Norte. Day 7
Today it was cloudy all day, and it started raining in the afternoon... The path ran past small settlements away from the coast and mainly on asphalt. The mountainous terrain changed to hilly. It seemed this day would not surprise us anymore, but then we ran into the town of Santillana del Mar. It truly had a medieval spirit...
The lack of small shops in the little towns we passed through did not allow us to replenish our food supplies, so we had to go hungry for a while... Moreover, even if we found a market, it was closed from 2:00 PM to 6:00 PM...
For the night, we stayed at the La Pena albergue in the city of Comillas, which is located in an old prison on a villa built in 1879...
Camino del Norte. Day 8
On this day, we left the Cantabria region and entered Asturias...
This is how we usually replenished our water supplies...
The asphalt of the marked Camino route started to bore us, so we decided to add a few extra kilometers and run along the coast... Reaching one of the wild beaches, we were so captivated by its beauty that we literally walked along the shore through the sea and rocks. At first, we crossed the inlets barefoot, but then it didn’t matter anymore – we scrambled over the rocks and walked through the water in our sneakers...
Once again, an albergue for donations and once again a warm welcome and communal dinner... Pilgrims from France, Italy, Germany, and Spain gathered at the table with us... The host already knew about us from his friend, the owner of a similar albergue where we stayed two days ago... He knew that we had an unconventional way of completing the Camino and that we liked to organize concerts... So he immediately tried to please us. We had a good chat with other pilgrims, told them about ourselves, and sang Ukrainian songs... What’s interesting about the Camino is that communication is so easy, sincere, and natural that you don’t feel any geographical or political division... Everyone is like one whole...
Camino del Norte. Day 9
The landscapes along the coast continue to amaze with their beauty. The clear water, rocks, and white sand constantly call to us, and we increasingly deviate from the route to run closer to the coast and capture beautiful landscapes...
The landscapes along the coast continue to amaze with their beauty. The clear water, rocks, and white sand constantly call to us, and we increasingly deviate from the route to run closer to the coast and capture beautiful landscapes...
On this day, we crossed the equator of our Camino... We have covered over half a thousand kilometers. Yesterday, after dinner, the hostess of the albergue, Maria, drumming like a sorceress, set the rhythm for today's day... In the morning, we found ourselves in a mystical fog that covered the coastal landscapes and focused our attention on other details... We couldn’t see the ocean, but we could clearly hear its roar... The singing of birds, the scent of eucalyptus trees, and the sea breeze added a new shade to our morning run...
Everything is different here... There are even places on the path where tables with fruits and sweets for pilgrims are set up, with a donation box... If a pilgrim has no money, they still won’t go hungry, they will be fed...
By the end of the day, the rhythm set by the drum of the charismatic woman helped us find a place to stay in just an hour with the help of Couchsurfing... So we got to know the world of a young Spanish family - Arturo, Laura, and their little son Mateo...
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