End of October is the usual time to draw the line. To sum it up.
Although the year is not over yet the yearly circle is closed for me. Starting November it usually is the time to start the preparation for the Legends Trail happening late February the following year.
The new circle starts right now.
Numbers: In 2024 I ran 38 Marathons+ distances so far. With a handful more to come in the remaining of 2024 this will be the highest number in the records. With 600 missing km the chances are quite good that I will beat the 5000 km/year for the second time ever. All this wouldn’t have been possible without losing my job in February 2024 and the separation from the rest of the family. After all a quite difficult and painful process. Life is not as straightforward as expected; a lesson familiar from ultra running. Let’s see how this will turn out and what the future may bring. Together with Marek I immensely enjoy an interesting running challenge and this yearly review is a great opportunity to highlight the current standings on my end. The task is to run a Marathon+ on each and every calendar date available. Start date of the run = date for the entry in the sheet. Multidays/longer runs over multiple days count as one event. I guess no one else in the world cares but til end of October 2024 I reached 56% of all dates possible (204/366). This years highlight was the completion of February 29th – a rather difficult date. Focussing a bit more on the sheet and taking care that the longer runs are scheduled best possible certainly helped to increase this number. Whether or not it will be possible to complete it – who knows. But I am definitely looking forward to at least try it.
The Date Game – 31.10.2024
The year 2024 started with the our usual mAMa (matschiger Aachen Marathon) edition. With me no longer living in Aachen the future of mAMa is still in discussion at the moment. mAMa was followed by the first edition of the Teuflischer Biber Ultra – a great concept. I only managed to complete 1.5 of the 6 60 km loops but I think more is possible. If all goes well I will attend the next edition in 2025. Legends Trail 2024 was another huge test for body and mind but it ended with finish number 4. In March 2024 I had my go on the qualification run for next years LOTR Slam.
These slam projects really evolved in a small group of runners. After the Titanic Slam and the Marvel Slam this is already Slam number 3. We changed the concept a bit so that 2024 is the qualification year (you have to run a certain GPX within 2024 to access the 4 challenges in 2025). That keeps the concept alive but relaxes the time schedules a bit. So far we have 15 runners who completed the entry challenge – the Dead Mashes run (209 km). I am very pleased by the enthusiasm and the discussion in those underground Facebook chats. Proud to see how them undertake the Dead Marshes track – which happens to my GPX. Looking forward to see how those 14 and myself (or more – two more months to complete the entry challenge) will try to schedule 3×100 mile runs and a special surprise into our running agendas 2025. But I am certain that there will be finishers.
In April 2024 it was time to visit the loops again – Legends Backyard Ultra in Belgium. The aim was to qualify for the 2024 Team Germany at the World Team Championships in Backyard Ultra in 2024. The 36 loops were enough to achieve that. Huge thanks to Michael from the Biber Backyard Ultra Team for the support – both at the LBU as well as at the World Team Championships. To have a crew is crucial in this strange running format. To recover from all these loops it was time for a long trail adventure. Claudia and I tried to run the Westweg and managed 210 km. Although we did not manage to complete the whole Westweg it was a great time out there with the most spectacular polar lights night I ever saw. During the summer I tried to maintain some running abilities and attended at the 24h Lauf Dorsten (100 mi). Last but not least B. and me finally had the chance to run together and to complete the 100 mi at the Breckerfelder Flower Power Ultra – which was the last test before the Backyard Ultra World Team Championship with the German team in Nürnberg.
All in all 7×100 mi plus runs in 2024 – increasing the count from 35 to 42.
Apart from all these official runs 2024 was a great chance to expand the part of running/exploring I enjoy most. With Marek I have been trying to complete as many new tiles from @statshunter as possible. The side effect of this was that Marek could also increase his plaatsnaam bordjes count for his private challenge (collect all towns in the province Brabant in NL and take a picture of the town sign). My statshunter page looks like this – looking forward to to hunt more tiles in the next years:
Statshunter status 31.10.2024 – max square = 24×24
Another key figure in 2024 was Maarten – thank you for all those countless hours of madness – both underground and in the marshes. Lets try to conserve this in the future.
And 2025? Lets see.
A lot of plans have been made. The first focus will be on the Legends Trail 2025 – the last Legends Trail in the well known format. It would be a dream to finish this beast once more.
Die persönliche Enttäuschung sitzt noch tief. 30 Runden sind sicher nicht das Ziel gewesen. Die Gründe für die schlechte Performance sind offensichtlich und da ich es perspektivisch nicht anstreben werde diese Lücken zu schließen, wird das wohl der letzte Backyard Ultra Wettkampf gewesen sein. Für mich war die Teilnahme an den Weltmeisterschaften 2022 & 2024 eine großartige Motivation und eine Chance an einem einmaligen Rennen teilzunehmen. Das Backyard Ultra Format habe ich mit nunmehr 4 Teilnahmen (29, 30, 33 & 36 Runden) gut kennen gelernt, die Mechanismen sind klar geworden, der Rhythmus ist verstanden und der Support wurde optimiert. Das soll genügen.
