Somewhere in la Mancha, in a place whose name I do not care to remember, a gentleman lived not long ago, one of those who has a lance and ancient shield on a shelf and keeps a skinny nag and a greyhound for racing…
Don Quixote, Miguel de Cervantes
On a cold morning of December we ran in Campo de Criptana, in Spain, amongst the windmills that inspired the famous episode in Don Quixote:
“They are giants”, said Don Quixote, “and if you’re afraid, get away from here and start praying while I go into fierce and unequal battle with them“.
One Book 📖, One Run🏃🏻♀️ Series #1
📖 The Book : “Don Quixote” (“El ingenioso hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha”)
Some years ago, when I was working in London, an English colleague explained to me that his favorite book was “El Quijote” 🧐, by Miguel de Cervante Saavedra…
Now that surprised me!
In fact, he had read it multiple times, even. (Disclaimer: he had studied classical literature at Oxford 😋)
Plot Summary: Don Quixote is a middle-aged gentleman from the region of La Mancha in central Spain. Obsessed with the chivalrous ideals touted in books he has read, he decides to take up his lance and sword to defend the helpless and destroy the wicked. After a first failed adventure, he sets out on a second one with a somewhat befuddled laborer named Sancho Panza, whom he has persuaded to accompany him as his faithful squire. In return for Sancho’s services, Don Quixote promises to make Sancho the wealthy governor of an isle. On his horse, Rocinante, a barn nag well past his prime, Don Quixote rides the roads of Spain in search of glory and grand adventure. He gives up food, shelter, and comfort, all in the name of a peasant woman, Dulcinea del Toboso, whom he envisions as a princess
Since then, I wanted to read the famous book that was so highly praised at school, but never got around to finding the time. There were so many other books that I also wanted to read! Finally I found the perfect excuse: Reading “El Quijote” and running amongst the famous Windmills in La Mancha.
With this post, I start a series of runs in places that I visit just because of a certain book: my “book inspired” runs.
🏃♀️ The run 🏃♂️: Campo de Criptana
Campo de Criptana
We chose Campo de Criptana, in the middle of the “La Mancha” shire. The town is famous for, well, its windmills. Even its flag and coat of arms include a windmill…
🤓 By the way, a super popular Spanish actress from the 50s, Sara Montiel, was born here (here you can watch her singing in a famous Spanish movie, “the last cuplé”) and there is a statue in the town celebrating her.
Don Quijote fights the windmills in chapter VII of the first part of “El ingenioso hidalgo Don quijote de la Mancha”. In fact, in Spanish and many other languages like English, “tilting at windmills” has come to mean “to fight imaginary enemies”.
And saying this, he spurred his horse Rocinante without heeding what his squire Sancho was shouting to him, that he was attacking windmills and not giants. But he was so certain they were giants that he paid no attention to his squire Sancho’s shouts, nor did he see what they were, even though he was very close. Rather, he went on shouting: “Do not flee, cowards and vile creatures, for it’s just one knight attacking you!
Don Quixote, Miguel de Cervantes
We set off from the Motorhome area located in the outskirts of Campo de Criptana. And, as can be seen in the picture, the rearview mirror of our motorhome was full of frost!
The run
We ran a course of about 5 km: 2.5kms from the Motorhome area where we slept, to the windmills, and back. The course has some elevation so it is good to train your legs.
The route is about 5kms long, 2.5kms from the town to the windmills, and then back.
So we left well equipped: very warm. We learned the lesson that in some parts of Spain, especially inland, it can be very, very cold in December: see Albarracín in 2021… 🥶
We ran through deserted streets. It was 10 in the morning of a freezing December 28. Only -3C. And since there was no one on the streets, we could run in the middle of the road… 🥳! The only person we saw was an old woman who came out of ther house in her pajamas to check on us. We greeted her with a very cheerful “¡Buenos días!”
It was a beatiful run, as it is a very pintoresque town, with the housed painted white with cobalt blue bottoms, and the edges of the doors and windows painted with the same color. On some balconies there were posters with the image of the baby Jesus and the legend “Merry Christmas”, and the few, very few businesses that survive in the town had set up nativity scenes.
We also saw a statue of Don Quixote and a couple of restaurants with his silhouette.
We left the town and run a few hundred meters, first on asphalt and then on a dirt road. As we gained elevation, we could we admire the views of the town, with its tile roofs all frozen.
The Windmills
We had arrived to what we had come to see, and it did not disappoint us.
We can run up and down, between windmills with names like “El burleta”, and take videos without anyone bothering us. The terrain is quite good, there is little unevenness, and you just have to watch out for ice patches 😅
And there was nobody: we only came across a man walking his dog.
So all in all, a very enjoyable run in the most amazing Don Quixote scenario.
