Race Day Report // The Pilgrimage Begins
May 11, 2026
Words by Athlyn Cathcart-Keays
Photos by Liz Seabrook and Sam Dugon
The bells of the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela were the backdrop to rider registration when it opened yesterday morning, chiming for mass to welcome the pilgrims who have travelled hundreds or even thousands of kilometers to arrive in this sacred city, ending their various caminos across Europe.
For pilgrims of the Lost Dot 101, however, the journey was only just beginning.
After months of anticipation, the atmosphere felt charged with nervous energy. The time had finally come. Once the mandatory bike checks were complete, and trackers and caps collected, there was very little to do except wait for the clock to tick down to departure. Riders arrived in dribs and drabs throughout the morning, nervously re-checking set ups, pinning reflective tape onto bikes, and diligently comparing different weather models.
With plenty of riders giddy to share how they felt about this final countdown, I gravitated towards Barbara Human (110), who looked on calmly as her toddler daughter pottered around the busy forecourt outside registration.
This is Barbara’s first ultra, but she’s no stranger to racing having competed on the French national road racing circuit before stepping away during pregnancy. Now, more than two years later, she’s returning to racing in a very different format. So was it a tough comeback post-partum?
“No, not at all. It was super nice”, she tells me as her 19-month old climbs around the bike trailer she’s rocked up in. “My longest ride was 230KM last year, nine months after I gave birth to her”. Ultra racing demands quite a different approach to road racing, but with many sleepless nights under her belt as a new parent, Barbara is well prepared for the short nights ahead. Training in the Alps with a trailer in tow will have certainly given her confidence for the hills to come too.
With over half of the field completely new to racing, there were many motivations for signing up to a race like this. For Janet Robinson (67) from Australia, entering the 101 was a gift to herself after retirement. “I suppose at a time of life where one must seize opportunities and make the most of what life brings you”, she tells me.
For Inka Meyer zum Alten Borgloh (46), it was a chance meeting at a Spanish class in Barcelona that had her seize the moment. In conversation practice, another student had told her they’d signed up for the 101. In their shared broken Spanish, she found out the details, went home, and signed up the same day.
In the months leading up to the race, many riders had already become familiar to one another through the 101 WhatsApp group. What began as profile pictures and nervous questions online transformed throughout the day into hugs, shared food and immediate friendships as folks began to connect.
The start line of the 101 felt uniquely different from previous races for Inka (46), for one unexpectedly practical reason: “In the last race, I got to walk by the queue at the toilets, because it was only the men’s toilet that was so overcrowded”, she says, laughing. “There were so many men and just a handful of women”.
The weather, meanwhile, was offering a less friendly welcome to Spain than many had imagined, with heavy skies and persistent showers leaving many feeling anxious about the forecast. Several riders (and, admittedly, some of our race team!) hadn’t expected the weather to be quite so cold and wet, prompting last-minute emergency poncho purchases from tourist shops around the cathedral square. One rider arrived with a fully fluorescent yellow rain suit which, once darkness fell, glowed spectacularly in the headlights of our control car.
T-Minus Zero Minutes
But by late afternoon, riders had begun gathering in the Praza do Obradoiro beneath less ominous skies, hopeful that the worst of the rain might hold off for departure. Outside the same cathedral where the bells had welcomed pilgrims that morning, riders rang their own at 18:00CEST, signalling the beginning of their own caminos on two wheels across the Iberian Peninsula, and south towards Córdoba.
As the evening sun suddenly fanned out across the square like the vieira shell – the enduring symbol of the Camino de Santiago, one by one, tyres rattled over the narrow cobbled streets and out into Galicia.
Leaving the bustle of Compostela’s tourist-laden streets behind, riders quickly found themselves on winding roads through farmland and forest. Galicia’s landscape felt impossibly lush and green, and we were soon reminded why when the skies darkened again and drizzle returned. Around 35KM into the opening 168KM parcours, we caught up again with the front group riding strong despite the showers, heads tucked low against the rain.
At registration earlier that day, it had felt almost difficult to coax competitive ambitions out of riders, with few wanting to openly talk about racing for the win or targeting a specific result (not usually an issue on other startlines…).
But out on the road, it was quickly apparent that some had arrived with a serious pace. Ellis Cookson (40) was leading out the field, with Megan Young (22), Ada Haas (20), Chris Murray (81) Anna Richter (71), and Amrei Kuhne (34) close behind, opening up a small gap before the rest of the field began filtering through in clusters.
Further back, as dusk settled over the Galician hills, we found pair riders Shelby Hoglund (145a) and Julia Townsend (145b) fixing a broken chain at the side of the road. A speedy repair and they’re off again down a narrow lane lined with farmhouses and the odd tiny ermitas (chapels).
Towards the back, race reporter Sophie caught up with riders stopped in a busy bar where the ultra world collided with real life. The wide screen was blasting the Real Madrid vs FC Barcelona match, and the locals – eyes fixed on the TV – didn’t seem to notice a steady stream of soggy FLINTA riders ordering hot chocolate and warm food. While the Spaniards will go home when the 90 minute whistle blows, racers will push on into the Galician night with most saying they plan to ride through and bivvy out if needed.
At a roadside fountain mid-pack, several riders stopped to refill bottles beneath a moody sky. “It kinda feels more like a group ride, not a race yet — we keep leap-frogging one another”, one tells me.
Moments later, a boxer hound came bounding down the road alongside the riders, tongue hanging happily from its mouth. Hold on, was that the same dog we saw in the last town 8KM back? A few kilometers further along under the dimness of the forest canopy, we come across two riders dusting themselves off after skidding out on a descent. One of them had to brake to avoid the very same dog, which caused a ripple effect for those following closely behind.
The first night falls.
By nightfall, the mood had shifted. The rain became heavier and more persistent, surface water gathering across the roads and slowing progress. Riders arriving through the darkness looked soaked, but still determined, their lights cutting steadily through the mist that was beginning to set in.
A final glance at the tracker before bed revealed the first tactical differences within the field beginning to emerge. In the mid-pack, around 35 riders had opted to stop for the night in Rodeiro, while others — including , Anna Richter (71), Megan Young (22), Larissa Unsinn (103), Igu Schwab Hoyer (24), and Tahys Janssen (58) — pushed onwards into the night in search of an advantage before CP1 in Bragança, roughly 320KM from the start.
But it remains very early in the Lost Dot 101. The deep canyons of the Sil Valley before CP1 lie ahead, and for now, riders are only just beginning to settle into a rhythm on the road.
Things are just warming up, and for the riders’ sake, we hope the weather does too.