Throwback Legends Slam 2019/2020:
It remains unreal what has happened during my first Legends Slam. 2019 was my first encounter with the Ardennes in a Legends Trail meaning. Rough, direct, unlikely trails and unlimited crew love during the Great Escape in September 2019. The second race – The Bello Gallico in December 2019 – was somehow a necessary job to do. A bridge between the Great Escape trails and the unknown Legends Trail. A race with my upcoming first Legends Trail already in mind – a training on how to get through 2 long, cold and miserable nights without bigger damage. Rumors about a virus were already spreading during the days prior to the Legends Trail 2020 in February 2020. All the runners left a well-known world by starting the LT250 or even LT500 in 2020 and came back into a different world. Both because of the race itself but also because of the severe changes to the „real“ world around us caused by the unfolding pandemic. A narrow escape. Even more absurd was the final run of the 2019/2020 Legends Slam – the Another One Bites the Dust back in 2020. Only weeks before we received a date – only the 13 slammers were allowed to race. Masks during the interloopal phase of the run. One personal support for each runner. Very few visitors. What should have been the final party for the whole Legends family felt and was more like a VIP access only illegal party – always on the border of being closed by whatever authority. A Slam full of unexpected things. Full of unpreparedness. Full of surprises. Full of things never seen before. Especially my first Legends Trail hit hard. The weather, the distance, the third night – still no idea how it all worked out. After so many years.
To me it was clear – one Legends Slam was more than enough. My idea was to use all the newly gained knowledge and experiences to fully focus on solid Legends Trail performances as season highlight from now on. Running all 4 Legends Slam races for another time was never the idea – too time- and money-consuming and too much running to remain 100 % focused at each of the races. So, right after Covid was under control and races came back, I followed that plan for some years.
Fast forward 2025. For whatever reason the Legends Slam received a distance upgrade. 4 races – all of them prolonged. At first I wasn’t sure. Eager to experience the longer Legends Trail: absolutely – going all in and rotate back into Slam business: maybe? With dramatic changes in the real world life the final decision was: why not use the new life setup and give it a try? Let’s experience all the demons from the past with a more relaxed and settle state of mind and with new friends and loved-ones taking part in this journey.
The stories about Great Escape 200 in September 2025, Bello Gallico 200 in December 2025, Legends Trail 350 in February 2026 have been told already. All in all a great experience. Like showing up for the grand Tour once more to say thank you and goodbye. To make peace with those demons from 2019/2020 and to say hello to all those trails again.
So here we were – one final time at the start of Another One Bites the Dust. To finish it off. In comparison to AOBtD 2020 the course was longer (6.8k vs. 6.3k), had more D+ and – off course – was longer (34 loops nowadays compared to 28 loops back in 2020). A pretty serious task especially for those runners lacking a certain basic speed.
It was good to finally have some time to talk to the Legends Trail inner circle, to have some time to finally get to know the 6 other runners fighting for the Legends Slam 2.0 a bit better and to enjoy the family camping atmosphere all around the event. I would love to say that the dust finally settled during the race but it remained a serious thing all along. As it is my style of running once it gets rough – I stopped myself from believing and relaxing within the task – I remained in my grim state of pushing through. My surroundings often mistake this as me not having fun running or me only being able to generate energy from all the suffering. But deep-within I do secretly hope. I generate energy from that deep-within. To do so I start to disconnect from the surroundings. Start to listen music. Start to listen to songs on repeat. Start to wander away with my thoughts – while having one eye on the timing. It’s not meant to be rude to anyone although it may look like it. It’s just enabling me to stay in my inner cave. The loops were coming and going. I managed at one point to fully accept it that it just does not stop. To completely oblige to the rhythm. To accept the loop as the only remaining thing from now on forever. During the second night I fully adapted to the premium support Yvonne offered and started to make the most of it. That meant loop times around 57/58 minutes, minimizing the breaks to not allow the body to ultimately collapse. During the last 7 loops I felt a pain in my squads knowing some muscle fibers encountered micro-tears which would result in some issues as soon as I stopped running for a certain amount of time. That time would come but only after the completion of the 34 loops. And so we ran. Loop after loop. In time. Alone. Together. I noticed the others were constantly eyeing myself. All of the remaining slammers were eager to not lose another slammer during those last hours (having lost Onno due to stomach issues earlier in the race). I felt the others gazes but also felt somehow safe in doing my job to complete the loops as the last runner. Me closing in in time meant everyone else made it. Ensured we were still in. In time. Loop by loop.
And then the glorious last two hours. The moment I was sure. Sure it would work. It didn’t get less painful and less strenuous. But what should stop us know. And so we did what was needed. Quite calm, quite rational, quite unspectacular. Finishing the last two loops. In time. The 6 six of us united for the last symbolic finish line crossing. This moment will stay. Being able to make it so far with all those amazing runners around. Being one of them.
A worthy goodbye to the Legends Slam for good. The bigger circle is closed as well. The Legends Slam 2.0 completed. It will take some time to understand and to process all those impressions. It felt like coming home – I can stay home from now on. For good.
1003 km – 26.000 m D+ – 204 h
