Almost time to start another Legends Trail. In 2026 we will get some extra distance – I guess for a good amount of extra fun. 350k with some elevation in the Ardennes.
With regards to the ever present question – „are you/we prepared for the Legends Trail“ – a lot of things have been written already including this blog post before the 2024 LT edition:
To summarize in a few words: no – you can’t be fully ready for what is coming.
The best idea is probably to really get to know your gear and to think about some of the possible situations during such a long race with reagards to equipment.
„If this happens – I can do this or that“.
But essentially everyone starts such a long and demanding race empty handed. Equal in front of the upcoming task.
So what to do with the time left (in addition to the task of staying fit and healthy) – to me the last weeks before Legends Trail have always been a time to mentally calm down and to focus. The mind as well feels the challenge coming and starts to bring back memories and flashbacks – a good sign as this means the mind is getting ready as well.
As the Legends Trail is a race in which I have to focus so intense that I completely disconnect with the usual day-to-day life I like to use the weeks before Legends Trail to already start with this process.
This includes the following things:
(re-)connect to nature
pay more attention to the unlimited tiny wonders to be seen out there
remember how the leaves sounds beneath my feet
remember how the marshes smell and sound
remember the thousands of different sounds water can make
remember how warm single rays of sunlight feel on a winter morning
remember how bone-freezing cold the dense winter mist feels deep down in those river valleys
remember the glittering of water drops on frozen leaves or walls of moss in the flashes of headlights
remember how soft the ground feels deep in the forest
remember how the forest smells after freshly fallen rain
remember all the unreal beauty during dusk and dawn
remember the joy, hope and energy the re-emerging sun can offer
remember how good a plate full of Tortellini tastes after hundreds of kilometers
This may sound stupid but at the end its these thoughts, observations and memories which will help me to survive the rough moments the Legends Trail will bring. Kind of similar to Frederick the mouse who collected memories, songs and colors while his companions were collecting food for the long winter nights. At the end Fredericks stories, memories, songs and colors saved the lives of the mice tribe during the long winter – long after all the food was eaten.
So long after all doable things will have been done I will be mentally stripped down and disconnected from everything – a tiny dot in the midst of the Ardennes with absolutely no energy left. That will be the point I will remember all those tiny memories, thoughts and joyful details out there. They may help to do the unbearable and to go beyond to finally merge with everything around me. To reach the state of pure existence – to start to feel ultra running in its purest form. I don’t really look forward to endure everything on the way towards that state but I can’t want to experience it once again. With all the pain coming with it, it may last til the end of the trail. With all the temporary hopelessness along the way it may enlighten the inner fire.
#whilerunning Bello Gallico 200 in the dark and mostly empty Belgium the thoughts wandered as they tend to while long-distance running. With all the influencers on social media entering the „ultra“ running bubble with all their loud, rude, superior and „I ran 300 miles with 5 broken feet“ mentality; with their promo codes; with their paracetamol and whatever-else-fueled super bodies hunting souls – we should not forget that ultra or long-distance-running has a totally different meaning and nature. Especially during a Legends Trail event with friends – close friends/loved ones even – amongst the runners as well as the supporters/crew one experiences a lot of this spirit. In this environment the real ultra unfolds: a gentle, calm, focused and relaxed atmosphere of running exceeding their personal limits. With enough privacy, dignity and respect for the fellow runners and with a special gratitude towards the race team enabling and supporting us full heartedly to 100% focus on what we love. We should try to protect and value that gift we are all part of. We should not let them influencers destroy any part of it. Maybe it’s enough to focus on supporting „our“ events and to make sure that this spirit never dies.
We are not hunting souls we chase rays of dancing sunlight, we do not fight the ourselves or the environment – we thankfully accept the challenges along and become part of nature, we do push beyond our limits but at the same time are just grateful for the fact that we are just a very tiny dot able to travel this beautiful earth on food.
The story of the race itself is a rather quick one. Gifted with rather mild weather conditions (second night was surprisingly cold though) it was all about staying in motion at a reasonable pace. That worked quite well on the first 100k loop. Except for the usual 400m of „there used to be planks but nowadays its just a puddle full of dark black stinky mud with knee-deep water on top of it“ part of the track the conditions were rather easy. No excuses. So the only real challenge was fighting the side-effects of 28h darkness in 40h final race time. Rather ok time of 15h on the first of two loops at the 2025 Bello Gallico.
