May 12

May 12 Running around The Rock - Gibraltar

The first I ever likely heard of Gibraltar, and its important role in World War II, was while watching the movie Das Boot (The Boat) in high school German class. Das Boot is about the lives of a German submarine crew on patrol in the early 1940s. There is a scene where the captain talks about getting back to Germany, but that they must first get through the Strait of Gibraltar. Crossing through the strait was a dangerous task because it is so narrow, only 9 miles (15km) from Gibraltar to Africa. The scene goes like this:

Ullman: We'll have Christmas in Italy.
Ario: We've got to get there first!
Ullman: So?
Ario: Gibraltar! Use your brain, you idiot! That strait... It's like the eye of a needle. We'll never slip through there.

On a recent trip to Europe, I stopped through Gibraltar on my way to Portugal so I could explore this country I’ve been curious about since high school. I flew into Malaga, Spain, rented a car and made the 1.5 hour drive south to Gibraltar. Arriving late at night, I was suddenly confronted by a gigantic wall of granite rising before me while entering British territory. Arriving so late, there was no delay crossing the border, consisting of getting my passport stamped exiting Spain, but not getting a stamp entering Gibraltar.

I stayed at The Rock Hotel, located right at the foothills of Gibraltar. On the stairs up from the lobby, the wall is adorned with tens of pictures of dignitaries that have stayed there over the years. One gets a sense immediately that despite its small size, Gibraltar has played an important role in history.

I woke up early to get breakfast, and found my favorite European foods: chocolate Croissants, cheese, and other pastries. It was potentially the best continental spread I’ve had on my travels. After several cups of coffee, and sampling most of the pastries, I was ready to go explore the trails of The Rock.

My original plan was to run about 6 miles (10km) and explore the west side of the rock by ascending up through the Gibraltar Nature Reserve. Heading south, one can take the road directly from the hotel to the reserve. There is a fee to enter the reserve, so be sure to have your credit card with you. Definitely also get the map at the park entrance, since even though I had a map on my phone, the local map had more of the sites marked.

During this run, I encountered one of the most unusual sights in my European runs: wild Barbary Macaques roaming the nature park. Interestingly, little is known about how they arrived there. They were freely running around the trail, and I even saw them jump on and off the taxis driving the narrow row near the top. While cute to look at, there are signs that say they are aggressive if cornered. As such, while I wanted to take the Mediterranean Steps down, I decided to turn back since there were several of them hunkered down behind a stone wall and they didn’t look interested in moving for me to pass by. I took a different path and crossed the Windsor Suspension Bridge.

At the top of the rock, are several gun emplacements you can tour. Unfortunately, the top was shrouded in clouds, so I could not get a clear view of Africa. I think I could see a little of it from ground level later in the day.

I traversed all the way to the northern end of The Rock so that I could tour the tunnels placed during World War II. This is quite an impressive and extensive tunnel system with many long corridors and also very large open rooms. I exited these tunnels and went further north and ended up in another set of tunnels that had no lights. Using my cell phone light, I could navigate through many dark corridors that had occasional exits to a grassy area. I got so far into the mountain that at one point I was a little concerned about finding my way back.

Having gone this far north, I had a choice to make, head back on a relatively straight path to the hotel via local roads, or continue on around the north end of The Rock and make a complete loop. I decided on the latter option despite not knowing what the trail would be like. However, for the most part in Europe, there is always a sidewalk one can run on next to a road, so I was confident there’d be a way.

The road back south was congested at the start, but quickly turned toward the sea where traffic lightened, so I was afforded a coastal view and quiet for most of the run south. There were a couple points where there was 100m of road with no sidewalk, so I sprinted through those to avoid any traffic. The only somewhat suspect part is Dudley Ward Way, a half a kilometer long tunnel without a formal walking area on either side, so despite the uphill, I tried to keep a quick pace to get through as fast as possible.

The journey proved worthwhile when I saw the view over the lighthouse at the tip, and, despite the low clouds, a panoramic view northwards across most of the rock.

I highly recommend Gibraltar as a stop to enjoy a day of running, nature, and history if you are in the area. If the tunnels could be run in, they’d make a most interesting ultrarunning destination, given that there are 34 miles (55km) of them. On The Rock there is so much history to see, beautiful caves, and excellent views from the trails all the way to the summit. The Rock Hotel was also an ideal place for an ultrarunning destination, given the pool to relax in after the run and to have a well-deserved beer and some chips to reward yourself after a good run.