In my years of marathon running, it was here that i felt a breakthrough. Prior to this, in every marathon i dread that 28-32km mark when i usually hit the wall and the running gearbox goes out of whack.
I spoke no Czechen nor Russian and none of them spoke English nor Dutch. But this small group of runners connected (with the pain cave). That sense of pride toeing the start line every single day without fail, that determination to get to the finish and that sense of relief on the very last day. Priceless.
Race format
Open to only 100 participants. The groups are broken into two start times, 2 and 3pm. On the last day, the start time is calculated based on previous performances with the intent to allow all runners to finish within one hour of one another. It was a fantastic atmosphere as everyone gets cheered on as we cross the finish line at the school.
What i loved best (1) that it is non-commercial (2) surrounded with so much positive energy (3) inspired by these strong ultra runners (4) familiar faces every day at check points (5) the fuel post ; 6 of them, in fact many of the good runners ran with minimal fuel and stopped to refuel at the post (6) timing when Daniel Oralek will run past me🤣 – keeping tab on the top 3 men and women (7) the post race meal and beer. I collected them to bring home.
Wow; this one week “it felt like i was going on a pilgrimage”.
meysrunningjourney.com 