Dieses Jahr war es noch einmal besser als 2022. Das Team-Gefühl hat sich schon im Vorfeld über die Diskussionen in unserer WhatsApp Gruppe aufgebaut und es war großartig diese 15 Menschen im echten Leben zu treffen. Teilweise war es ein Wiedersehen – aber auch einige neue Gesichter waren dabei. Zusammen mit den jeweiligen Support Teams wurde es ein richtig gemütliches Lager und das bange Warten auf den Start war allgegenwärtig.
Team GER 2024
Als wir durch den Startschuss losgelassen wurden war es einmal mehr ein unglaubliches Gefühl. Das Zusammen-gegen-den-Rest-der-Welt-Gefühl war irgendwie direkt da. Auch wenn das Wetter über die ersten 30 Stunden nicht wirklich sonnig wurde hatten wir doch gute Laufbedinungen. Einzig der nasse und etwas kalte Nebel in der Nacht war etwas störend.
Frontrunner @TEAM GER
Ein großer Dank gilt allen Crews und den helfenden und organisierenden Händen aus dem Orga-Team unseres Rennens – es hat alles in allem gut funktioniert und wir Läufer konnten uns auf das konzentrieren wozu wir angetreten waren.
Viel könnte über das Rennen geschrieben werden, über die vielen Einzelschicksale, die einsamen Dramen, die famosen drei bzw. beiden am Ende – ein sehr starker Assist und ein verdienter Sieger – aber das war für mich nicht das Entscheidende in diesen Stunden.
Ich habe es sehr genossen mit den allermeisten aus dem Team zu quatschen, es wurde viel gelacht und tatsächlich auch viel zusammen gelaufen. Unterschiedliche Gruppen haben sich gebildet und die Dynamik war wunderbar. Der Team-Spirit wurde dann in der ersten Nacht deutlich. Eine unserer Läuferinnen mochte nachts nicht so gern allein durch die Wälder und Wiesen – und was macht Team Deutschland? Im Stundenwechsel wurde getauscht und die Begleitung organisiert. Konstante 57 Minuten Runden sind sicher nicht jedermanns Sache aber es war keine Frage – die schnellen wie die langsamen – jeder hat eine Stunde übernommen. Teamwork at its best. Wirklich schön zu sehen.
Genial war für mich vor allem die Diversität im Team. Sicher nicht ideal für eine top Performance bei der Backyard Ultra WM, aber wunderbar für das Team-Gefühl. Unsere Spartathlon-Finisher waren sich nicht zu schade, unser Wanderweltmeister war trotz Erkrankung am Start, die beste Deutsche beim 6-Tages-Lauf Anfang September 2024 war dabei. Das war in anderen Teams nicht der Fall. Insgesamt 72000 DUV-Kilometer mit einer Backyard-Ultra Quali Leistung von 632 Yards standen am Start.
Und so haben wir uns dem Backyard Ultra hingegeben. Als Team zusammen, bis es für die Einzelnen von uns nicht mehr weiter ging. Insgesamt ist der 16. Platz dabei herausgekommen – wir konnten mit 542 Yards unsere Vorleistungen leider nicht verbessern. Im Vergleich zur WM 2022 sind dennoch ein paar Yards mehr herausgesprungen.
Während sich die Geschlagenen am Montag Morgen langsam um das Lagefeuer versammelten brach die Sonne endlich aus der dicken Suppe hervor. Ein wenig wie zum Hohn wärmte sie die Ausgeschiedenen. Viel wurde gequatscht, analysiert und erzählt an diesem Morgen am Lagerfeuer. Zu jeder vollen Stunde wurde sich am Korridor versammelt um mit Applaus die verbliebenen Läufer auf die nächste Runde zu schicken. Eine schöne und doch eigenartige Stimmung. Die Gedanken hingen greifbar über den Flammen des Feuers: Trainer und Trainierter in ernster Diskussion um die schmerzenden Glieder, einige mit den Gedanken an eine eh schon miserable Lauf-Saison, Gedanken an das absolute Ende der langen Schinderei, Gedanken an die nächsten Schritte, Gedanken an die große Leere zum Ende der Laufsaison, Gedanken an die Zukunft und wie es wohl weitergehen möge. Es ist ein ehrliches Format dieses Backyard Ultra – vielleicht etwas zu ehrlich. Die Prüfung von sowohl Körper als auch Wille ist allumfassend.
Ich persönlich habe – zumindest für den Moment – die Lust an den Runden vollständig verloren. Ich habe noch nicht einmal die Kraft gefunden die Tabellen zu aktualisieren. Das will wirklich was heißen. Nach einem Jahr der Trennung, der Kündigung, des Umzugs, des Neubeginns auf der Arbeit ist das Feuer erloschen. Ich hoffe es geht bald wieder etwas – die langen Läufe in 2025 werfen ihre Schatten voraus. Endlose Trails, endlose Dunkelheit und Kälte warten. Wieder einmal heißt es sich zu wappnen. Nur woher soll die Freude kommen?
