Written by Willem Mücher

During the weekend of 24th June 2016 I was at the start of the first edition of the Stumilak, a difficult Ultrarun in Poland of 176 km and 9,200 vertical meters + and – (6 UTMB points).
The co-organizer of the Legends Trail, Stef Schuermans pointed out this race to me sometime in November 2015 and he would also go. He has lived in Poland and speaks Polish. He later turned out to be in an exam period and would not go. Now I was registered as thr only non-Polish! Stef warned me that the organizer Michal Kolodziejcyk would pick as many peaks up and down as possible, the terrain has no fewer than 71 mountain peaks. My two running buddies also tempted me to participate in the Dolomiti Extreme Trail of 103km (two years ago we did the 53km version), but after enrollment I realised that it was two weeks before the Stumilak, not very smart. In 2011, however, I did something similar with success and then one has the mileage in his legs despite of not having fully recovered.

I have very little idea of ​​what to expect because I've never been in Poland before. The area is part of Transylvania, the forests are so vast that always a few people lived there. A large part of the mountain trail is located on a mountain ridge on the border with Slovakia. The Babia Gora or witch mountain was used for rituals in the past.

In the month of May I did a 20km run every day at a low heart rate (126BPM), the result was pretty spectacular for me: 4kg off, 1,5-2km/h gain of speed at the same heart rate and a strong improvement in my running technique. In the beginning it took three hours, at the end 2:25 with an even lower heart rate. For height training difference I have done several training sessions on a coal mountain of 100m just over the border in Germany up until 3000 meters of gained height and as such a good way to test my material. I discovered that an "unlimited" climb up is possible as long as I stay under my lactate threshold, also packed with a full load up to 7kg. I lost more than half of my weight of my backpack in the meantime! Another advantage is that I do not get stomach problems at this speed. I fear knee problems and tendonitis because "too much too soon" associated with many altimeters on a very technical track. Two weeks ago I quit a race in the Dolomites because of a starting ripped knee muscle at 75km, in order to avoid to make it worse. The many jumps from rock to rock and twisted foot placements have taken their toll, this is difficult to work out if you can’t go several times to the premises beforehand. In France, where I've lived 10 years often just after the winter, I would briefly suffer from an irritated tendon when we picked up again the height differences , but it quickly went away and I could live without tape, bandages or compress stockings all through the season.

In addition, I went to a sports dietitian to determine what is my energy usage during a race in carbohydrates and protein. I used “Limburg Zwaarste” (a 100km race and this year was the last edition) as a try out. It turned out that during a workweek I would eat too much and too little during a race. I usually do not feel hungry and therefore could get into trouble.

What was "new" to me or what I wanted to explore during the race

1- Low heartrate pulse should absolutely be kept.

2- Resolve an unconscious transition into an unwished hyperventilation during a race and only breathe through the nose all along.

3- Faster system to store the poles, because I find it very annoying to run with sticks in my hands and they change your posture to the negative. In this way your arms are contributing very little to any propulsion. I stitched a wide elastic strap of about a meter so that I can stretch it between the tips and handles of the sticks and then wear it like a bow or shoulder bag. With a piece of velcro I keep everything in place at theright angle.
4- Blister Shield: testing a relatively new product to prevent friction on the skin and thus blisters. It works very well but washes away in the rain when your feet get wet. You will be sliding stronger in your shoe when running downhill and thus you can again get bruises on your toes.

5- Adequate food provision. For doing 80km I have almost a kilo of energy and protein bars! My homemade oatmeal bars and protein almond-cocoa bars are much tastier. A recipe by Danny Dreyer for an energy drink, a mix of cocoa, espresso, honey, maple syrup and salt is delicious. I also use plain juice concentrate, much easier on the stomach than sports powders. I have recycled bags of mashed apple/banana compote and filled them with a large syringe with my own stuff. They are each 100ml and thus can be transported into an aircraft, after which they can then be discarded.

