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Marathon des Sables 2008
Tuesday, May 13th, 2008Here is my MdS 2008 race report - enjoy the reading!
Marathon des Sables 2008 race report
Andreas
No Comments »The Race
Sunday, February 17th, 2008It has been the fine ultra marathon event every runner was expecting, a glorious day perfectly organised by Kathy, Steve and the entire team.
It is the friendliness, dedication and professionality of the team behind this event that lets it stand out among similar races; the cheerfulness of the race marshals at the most ghastly hour and minus temperatures, the love of detail when it comes to providing hot tea at a later check point or placing signs when navigation seems ambiguous and the excellent Odlo running shirt given to each competitor at the finish line, a welcome alternative to the cotton T-Shirts given at other races that may be comfortable to wear at the beach during summer holiday but not for your daily training run. Excellence, you have a new name: Thames Meander!
I arrived early at Kings Meadow in Reading, almost two hours before the start. I like to be early at races to have plenty of time for those last-minute preparations and to set my mind for a great race. But I also wanted to have a chance to see the remnants of Reading abbey that are at a short distance from the train station and Kings Meadow. Amazing to see those stones laid by masons one millennium ago and still standing, although badly damaged through centuries of destruction and neglect. What might remain in a thousand years time of today’s architecture, say the Gurkin or the new City Hall building? History will tell.
Of course Kathy, Anke and Steve we already in full action at Kings Meadow, organising the registration of the runners, positioning the marshals along the route, making sure all water supplies were allocated to the check points, etc. After a few kind words from Steve we set off, following the river downstream, full of anticipation for a great day out in the countryside.
I headed out with a light pair of long tights and a short-sleeved shirt plus a long-sleeved one on top. I took great care not to start sweating, as wet clothing would cool me down tremendously - after all, temperatures were around freezing point. About an hour into the race the sun provided some warmth so that I took off my long-sleeved jumper but keeping my gloves on for the duration of the race.
It takes a few minutes only to leave the city of Reading behind and be welcomed by the charming river meandering its way through the countryside. Waterfowl everywhere, beautiful swans and ducks on their morning swim while we kept chugging along with our race backpacks.
The Thames Path was quite dry this year as we didn’t have much rain the last days and the flooding of the river had subsided a while ago. The first hour or so the ground was frozen with white patches of frost in the shade, soon to be gone once the suns rays reached everywhere, enlightening the river in all its splendour.
From my participation two years ago I remembered that house in the Lower Shiplake area that had a miniature train station and railway in its extensive garden, and I was delighted to spot it again. How much fun must that be for children to play with the train, loading and unloading the wagons and going on a ride through the park!
Shortly after we reached Marsh Lock, this tremendous long walkway over the river where you see the water rushing below your feet while running safely a yard or so above.
At Henley I saw this Mississippi-style steamboat on the moor and I immediately thought of the musical Show Boat and it’s most famous song “Ol’ man river”; except that good old Joe was not around to sing it. Wrong river, wrong continent I suppose …
Check point one was just a short stroll away from Henley, within sight of Temple Island. I tried to keep my time at the check points relatively short, filling up my bottle with fresh water and adding maltose sugar, maybe adjusting clothing or getting out some food to eat on the next stage and then heading out to the Thames Path again. It was not a matter of saving time, as I was not racing this event for a personal best, but I did not want to cool out at the check points since temperatures were still around 0 to 3 degrees.
Temple Island with its beautiful temple building is a sight of breathtaking beauty, one of the many special and historic sites that the Thames Meander passes by.
Shortly after Temple island I had a little accident: While trying to tear out that bag of nuts from my front pouch of my racing backpack, the bag broke and all the nuts went flying to ground. What a bummer! My first thought was “thank goodness this is happening here at the Thames Meander and not at the Marathon des Sables!” I’ll think of something so that such a mishap won’t happen in the desert. And the ducks at Temple Island had a magnificent Sunday lunch.