Der Beitrag des BR über unseren Lauf in Katzwang:
Bei allen Geschichten dieser Backyard Ultra WTC ist sicher die des belgischen Teams die besonderste. Alle 15 Läufer des belgischen Teams sind 50 Runden gelaufen und waren damit als letztes Team komplett. Insgesamt sind sie 1147 Yards zusammen gelaufen – mehr als je ein Team zuvor und zum ersten Mal über 1000 Yards. Und zuletzt – 3 Läufer zusammen haben den Weltrekord gebrochen und haben dann nach 110 Yards aufgehört. Es sollte keinen Sieger gegeben unter diesen hervorragenden Sportlern.
Kurzentschlossen zum 2. 24h Lauf Dorsten angemeldet um einen Rahmen für den längeren Lauf im Juli 2024 zu haben und um etwas die Stabilität, Verlässlichkeit sowie die Konsistenz im Laufen zu überprüfen. Nach Monaten voller Trail-Abenteuer ist es of schwer abzuschätzen wie es um das eigentliche Laufen/die Verfassung so steht. Auf der Art Trail die bevorzugt unter die Füße gefallen ist seit Jahresbeginn (mit Ausnahme des Backyards im April) gab es selten zeitliche Zwänge und es ging mehr darum die komplexe Strecke überhaupt zu schaffen als dabei noch viel übers Laufen an sich zu regeln.
Gerade in Richtung einer möglichen Teilnahme an der Backyard-WM im Oktober erschien es aber sinnvoll sich genau darum mal zu kümmern, bzw. zu verstehen wie viel Arbeit in der Vorbereitung noch zu tun ist.
Fazit: der Körper hat die 7 km/h im Schnitt klaglos ausgehalten. Laufen war bis zum Ende noch drin (auch wenn die Gehpausen natürlich häufiger wurden), Müdigkeit war kaum vorhanden und Pausen habe ich überhaupt nicht gebraucht. Das ist für meine Verhältnisse ordentlich. Auch die 173 km und damit die neue PB über 24h war ein überaus erfreuliches Ergebnis (3. Platz gesamt).
das Dorstener Dreieck (947 m) x 183 (blau = downhill; rot = uphill)
Das Event war gut organisiert – viele Sponsoren für den guten Zweck wurden gefunden und so mangelte es an nichts und unsere Startgelder konnten komplett gespendet werden. Vielen Dank an die Orga. Etwas Bedenken hatte ich ob der recht engen Wege – aber auch das war bis auf wenige Augenblicke wo „alle“ unterwegs waren kein Problem. Zudem waren die Höhenmeter auf ein sehr kurzes Stück konzentriert und wurden dann sehr sanft über den Rest der Strecke abgebaut – ideal fürs Dauerkreiseln. Obendrein hatte der Sommer zumindest die ersten 20 Stunden noch Pause – perfekte Bedingungen fürs Laufen.
Kurz vor Ende des Rennens waren die ersten 3 Plätze klar und wir haben uns zu dritt auf der letzten Runde zusammengeschlossen um das Event gebührend zu beenden sowie René zu seiner super Leistung zu gratulieren (Alois: 194 Runden – René: 204 Runden).
Things sometimes don´t go according to plan. We did not manage to finish the 208k of Dead Marshes; somewhat around 80k most of the group decided to stop after loop 1 // 120k. The rest of the group took a while with accepting this fact but was happy with the decision after a while. All in all a really nice experience out there with the those two. It really is different to attempt do ultras with the experts and even better to sustain through surprisingly dark moments on this shorter run. Everyone stayed calm when things went sideways in an unexpected way. We have seen the all shades of that darkness – although we expected it 100k later.
Already a month ago (9th of May 2024) we had a go on the Westweg in Southern Germany. The Westweg is a premium hiking trail crossing the whole Schwarzwald from North (Pforzheim) to South (Basel). Westweg has two variations West and Ost – we used the West variant. Strategy was to place two cars along the way (km 140/km 210) and we were lucky to get some company from fellow runners – which gave us another car opportunity to refill at km 50.
All in all a very nice experience in good company. We decided to call it a day after 210 km in Hinterzarten and not go for the last stretch to Basel. Strategy worked out fine but we did not had the urge to really push all out and finish it. Sometimes to not go ultra is also a legit thing. We had a good supply plan – everything worked out as expected and we had spectacular views (including a night full of polar lights), great company and lots of fun.
Some pictures and video expressions below:
With regards to statistics – this was number 39 100 mile plus run and continued the 200k plus streak to 4 months in a row.
Gollum laughed. ‚The Dead Marshes, yes, yes: that is their names,‘ he cackled….
‚Who are they? What are they?‘ asked Sam shuddering….
‚I don’t know,‘ said Frodo in a dreamlike voice. ‚But I have seen them too… grim faces and evil, and noble faces and sad…. But all foul, all rotting, all dead.’….
‚Yes, yes,‘ said Gollum. ‚All dead, all rotten…. The Dead Marshes. There was a great battle long ago, yes, so they told him when Sméagol was young, when I was young before the Precious came. It was a great battle. Tall Men with long swords, and terrible Elves, and Orcses shrieking. They fought on the plain for days and months at the Black Gates. But the Marshes have grown since then, swallowed up the graves; always creeping, creeping.‘
The Two Towers, LOTR Book 4, Ch. 2, The Passage of the Marshes
What is this? The track The Dead Marshes is the entry challenge to be part of next years #lotrslam2025. All information on the slam and what you can expect can be found here and here. To sign up for The Dead Marshes just enter your name in the sheet and download the GPX from there as well. You have until December 31st 2024 to complete The Dead Marshes and to prove your completion with your .fit, .gpx, your Garmin or your Strava link sent to slam@acceptnolimits.eu. Upon verification we will publish your attempt in the above mentioned sheet and you will receive the GPX files for the 2025 Slam on 01.01.2025.