6- The ideal shoe. This unfortunately does not exist for me, it would require an Altra Lone Peak with Inov-8 Roclite 295 soles. The first does not have sufficient grip and is therefore not suitable for this trail but is incredibly comfortable, the second is too narrow for me but has a fantastic grip. I have just bought a new pair Roclites (my 7th), but half a size bigger in order not to bump each time with the top of my big toe against the shoe nose when running downhill. In order compensate for the extra sliding I replaced the laces with elastic triathlon laces.

7- Instead of taking pictures I bought an Android phone watch for 40 Euros (DZ09). It allows me to quickly make audio recordings. I noticed that many details get leveled out after the race in your head towards just pretty, hard, very hard. But now I can record in detail in order to learn from at a later point. This is why everything below has a timestamp and is so extensively described.

Michal warned us against the heat. Where his marker people usually need 5 hours, it now is 8 hours. We should drink enough and take enough water along. At 38km there is a mountain stream where you can drink safely. The limit is stretched up to about 40min due to the heat. If you want to stop, you can do that at best at a drinking post, especially the one at 103km. There is someone who will pick up for 30 zloty from every village and in case of real emergency, there is a rescue team (not meant for when you want to stop simply). There's hot food at 78, 103 and 120km. Gels and coffee are available. At 140km you do not want to stop any longer because the terrain is easier at the last two steep peaks.

Previously Roman, a participant of 67 and finished 3rd (!) place, warned me about the difficulty of the terrain with "OOH" and "AAH" and "Schwierig". He later appeared to have done the course already on his own. I wonder about the fact that a relatively easy looking flat piece on the card would be so hard (after PK3). From the image you cannot tell the steepness of the slopes.

June 24^th 2016
12:57 Just arrived at the registration post and finish in the sports hall of Bielsko-Biala and retrieved the race data. Few people have actually registered compared to the original entry list and only two women are present. Very good professional organization for such a small event. Together we take a bus to Zawoja and everyone is trying to rest or sleep a bit for what is coming up.
The runners are observing one another from head to toe and make an estimation of their level. Everyone is checked by Michal and his wife Anna for a rescue blanket, whistle, light, drink reservoir and nutrition, but not the whole obligatory list. Some have extremely few belongings with them and that makes me skeptical: either they are very fast and can live off the food and drinks from the drinking posts or they are plain foolish.

16:06 The start is an anticlimax: 3..2..1…GO! and everyone except one person starts to walk in Zawoja at an altitude of 533m, 33˚C and right off sweating like crazy.
16:24 First climb to Cyl Hali Smietanowej completed at 1298m, but my heart rate is too high and it is currently difficult to get it lower. I go slower. There are many annoying flies with the current heat
16:42 The heart rate dives under the self-imposed margin of 126
17:02 We arrive at the summit of the first mountain Cyl Hali Smietanowej, pesky flies, beautiful view and very hot.

