… Click… I feel as if someone turned off the light. I walk a few steps up and I have to rest. My head is buzzing, cold sweat dotted my forehead and I feel everything moving around in my stomach. Each step requires maximum effort – as if someone had put a 100-kg menhir on my back – just that I’m not Obelix …
ABOUT THE RACE
Someone once told me about the Coral Marathon in Krynica … wen in one ear and out the other. Until last year when I heard again about Krynica. It turned out a very big running festival is organized ther. In total, more than 30 competitions in 3 days. Great running event – how could I miss it !?
I decided that this year the Running Festival in Krynica gets into my race calendar – and so it happened. I chose the middle distance – 64 km. It is part of the whole 7 Valley Ultra Run, which in full covers 100 km. However, with other races planned around this time, I thought it would be a good choice to just acquaint myself withe the event itself.
The 64 km track starts from Rytro (Pearl of the South Hotel parking space), runs across Piwniczna, Lomnica, Wierchomla, Szczawnik down to promenade in Krynica. Quite a distance to cover and with a total elevation gain of ca. 3000 m a.s.l.
RACE REPORT
The alarm rings at 5:50. Strange, usually I get up for a race in the middle of the night, and here I get up only a little earlier than normal. It seems warm outside, but everything is covered with fog. A quick breakfast and on my way. In the car, I once again look through the profile of the route where I marked at which point I shoud turn up and at which time – at least in theory.
In Rytro there’s no need to look around. Just follow the string of runners – a 100-km contestants who are coming to refreshment point, being as well the starting point for the 64 km distance track. We start at 08:00 sharp, in 3 waves 2 minutes apart. That’s because right after Rytro there is a narrow segment where it usually gets crowded.
The first kilometers, though uphill, fly fast as usual. Every now and then we pass a „yellow” or „red” runner (each distance had a different race number background color: 100 km – yellow, 64 km – blue, 34 km – purple, Iron Run – red) – Well, they already have some kilometers in their legs, and we are still fresh. To Przehyba Shelter I arrive around 9:14 – as usual, ahead of time.
Przehyba Mountain Shelter
IN A FAMILIAR LAND
The shelter is easily noticeable – the radio and television tower is a very characteristic point. I quickly run down to the shelter, refill water reserves and back on the trail in no time. From here up to Obidza pass the track is familiar, so it feels better. This is the longest stretch between refreshment points (21 km) and I’m a bit worried about the water, especially because it gets hotter every minute.
It runs light because after Radziejowa the track is mostly flat or goes down – up to the Obidza pass which I reach two minutes ahead of time – again. Here ends the familiar land but begins the most impressive scenery. The sky is cloudless and the sights are breathtaking. I pass a clearings filled with flocks of sheep and admire the sights on the more exposed parts of the trail. Later we run into the forest and run downhill, safely protected from the blazing sun, until Piwniczna.
On a streed fragment, right before Piwniczna we get roasted a bit, but the shoe soles don’t melt yet. In the city, legs carry me among cheers straight to the refreshment point. Quick check-up – 30 km in the legs, 10minutes ahead of time, there’s still water in the backpack.
… Good! Now it’s time to feed: a piece of banana, maybe some cookie … sweet buns!… do not forget to refill the water and iso. Oh! Salted Potatoes- no, I won’t pass on those definitely … one, two … ah! third one … phew … not too much of a good thing?
…UNTIL AROUND THE CORNER…
I run down the street, straight as the eye could see, and suddenly the policeman points me to turn right and leave this flat, easy road. Well, right means right. I turn around the corner … stop in place and lift my head up …
… Ooooohh, F**k! What a climb! What a surprise it will be for those who start soon (34 km distance). They’ll pick up speed in the first kilometer just to find out this nice piece of climb around the corner..
