This is a story about how it looks like if everything works
out perfectly and how it should and has to look like if you want to have a good
race and succeed!
As always I had to go
to UAE to arrange something and as always I planned also a race in the same
time to fill the weekend and make spending 1000 riyals for visa and flight more
worth it. This time it was Desert Strinker 20+20 trail and desert running race.
I took a comfortable 8am Friday morning flight, rented a car, did some shopping
and mostly because everything was closed I drove early the race location. It
was around 50km outside Dubai in a piece of desert I have never been, despite
living in Dubai for a year and half! And I missed a really beautiful place.
Small yellow dunes, covered with many bushes a grassy spots contrasting with
flat and empty salt plains between. Everything clean, colorful, silent and
peaceful. Great place for running J
I was first competitor on site, so I without any stress
picked one of the free tents and took a nice hour and half power nap! When I
woke up many other racers were setting up their camps around, but this rush
went around me. In lazy tempo I prepared everything for the night 20k run
around the salt flat and with still plenty of time I went for a short warm up
jog. “Wow…I feel so light and quick!!” nice feeling flooded my body. I was
ready to rumble!!
What do you need for a good and strong race? Everyone would
immediately say that training, fitness, power, equipment…these are all true.
You need them, but that’s just 50% of the success! I would bet that the most of
us doesn’t even think about the other half, which is rest, recovery, motivation
and mental comfort and strength! And on that day I had everything J
Doing a lot of racing started to pay off as training,
but I was nicely recovered since my last activity four days ago, including that
lazy Friday. I was quite motivated and looking forward to this race, because I
like trail running and 20k in the desert would be exactly where I knew I’d be
strong. I had good shoes, good headlamp, sand gaiters. I was comfortable and
confident with my hydration, nutrition and race strategy. And I was calm and in
good mood ready to enjoy the race and eager to fight for a good place J
BANG!! The race started and I went off as per my plan, to go
4:30 min/km and see what happens. My plant shattered into pieces in a second,
because one African guy shot forward like he was doing only 1k. “No chance to
follow him! He’s too fast” and I pushed him out of my mind. He didn’t have a
strong headlamp so he disappeared in the night anyway. But who I couldn’t
ignore were two other guys running at around 4 min/km. I had to try to keep up
with them.
Good equipment came into my advantage after two kilometers,
where the African and one other runner missed a marker and went a wrong way. My
headlamp could shine 100m far, so was easily spotting the markers and showed
them the way. I let them catch me, overtake me and show me the way forward,
just following and checking. Obviously they got lost soon again and the whole
scenario repeated J “Stupid markers! You can’t see them” the African guy was complaining and
getting desperate. “It’s not the markers man! It’s the headlamp J”
I commented making him probably even more angry and out of focus.
They god lost once more, but at that time I ran wrong
way with them. Fortunately I looked back soon enough to see the trail making a
wide u-turn and without warning them I took advantage of the situation. I
turned back and before they realized where the trail was going, I was 200m
ahead and leading the race.
From there the race was a pure joy. Running fast across
small dunes and dirt roads in a bright night under shining moon. Running between
bushes, seeing herds of oryxes crossing your way. Breathing fresh desert air
and seeing the lights of the other runners slowly disappear behind you. I was
running often without the light on to confuse the others so this wonderful
experience was even stronger!
I was running 100% with heart rate at 180, but the
place and environment consumed me so I was not feeling tired and even speed up
for the last 5k! 1:25:21 is a decent time for a trail 20k and it was better
than I expected. I gained 4 minutes advantage to the second stage and I was
looking so happy in the finish that people were joking “You look like you could
run another 20 now” They were not far from truth J
In a good mood we made a barbecue with Jaro, who joined me for
the event from Abu Dhabi so we had couple of beers before heading to sleep
among the last ones! Real champs J
The next morning? What can I say! Beautiful clear day with
yellow dunes with few green trees among them and fresh crispy air was just
screaming for you go running…and that’s what we did J This time I knew who is
running only 10k so could control the race better and could let the African
dude to kill himself in the soft sand!
We started all more or less together and as a bunch were
struggling to find the markers blown from the top of the dunes by the wind. But
after around 3k we changed direction and everything was clear. I was running
the desert pace, making short steps, using footprints of others and following
everybody comfortably from behind just keeping them at sight. Even with this
easy and seemingly effortless pace I was closing on the leaders and passing
some others and when the two 10k leaders spit from the 20k course I was second,
just 100 meters behind the first one and with no one in sight behind me.
Here I got into a running spree! I felt like flowing stream
between the dunes changing directions, reading the terrain, finding and
following the best trail of harder sand to run smoothly and easily in that
endless dune field. I think I was making the leader desperate, because he just
couldn’t shave me off and when he missed one obvious marker and got a bit off
the track, he gave up and I passed him leaving his complains behind J
Another great and fun run continued in my solitude, but that
how I like it anyway and in the race when you are the leader you really don’t
mind to be alone J I
got finally a bit tired at the last 3k, but it was too close to the finish and
everyone was too far behind that slowing down a little made no difference! So I
won both stages and won the whole event. And not only that, I enjoyed so much it
the whole time.
I wish all races would be like this, but I think I
found the recipe how you can make it. Just pick a race you really like and get
prepared not compromising any of the things required for a successful race.
Unforgettable experience guaranteed!
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