18:10 PK1 (drinking post 1, Krowiarki) 10km and 10 minutes later than expected I arrive at the first drinking post. Hello in Polish is dobry I learn from practice. A heavy summer rain with thunderstorms starts and I put my jacket on, while a radiant sun is shining through a vast pine forest is shining in your face on the other side. Wide views with rolling valleys. The drinking post is basic, but at this point only water is important. Michal deturns all following runners from here to avoid the thunderstorm on Babia Gora (Diablak) or "Witch Mountain" at 1725m. Two weeks ago a person was killed here by a lightning strike and it wasn’t the first time either. I'm pretty disappointed, but safety is more important. We follow the blue and then the red track. This is a wide paved path and longer in distance but overall runnable.
18:42 At this path my gluteus medius (hip on the left) starts to whine a bit, I felt this a bit during the Dolomiti extreme trail. If I press with my thumb on a particular spot, the whining goes away. Conclusion: continue! But stay alert.
19:02 Thousands of pines here are heavily infested with longhorn beetles and successively snapped by the wind. The holes are each 2 to 3 cm in size.
19:15 I have been working for a while to run entirely by nasal breathing (Patrick McKeown: “The Oxygen Athlete”). It works, but I’ve notice that for no reason I breathe excessively at some point during the race. This is costing unnecessary extra energy due to the higher heart rate that follows. At this point I think to have found the cause! As the race progresses I tighten up my midriff just under the lower ribs and therefore I cut off my breath and disable an abdominal breathing. I slow down a little bit and a recurrent problem has been resolved in this race!
19:16 At the end of the blue route extensive photographs are taken of me and the photographer does take shots for a kilometer, running along. The red path is a forest with boulders sticking out, but still good to run. I take off my jacket again because the weather is beautiful again but muggy.
19:31 The first miss of a turn and I run a short 500 meters too far down and back up. I took the yellow instead of red path back to Zawoja.
After a few kilometers I rejoin the original path and I climb and descend two medium peaks, Medralowa 1169m and Jaworzyna 1046m. My mood is very upbeat, even though I know I that for the majority of the race I will remain alone.
19:57 remotely I can see the peak of Babia Gora. Impressive but unfortunately I cannot take a decent photograph from here.

0:02 In otherwise total silence, through a wide grassy path through the middle of the woods I hear a nightingale. I’m enjoying it and want record it’s singing, but from that moment the nightingale just shuts up!
20:21 A postcard-views of mountains, trees and a red sky at sunset.
20:47 I am overtaken by two runners which have done the Babia Gora and I therefore feel a bit silly having been in the lead for a while. I console myself with the thought that I did some more mileage.
22:01 The darkness entered and I switch on my headlamp. In the Dolomites I could try and review for a magazine a model of the ​​brand Fenix and this one shines up to 200m away (900 Lumen) if necessary, a big luxury on technical terrain. Also strong enough for mountain biking in the dark.
The backside of tree leaves look like pieces of plastic in the dark. I am overtaken by two runners and I decide not to hook on in order not to blow myself up, it's too early yet. The aim is finish, learn, enjoy if possible, and not to finish with the best time.

It is incredibly quiet and the stars, Mars and Venus are clearly recognizable. While looking up while running, I stumble across a boulder.

22:06 I notice with my running form that my hip makes a nod to the rear. This makes me have to run unnecessarily on leg power. For a while I observe and correct it.
22:23 The legs are not heavy, but I notice that by now they have been working. Also a tendon above the left instep to the ankle nags a little, a remnant of the TDS in 2011. Just keep the ankle relaxed.

Just before PK2 there is a short but surprisingly steep descent in the dark, as if you suddenly fall into a hole in the dark.

23:00 PK2 (extended break at cozy drinking post 2, Glinne) at 37km. From afar, I am called upon and encouraged, but in the dark I miss the path to the drinking post and I make a weird detour through a ditch. For a moment I thought about a few crazed fans because I do not understand Polish. I appear to be in the middle of the pack of competitors, but I take plenty of time to drink enough because a light water shortage and replenish my water supply, but I also prepare and adjust my material for the night.

One runner, a young guy who took off running from the start without water and very little to eat has been sitting here motionless for two hours with his jacket and hood on. He has been throwing up regularly. He is the first to abandon the race because of an absolute beginner's mistake.
The field of competitors is already well apart but my mood is still fine.
23:50 I'm working my way up to a steep climb on a narrow path with large boulders slippery (I’ve been familiar with these in the Savoie, France) to Gora Piedu Kopkow 1535m. I keep things easy going. The ribbon markers are more difficult in advance to recognize.
I climb up with heart rate 129, much slower than I would like it but I have to continue to save myself from spending too much energy. The moon rises between the trees. I'm in the dark alone in the woods and mentally it is starting to become a little difficult.

My watch with the audio recordings has turned a bit into my equivalent of Wilson in Tom Hanks' movie Castaway!