With being sick the three weeks leading up to the Bello Gallico 200 the question was to what extend the body would accept this rather abrupt sport re-start. Everything worked quite ok until km 120/140 in the race. After the drop back at CP6 (120k) with the first longer break the body slowly gave up on the idea of running. More and more walking was rotated into the progress. With the upcoming second night and another 14h of darkness the usual circle of ultra started. With a not fit body the tiredness hit hard. Focussing on staying fueled became more and more difficult and the slower speed made it even colder. Luckily it was the two of us. We met at km 120 fighting with different problems but united in this fight. Several attempts to sleep 5-10 min – craving for rest… Desperately sleep walking longing for daylight… Luckily we both are stubborn and focused on the only goal – reaching that finish line – however far away this line may be or seem to be.
And finally the Sunday and the daylight came. Relentless walking towards the finish line. What a relief after roughly 40h. The medal. Some food. All the friends at the finish. All was well. Narrow escape at the end of a very interesting year 2025.
With the Bello Gallico 200 the second run of of the Legends Slam is completed:
Great Escape 200 2025 – check! Bello Gallico 200 2025 – check! Legends Trail 350 2026 Another One Bites the Dust 2026
Time for some relaxing weeks with a slow and steady re-start of training. Time til Legends Trails is ticking – the biggest challenge of the Legends Slam awaits us.
191 runners registered for the Bello Gallico 200 2025, 172 started and 107 finished the Bello Gallico 200 (62.2%). Finisher % was significantly higher amongst runners who previously finished a Legends Slam (84.6%) – experience does make a difference at the end.
If all our couple weekend are going to be like this I really have to start training.
The Great Escape was my first ever Legends Trail run in 2019. At the beginning I was shocked and impressed by the difficulty of the course on the one side and the helpful, relaxed and family-like atmosphere throughout the whole event on the other side. It kind of felt home from the very start. A good environment to extend what seemed possible. The rest is history. From the first full slam 2019/2020, all Legends Trails editions today – endless hours out there and yet never alone in spirit; always surrounded by like-minded folks. Right after the first slam the decision to leave it with that very slam was made – so it was the LTs alone which connected me year after year with this wonderful community. But as time passed by the organization decided to add a bit of extra to the existing runs. So I decided that it may be time to return to try to prove what I learned the last 6 years and to go for the new and longer slam.
The new course used the familiar hiking trail Escapardenne Eislek Trail as basis but the whole idea was quite different from the classic one-way direction 100 mile editions the previous years. The start was near the former end of the race following the trail backwards to roughly the middle of the trail in Clervaux in LUX. This sections was followed by a new designed loop to nearly the south end of the hiking trail and from there backwards on the trail itself. That meant that the start of the Great Escape 2025 was the end of the former editions backwards – with a larger section down at our beloved Ourthe – and the last km of the Great Escape 2025 were the ones at the beginning of the former editions. Quite interesting to me and probably all the former participants to get all those flashbacks of known course details in a completely strange order.
Race registration and kit check took place at the finish location with a lot of „Hallos“, „Jeetjes“ and „Saluts“ – good to be back at the LT family. Lots of friends both on the organization/supporter as well as on the runner end of things. After a 1.5 hour bus drive to the start we were finally allowed to set foot into an interesting race. My idea was to stay in the front half of the pack for the first kilometers as I was aiming for some room to run in the heart of the Ardennes on the most finest trails there are @#noourthenoparty. As Yvonne and I decided to stay together at the beginning of the race (Michael joined our group as well for a while) to understand if running together would do any good we tackled that part and the first night together somewhere in the middle of the pack. Several smaller inconsistencies slowed us down til the beginning of a rather warm Saturday – we ended up running the last third of the pack. Michael left us for good around dusk as he was faster at that time and decided to use this speed to buy himself more time for later in the race. The first big goal was to reach the first dropback at kilometer 85. We got there together and left after a 30 min break with around 2h spare on cutoff. My hope was a bigger gain on cutoff at that early stage in the race but it turned out that we were quite good in keeping that gain roughly until the very last part of the race.
