The Pyrenean Haute Route (HRP) is a wild, high-level traverse of the mountain chain separating France and Spain. Starting at the Atlantic and finishing on the Mediterranean, it criss-crosses the border, weaving across grassy slopes, scree fields, ridgelines, boulder fields, and barely-there trails, staying largely above 2000 metres. It’s one of Europe’s most rugged and beautiful long-distance trails, demanding navigation skills and technical expertise, taking the average hiker 40 days or more to complete. Noor had other ideas. 

“I first heard about the route ten years ago, so it's always been on my mind,” she says. “It’s so aesthetically pleasing on a map, from Atlantic Ocean to Mediterranean Sea, staying high and crossing summits. When I started thinking about doing an FKT I immediately knew that this was going to be it.” 

Inspired by long-distance legends like Karel Sabbe and his 30 days on the 2500km Via Alpina, and Tara Dower’s 3300km Appalachian Trail ultrarun in just 41 days, Noor wanted to explore what was possible for her. “So far ultra running for me had been something individual, but I was really curious to find out how far I could push my body with a strong support crew,” she explains. “Coming from climbing and mountaineering, I missed sharing a rope and sharing adventure. This was a way to bring that back.” An accomplished climber and mountaineer, Noor switched her focus to ultra distance running in recent years and has racked up an impressive list of wins at races around the world, as well as an FKT on the Translagorai traverse (80K, 5000D+) in the Dolomites. But this journey would outstrip the others by far in terms of distance, and with a support crew in place it would set her up for her biggest challenge yet, covering 731km and over 45,000 vertical metres.  

Six months of logistics preceded the run. Everything from route planning, locating crew stops, sorting out kit, and preparing nutrition required attention until her Google Drive was overflowing with spreadsheets, maps, lists, and stage notes. “It was a big learning experience for me. But it was satisfying to commit to something like that and then make it come to life.” Her team was handpicked, a crew that included her partner and long-time friends, who slotted into roles such as mountain-savvy crew leader, pacing wildcard, social media whizz, emotional support hero and a dedicated chef. Each of them essential to keeping Noor moving through the highs, lows and everything in between, “I can honestly say that this wouldn't have been possible without them,” she admits. “It’s also their FKT, something we all did together from beginning to end. I was just one member of that team.”

On the 14th of July, Noor set off from the beach at Hendaye and the team had their first run-through of the daily routine, a punishing schedule that would soon settle into a well-oiled rhythm. At 3:30am the alarm would sound and Noor would get up, tape up her feet whilst eating overnight oats, gather her kit, and start the run at 4am, the terrain dictating the pace. A mid-morning crew stop for a second breakfast was followed by a good chunk of miles, then lunch and a final stint to camp where she would finish up at around 10 or 11pm. Then it was a blur of foot bath, food, massage, route review and a short few hours of sleep before doing it all again. “I'm not really a good sleeper, so I was interested to see if I could go to sleep at all after such a long day,” she says. “And even three hours made a massive difference.”

Despite the brutal schedule, Noor adapted well, outrunning her pacers over the first five days and making excellent progress across the technical terrain. The mantra of “Right, left, right, left…” resounded in her head and homemade rice cakes were her fuel of choice. On the sixth day the terrain turned distinctly Alpine and a steep snow field required crampons, ice axes and all her concentration, “We were surprised by the difficulty of the terrain,” she admits. “Even with all our experience, it was a really difficult passage. We were thinking that for the average hiker, this is a quite a dangerous route.” But the constant change in the landscape, from the lush French forests to the dry Spanish ridgelines, was all part of the magic, “The diversity of the terrain really struck me the most. When you’re moving quickly there’s so much change from day to day,” she says. The team were fortunate with the weather too. Noor ran under mostly clear skies with little rain, reasonable temperatures and no thunderstorms.

Despite a solid start, Noor’s momentum faltered on day six. In a rush to keep moving across the tough terrain, she skipped filtering water at a high-altitude spring and was hit hard with a stomach bug the next morning. Running was tough, the day was hot, and Noor’s progress was slow, but after a crew stop and some fluids she brightened and decided to push on solo. “No one was worried about it, me included. We thought we had tackled it,” she remembers. But the bug wasn’t done and as she pushed on alone, she started to deteriorate. Body aches, a painful mouth and difficulty eating and drinking ensued. Noor called for back-up via satellite device and the crew came to her rescue and put her to bed.

After a feverish night and a rare lie-in, it seemed she was past the worst. Noor opted for a short stage to get herself moving again. “The stomach issues never really went away,” she admits. “But there was never a moment where I thought I wanted to quit. I really wanted to finish it.” As the days went on Noor continued to recover and her daily mileage crept back up.

Keep up with Noor @noor.vanderveen as she prepares for her next adventure, the Tor des Géants.

A 330km trail race out of Courmayeur in the Aosta Valley, Italy.