June 25^th
The hip continues to nag but I’m ignoring it or I push with my thumb on the spot that nags while walking. When running normally it doesn’t bother me!
As the trail ascends it becomes more technical with loose sharp rocks.
00:46 Arrival on the windy summit with 360 degrees of stunning views and a beautiful starry sky. In the valley you can see a couple of villages.
Directly after the summit a steep descent sets in. It is so steep and technical that I have no other choice than to break at every step at knee strength, which "kills" your knees. To make matters worse, the flies from yesterday came back but this time much more aggressively. They fly with hundreds around you right into your eyes, ears, mouth and nose. Beating with your hand or stick does not help, they follow you like a swarm. Sometimes a moth joins in as well.
01:01 Trzy Kopce 1216m. Because of the flies I miss a turn and ended up at least 100m lower. Bit by bit I’m compensating for the missed Babia Gora but I hate it and I am now overtaken by competitors that were behind.
In the remaining descent I surpass them yet again because normally that’s my thing. I consider myself a little childish at the same time for wanting to surpass them.

1:59 There is a long stretch coming up with slippery tree roots sticking out. I take it easy because a few times I’ve lost a toenail when stumbling my toe upon them..
Gruba Buczyna 1132m
03:45 The birds start chirping and the sun comes up slightly. The steep descent causes the left shoe to pinch. Previously I was never bothered by it. My water is low and the drinking post should be coming soon. My body and stomach start to revolt against the sweets and energy gels. I'd rather eat my homemade oat and almond protein bars, but they are larger and heavier to carry.

03:48 First piece of asphalt in a long time, it is runnable!

04:35 PK3 (Drinking post 3, Glinka) at 56km. Three participants are smoking heavily! A "Viking" participant of almost 2 meters in short, shirt and full of tattoos remains equipped with very little stuff, I doubt if he has a coat with him. It is a medium-equipped drinking post in the open air. I take plenty of time to brush my teeth after all those sweet gels, I take care of my feet and rub in a special cream, because I fear prolonged wet feet with what is coming up: Perhaps the most underrated part of the race. There's a storm coming along with a long muddy section. I would prefer to sleep here but I’m not allowing it, it’ll have to wait.
05:16 I am very tired and a little frustrated that I ran behind at the last drinking post compared to my competitors. Although this is nonsense and everyone is running his own race, it feels bad. I regularly briefly fall asleep sideways and use my walking poles in order not to fall. My good mood has dropped considerably.
06:12 The eyes close regularly from fatigue, while the very steep and slippery muddy slopes (60-70 degrees and up to 300m high) have to be taken by using your muscles in a forceful way.
Oszust 1155m
06:35 My fatigue becomes overwhelming and I find a bench in the woods for a short nap. I’ve been lying for just 2 minutes when at 200-300m lightning strikes. The flash I could not only see with closed eyes, but I could also feel it with my skin! I try again just to sleep, but the obnoxious flies and mosquitoes finish my ambition to do so and I go on. Immediately afterwards there is be a very steep descent in the mud.
Wielka Rycerzowa 1226m
07:48 During another steep and slippery descent in the mud, I slip out and feel exactly the same mild irritation in my knee like I had in the Dolomites. That's what I'm worried about. No time to worry about the right middle toenail which definitely has turned blue by now as well!
08:10 The worst fatigue is gone and I apply a preventive knee support and also a preventive blue compression bandage around the hip.
08:24 Going down to the next drinking post is set in a landscape of "virgin mountain meadows and forests." Because of the mud and boulders along the path I must remain careful anyway. In effect on a 60 degree slope and thick mud I slip out and fall on my buttocks.

9:03 The descent is followed again a fairly long climb and I'm almost at the top. My energy level feels drained. My hip hurts, my movements are going slower and I relapse into drowsiness. I’m hoping for a relatively quick recovery into the race, because this phase is felling like an eternity!