The next big task was to survive the warm day without further damage and enjoy the new part of the course. It was less technical compared to the Escapardenne hiking trail (especially compared to the Ourthe stretch) but nevertheless there were quite some meters of D+ involved. Yet this part of the race (the 20k to the first dropback and the following 30k of new track) was the easiest of the whole race. Time to gain some time or at least don’t lose anything on the collected time before cutoff. That worked quite well. The legendary CPs every 20k certainly helped a lot to never run out of water or other essentials. Overall quite ok til the evening. We were eying the weather forecast throughout that first day as the sunshine was forecasted to end quite dramatically in a huge stretch of rain and potentially thunderstorm. This weather change combined with the dawning night two and the return of the rougher terrain made one thing quite clear: the real race was about to start at around 130/140 kilometers. With two hours on cutoff a somewhat optimistic setup.
And as expected – the race did start at the point of dusk. The second night brought the well-known ultra feeling back. A mix of a remote hopelessness, of silent, tired and endless motion – on one point we even decided to split as it seemed that we somehow limited ourselves with sticking together. In these hours everyone needs to be totally free in whatever pace/rhythm seems right and keeps a decent speed up. We were not able to find this sweet spot together so we tried to do so apart. All in all a decision we should have made a few hours earlier as it immediately payed off. We both sped-up quite significantly, I finally was able to listen to some music and to fully sink-in into the night two vibes. The well-known Legends Trail feeling was fully back and I braced myself to whatever may come across me and that finish line.
And then. Ultimately. The weather change came. Temperature dropped by some degree, wind started to do wind things and hours of cold rain would follow. On top of the above described night two vibes the conditions changed from that quite warm and sunny Saturday stroll to a rainy, windy and cold trail ultra night. I caught sight of Yvonne running a few hundred meters in front of me battling through and decided, after the first attempt to close the gap, to relentlessly follow her. The consequence was a nice speed in that given conditions and an easy focus point – good that the light on her backpack was not red but weird orange. A dancing, fading and re-appearing light in the distance. Not too soon after we reunited in our mission to stay moving and to get closer to the finish. After the time alone we started to function together in a helpful way.
The showdown of the Great Escape at the rivers Sauer, Wiltz and Clerve felt oddly familiar, somewhat frightening mixed with a good portion of full focus and flashbacks from 2019 when I was running that section in the very same direction together with Matthias. The light came slowly back – yet in the steep river valleys we used our headlamps til what felt like hours after dusk. The trails were back at full difficulty; wet, steep, muddy – just the way we like them. As I was not wearing my best rain jacket (mistake during drop back preparations – I was not expecting that much of rain) I was happy we stayed in motion and ultimately started to shorten the CP breaks to not give our bodies any vague ideas of: „oh – its over I can shut down“. We were able to maintain about an hour to the various cutoffs along the way so after the last CP with 24k to go I was able to believe that finishing was indeed a possible outcome of that journey. Nevertheless, we tried to remain speed until we suddenly hit it. The end. I always have a strange feeling of being sorry that it ends while being tremendously thankful that it is finally about to be over for good. Walking up that last meters on the main street after what felt like more than 43 hours felt like the right thing to do at that moment. Unbelievable that this will be time and distance-wise only roughly half of what awaits us in February…
Crossing that finish line together was a very good and satisfying feeling. Despite the moments of not finding the vibe together – or maybe I should say precisely because of these moments and the solution we found for it – we went on this adventure and came back from it #alonetogether.
Some numbers about the new Great Escape: 48.35k flat (<2%; 23%), 77.36k uphill (37%), 81.02k downhill (39%). Climbscore 9.1/10, 7569m D+ – all in all a pretty challenging course.
Climb Score view of the Great Escape 200 from @runalyze.
81/169 starter reached the finish line in time (47.9%); 16/21 previous finisher of a Legends Slam finished the new Great Escape (76.2%) – lets see how many of the 81 will proceed with running the races of the new and longer slam.