Steep and long stretch climbs up in bends and turnds, extending the anguish even more and the sun is blazing, sucking out all the energy. It reminds me of Chudy Wawrzyniec Race I ran a year before, when I was fried, and after finish I was pulling myself together in the stream for the full hour. Now just to reach Wierchomla …
…Finally… Wierchomla… another refreshment point… just not to stay there too long – refill soft flasks, throw something into the stomach, take bun in hand and shoot out. Now will be this climb everyone’s talking about from the start… hey! Who put this Coke in my hand? Nevermind, never too many carbs …
WIERCHOMLA climb is supposed to be the worst. You have over 40 km in your legs, it’s scorching you have a very tedious approach ahead of you. At the beginning, in the shade of trees – it’s somewhat bearable. But then we go out to the full sun, sweat starts trickling immediately, the air around is thick and …
…CLICK…
I feel as if someone turned off the light. I walk a few steps up and I have to rest. My head is buzzing, cold sweat dotted my forehead and I feel everything moving around in my stomach. Each step requires maximum effort – as if someone had put a 100-kg menhir on my back – just that I’m not Obelix … In addition, my ear got clogged and an unpleasant, dull sound of my own breathing is irritating with each step.
Two kilometers up took me 33 minutes. During this time many people passed me and I could only look at them as a beaten dog. For the first time in my life a thought came in my mind that I may not reach the finish line. Getting to the top didn’t bring any relief – I had no strength left and could just walk and slowly pull myself together…
...Holy Fu****! Okay, calm down and get yourself together… you overate and added this Coke to it. You’ll get better in a moment. Drink water to dilute the gastric juices, it will be easier for the stomach to handle. Try trotting – blood will circulate faster and you’ll get moving… F**k … now you got a stitch… beautiful… and the damn ear doesn’t want to unclog… drink this damn this water…
Fortunately it’s only down until Szczawnik and after a while a light trot is bearable, although the stitch won’t let go fully. However, is getting better with time. The last climb is long, but not so steep. I walk some part and then jog another – somehow I’ll manage. And suddenly…
Wierchomla in the distance
CLICK!
I straightened up and somehow more air got into my lungs … phew … Someone turned on the light again. This must be the point at which the body either switches to a different fuel (fat) or the it turns off and and from now on you run with your head. Whatever happend, I could run again.
The Mountain Hut over Wierchomla is the last refreshment point. I refill water and allowa myself to a quarter of banana – nothing more. I don’t want to strain the weary stomach. A few more kilometers of a light climb and then almost all the way down. Amazingly, despite the massive crisis and the terrible loss of time, I reach Runek 10 minutes earlier than planned. What a great time would I achieve if not for this coke …
FINISH LINE AHEAD
Down to Krynica it is almost constantly downhill. A few short approaches mean nothing – I’m counting all the time at what time I will reach the finish line and the result is never 16:30. Around 15:58 I get a text message from Gosia saying she’s already waiting at the finish line. It gives me a kick. I am trying to strike some more sparks – every second counts. Slowly I am gaining speed and catch up more and more runners. I’m starting to pass them and it gives me even more energy. At some point, at approx. 60th kilometer the hustle from finish line reaches my ears. It’s close.
When I run on asphalt, I know that this is the end. I have no strength for a spectacular finish, but I’m speeding up a bit more and try to maintain a reasonable pace. I reach the promenade and run a long lane between the cheers. I can see the finish line! I can do it! Yeaaah! Mission accomplished! I cross the line with the time of 16:26:04!
ORGANISATION
A few words about the organization. First of all, Running Festival in Krynica is a huge event, and therefore it’s hard to expect everything will be perfect. For such a big undertaking, I find the organization really impressive. The most important things were taken care of:
- marking of the track – it was really great. There is nothing to be afraid of when not knowing the route. First, it is well marked with navigational tapes. Second, the number of participants ensures you always have someone in front of you.
- start in waves – in Rytro the start was organized in waves, which was a good idea to stretch the group and allow to run with your own pace, without too much crowd in narrow parts.
- track security – at every crucial point there were people pointing the right direction. At refreshments points a sufficient number of volunteers were always ready to help. In places where you had to run across the street, the police secured the spot and it was very safe.
- Refreshment points – too many for my taste. However, certainly a lot of people were pleased. I only missed regular buns with cheese, but salted potatoes were enough a reward for me. Beside this, there were sweets at will.