10:30 PK 4 (Drinking post 4 Przeglbek) at 78km I take a long extended break here and try to sleep, but I cannot because of the noise of all the other attendees. Yet 5 minutes of lying in the grass is a definite help to my mood. This is a good “gambit” of me because Michal indicated that most will stop at 103km. In this way I avoid that I might think at this point: "Mommy, please help me!" Later on it appeared to have been a good bet.
This post has a beautiful large wooden summer house with a panoramic view to its garden and the mountains. I arrange again my stuff and enjoy the good care and instant coffee (which I normally don’t like at all). People are very nice here, but my communication with them remains difficult because of their restricted English or German and the fact that I do not speak any Polish. But they do appear somewhat introverted to me. Because of my extensive break, I am again overtaken by a number of competitors.
My water supply of 1.9L is just for 25km with this heat and speed.
12:16 The break has been good and I can continue to run quietly on the flat parts (I keep on watching my low heart rate). The good mood has returned. The passage of time is feeling quicker and I'm on my alleged 5km/h, but it will surely drop again when going up on a mountain. In addition, the mercury rises to 33-36˚C.
13:06 Going to Jaworzyna 1173m in the full sun, but I did not suffer as much from the heat as the average Polish because I’m familiar with this heat after my 10-year stay in France. Just a matter of keeping on drinking and taking salt pills.

13:17 Wielka Racza 1236m Here at the summit there is a chalet with bar / restaurant and I can happily refill my impending water shortage and keep my head and hands under the tap, because it's really, really hot. I take away an improvised half date as a pressure point from the spot on the hip which nags, because it does not help.
The next long slope is another "killing" one on the knees, because the scattered boulders on the very steep slope, you cannot "roll" and you need to brake from the knee at every step by force. I thought I had enough experience by now, but I have a technical and physical difficulty to come across easily.
14:01 Finally a flat runnable part, but I need a walk to rest my knees, they feel like burning.
15:02 Kikula 1085m After this peak follows a steep downhill, but I can technically handle this one by “rolling” with small relaxed steps.
16:04 It is so hot that the tar is melting on the road, but my mood is very good! I surpass the "Viking" again, because he has suffered from the heat.

16:18 PK5 (Drinking post 5, Zwardon) 103km. We are being spoiled here with broth soup (non-vegetarian, but I do not care), good pasta and potatoes, watermelon and sport gels at will from Nutrend that in retrospect prove to be of very good quality. Here a huge elimination of competitors takes place, especially because of the heat. I take off my shoes and other annoying things and go to sleep in a quiet corner on a cot. This is difficult at the beginning because Poland is currently playing in the European Championship against Switzerland and wins. The Polish absolutely lost it as if they were world champions already. After 45 minutes I wake up because of a heavy rain shower. I drink some more, refill my water supply and continue. Michal asks me if I want to stop. I answer that I was not going all the way to Poland in order to stop here!
My left big toe starts to hurt, as if a toenail begins to grow into the corner edge, but Michal has no nail scissors.
For prevention I add a bandage on both knees for the descents. I hate taping, but I definitely want to finish this course.
17:20 Zwardon 650 m
18:27 The rain is quite cool and it still rains a little. A thunderstorm is lying in wait.

Babuschka
18:59 Solowy Wierch 848m. I’m walking through a broad meadow passage between two pieces of forest. Higher up, coming down from 300m I see a young woman smiling and coming at me. She is dressed like a babuschka: head covered, long covering clothing and shoes with holes woolen socks coming out. In her hands she holds a red vertical rectangular stick of about 50cm with a beveled tip on top. She has a perfect slightly tanned skin and carries a big smile. She asks if I have a minute in German: "Have you noticed for sure at what time the storm was today?" I replied: "No, I did not notice!" She says that it means that it is the last day that the sun will be so hot. She says in a scornful manner which shows that I am completely ignorant that I do not know. "Science knows it and I know it!". Ergo: I do not know! But I answer that I do not need to know really, because I want to continue my race. She says bye and 20 meters away from me I hear her say to herself: "He does not know!", followed by a very peculiar laughing sound.

