BLOOD! PAIN! TEARS! The essence of a good race report! Well, sorry – this one will be weak then! My biggest challenge this year, the longest distance and the greatest total elevation gain. It was supposed to be hard … to knock down… chew and spit out … was supposed to …

RACE IN A NUTSHELL

Beskidy Ultra Trail, pet named „BUT” (polish word for a shoe), the ultra marathon leading throuwh the beautiful trails of Silesian Beskids. This year (2016) the 4th edition of the race was held and it has already been said to be one of the most difficult in Poland – among other things because of the total elevation to overcome, but also quite an unfriendly terrain (very stony). During the event you could participate in the most difficult (supposedly) Race in Poland – BUT Challenge 260, with total elevation gain reaching 12 000 m.

The Race Office, Start and Finish line for all distances were organized in Szczyrk. As part of the competition BUT you could compete on the following distances:

• BUT Trek 20 – as the name suggests- it’s not a race, it’s rather a trek.
• BUT 10
• BUT 60 – through Klimczok, Bystra, Kołowrót, Szyndzielnia, Cyberniok, Błatnia, Brenną, Salmopol, Skrzyczne and to the Finish line
• BUT 90 –  through Klimczok, Bystra, Kołowrót, Szyndzielnia, Cyberniok, Błatnia, Brenną, Salmopol, Barania Góra, Węgierska Górka, Magurka Radziechowska, Ostre and to the Finish line
• BUT 120 – through Klimczok, Bystra, Kołowrót, Szyndzielnia, Cyberniok, Błatnia, Brenną, then Równica, Ustroń, Mała Czantoria, Wielka Czantoria, Stożek Mały, Wisła, Smrekowiec, Salmopol, Barania Góra, Węgierska Górka, Magurka Radziechowska, Ostre and to the Finish line
• BUT 260 CHALLENGE – Szczyrk, Skrzyczne, Ostre, small loop onto Górka Radziechowska and Salmopol, then  Klimczkok, Błatnia, Brenna i following the big loop: Ustroń, Kubalonka, Węgierska Górka, Korbielów, Zawoja, Sucha Beskidzka, Krzeszów, Porąbka, Bystra, Wilkowice, Klimczok and Szczyrk.

RACE REPORT

03:00… It’s time to move to the starting line. I got up an hour earlier to grab something to eat before the race and drink the usual coffee. Then a quick check if everything is packed, get outside and check the temperature … it’s good – I leave the gloves and take a lighter sweatshirt – it seems to be around 10 degrees Celsius. At the starting line I have to show the mandatory equipment to the staff. At this point what’s left it take the last glance at the profile, light the headlamp and set off into the night!

A LIGHT HITS THE GLOOM…

The first kilometer passes calmly through the virtually flat streets of Szczyrk. You can slowly warm up before a struggle with the trail. We wind between the buildings and after a short while run past the sanctuary and enter the trail. From there it’s constantly uphill. The first 5 km brings us to a height of over 1,100 m a.s.l., i.e. 600 m of total elevation gain is covered. We run at night, but my headlamp beams like car headlights and captures all the reflective elements within a radius of half a kilometer. Quickly I reach the peak, run through the fields for some time, only to dive down towards Bystra, clearly visible in the black night as braided strings of small orange lights.

I darted through Bystra so fast that I almost missed the refreshment point where everyone had to report their presence … and refill water of course. I checked in quickly, grabbed a cake, some peanuts and moved along. It was still a good hour till the sunrise.

The road to Szyndzielnia, Cyberniok and down to Wapienica went very smoothly and without any problems. Along the way you run through the Kozia Chata (Goat Cottage) shelter  (on Kozie Wzgórze – Goat Hill) – a strange feeling to run across someone’s property in the middle of the night. Despite this, the route lead through wide, rural roads (ie. an equestrian trail), sometimes through forests, and the temperature is ideal for running. At the downhill from Wapienica it begins to light up. Unfortunately, as the sun rises, I’m in the middle of the woods, so no chance to enjoy the beautiful colors, which later I had the opportunity to admire on Jacek Deneka’s photos. When I reach the summit, it is a full day already. What remains is to run down.

In Wapienica, my Garmin shows more than 1200 meters of total elevation gain. At the refreshemnt point I find some more treats – cakes with nuts or filled with chocolate. I look at the time schedule – it’s good – 25 minutes ahead of time. I was counting to spend more time on both refreshment points and saved some minutes there. It’s time to move to Błatnia. Is the struggle going to begin now?

IT’S MY FEEDING TIME!

To Błatnia I’m running through forests together with a newly met buddy. We have similar pace, so it’s comortable running together. We chit chat a little and the way up goes faster. Right after leaving Wapienica it was a bit steep, but soon the approach softened and we could catch some breath. Where possible – we run, and where it’s harder – climb briskly. At the top we take the blue trail and descend down to the refreshment point. In Brenna we got confused a bit – couldn’t really see any markings, but after a while we noticed the checkpoint. Here, for the first time we found some real food, i.e. rolls with pate or hummus. I immediately devoured two and threw the third in my backpack for later. At this point we said goodbye and split up. I turned between the buildings on the 90-km route.