Next race of the Legends Slam 2.0 is the Bello Gallico in December. Not sure if I really look forward to that dark and probably wet/cold misery – but well: what needs to be done needs to be done. And I know I will have someone with me in that race specifically in love with all misery. That may make it either easier or hard – it certainly will be a moral support throughout.
Witnessing athletes go all-in to reach their goals is the most beautiful thing on earth. Once they leave their fake smiles behind, once they face their demons, once they push beyond their limits their inner self surfaces. It’s a rather private and intimate moment they would like to keep for themselves. Being with and amongst them in these hours is a truly unique and uplifting experience. It’s why we run ultra.
„There is this race in the Ardennes you should try. Could be something for you.“ Maarten (2017)
Back in the days I didn’t know Maarten very well and was really busy to DNF my first attempt @LEO180 the days after that evening. In fact it should take three more years until the time had come to enter that race called Legends Trails. That was mainly driven by the documentary „When Heroes Become Legends“ about the Legends Slam which I decided to start in September 2019 – Legends Trail 250 in 2020 was part of that slam and my first attempt.
So I did try and kept coming back to Legends Trail ever since this remarkable edition in 2020. I fell in love with the race. It offers so much more than just the distance. There is pain, hopelessness, mercilessness, darkness, misery, endlessness and the void. But there is hope as well, there are like-minded people, there is grid, determination, relentlessness – there are a lot of friends. If you are looking for ultra, for the beyond, for the undoable – this is your race.
The story of Legends Trail 2025 is a quick one. Arrived at the start with enough time to spare to greet all the familiar face on both supporters (aka Legends Family) as well as runners end. After the usual check-in routine with some new mandatory items on the list there was the time to relax and settle in the pre-race tension.
Kit check @LT
A close look on the track beforehand provided enough information for a rough race plan. With a start in the Ourthe region and the toughest section of the race being between CP2 (105k) and CP3 (157k) the only reasonable thing to do would be: start out rather ambitious to build up some time buffer to cutoff to enter the CP2-CP3 section with a comfortable amount of spare time and somewhere in the middle of the pack (to not have the trails completely destroyed by that time).
Thanks @Caroline Dupont for the amazing race pictures.
After one hour of bus transfer it was finally time to race. Always a relieve to finally being able to do what one came for. The first night and the first stretch was pretty ok – the rough Ourthe trails were not as wet as they could have been making it a little easier to not die climbing them. There were a decent amount of doable trails in this stretch as well allowing for some running – a good mix after all. Was great to be back at some really familiar parts along the Ourthe but also nice to see some new trails. After double-helping of Pasta Bolognese at CP1 the first day out there started – time to relax and enjoy the Ardennes.
I felt wonderfully calm and confident – may it be the experience, the good weather or a combination of both – it felt remarkable good to be out there so I started to let it flow. Started to enjoy the folks around, the nature, the CPs. CP2 had rice with chicken – delicious. The second night brought what I had envisioned – the by far most complicated stretch of the whole race. Ninglingspo, Chefna, Quarreux – if you know, you know. Let’s not further talk about it. It’s a stretch to just accept and not think too much about it or it may lead you to the conclusion that it’s a better decision to not do this. The second night sleep deprivation did add to the story – I tried to lay down somewhere in the woods but only managed to close my eyes for 5-7 min before it got too uncomfortable. Maarten and Mike, as part of the LT safety team, was waiting after the Quarreux decent and it was good to see a friend in the midst of the horror. A big surprise was waiting at CP3 – they had the CP4 Tortellinis – may not be relevant to most but it was a real surprise to me. After double-helping of Tortellinis it was time to leave the area of horror and start Legends Sunday. And what a day it was:
The confidence was still there. Legends Sunday means walking amongst athletes which endured a lot to get to this point. It feels truly uplifting to be amongst them. The warm and sunny weather was a huge change to all previous LTs – never saw so much of the Ardennes – never saw future Legends lay down in the warm sun to sleep a bit. Unreal. CP3-CP4 was a really long 75k stretch but with regular check-ins of the Legends Safety Team it was ok. We visited greater Coo area feat. Le Basin and Iceberg around 200k in the race and I sincerely enjoyed it to be there. The third night fell and the usual unpleasantries arouse. But the CP4 was near – so was the last and final stretch. Met a lot of familiar faces at CP4 – all of them determined. We had mashed potatoes with cauliflower. The final stretch looked rather easy on the map compared to the rest of race. The rough idea was to run against the horror of sleep deprivation and this worked quite ok. In the first half of the night the focus was there and the speed was good. Listened to some music while jogging to stay clear. Later this night the expected issues were there. My brain wandered off to the void, I couldn’t make sense of the numbers on the watch, I found myself standing for minutes looking at trees forgetting what was doing. Although expected side-effects – that was unpleasant. But Legends Monday was about to start. The final sunrise – I love this specific moment so much. And between the trees at dawn I saw a familiar figure which turned out to be real and not one of the figures of my imagination. After running roughly the same race the last days but never together (for various reasons) it was finally time to team-up with Olav. We walked the last 10k together.