19:24 So far I haven’t seen many striking things about the flora and fauna. Many plants and trees you can encounter across Europe, but for the first time I see a beautiful black woodpecker with a bright red crest.
20:09 I’ve been walking now for two hours on tarmac. My knees are affected by the many downhills and do hurt due to an overload in a short time.
20:27 At last I get off the tarmac road. At the top of a slope a group of young people are hanging out on top of a pile of stacked crossing beams that are going to be used to construct a chalet. The view is beautiful and they do not look bored.

21:45 PK6 118km (Drinking post 6, Przysłop) 118km. This is a big mountain refuge or shelter. Thevolunteers are very kind and helpful and are working here as well. I take a delicious tomato soup with rice and cold coffee with milk and some peanuts and I am glad to succeed at the toilet for once during a race!
22:33 I had forgotten to ask for a nail clipper, but actually I no longer know to which pain to pay attention apart from the hip: the bandage has started to irritate and cut into the skin. The knees are painful and also there the skin is damaged by abrasion. Then there are the recurring flies.
23:06 Arrival at the top of Barania Gora 1220m with an Eiffel Tower-like structure on top
23:19 The next descent is very technical again and I have no strength to go down by leg force and step on the brake by every step. I have to use my poles to brake. The flies are also back.
23:30 I used my Buff to cover up to my ears, so only my eyes are exposed to flies, but the left big toe starts now starts to hurt. Il feels as if at every step downhill someone with a hammer strikes on it. I curse the fact that I have forgotten my nail scissors!
23:57 A Blood Moon comes up low at the horizon, in addition to the other inconveniences the skin next to my balls and buttocks (because of a hip bag) starts to irritate in spite of the fact that I’ve put some cream to prevent this.
Magurka Radziechowska 1108m

June 26
01:06 The descent is very technical again and long (flies included) and at every step you need to be careful where to put your foot while avoiding to blow up your knees
1:19 During the descent it becomes increasingly darker, quieter and more stifling in a mountain basin of a few kilometers across. It is pitch dark here and no light can be seen.
01:34 The descent is going down for at least 1.000m of height difference and the hurting knees but above all the hurting toe is almost unbearable. My mood has dropped to an ultimate low, mostly because I really can no longer run because of the pain. The pain is just overwhelming now.
01:41 I arrive at the bottom of the mountain basin. I cannot see any ribbon markers and my GPS watch seems to indicate that I missed the exit. I’m closer to weeping than to laughing at this point and this part is really a battle with myself. I decide to keep on walking and to my great relief moments later I find a ribbon. But this is by far the hardest part of the trail and very demoralizing.
2:15 Because my whole body is soaked by sweat and therefore the skin is irritated I start to walk with my pants and underpants half down to dry everything a little, I don’t care because no one is looking!
2:41 I’m thinking that Michal the organizer is really moron to choose such a difficult track and to make matters worse, I have to go back because I missed some ribbons. I am seriously pissed.
2:47 The descent from Ostre 930m again is crazy because of the steepness and slipperyness.
03:01 I have to go back once again because I missed a ribbon and I have no GPS reception. I start cursing out loud.
03:21 I realize that the race actually begins only from 120km. After 130km the paths become narrow again and it is more likely to miss a ribbon in the dark.
03:48 PK7 (Drinking Post 7 Ostre) 138km. I walk to the end of the village in order to rest the knees and hope for a nail clipper. The man at the drinking post looks a bit pathetic with only a small table in front of a worn out but modern bus stop. Unfortunately he speaks no German or English. With gestures, he says, OK? I answer with my index finger to my head, "Crazy", which makes him chuckle. He is very helpful, but he has no nail scissors. I just realized that I have a blister adhesive plaster with me and luckily provides some relief. How stupid of me not to have done this at an earlier point.
04:43 During the long climb up to Skrzyczne 1257m I regularly fall again asleep while walking. If I fall while going up it fortunately would not be serious.
05:31 The overwhelming drowsiness begins to take hallucinatory forms, each shape is converted by the brains into an existing form. My eyes keep on rolling. In the forest I observe a swimming pool to my side and I dream out loud in Polish. On a fallen cut tree I try to sleep with my head on my arms on my lap, but I can’t. I decide to go on.
05:55 I'm so tired that my own recording is unintelligible, as weak as it sounds.
6:21 I'm going to sleep on a bench for 15 minutes but it doesn’t really help. The knees are still very hurtful. Near the top there is a holiday resort plus another large complex and a large broadcasting tower.
06:56 20 minutes ago I brushed my teeth again and the sun is shining brightly. I manage to run again !! The last competitor of the race (Only 10 out of 29 would finish) surpasses me again because she takes much shorter breaks than me every time.
07:08 I suddenly feel like I have wings, take an energy gel and hook on. We both continue to run for about 20km on the elongated mountain ridge with stunning views. The end of the race is also in sight!
Malinow 1115m In a great arc I run away from the broadcasting tower on Skrzyczne, which you can still see in the distance.