About The Dead Marshes Whenever I create a track in an area I know well I try to make sure to include all the highlights I know but to also use ways/paths I never took before. The Dead Marshes is a tribute to Hautes Fagnes but also includes some nice spots in the Rursee area in Germany (featured during KATE180) and the Coo area in Belgium (aka. Iceberg and the Basin). Hautes Fagnes is exactly in the middle of those two „ends“ – thats forms a nice concept. Start/Middlepoint/Finish at Baraque Michel also provides the opportunity to enter and leave Hautes Fagnes not 1, 2 or 3 but 4 times. A nice tweak – you should be really obsessed with plankjes, dark/rocky river valleys and wet grass/endless marsh areas. While finally running The Dead Marshes it felt a bit weird. There are quite some stretches of big paths easy to run and quite some streets/asphalt parts as well (esp. in the German part). All in all the first 120k until one reaches the car to complete the first loop has more runnable parts compared to the second loop (90k). But dont be mistaken: there are demanding marsh stretches, longer climbs (total of > 5000 m D+), forgotten river valley, there is the Basin downhill (which is not fun), Iceberg uphill (lots of fun) and last not least Schloß Rheinhardstein area (serving the steepest ups and downs right around 190 km on the watch – exactly when one does not want to climb anymore). After running it myself I think I am happy with it. Not too hard but certainly nothing one can run at marathon pace for the whole time. Make sure to embrace the Fagnes – its more a scenic adventure than a Legends Trail; exactly what it should be.
How it went for me Well, it took longer than expected. I started with a night with the idea that I would finish the first 120k in 22-24h so that folks could join me in the evening for the final 90k. Company is always good to have. Turned out I finished the first 120k in 23h as planned but it also turned out on very short notice that the support would not come to push me/us through the second night. The second night alone was horror then. Sleep depriviation effects hit harder than expected so I found myself safety-blanket sleeping for 3 times 15-20 minutes and still had to push harder than I wanted to. As if the Legends night 3 was making a surprise visit (not that I would ever ask for such a visit). Weather was a bit unstable with somtimes light and sometimes severe rain and lots of wind up in the Fagnes. To be fair there were also some more stable weather windows in between. All in all I managed The Dead Marshes in 46 hours and leave it up to the rest of the fellowship to follow me. The path has been layed and I am really curious what the others will experience! Have fun – if there are any questions: don´t hesitate to ask!
Elapsed Time
Moving Time
Distance
Average Speed
Max Speed
Elevation Gain
Calories Burned
45:59:45
hours
45:59:44
hours
213,91
km
12:54
min/km
2:10
min/km
5.496,00
meters
13.156
kcal
⛰️ Honigberg (495 m) • ⛰️ Signal de Botrange (694 m) • 🦶⬆️ 2024 = 35,371 m | 🌐
👍 97.83 new kilometers
— From
Neutral für immer, belgisch vielleicht – preußisch niemals!
Ein Projekt welches schon lange auf Umsetzung wartet ist nun endlich vollendet – die Umrundung der ehemaligen Nation Neutral-Moresnet. Für jene die in Aachen bzw. der Euregio wohnen und unterwegs sind ist der Name Moresnet allgegenwärtig. Schließlich heißt ein Ort in der Gegend noch so. So richtig beschäftigt mit dem Thema Moresnet und der überaus verblüffenden Geschichte hinter dieser Bezeichnung und dem Staat Neutral-Moresnet der für immerhin mehr als 100 Jahre in dieser Gegend existierte hatte ich mich persönlich vorher ehrlich gesagt nicht.
Gut, dass der absolute Lieblingspodcasts „Geschichten aus der Geschichte“ eingesprungen ist und die Story schon vor Jahren aufbereitet hat. Gehört hatte ich die Folge vor ca. einem Jahr und sofort war der Plan geboren doch einmal die komplette ehemalige Grenze abzulaufen.
Bevor es hier aber weitergeht bitte zuerst die unten verlinkte Folge hören; anschließend geht es darunter weiter:
Der Wikipedia Artikel hält noch ein paar weitere Infos und Daten zum ehemaligen Zwergstaat wie zum Beispiel die Flagge von Neutral Moresnet bereit:
Die Planung der Laufrunde erfolgte war dann doch recht simpel: zuerst den ehemaligen Grenzverlauf möglichst exact auf die Karte bringen (rot im rechten Bild) und anschließend schauen welche Wege möglichst nah an dieser Grenze verlaufen (blau im rechten Bild). An einigen Stellen war dann doch etwas Kreativität gefragt; gerade die letzten 2-3 km hoch um Dreiländereck haben keine wirklich passenden aktiven Wege entlang der ehemaligen Grenze. Da war also im Vorfeld klar, dass es etwas durchs Unterholz würde gehen müssen um einigermaßen korrekt zu bleiben.
links: Karte mit Grenzverlauf von Wikipedia; rechts: Übernahme des Grenzverlaufs auf die Karte (rot) und Steckenverlaufsplanung (blau)
Vielen Dank an Daniel und Richard von Geschichten aus der Geschichte für die schöne Aufbereitung und die Inspiration ein Stück Heimat noch besser kennen zu lernen!