I immediately ran into some bushes and then into the woods, where I began to climb up the Stary Groń and further to the Salmopol checkpoint. The sun shows through the trees, it’s nice and warm… and in Salmopol awaits the best feed on the route – that’s what motivates you to run! Around 9:50 I pass the gate that read my time and ran under a tent with food. Perfect, because at 10:00 I always eat lunch! After nearly 6 hours of run it’s nice to have a cup of coffee and eat hot pasta with vegetable sauce. Then refill water, grab a free energy bar from Nutrend and set off further. There’s no sense waiting if it’s going so well.

About 3 km after Salmopol you get to a split of routes. If you felt weak in Salmopol, this was the only possibility to report and take a shorter route at the split. I had planned 90 km and so I went as planned. Here the trail became more unfriendly – there were loose stones and I had to step more carefully. Especially downhill.

The road to Barania means already 50 km in legs and half of the total elevation gain of the route (ie, approx. 2500 m). Neither hide nor hair of any crisis – I’m in shock. True, it’s not so brisk, and the very climb to Barania gives me a hard time – a narrow, stony path twists and turns. Once you think it’s the last meters, the path turns and you see that now you’ll go the opposite direction for some time – of course, still going up. In the end, however, I reach the peak, stand and look around. Here’s the most beautiful view on the entire route. The highest point with the observational tower and around the open panorama. A moment of delight and I move on – someday I have to cover these trails calmly and savor the views.

Some guy looks at me, then at my race number and screaming somewhere in the distance, „Krzychu, look, BUT’s are running!”

EASY NOW… FEEDING TIME SOON

Now a bit of steep descent on the other side of Barania Góra and I step on the gravel road, which encircles the peak and leads further down to Węgierska Górka. The gravel fragment leaves it’s stamp on my feet – that’s almost 60 km of running and for the first time I feel that it’s getting harder. If at this point I was to hit the climb … oh, there would be definitely a crisis. Fortunately, the road leads down gently and it saves me pain. After some time, a gravel road turns into an unpleasant stony descent and afterwards into a downhill run on concrete panels.

A long, almost 16-kilometer descent allows to speed up a bit, but don’t hope for the easy sprint to Węgierska Górka. Legs have already suffered enough and you have to be careful – if you speed up too much, in Węgierska Górka you may a wreck already.

The refreshment point I reach two minutes before my scheduled time. Again, timing is impressive (especially for my stomach, which I think meddles in dictating my pace…). 13:00 is my usual dinner time. By the way I learn that I am on the 7th position. Seriously?! How did this happen?! I know that there’s no one close behind me so I allow myself a calm bite of potatoes with salt and a flop down on a bench for a few minutes. It was sitting down that I felt how much my legs are tired. And there’s another 20 km and two strong climbs ahead. No use waiting – I wash my face and hands and set off!

A SHORT MOMENT OF SUFFERING

Well, it happened … After 70 km came the crisis. A climb on Magurka Radziechowską was an ordeal. Although the approach wasn’t the steepest, it lasted and lasted, and I barely felt my legs. I ate too much sugar and my stomach began to feel every bump. Moreover, I couldn’t swallow anything – my stomach objects immediately. I could only drink clean water and repeat to myself that every crisis passes. After about 30 minutes it finally lets go. I took a deep breath of relief and started gaining speed, but still for about 1,5 hour ate nothing and drank only water.

Once I’ve climbed to the top, I knew I would be fine. Garmin shows 4300 meters of total elevation gain. The last approach remained (approx. 400 m upwards) and last 10 km. I will manage. The rundown to Ostre allowed me to gather my strength back… except maybe for the last 2 kilometers through the streets of the town. Although it leads down slightly, asphalt is not what tigers like the most – I eagerly await the refreshment point.

Finally, I reach the parking lot where I see a lone tent with a table and a few people sitting on the ground. Soon there will be more runners and they’ll have a lot to do. I still have doubts about my stomach so I drink some water and refill my softflask for the last bit of the route. Afterwards I move on the trail, eating almost nothing. The route turns to a blue trail 100 m after the checkpoint. Volunteers warned me that the climb to Skrzyczne is very steep and unpleasant. True, it was rough. Nevertheless, my crisis had already passed and I think I expected living hell – as a result I endured this approach much better than the previous one.

It was worse on the downhill. Last 6 km are down. This is usually the most pleasant bit – you know it’s almost finish and generally the path leads down. Here, two steep slopes filled with loose stones awaited me, followed by a ride through a „gutter” with trickling stream and mud… further again jumping over the rubble … finally a flight down on the leaves and clinging to trees so as not to lose teeth. I sympathize with those who had to beat this piece in the dark…

WHAT?! IT’S OVER?!