At approx 08:00 PK8 (Drinking post 8 Salmopol) 150km. This is a ski resort with some restaurants and at the drinking post there is not much left to eat or drink. Against my own rules I try an unknown energy gel, but it feels good.
10:35 Magura 1109m During the last climb before the final leg I'm going through an energy low once again. The weather suddenly changes, it becomes very foggy and it starts raining and the temperature drops. Thunders rumbles through the fog, something I have not experienced before.
11:06 A summer rainstorm erupts with hailstones of 1 cm. I hide for a moment under a small pine tree. As soon as the hail stops and transitions into a strong rain shower, I run through the water streams (you don’t slide) and continue my descent into the pretty village of Bystra. The village looks perfectly groomed, often a sign of Poles living abroad who have a second home here.

11:56 PK9 (Drinking post 9, Bystra) 167km By now the rain stops. I have not seen the drinking post and I am overtaken by Anna in her car. I only refill water to get to the top of Szyndzielnia at 1028m and finally I can cut a piece of toenail. However, this does not help, the whole toe appears inflamed!
Throughout the course I was more or less as fast as Aleksandra behind me, but she did not seem interested in sticking together. I was usually faster running and descending, but she always caught up because of my longer breaks. She probably had it even more difficult than me and she is a tough cookie. Again she overtakes me at this drinking post and it seems that she wants to finish ahead of me. I am not going to allow that. I take a sports gel and protein bar and like a crazy I aim for the last 10km with a height difference of 600-700 + and -. This time it only takes 1h45, 40min ahead of her. I suddenly had wings again! Even the last few hundred meters to the finish line I can sprint.

FINISH 176km Bielsko-Biala Finally! For the first time I’ve run for 176km and skipped 2 consecutive nights of sleep, what a sweet victory to overcome.
During the daytime occasionally I fall asleep in the middle during a chat and I sometimes talk gibberish. My head thinks something while my mouth is saying something else. But it actually lasts until the next morning that what I experienced touches me emotionally, you do get into a kind of survival mode.

The next day I fly back again from Katowice. Damage: 3 blue toe nails and an inflamed side of the thick left toe, skin on the inside of both knees (they still feel like burning) damaged because of the knee-protectors, skin slightly damaged at the balls between my legs, skin on both sides of the hip opened because of the bandage, a very rigid gluteus medius and itchy buttocks from the hip belt, back skin damage from the backpack and also a bit on the front on the chest because of my heart rate monitor. Unfortunately I have not brought my recovery socks and I catch a strong edema in my legs. For at least 3 days they look like swollen elephant feet, and after five days I feel that I’m still recovering.
There is a solution for all this in future events and I must find a way to lose less time messing with my Backpack and drinking posts (not an issue at shorter distances).
But I have to work on my knees and prepare better next time.

On to the next adventure!

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