The original route of the entry challenge of the Matrix Slam was created by Martino a few years ago under the name „Deadly Shadows“. We decided to add the route to the lifetime challenge All Time Great Adventures #atga – a project consisting of a collection of gpx tracks and a google sheet of listed finishes on those routes – dedicated to runners in love with routes a bit off of the mainstream ultra running around. While discussing the Matrix Slam with the orga committee meeting back in 2025 we created the 4 Matrix Slam routes for 2027 (one route of each of us) and were missing a decent entry challenge. We decided that it is time to give Martino’s gpx the attention it deserves.
The Keymaker aka. Deadly Shadows features an interesting region at the border between Belgium and France near the cities Mons (BEL) and Valencienne (FRA). The route description –
The route will take you through the industrial coal-mining region on the border between Belgium and France. It is an area where nature is steadily reclaiming the land, and where often only the shadows of former glory remain visible.
There are occasional paved sections, but more often you will encounter very challenging stretches that slow the pace, as well as parts where you will naturally pause to take in points of interest. This is not a route meant to be run fast, but one designed to get to know a region and to enjoy landscapes where old times come back to life.
The “Black Country” still carries its old, unhealthy habit of leaving rubbish along the edges of villages and forests, but Flanders was the same 30 years ago… so there is hope.
– sounded promising. The right setting to detach from the mundane and to focus on the very simple things.
After running the last run of the Legends Slam 2.0 (AOBtD 2026) back in July 2026 our running reduced for a kind of „summer break“. Wonderful vacation with the kids, running the 50 mi in August to not break the Run Throughout The Year streak followed by the preparation for our thru-hike of the Bohusleden in September – not too much time for consistent running. After our return from Sweden we squeezed in the 50 mi in September for the challenge at the last possible days end of September. Coming straight out of 9 days with 11-13h hiking/day it was a weird feeling returning to running. As we tend to plan our weekends a huge while in advance we set the date to run The Keymaker for the first October weekend. We can only assume that we did not consider the fact, that this would mean a rough and instant increase in running after our hiking adventure. But well – it’s the same for everyone. And decisions are decisions. To make things even more interesting we decided not to take any days off for the run and to start right after work on Friday 2nd of October knowing that we are supposed to work again on Monday morning. Efficiency is important!
We arrived in Jurbise main station around 2000 Friday evening, made our final preparations and started 2030 with The Keymaker. Weather forecast for the whole weekend was very decent – 6 to 19°C with no rain – that was a gigantic advantage. The first km into the night felt strange but ok. Lots of tarmac so we were able to start off with a good speed.
Soon after the start we were confronted with the first foreboding of what should await us during the whole track: heavy industry working 24/7, remnants of heavy industry, lots of waste next to/on the paths, ways and streets – mixed with villages/cities with on the one hand well maintained and highly secured/isolated buildings but on the other hand brutal decay of whole streets. An internet research after the run explained that phenomenon with the horrific economic situation of that region after the end of the coal-mining era paired with hungry investors buying and neglecting whole parts of cities at low price waiting for a never happened boom. A dystopian feeling – like running in a modern artwork of a lost place. At the beginning a weird feeling but with more and more time out there a fascinating setting for independent underground ultra running.
After roughly the first marathon the climbing started to intensify. The first coal piles challenged us with first climbing and trails. We also saw some interesting geological sites in the first night where signs explained the local cave structures as well as the ancient remains found in them. After 30 km we found an open cemetery door and used this chance for our first water refill. Our first real supply possibility was waiting at around 60k with the problem that the supermarket would only open at around 0800 – we luckily found a „minimarkt“ which was open at 0530 in the morning to refill our water at roughly 60 km into the run. The route character changed a bit after km 60 – instead of the constant coal pile climbs the scenery flattened and opened up to paths along small to big canals and lakes.