After shaking off the leaves I find myself on a wide forest road, which leads to the very Szczyrk. With each passing minute I notice more and more route markings and arrows directing the finish line. I gain speed, not even slightly feeling the 90 km in legs. On the last kilometer the watch shows the pace of 4:50 min/km. I’m running between buildings, further down the road covered with plates down to the bridge. Behind it a quick turn right and straight along the promenade among walking people. The hill and the amphitheater in Szczyrk emerge and I can already see the finish line. The checkpoint gate quickly comes closer finally I’m making the last joyful step, after which I can stop. Finally. After 13 hours and 35 minutes. Phew…

CONCLUSIONS

After the experience from Krynica, where I murdered myself chasing the scheduled times, and with the knowledge that there will be some more meters up in here, I approached the time schedule with caution. I laid out a route taking into account the cumulative fatigue. I set up a goal of 14 hours – it seemed real, although the results from previous year indicated a place in the top ten participants. On the other hand, at similar distances I knew I can afford such a pace.

Generally, the time schedule turned out pretty well done and only in the area of Barania Góra I missed the reality – I attribute it to the unclear marking of Barania Góra on the route profile. In fact, there were approx. 2 km more to climb than I expected and it took some time. Fortunately, I made up for it and as a result everything came out better than expected.

ORGANIZATION

The race was organized for the third time, but a lot of experience could be seen in the organization. Virtually every element was prepared in detail and seen to. Much of the credit has to be given to the Peace Patrol, which I already met several times during various races (regularly on Chudy Wawrzyniec). If only I notice their red shirts in the race office I know everything will be fine! Key elements for each runner that should be mentioned are:

• race package collection – very efficient system of receiving race packages. On the other hand, there wasn’t a big crowd of participants, so they could be distributed very peacefully.
• marking of the track – flawless. In fact, you could forget about the trail markings. At any point on the route there were organizer tapes, and wherever you run at night, reinforced with reflective elements. You can’t get lost!
• track security – quite densely arranged refreshment points and volunteers patrolling the route occasionally allow you to feel really confident.
• refreshment points – dense, but not too many. Due to the large total elevation, there are quite long time gaps between the points, and it’s good not to have to take along hectoliters of water and a dozen or so bars and gels. Points are well equipped – everyone will find something suitable. Caution! They care about vegetarians here! :-)
• after-race meal – coffe, tee, sweet and sour  – at choice. As part of a hot meal there were potatoes with salt or garlic sauce, pasta with cottage cheese (sweet or savory), or sauce (meat or vegetable). And beer – nonalcoholic, but anyway :-)

DATA AND LOGISTICS

Distance: 92,5 KM
Total elevation gain: +4767/-4726 m
Calories burnt: 4837 kcal
Average pace: 8:50 min/km

Refreshment points:
1. Bystra (10,5 km) – water, iso, mixed dried fruit and nuts, cookies
2. Wapienica (26 km) – water, iso, mixed dried fruit and nuts, cookies
3. Brenna (35 km) – water, iso, coke, tea, coffee, rolls, fruit
4. Salmopol (44 km) – water, iso, coffee, tea, coke, potatoes, salt, pasta with cottage cheese or sauce, sugar, vegetable stock, fruit, sweet rolls, NUTREND
5. Węgierska Górka – Przepak (70 km) – water, iso, coffee, tea, stock, potatoes, salt, cookies, mixed dried fruit and nuts
6. Ostre (85 km) – water, iso, coffee, tea, stock, cookies, rolls

• 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:
  • backpack: 0,55l bottle with iso,  o,5l softflask with water, NRC, Inov-8 rain jacket, hendkerchiefs, phone, hand tissues, powerbank, map, track profile, buff, Brubeck arm sleeves, PETZL NAO headlamp
• Food (~3720 kcal): Before start: semolina porridge on milk, coffee, rye bread with cottage cheese = ~520 kcal
  • on track: slice of bread with cheese, 3 potatoes (~250 kcal), 4 energy bars (~750 kcal), 1 protein bar (~210 kcal), 1/2 banana (~70 kcal), roll with hummus and cheese (~350 kcal), roll with cheese and margarine (~250 kcal), 4 chocolate chip cookies (~320 kcal), 4 chocolate cookies with filling (~400 kcal),  pasta with vegetables (~250 kcal) = ~2850 kcal 
  • after-race meal: pasta with cottage cheese = ~350 kcal
• liquids (~600 kcal):
  • 3,5 l water (refilled at every refreshment point)
  • 2,5 l iso (refilled at every refreshment point) = ~600 kcal

STATISTICS

In total, there were 444 registered and paid participants on all the possible distances. Out of this, 98 runners registered for BUT90.  91 competitors reached the finish line. I finished at 9. positiom OPEN with the result of 13:35:03. Here you can find the results for the 90 km track.

The best results are as follows:

Men:
1. Piotr Gutt – 11:20:23
2. Daniel Stroiński- 12:31:12
3. Krzysztof Kokot- 12:32:24
…
9. Marcin Suski – 13:35:03

Women:
1. Agnieszka Lasyk – 14:14:41
2. Magda Banach – 14:53:18
3. Anna Miller – 15:05:22 

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