The Thames Path between Temple Island and Marlow is very pastoral, green with some smaller hills and beautiful sights of the countryside. At Marlow I got a glimpse of the “Compleat Angler”, the inn where in 1653 Izaak Walton is believed to have written his world famous book on angling and fly fishing.
Check point two was just a mile away next to the A404 bridge. Good to stock up on some water and grab a fresh bag of nuts from my backpack.
Between check points two and three we passed one of the more affluent areas along the Thames, with beautiful houses on the Thames in the Maidenhead area. Crossing the Maidenhead bridge we were only two miles away from the third check point. I stopped briefly to refuel on water, still running in my short-sleeved black running top as the sun kept me warm as long as I moved quickly.
After Bray lock the Thames Path is fairly green and secluded again, although a bit boring after the beauty of the Maidenhead area. However, this is the perfect build-up to Eton and Windsor Castle. It is breathtaking to approach the majestic castle from the west as it rests triumphantly in the late afternoon sunshine! Crossing the bridge from Eton to Windsor saw us surrounded by tourists who might have wondered what these fellas with backpacks and race numbers might be doing at the UK’s premier tourist location.
After crossing Albert Bridge and passing Old Windsor Lock the sun started to set. It was still light enough to navigate without a torch, but temperatures started to drop quickly. I passed a family with two children; when the boy saw me running by, he asked me if I was competing in a race. I explained what I was doing; having seen my race number 7, he exclaimed “Number 7 is my lucky number! I hope you win that race!” I didn’t tell him that the winner of this race was probably at Molesey boat house at that time, enjoying his 2nd pint of lager, so I said “I’ll do my very best, and with your good luck nothing can go wrong”.
Passing Magna Carta island, it was almost pitch black, historic proof that they must have signed that document during sober daylight.
Checkpoint four just short of Bell Weir Lock was great, Anke handing out hot tea to the runners and all the marshals helping out where they could to accommodate the runners. I put on my warm long tights and an extra layer of clothes on top to keep warm. Temperatures were around freezing point now and having run for 9 hours my body was getting low on carbohydrates to burn for extra warmth.
Leaving checkpoint four I got lost a number of times as it was completely dark and I had to rely on my head lamp for spotting those Thames Path signs. After the M25 bridge I was back on track and followed a fellow runner that did the navigation part for me. With more than 10 hours on the path and the darkness I don’t have lots of memories of this part of the race, except that it was cold, very cold. But that was expected, just as the weather forecast had predicted, and it is part of the Thames Meander challenge; by signing up for the race, cold temperatures are part of the package.
Having adjusted to the darkness and walking/running with my new friend, we managed to find checkpoint five in Shepperton with ease. With just five miles to go to the finish and still having some water in our bottles, we opted to go straight on, not giving in to the temptations of the warm and cosy pubs of Shepperton as some other runners had.
Crossing Walton bridge we knew that it was smooth sailing from there to the finish. We had a good chat about the Marathon des Sables and other races to keep our minds occupied with other things, so time went by quickly. Too quickly, all the sudden I was passing Molesey Cricket Club and then there was the Molesey Boat House! I made it, some 13+ hours after taking off from Reading. Best thing: No injuries, no blisters and still in good spirit.
Ah, and - yes! - I did sign up for the 2009 Thames Meander. There isn’t a finer ultra marathon in the UK than this one. It just doesn’t get any better than this.
No Comments »Final thoughts
Wednesday, February 13th, 2008We are almost there - two more days to go to the Thames Meander! I am very excited and looking forward to the great race on Saturday. Kathy and Steve have put in a tremendous effort in making this race happen, and I am sure I will enjoy it up to the last mile - and so will you!
Looking back at these last few months, I have had the pleasure of submitting over 70 blog entries on a variety of running-related subjects. I hope that you found my writing interesting, maybe at times boring but hopefully entertaining, although, since I have always expressed very personal views, I am certain you have disagreed with me every once in a while. Good! Diversity is the basis of learning, trying out different things and reading other peoples views allows one to examine his own patterns and convictions, possibly leading to new insights and a broader horizon.