At around midday we reached km 98 and the second bigger city – we didn’t manage to grab a cup of coffee but refilled our water knowing that the course would intensify after km 100. A 40 km loop through a stretch of land full of forests and coal piles followed. And huge piles there were. With a surprisingly high amount of small paths leading into the unknown. Navigation this region required full focus.
On top of it we saw markings on the trail and heard the howling of enduro motorcycle – some really really close – some afar – it seemed like we ended up on course of an (illegal) race or something. Not completely comfortable. Soon after we left this stretch the second night was crawling closer.
Due to the intense weeks before (hiking for 9 days and 370 km, running a 50 miler the weekend after and then starting after a full workweek right into the Keymaker) we had issues with staying awake. We already slept for 2x 30 min (safety blanket style) in the first night and were a bit afraid of the second night. We agreed on a longer sleep break to cut the second night into two portions – turned out this was not sufficient. Desperately tired and before we could even close the 40 km loop from km 98 to km 138 back to the city we just stopped in the middle of a street, I was too tired to do one more step. In the small industrial area we just sat down on the sidewalk leaned onto a stone wall, wrapped ourselves in safety blankets and half-sitting, half-lying, slept for 10-15 minutes. Horrible break. After 138 we returned to the city we already saw at km 98. As we needed to slow down and started with sleeping breaks we were too late for any supermarket, the gas stations in this part of BEL/FRA mostly don’t have any shops, and the entrance to the big cemetery was locked. No. Water. Ok, a minor problem for now – we both had some amount of water left – but what if we wouldn’t find anything soon? Interesting question in the middle of the second night… We started to drink less and walked/ran until tiredness hit hard. Only 8 km later we finally gave up. We decided to crawl a bit further into the bushes next to the path to not sleep right in the middle of it and set a timer for 45 minutes – a decent and long break. As both of us were using two safety blankets and the ground was kind of soft – we actually slept. We then ate and restarted after this one-hour break. Yet – we were still tired… After roughly another 8 km we found some nice benches and again sat down for our third sleeping break. Desperately hoping for sunrise and the return of the light we tried to move on but merely 6 km later we lay down for our fourth sleep break in night two… What a horror. Lying down to sleep on trail is a very uncomfortable thing to do but restarting, freezing to the bones, is even worse. We somehow made it through the second night – what a rough one. Not so sure if I really missed these ultra moments.
After 170 km into the light returned. And with it the hope. We still did not have any water refill and were falling short. In the sunlight of the Sunday morning we reached a small village around km 185 and finally we saw people. We just randomly asked for water and got a refill. After almost 90 km with 3 L water a relief. The last stretch was a bit faster again. The finish near in combination with a track leading us on broad paths up and down through a variety of different forests we just kept going. Done with it and desperately hoping to reach the car to finally stop the watches. In a few minutes less than 40 hours we finished The Keymaker and qualified for the Matrix Slam 2027.
In retrospect The Keymaker is a route easy on paper but with a very special atmosphere. The constant tiny ups and downs on the coal piles mixed with the wide open „boring“ and endless stretches combined with the constant feeling of running right inside a lost place – a region without any hope for a better future – makes it a really nice challenge. A perfect fit for the Matrix Slam entry. With our timing of running two full nights it brought back what was gone for a few months: the return of ultra running. We had no external support, heavy backpacks (no need to buy any food as we carried enough) and 3 L water each – trying to be as independent as possible. Moving shadows in the Deadly Shadows area. It’s good to be back and The Keymaker was a nice opener to a year with a lot of running. Frequent long distances will be the new normal for a while. Best thing is we can do it together – being able to freely move outdoors, independently and for long distances is a gift we are learning to appreciate more and more.
Food:
- 4 burger buns with tofu and pesto
- 3 rice/lentil bowls (DM/Rewe)
- 1 pck. chocolate oat cookies (300 g)
- 2 pck. vegetarian mini salamis
- 2 pck. Haribo crackers
Gear: Mafate 5, Ultimate Direction Fastpack 30, Led Lenser H7R Signature Edition