Suddenly he was behind me. Couldn’t figure how long he had been following me – I was sure I was quite alone. Focused on following the track and listening to some music I was a bit shocked to see another human being. The track made a funny little curve to the right and then turned more than 90° to the left. In reality there were two possible paths roughly 30-40 m apart from each other which could be the ones. Normally easy with the correct zoom on the map but on Day 3 you rather stop for a second to let the GPS fix a few % more. No stupid extra meters now. We briefly looked each other. I could see the strain, the exhaustion and the emptiness in his eyes – I looked the same I guess.
„I think its this one“ „No, wait – I think its the other one“ „Ja – could be“ „Ok looks good“
And off he was. Faster walking then me he tackled yet another steep climb. It was raining. Fog rising – everything grey in grey. Legends weather on a Legends Monday – roughly 12 km from the finish line. I saw him walking off in the grey zone and knew I would need to follow. But I was forced to take the phone out to take a picture. It was one of those moments. Moments which last. Moments which summarize everything in one picture – at least for those who have been in similar situations.
Those who know know…
Before: Preparation is important for adventures like Legends Trail. Especially to get the mental setup cleared and determined is crucial. With all uncertainties happening in my life at the moment I was not 100% sure whether or not I would be able to get the focus, to get into the zone. But well – I asked myself: do you really want to stand on that start line and the answer was a clear yes. There are so many personal reasons to go which do not matter here but one thing is for sure: deep inside you want to have an overwhelming longing to get this run done. Otherwise a start does not make a lot of sense.
Material preparation was straight forward – it gets to a routine. Running pack (everyone makes fun of me how much I carry but I think I will stick to it) and drop back with 4 smaller bags inside for each CP. Especially new socks at each checkpoint. Food was also packed in 5 portions – one for backpack, 4 for the drop back.
On Friday I picked up Uwe who saw my re-post that LT was looking for volunteers and jumped on the train for the whole weekend to get a look behind the scenes :). Its only a 1h drive from home to LT so that’s convenient. First thing was to survive the kit check including a „before“ picture made by Caroline Dupont which would be completed by an „after“ picture if all goes well. Can’t wait to see them. I was not feeling very well, was with slight headache the whole Friday so I greeted everyone as this is the family but went to the car for some quiet moment with my eyes closed with the hope the headache would clear and to finally put on the running cloths. The last hour before start was then again in the cafeteria of the school and its actually frightening and glorious. Runners, volunteers, crew – most of them friends – wait. Lots of chatter and laughter and excitement. Everyone knows (or think they know) what is about to start. I am not connected to German trail runners at all so it was really great to finally see more of them at LT. Tom was about to run himself, his girlfriend Moni was a volunteer, Volker who finished LT already was there with Maren to volunteer as well. It was really great to meet you and get to know you. Those events connect people and I hope it was not the last time we met.
The German delegation (Uwe took the picture) @ LT24 🙂
Night 1:
Almost
Well, the headache did not got better until it was finally time. Weather was indifferent but I decided not to put the rain jacket on – which was the right decision. There were some discussions about the conditions and whether or not the feet would stay dry for a while. Funny thinking. After 400 m the first downhill started and was full of slippery and deep mud – so we would be confronted with heavy conditions the next 280 km. After 1 km the first creek crossing was reached. No bridge – why would there be one? So that one was settled as well :). Bring it on.
During the first stage I was not really able to connect to the race. The mind was not fully there but well – its a never ending race so lets stay calm and carry on – better days to come if all goes well. The highlight of the first stretch was a part on the Ourthe where the trail went through the water. And due to high water not just a little bit into water but waist-deep. For 20-30 m. Wow – that was cold. Getting the whole lower body dipped into a winter river in the Ardennes – it was a moment for those with very special interests. Being half wet in the middle of Night 1 was a nice twist to the challenge as well. But – its Legends – we are here for the struggle. I realized that my otherwise perfect strategy with the waterproof socks was a real problem now. My feet were swimming now with no way the water could escape. I decided to act and took out the waterproof socks. I had shoe insoles in my backpack (I take them out when wearing waterproof socks as those are thick enough), put them in the shoes and continued the journey to CP1. Its one of those decisions – it really sucks to stop, unleash the muddy shoes, open the backpack, try to figure out where to put the completely wet socks, take the insoles out and get the shoes back on. But the golden rule is: if there is a small problem fix it immediately or it kills you later.