As you will have noticed, I am not a native English speaker, so thanks for putting up with my pidgin English. Having been born in Germany to parents with a Polish ancestry, English is my third foreign language and my command of its linguistic and stylistic intricacies is limited at best.
I must say that it has been a sincere pleasure and honour to keep this weblog for the Thames Meander, the finest ultra marathon in the United Kingdom, and I thank Kathy and Steve for their excellent work in architecting this great race through one of the most historic and beautiful parts of the country!
Dear reader, I wish you the very best on Saturday and on the endeavours that you will challenge yourself with in the future! Just keep running and be curious where your next steps will take you.
I will see you all on Saturday!
Andreas
Five2go Lee Valley Trail Marathon - Part II
Sunday, November 11th, 2007It was simply a beautiful marathon through Lee Valley! The landscape, especially the first half of the course, was just lovely, following the river Lee with its many locks and stunning wild life. The marshals were great, very motivated and encouraging us athletes.I met two runners that had participated in the 24-hour race in October, so we shared a good number of stories about marathons and ultras and the 24-hour race in particular.I was fairly pleased with my running as I was carrying my TM/MdS backpack with about 6 kg of weight and wearing those trail shoes that I will use in the big events next year: no blisters, no chafing, just good fun. I also used to opportunity to practice taking photos on the run. It’s a different kind of running when you are on the lookout for photo opportunities, suddenly stopping to take a few shots and getting back into your running routine. I’ll need that skill on the Thames Meander and the Marathon des Sables where I plan to take plenty of pictures during the race.At the finish line all runners received a goody bag with a cuddly teddy bear. Fortunately, I could buy a second one for a few pounds, so when I got home I had one for each of our kids - and they just love them! My son of two years went to bed with his new friend and plays with it as I am writing this blog entry. I am sure he will let me run many more marathons if I return with such lovely toys!
No Comments »Five2go Lee Valley Trail Marathon - Part I
Friday, November 9th, 2007Tomorrow I’ll run the Lee Valley Trail Marathon. As I am tapering off with my running until Christmas, I will take it very, very slow tomorrow. I will use the opportunity to run with my backpack and the trail shoes I will wear at the Thames Meander and the Marathon des Sables next year.Having fun is my only goal for this race; after a number of marathons and ultras, culminating in the 24-hour race last month, I have nothing left to prove to myself this year, so giving my body a deserved rest before the challenging 1st quarter next year - two ultras and the MdS - is the right thing to do.With just 102 days until the Thames Meander and 145 days to the MdS, keep relaxing!
No Comments »Panta Rhei!
Thursday, November 1st, 2007Heraclitus, born 535BC in Ephesus on the coast of Asia Minor, was a pre-socratic philosopher most famous for his philosophy of change and his aphorism “Panta Rhei!”. He believed that change is real and stability illusory; for Heraclitus, everything is in constant flux:
Everything flows and nothing is left unchanged, or
Everything flows and nothing stands still, or
All things are in motion and nothing remains still.
This is so familiar to us runners. We experience the landscape flowing past us on every run, much like sitting in a barge floating downstream. Running along a great river, following its banks, bends, scars and cataracts is like following a great minds biography. After running a few hours we become one with the riverbed and feel every one of its aching turns, blocking locks and liberating shoots, experiencing the river’s life like Smetana depicted the Moldau in his famous second movement of Má vlast. Experiencing flow, as Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi understood it, is the ultimate path to happiness. We know this feeling as runner’s high.Flow. Change as the only constant in life. The Thames, meandering like our lives do from brook to the open sea, around mountains, challenges, success, happiness and sorrow, yet keeping it’s secrets embedded in its depths and currents.
New things come, and old things go
But all things look the same to Joe.
Wars go on and some folks die,
De rest forget de reason why.
Ah gits weary, an’ sick o’ tryin’,
Ah’m tired o’ livin’, and skeered o’ dyin’,
But Ol’ Man River, he jes’ keeps rollin’ along!