We were quite quiet at the beginning but then started to talk again. We met Maarten at „Chez Ingo“ 5k before the finish.
Coke and toasties at „Chez Ingo“ km 270Chez Ingo with Maarten – the three of us own 14 LT medals
Some impressions of Maarten from this year´s LT
The sun was finally providing some warmth. We were tired as fuck and our bodies were trashed but it was the final stretch of pure ultra joy. Walking there with Olav – with the finish almost in the pocket – it felt unreal, but amazing. Finally reaching the finish line was pure gold as always.
#5
The LT 2025 was my fifth attempt at Legends Trail and my fifth finish. This is unreal. I never felt better at a LT before – it somehow came straight out of my heart – all I did was following the flow. A completely new but amazing experience. As I am a really emotional runner (you would have found me crying a lot if you would have been out there) I developed the strategy to fuel from dark moments. A grim energy of „whatever wants to stop me will make me stronger“. That was different this time. I discussed that matter with Frank the Tank whenever we met and he kept telling me that he uses energy from emotions as well: but he stays on the pure positive end of things. This year’s LT finally showed me that end of things. I know now. Not sure if I will be able to use this strategy again but I know now that it exists and that it feels great. Taking this knowledge with me and will add this weapon to the strategy set – always on the paths to find the perfect mental set to travel limitless – may it be on the real end of ultra or in the midst of the beyond.
Thanks to all volunteers in the LT Safety Team, the CP crews, the organization, the friends on the course and the support on social media/via chat. Lots of people dislike me for being so active on my smartphone while running. But to me it is a possibility to share my emotions so that they don´t overwhelm me. It helps me to stay focused and some of the audience like to be really close the action.
OIav – I think we don’t need to be sorry that we didn’t run together. I had the feeling that we were both on our missions (yours made me cry quite a bit whenever I thought about for whom you were doing) and were fine with the status of both running our own (very solid) LTs. Finishing with you felt amazing. Thanks mate. What you did was outstanding in many ways.
Next year’s Legends Trail will be a whole new story – the distance increases from 275k to 350k adding another stretch of darkness to the story. Whether or not I will be there – who knows. It’s for sure tempting to push a bit further.
Some numbers:
There is a separate blog entry about some data behind Legends Trail. Below the @statshunters view on the 5 LTs so far – quite some coverage of the Ardennes. The 5 LT 2020, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025 had a total of 1386 km with 50375 m of positive elevation gain.
The LT #statshunter overview. Some new tiles coming from the LT 2025 (yellow) – there is a square forming in the center. 5 activities 1386k.5 LT – 50375 D+; 2x climb score of 10 @runalyze
Since 2016 there have been 823 attempts at the Legends Trail events from 442 runners leading to 320 finishes (total finish rates = 38.9%). Out of the 442 runners 53 (12%) have been female – the finish rate of male (39.2%) and female (36.3%) is almost identical.