One of those moments…
Day 1: I reached CP1 after roughly 10 h – that was pretty much in the timing I envisioned before. I was just glad that the first stretch was over and no major issues were there. Given my overall condition I was not too happy with the race yet. I fell twice on slippery mud, the headache was still there and I knew this was not even the start of thew real shit. The pasta was heel lekker and I continued on Part 2 – hoping that the daylight would do the usual magic. And it finally got better. I finally felt stronger. In the dusk of Day 1 I met a group with Adriaan and Irene – that was really good to talk and joke and climb together for some moments. With Irene I also quickly discussed the standings in our Garmin Connect running challenge and send funny messages to our lovely little FB group – brilliant moments.
Weather on Day 1 was quite good as far as I remember. We had some sun and the focus was to use the new energy to get as much daylight km in as possible. Part 2 with more than 70 km was just endless. We had the usual „in-between“ CPs including one with hot soup (so good) but it was clear it would be starting to get serious in Night 2. Although I really enjoy running with others – at runs like Legends I really feel best when I am alone with myself and a bit of music to fully dig deep. I think I may offend people with it – its really nothing against anyone. But when I can do my own tempo, be alone with my thoughts and completely focus on the tasks that is when I feel calm and secure. The world quiets down and fully feel one with the challenge. Especially at Legends I love and need those moments. Sorry if that seems rude – its not meant to be. I reached CP2 in a perfect timing. I wanted to have 6-7 hours before cutoff to have a bit more room to breath when the shit would hit the fan and I managed to be fast enough. Two helpings of delicious kip curry with rice – fresh socks – and off – off to a part I was actually looking forward to.
…
Night 2: Hautes Fagnes time means crunch time. As always at Legends. Before the race there were some discussions on how short the stretch up there was at this edition – but looking at the map I was quite sure the selection was well chosen. Chosen to get us in real trouble – chosen to let the ultra really start. And I was not disappointed. Endless river climbing up and down, the best part of Hoenge, Statte, Sawe and Tros-Marets – places I know by heart but with the mud and the rain it was a real party. Especially the last downhill with the km next to the lower part of the river Tros-Marets. It had everything. It started to significantly rain, mud, stones, water everywhere – finally truly in a situation which makes Legends so unique to me. It seems overwhelmingly difficult and every stone with a false step can send you down and end the race. Its a bit frightening but those are the moments to actually fully embrace – I was finally 110% in the race. Everything was against us runners but that was exactly the battle we (or at least I) came for. Naturally CP3 was a great relieve. It is a good feeling to get out of Hautes Fagnes alive and to have survived one of the more tricky stretches of LT – no matter how unique the feelings up there were. Time for some stew with mashed potatoes and some new socks.
Day 2: At CP3 the mood was dense. All of us strained, stretched, edgy. 170 km in – Hautes Fagnes in fresh memories. The race was really on fire. CP3 was in Malmedy – and just to mention the name of the city frightens most of my friends. We know those steep hills around the city all to well. But all was well. 7 AM on Day 2 – daylight approaching – 5 h before cutoff – better than I could have hoped for. Stretch 4 started with a real treasure: the area around the Beverce pipeline. Every time I wonder if it is really allowed to send people there; esp. people with lack of sleep. But maybe that is a stupid question. It was manageable. I felt pretty good for the given conditions so Malmedy area came and became memory within a few hours. It was clear that the last stretch of Part 4 was the tricky one so it was again the task to make the most of the light, to try to not lose against cutoff (4 km/h) and focus on not making mistakes.
Somehow people know me well nowadays…
Being that good in timing meant that the complete Part 4 would be daylight – that was really great and comfortable. Part 4 ended with the greater Coo area including Iceberg downhill. Steep but home. We lived there for a while in a long gone area. And CP4 had Tortellini: wow. I love them so much. To top that Moni, Francois and Martino were there. Having dinner with some friends feeling. Was hard to have to leave the place but it was not the end and I was pretty clear at that moment that I would not miss the opportunity to return to the folks waiting at the finish. And I would not return to them in a car – I would do whatever needs to be done to return as a finisher. The dream was so close – and yet: Night 3 was lurking behind the trees.
Night 3: And it started immediately. The first climb let to fenced farm land. Not unusual as we had to climb fences before in the race. But it was like two compartments and I couldn’t figure the direction anymore. As navigation is normally a thing I manage quite ok I knew immediately that the Night 3 was going to be much worse than expected. With a shock I realized that I was standing there and staring into the nothingness for some minutes probably falling half-asleep while standing. This brought some Adrenaline back and the brain tried to re-start. The first steep climb of Part 5 was the one to the water basin in Coo. A well known stretch but I was honestly surprised how difficult it felt after 210 km. Luckily on the top Volker and Maren were doing their Legends Safety Team job. We had to take a detour and they were explaining the way to each runner. Although I just left CP4 I asked for water as I felt horribly thirsty and I felt really hot. I think I spent too much time at CP4 and body started to shut down. A mistake in a race where no mistakes are allowed. At one point Volker looked at me questioning and I realized he was waiting since ages that I give him back the water bottle. Oh man. Not the best start of the last part at all. After that shock some more runnable parts came and the body slowly re-entered the game – at least for 1-2 hours. After that the sleepwalking started. Sleep deprivation is a beast. Slowly everything went out of control. The raindrops on the rocks looked like smileys in a way I couldn’t bear to look at them, the mossy stones turned into green frogs, every reflection of light was a runner with a headlamp. I don’t now how but I made it to CP 4.1 (Chez Ingo) where we had a great time. The real Ingo (racing himself) came in after me and Karen and Peter were there already. Suddenly all was well again. We had Toasties and Coke – we joked and laughed and listend to the intensifying rain outside.
