Subtle signs of my first 100 km race this past Friday night linger, the heavy legs, the slight pain in my left knee, the weariness...the feeling of wanting to crawl back in bed and sleep. But the euphoria of finally crossing the finish line after nearly 12 hours also burns from within, bubbling through my veins and spreading a smile on my face.
The 1st Annual Ulmer Laufnacht, translated the Ulm Night Run...almost perfectly organized, a friendly atmosphere, willing helpers, and a course whose beauty speaks for itself. As I sit and try to write about all that happened in Ulm I feel more overwhelmed than during the actual race itself...
In the middle of the afternoon on Friday I picked up my friend Josef and we made the two hour drive to Blaustein, near Ulm, which lies on the border of the States of Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria in Germany. Originally my wife was to accompany me, but she had school on Friday night and Saturday. She was worried that I wouldn't be able to drive home after the race, so I asked Josef if he wanted to travel with me and drive home the next day if necessary.
We arrived in Blaustein (translated Blue Stone) and checked Josef into the room where he was spending the night. I organized my stuff for the race and we went downstairs in the hotel and had an early dinner. Afterward we drove over to the sport hall and I picked up my race packet. Here we met another member of our running club, Walter, who was also running the 100 kilometers. We sat and chatted for awhile, until around 7:00 p.m., when I mentioned I wanted to head back to the room and take a nap before the race.
Back at the room I made a final check of my race stuff and laid down for awhile. I managed to dose off for a few minutes, but was too nervous to sleep long. The race briefing was scheduled at 9:00 p.m., two hours before the race, so I got up about a half-hour before and got dressed for the race. We arrived shortly before the briefing and joined Walter in the bleachers of the sport hall. After awhile the organizers briefed us on the location of the aid stations, safety, some changes in the course, etc..
One fact that I think caught everyone's attention was that the course had 900 meters of altitude difference and not 400 meters as was listed in the race description...a large part of this in the last third of the course. Oh well, bring it on, we're here let's do it!
After the briefing I made a last toilet stop, then about 15 minutes before the start we walked over to the soccer field where the race was to begin. It was cool outside, I guess around 14°C (57°F) and it would get colder before the night was done (7°C/44°F). I was wearing ¾ length running pants, a short sleeve running shirt and a light running jacket - a bit cool for standing around, but I was confident it would suffice for the race.
At the Start the energy was enormous, music, 3 or 4 hot air balloons waiting to take off - blowing occasional flames which lit up our surroundings, nervous runners, the chatter of the crowd. I rechecked my running belt and chatted with Walter and Josef for a bit. I tried not to think about the task I had before me, 100 kilometers - 62 miles!
The clock clicked down and Josef headed off to the sidelines. Walter, who has run several 100 km races and was looking to break 10 hours for this race, stayed towards the front, I headed toward the back, I figured I would need 12-13 hours. At 11:00 p.m. we counted down the last seconds and amidst a fiery display of fireworks and music we were off on our 100 kilometer journey.
A movie clip of the start can be viewed on the race website: http://www.ulmer-100km.de/
Leave a comment