Amongst the finisher there are 62 athletes (14%) with more than one finish. Out of these multiple finishers there are 28 with no DNF at all – the 100%ers. These 100%ers have 2 (16 runners; 3.6%), 3 (5 runners, 1.1%), 4 (3 runners, 0.7%) or 5 (4 runners, 0.9%) finishes. On the other end of things there are athletes not being able to finish a Legends Trail at all – the 0%ers. There are 44 runners (10%) with 2 DNFs, 16 runners (3.6%) with 3 DNFs, 6 runners (1.4%) with 4 DNFs, one runner (0.2%) with 5 DNFs and lastly 2 runners (0.5%) with 6 DNFs and no finish.
Between both of these extremes a whole bunch of scenarios unfold underlining the serious fight of lots of athletes with this race. There are 19 runners (4.3%) who started with a DNF followed by one finish. That seems to be a group desperately wanting the LT in their books but one finish is all they came for. 12 runners (2.7%) returned after 1 DNF and 1 finish to LT only to DNF again (and eventually add more DNFs/finishes) – they seemed to hold on to this beautiful run although its not going to end well each time. 11 runners (2.5%) finished more than once IN A ROW after their first DNF (some added some DNFs afterwards as well). A reasonable big group of 18 runners (4.1%) finished their first LT and DNFed their second and leaving it with that – quite understandable. Some runners (17, 3.8%) however decided to return after the first finish and the DNF in the second LT to add more DNFs/finishes to their LT history. There are 7 runners (1.6%) who finished the LT after 2 initial DNFs (and some added more runs after that). No runner starting with 3 or more DNFs ever finished a LT. Lastly there are heartbreaking stories of runners with DNFs after 3 consecutive finishes and the one story we all witnessed in 2024 with a DNF after 7 finishes.
The finish % averages as well as the veteran and novice finish %s of all editions of the Legends Trail can be found below.
With a prolonged Legends Trail from 2026 onwards a new set of data will be generated. It probably does not make sense to combine both data sets. So that’s that.
If you can’t follow your heart – follow the numbers!
You may have trained well. You may have struggled with getting those miles in. You may feel very well prepared. You may feel weak and stupid for your decision to start. You may feel rather calm because you think you know what’s coming. You may freak-out for the 100 reasons of DNF awaiting you. Your life may have been cumbersome the last months, stressing you out. You may have found your inner balance and focus. You may be well-rested and relaxed. You may be filled with doubts.
There may be thousands of differences between us until that very moment. The moment of race start. The moment equalizing all those differences.
It may be an advantage to be well trained, rested and calm. It may be that your stress vanishes at the very moment of start. It may be that your stress haunts you for the whole race. It may be that the sun is shining. It may be that the weather is a serious issue. It may be that the course is too difficult to handle this time. It may be that things out of your control will end your race. It may be that no matter how well prepared you are it won’t fit. It may be that your best is not good enough. It may be that you find out that you are capable of so much more.
Whatever was, is or will happen – we are in it together. What unites us is the vague vision of reaching the finish line in time. Whatever may attempt to stop us, has to be defeated.
There are not too many things really matter at the end. With the past weekend fresh in mind this will not be the ordinary race report but some thoughts which came to my mind or were the results of the discussions prior, during and after the Montane Legends Trail 2022 edition. The race report itself with an overview of what happened can be later found here.
Entering Montane Legends Trail 2022 was a kind of spontaneous decision for me. With finishing the 2020 edition (LT250) and the Legends Slam 2019/2020 everything was like it should be with no need to continue the Montane Legends Trail races. I still consider myself als a lucky one that these 4 races 2 years ago could take place (Corona) and that I was able to finish all 4 of them. So why should I go again? I decided to not register for the 2021 edition and Corona cancelled the whole event finally. So thats it? Still following the news of this race and being in contact with registered runners I did not loose contact to the Legends Trail family. Somewhen end of 2021 the message came through that the registration re-opens with some last places available. I did not wait more than a few minutes after that messages and got my ticket – I am still not sure why I was so clear in my decision that moment. But I think one part of it is, that Legends Trails is way more than just a race.