Toasty Time – km 245 @ LT24
Outside – where the last 30 km were waiting. The last 30 km of the endlessness of Legends Trail. We could have stayed forever but Karen, Peter and me decided to group due to our conditions – at least for the first stretch in the remaining night. The moment we stepped out of the tent all illusions were gone – the horror started at that very second. None of us was well, we were all sleepwalking, couldn’t talk but we were still in – crawling up and down Ninglingspo area. A disaster. There was only one last hope: daylight. Close to this and at the end of yet another long and horrible climb I let them go their way. They were a bit faster and I couldn’t stand keeping up with them. A quick stop to eat something, put some music on would do. And then the shock: the GPS signal on the watch jumped by about 100 m – just like that. I took out the handheld but it was weird as it was showing the same position. Horror. The one thing which should not happen at all, happened. I stood there frozen and shocked in the rain for a while until I realized that would rather kill me than help. I stopped the watch track and reloaded it – didn’t change it. As the direction was still moving when I was turning I decided to use the position displayed and go straight line back to track (about 100 m away). This at least seemed to work. So I stood again on that purple line. Good. Finally the watch signal was turning when I was in the direction I moved. Good as well. It seemed to stabilize. This really hit very hard. I was confused as I almost lost everything so close to finish. With the watch issues I forgot to put the other rain jacket on and was starting to get very cold. Mistakes on top of mistakes – it was out of control. Completely. I called Maarten to make sure that I was not hallucinating and really was on track. He checked the tracker and confirmed that all was well. Matthias called as well before leaving to work. Oh – the world was still there. Random news from a very distant reality but good to hear. And the light was returning. First thing I put the real rain gear on – an hour too late but well. At least I could see the world again and the watch behaved normal again. Had a look on the tracking page after the race and I nailed it the whole time. So what was that – was I having a really bad dream? Never had something like this before. With another 30 min in heavy rain but daylight and a watch behaving normal I took it as the last strike of Legends. The last attempt to finally beat me.
Day 3: But no. Not this time. Daylight, horrible weather, Day 3, 15-20 km to go and 6-7 hours to get there. I was exactly where I wanted to be. Nothing would stop me now. The last km did not went easy but I was still able to jog which meant I was in considerably good shape this late in the game. Some more climbing. With the rain everything was completely watered but I did not care anymore. The only job left was to get those km in. It was time to return to those waiting at the finish. It was time tick-off another Legends Trail. You would have found me crying during those last km but luckily I was alone. Alone heading to Ferriers. Hard to explain those feelings.
Finish – thanks Nick for the Video.#4
Shoutouts to the whole LT team – whether it was the crew, the safety team, the volunteers, the support teams of the runners – another weekend which will not be forgotten.
Here are all my video snips from my phone randomly put together for some additional views on this years LT:
Numbers in perspective:
There were some discussions before and after the race whether the course was easier compared to 2023. I would say: maybe a bit but with the conditions it felt harder. The numbers tell us that it was indeed a bit on top. More D+, higher climbing score. That with the conditions made 2024 a rather difficult edition of Legends Trail. This is also displayed in the finisher rate which dropped down to 30.3% (from 31.6% in 2023).
Recorded LT climb views – screenshots from @Runalize
Other than that it was Legends Trail #4 for me after 2020, 2022 and 2023. 4 finishes in a row and simply grateful to have been able to take part of this great event.
Its usually a very very thin line if you base something on a famous project. You don’t want to be too close and you don’t want to be too far away either. You don’t want to copy exactly and although you know you will never going to create the same atmosphere you want to create something in that style with a unique and distinguishing flavour to it.
No need to mention the original – those who know know.
Although my initial feelings when I heard the concept were a bit mixed because of the above described challenges but the first edition of the Teuflischer Biber Ultra did very well and created a great experience. 6 runners signed up – 4 actually made their way to the Camp Hammer camping ground in the lovely Eifel where the first edition of the race had its base camp and start/finish location.
The concept is pretty simple. The race starts within a given time period (indicated by a signal of the RD giving you a 30 min to start warning) and the task is to complete a somewhat 60 km loop in 10 hours. Within these 10 hours you have to get ready for the second loop as well and sign off for the next loop before the 10 hours elapses. You can continue that game as long as you stay within the given 10h time rhythm for a max of 6 loops – 360 km. To prove that you completed all parts of the track 15 books were (well) hidden along the course and pages had to be torn out matching your bib number. Each loop a new bib. Only by showing the 15 pages you are allowed to continue. The first runner to start the next loop determines if the loop is to be run clockwise or counter-clockwise by throwing a stone. Sounds a lot to remember but nicely falls into place while doing it.
As the loop will never be exactly the same we are allowed to talk about what has happened starting February 3rd 2024 07:43 AM. Except for one book I will not give away the book hidings – who knows if some of the locations make it into the next editions. I will keep this knowledge and will use it to my advantage most definitely :).