Points, where (in my opinion) the organization failed, are:
- race package collection – there was quite a mess with this. People were served chaotically, and my race package held 3 different race numbers. As a result, I had to be assigned a new number
- flow of information – volunteers at the finish line should be aware where are the crucial points for runners after the finish – no one knew where to pick up a finisher t-shirt or where an after-race meal and ice cream were served. After running 64 kilometers or more, we really didn’t want to run further around in search of food…
- after-race meal – this was the weakest point! After crossing the finish line I received water and a banana. GREAT! But for the guaranteed „after-race meal” I was told to wait until 18:00! This was weak. If I finished first – this would be a different story. But there was quite a group of people that finished before me. If you offer an after-race, it should be available for everybody…
DATA AND LOGISTICS
Distance: 64,4 KM
Total elevation gain: +2767/-2609 m
Calories burnt: 3347 kcal
Evarage pace: 7:51 min/km
Refreshment points:
1. Przehyba Shelter (11. km) – bananas, cookies, oranges, raisins, sugar salt, apricots, water, iso
2. Piwniczna-Zdrój – bags (30. km) – bananas, cookies, salted potatoes, sweet buns, oranges, raisins, sugar salt, apricots, water, iso , coke
3. Mała Wierchomla – bags (41. km) – bananas, cookies, salted potatoes, sweet buns, oranges, raisins, sugar salt, apricots, water, iso , coke
4. Mountain Hut over Wierchomla (52. km) – bananas, cookies, salted potatoes, sweet buns, oranges, raisins, sugar salt, apricots, water, iso , coke
- Gear:
- shoes: Brooks Cascadia 11
- clothes: Injinji fivefingers socks, CEP compression calf sleeves, Compressport Trail Running Short V2 , Compressport On/Off headband, Brubeck 3DPro shirt,Dynafit Enduro 12 backpack
- backpack: 0,55l bottle with iso, o,5l softflask with water, NRC, Inov-8 rain jacket, hendkerchiefs, phone, powerbank, map, track profile, buff, Brubeck arm sleeves
- Food (~2680 kcal): before start: semolina pudding, coffee = ~280 kcal
- on track: 3 small salted potatoes (~200 kcal), 4 energy bars (~710 kcal), 2 bananas (~300 kcal), 1,5 small sweet bun (~310 kcal), handful of dried apricots (~250 kcal) = ~1770 kcal
- after-race meal: cannelloni con spinaci e ricotta, ice-cream = ~630 kcal
- liquids (~300 kcal):
- 2,5 l water (refilled at every refreshment point)
- 1,5 l isotonic (refilled at every refreshment point) = ~300 kcal
CONCLUSIONS
My time could be much better if not for the densely arranged refreshment points, which I used without moderation. The worst was the coke, which caused quite a stomach upset (temperature and fatigue also had some impact here). On the other hand, refreshemnt points every 10 km meant that I almost didn’t use my stocks of food and, in fact, not once reached for the backpack (besides reaching for the track profile) – you could easily take the running belt on on the track – it would be much lighter.
With each race I get a better understanding of my capabilities. However, analyzing the time schedule after the race, I had prepared before the race (only on the basis of a track profile, with virtually no knowledge of these pathways), I still wonder. Here’s what came after Krynica:
STATISTICS
In total, the Running Festival in Krynica was attended by approx. 8 thousand athletes in more than 30 disciplines – from running for 300 m up to 100 km. 465 people participated in the 7 Valley Ultra 64 km Run, of which 399 reached the finish line. I finished at the 43rd position OPEN (22/141 in the M30 category) with the time 8:26:04. Here are the results of the 64 km track.
The best results are as follows:
Men:
1. Jabłoński Artur – 05:41:38
2. Csaba Nemeth – 05:57:38
3. Gracz Bogusław – 06:04:51
…
43. Marcin Suski – 08:26:04
Women:
1. Winiarska Katarzyna – 06:56:50
2. Kącka Anna – 07:00:01
3. Kantor Martyna – 07:09:35
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