It starts with that uncomfortable pre-race hustle and bustle no one really likes. The week before the event you are organizing a hell lot of things including how to get to the event and back to normal life again. On race day the entry procedure includes a detailed kit check, check if all information you entered while registration are correct, you get your GPS-tracker, your race number, need to place your drop back, etc… Finally when all of this is done successfully the waiting for the start begins. Although waiting for start is never nice – this is the moment when the spirit of Legends Trails begins. It was so nice to sit together with the other participants (with most of them either being good friends or people you know from previous editions) and the whole Legends Trails crew and Legendary Friends. A lot of stories to tell, a lot of memories to share. Long time no see. Good to finally meet again and to be able to renew the bonds. All in all there was a huge gratitude in that room that we could be there and that we could spend our next days with something we love. This is not for granted with all what is going on in this world.
Montane Legends Trails has a set of rules which are quite easy to understand and even more straight forward. They are not just there for your safety and for the safety of others but they are also part of what is the DNA of Legends Trails. Especially the part of no support is always worth mentioning. Although it may sound like the race director only wants to make it more difficult it implies quite the contrary. When entering this event you should be an independent runner and should be able to fix and solve all possible problems you may encounter during the race with the stuff you have packed and with your mind. Only when accepting and respecting this you are eligible to become a legend.
In my eyes acceptance and respect are anyway important guidelines throughout the whole event. Legends Trail is so long and so demanding that you kind of need to free yourself from every schedule, every detailed plan and every expectation as the race will anyway kill them all. This does not mean that you should not have a well-sorted and planned drop back as well as race pack and that you want to have a look on the time to meet the cut-offs but other than that… For me one enters Montane Legends Trail best with a mind setting that whatever comes – no matter how difficult – is to be accepted. With that spirit one does not need to worry or complain or being frightened but just head through. This already safes a lot of unnecessarily spend mental energy which can be used for more important things.
Finally the gratitude returning to start/finish is something overwhelming and hard to describe. With all you put in you finally re-enter that room where it all started and everyone is there. Those who did not made it tend to stay a while after their race, those who were supporting and still supporting are there – a bunch of finishers. With that spirit in the air that something worth memorizing just happens. Its like coming home after a weekend spent out there with lots of adventures. A weekend which may not have been pleasant all the time but a weekend where you invested everything to get back to exactly that place. It´s the warm campfire after the long and dark cold. Stories to be told and beer to be drunken until it finally ends.
For those who know – sunset on top of the iceberg. Heading into night #3.
Let me start with the Another One Bites the Dust poem by Teun Geurts. Teun was supporting this year and his words fit perfectly – thanks Teun:
They were thirteen and they were running They started running when the sun went down They ran into the dark and all through the night When the sun came up and warmed the dust And still the thirteen were running
They ran for no special reason, it’s just what they do They ran for no special reason, into the light
The sun ran its course all through the sky And still the thirteen were running They ran their course on the face of the earth The wind in their faces, biting the dust And still the thirteen were running
They ran for no special reason, it’s just what they do They ran for no special reason, chasing the light
The light started to fade from the sky And still the thirteen were running Rain on their faces, washing the dust Hundreds of swallows sweeping the sky And still the thirteen were running
They ran for no special reason, it’s just what they do They ran for no special reason, into the night
The Legends Slam 2019-2020 is done. Since the very first race of the series The Great Escape back in November 2019 the idea of just crossing one by one of it from the agenda somehow got me. What was a far away dream back then started to become more and more realistic. Even more so with the Legends Trail 250 finish this February. Only one to go. Corona hit all of us and races were cancelled one by one and Another One Bites the Dust was postponed and finally cancelled. But not for the 13 runners still in the race for The Legends Slam.
Corona Legends
Home
Random people waiting for the start
Being one of the lucky ones I was allowed to participate in a very special race. Huge thanks to the LT Team/Legendary Friends for putting the whole trail city up for the few of us. It was a very nice, calm and unique atmosphere. As I did not bring any crew, Fanny thankfully agreed to help me and did an amazing job. We grew into a good team and her support became more and more crucial the longer the race lasted and helped a lot to keep me up and running.
The race itself is hard to describe – you better do it yourself to understand how it is. Basically it is all about timing and thing which can happen to you is, that you find a rhythm that consumes you in a way that you stop thinking and act like a machine doing the same job over and over again – run the same 6.3 km loop:
AOBtD splits
For me it started to become difficult somewhat around loop 18. But well, on one point it should get difficult. I was not able to make up my mind to fully switch to race mode and I stayed with the mantra: just finish the 28 loops by whatever means. Then you are free again.