The first loops challenge was clearly to locate the books. 2h before race start we received the GPX for the loop as we were allowed to use our electronic friends and a paper map indicating the book locations. A really brief description on 2 pieces of paper gave one sentence and sometimes a picture for each of the books which should help us to find them. To be honest – most of them were not really helpful. During the race briefing we got some additional hints but still – it was pretty sure that maintaining 6 km/h on a rough 2200 D+ 60 km loop while playing hide and seek with 15 books was on the edge of possibility for a slow runner like me. Perfect – exactly how this format should be presented. Possible for one loop but on the edge for me. Possible for several loops for the really strong ultra runners. Possible to complete 6 loops – questionable. It was up to us how to best prepare in the last two hours before start so I used some of my Garmin Connect knowledge’s to ease the job ahead.
Finally we started at 07:43 on Saturday 3rd of February 2024. The 4 of us. First loop was to be run counterclockwise and the book bags were numbered 1 to 15 – good to check along the way if all was well with finding them all. Daylight helped as well. Running with Désirée in the first loop meant having 4 eyes looking for books. Wouter and Teun teamed up as well at least for some parts on loop 1. In general probably a wise thing on loop 1 to be quicker in finding the books. Still: it took a while at each location. I think we only found 3-4 books within 1-2 minutes – the other took 5-10 minutes each. This adds up a substantial amount of time for the first loop. The track was well designed and offered some parts which were easily runnable. Thanks for this. It would have been impossible for me without these parts. The book/km density varied quite a bit as well which was good too as in some parts there were 5-7 km to the next book making it more easy to focus on getting some time advantage to this 6 km/h to make up for the time lost during the searches. Real fun but on the edge of being a bit stressful. We made it back with 45 min spare. Désirée stopped as planned before start – I continued on loop 2 with 20 min extra – roughly one hour behind Wouter and Teun. Although it was now really easy to locate the books (we were running in the same direction as loop one) the needed speed in that terrain together with a tired body made it more and more clear that finishing loop 2 within 20 h would not do for me. I was not really angry about that and decided to enjoy the experience being out there in the dark Eifel with constant light rain chasing and tearing out those pages. Until I had enough. I called the RD and was picked up in Erkensruhr for good.
On loop 1 it was uncertain if we would be in time – so starting loop 2 was the goal. Before the race I was dreaming of entering loop 3 – as I think that this is what I can do when everything is perfect. That it was going to be impossible for me was clear before start. So I am happily accepting it and made some valuable experiences to come back one day and push for 3 loops. Beyond that is expert terrain – so I am going to leave that with the experts.
Thanks to Michael, Kevin and Bianca for being stubborn enough to put the Teuflischer Biber Ultra on the race calendar – please keep it there. If it gets the attention it deserves it will grow. The seed is planted.
Désirée, Teun, Wouter – it was an honor to enjoy a nice camping weekend with you. Thanks for pushing at the end of loop 1 Désirée – I needed it. Teun – I still love your poem you wrote for us during Another One Bites the Dust Corona Edition. Apart from that we rarely met and it was my pleasure to finally spend some time. Amazing how you pulled of 4 loops – there are only a few, but you may have the 6 loops in you one day. Wouter – we mainly offend each other in various FB chats. It was great to have the possibility to do that face-to-face. We should do that more often.
Ah: what you all have been waiting for – the books. I only took pictures of some of them but here is a selection of titles:
Die Reisenden Target Nur nicht stehenbleiben Als meine Fehler laufen lernten Eiertanz Du mich auch Survivor The ask and the answer Tote lügen nicht
Am 27.01.2024 stand das Auswärtsspiel in Breisach auch dem Plan. Eingeladen hat die Mon Devoir Marathon Gruppe welche seit 2014 Marathon+ mit Einladungsläufe Spenden zu Gunsten eines Schulprojektes in Togo sammelt. Keine Startgelder dafür aber Spenden sammeln bzw. Startgelder welche zu 100% in den Spendentopf geworfen werden. Ein schönes Projekt und eine absolut beeindruckende Beharrlichkeit – wo hat man schon einmal die Chance an einem 179. Lauf einer Serie teilzunehmen…
Diesmal sah das Protokoll einen 50 km „Ultra“ vor. Um die Versorgung und das Mitlaufen kürzerer Teilstrecken zu ermöglichen wurde dieser auf einer 5 km Runde in Breisach am Rhein veranstaltet. Bis zu max. 10 Runden sollten/durften also gelaufen werden. Gegen 8 Uhr ging es mit einer Truppe von 18 Teilnehmenden (zwei Läuferinnen kamen später noch auf ein paar Runden vorbei) auf die Strecke und über den Vormittag wurden fleißig Runden und km gesammelt – in unterschiedlicher Intensität. Sogar heißen Tee und ein paar Snacks gab es aus einem Kofferraum. Ein rundum schöner Vormittag mit einer sehr netten Truppe.
Das spätere Kaiserwetter wurde nur von einer unfassbar schönen Morgenstimmung getoppt die das Sahnehäubchen auf der schönen Veranstaltung war. Thanks for having me!