Loop 1
Saturday noon.
Saturday afternoon I
Untouched.
Saturday afternoon II
Saturday afternoon III
What impressed me most was the fact how those 12 runners around me faced the task. Running amongst these Legends made me proud. No mistakes, discipline and precision all over. It was like looking at a fine-tuned pice of art. Every step well chosen, each corner perfectly cut, each piece of runnable ground used – amazing performance.
And finally. Saturday night 23:55 it was finally over. 28 loops done – Legends Slam 2019-2020 finished. What a relieve it was…
The Finish.The DNF job needs to be done!The End.
I think it is time to rest now. And to say thank you to my family who accepts my running and to the inner circle of runners/friends which was formed throughout the last 2-3 exciting years and which is always a source of motivation and power. This success would not have been possible without all of you. What can possibly come after all of this? Who knows.
But with friends like I have I expect it to be spectacular.
For me ultra running truly starts at the point where I have given up. To continue a run after this point seems mentally and physically impossible – the battle is finally lost at the end of a long fight. Beyond that point it is not getting any easier or less painful. Quite the contrary. But as I already lost against myself I am truly whole again. No longer divided between the urge to continue and the longing to quit. I don’t have to go through those deepest of all valleys again. There is suddenly a feeble light at the end of this tunnel.
CP1. Night 1/3 down.
It´s Sunday evening – somewhere out there. What a journey so far – 200k in 48h. Two nights and two days full of ups and downs: both physically and mentally.
Around 10k earlier I was in a good condition. The 4th and last CP finally in reach, the promised bad weather still calm and the head in a good mood full of hope again.
And now? Pouring, cold rain, really tough last kilometres (and that despite the fact that it was mostly going downhill on easy terrain) and again some thoughts on the greater meaning of all that. Plus: the track is gone. The GPX of that stage ended 200 m ago but where is that checkpoint now. It is cold and getting dark – the third night is about to start. There are some houses but the street is empty and abandoned. What am I doing here? What a cold and lonely place. I am exhausted and desperate for some rest or better: the end of all of this. It takes me 10 minutes to actually see the LT sign directing me to the back of a house and the door to the warm and comfortable CP. A sign of how desperate the situation seems to be. After the now routine actions at the CP and two plates of Pasta – decisions have to be made.
Or wait – there is nothing more to decide on: the path ahead finally crystal clear. Although it was comfortable to not run for some moments and just sit indoor, although the weather out there is awful and although the final stages is again 60k long and mostly dark. Although it will take more energy I have left…
It is time. Time to be superior of all that doubts and problems. Time to really earn that moment of relieve at the very end. The only option left with no matter what is waiting out there is: to go out again and finish.
Finish.Finish. Finish. Thanks Harry de Vries for all the pictures!
48h after my own finish at the Montane Legends Trail LT250 I could not resist. The body felt somewhat ok already – at least ok enough to get into the car. I mean what would you have done? They were still out there and fighting. M&M during their epic and at the end successful LT500 journey. Around 360k into the race they for sure would be up for a good joke.
This was the one and only chance for my revenge. The revenge for the LEO180 2018 situation where they promised me coke at the car after 100 miles of running and a demanding night and where there was no coke at the end. No. Coke. Someone in the car emptied it already. Desperation. Hopelessness.
I underestimated the weather a bit and was lucky that the snow allowed me to reach the closest point on track. As any aid other then applauding is strictly forbidden at Legends Trails I brought a prepared empty coke bottle for them. How nice is this. I hobbled 300 m onto the course and positioned the coke bottle:
Legendary No-Coke!
You may say: how mean is this now. There was of course nothing mean about it. It was more about bringing some extra motivation to them for the pain ahead and showing some respect for the already conquered distance. And there they were. Fighting but moving – full of snow and yet determined.
M&M around KM364 at LT500
A quick hello, a few words. A new No-Coke-Foto. And off they were. Time to drive home again. Congrats guys – amazing race! And thanks for all the tales about the Legends Trail back in the days. I finally decided to not hate you any longer for this!