(Showboat, music by Jerome Kern, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II)
No Comments »Munich Marathon
Tuesday, October 16th, 2007On Sunday I ran the Munich Marathon in Germany. Every year in Munich I run as pace maker for the first-time marathoners (4hours 30min). They are the most fun group to lead, very cheerful and just happy to have someone to follow. They don’t criticize you for your pacing or whatever. Dragging along a large balloon marked with “4h 30min”, I managed to finish in 4hours 28min 45sec, so I am satisfied with my pacing and got lots of hugs and shake hands from runners that broke the 4:30 barrier.
Munich is a city-centre marathon with more than 10.000 runners. It is a great way to see some of Munich’s most beautiful spots - English garden, Königsplatz, Marienplatz & Rathaus, Münchner Freiheit, etc. The best part is the finish: You run into the Olympic Stadium for one extra lap on the tartan track to the finish line; truly inspiring!
However, Munich is a very noisy and crowded race - lots of DJs, bands playing, TV coverage, spectators, etc.; personally, I prefer the longer distances and smaller, quieter races in the countryside with a few hundred runners at most. I guess there’s just nothing that beats the Thames Meander!
There is one remarkable story I experienced on Sunday: In the 4:30 crowd that followed me was a very friendly gentleman, an experienced veteran runner that shared some great stories with the rest of the athletes. When I asked him, he told me he is 67 years old and now doing his 12th (!) marathon this year. Later on during the race, he said that he’ll have to quit running in 2008 because a year ago he was diagnosed with two tumors and cancer spreading inside his body. You can imagine, I was both shocked and astonished; it’s incredible what your body is capable of doing if you challenge it, and it is incredible what running can give you back in life if you follow your ambition and your dreams.
Keep running! 124 days to the Thames Meander, 167 to the MdS, Andreas
No Comments »Running for 24 hours
Wednesday, October 10th, 2007There isn’t much else like running for 24 hours to learn humility. 24 hours is what it takes to reduce yourself and your self-perception to the bare necessities of life and your psyche to your innermost core. But 24 hours can resurrect you as well, when there are wonderful friends and runners lifting up your spirits and helping you when you feel the most miserable.
It was an event organized to perfection - very friendly and supportive lap counters and helpers, a great selection of food and drinks at all times and a superb location. The runners were exceptional themselves, all very experienced, friendly, patient and enduring. A trilling experience that begs for more.
My lessons learned from this event:
1. Start slow, slow, slow, and even slower, changing between walking and running early in the race
2. Train even longer distances
3. You can never have enough layers of spare clothes for such events
4. Make sure to settle all your worries before the start
The last lesson is the most important one. I was worried about my son who was suffering from fever over the weekend, and I felt guilty all the time of leaving my wife alone with him. Although I knew my wife would take very good care of him, I was constantly thinking about both of them, draining good part of my energy for the race.
Keep running! 130 days left to the Thames Meander, so make sure to register very soon if you haven’t done so, and keep in mind its only 173 days to the MdS! Andreas
No Comments »After 24 hours of running
Monday, October 8th, 2007Dear Kathy, Dear Steve,
many, many thanks for coming to Tooting Bec Athletics Track yesterday morning at 4am (!) to provide me with your company and expertise and lots of encouragement! It was wonderful to see you both and talking to you made me focus on other things, which was very good at that early hour. I am quite happy with the distance I covered - after all, it was my first 24-hour event. Of course, you can never compare the average miles/hour of such an event with what you do on a shorter distance. I am glad that I managed to run very consistent, my longest break must have been about 10-12 minutes at 2am when I put on that extra layer of dry clothes.
I had a very, very good nights sleep, and I can go up and down the stairs! My legs aren’t as bad as I thought they would be after such an event. I have a day off today which is great, tomorrow it’s back to the office again. And if I feel well by the end of the week I’ll run the Munich marathon next Sunday (14th) where I’ll be pace maker, as all those past years.
Kathy, many thanks for the photos! It’s great to have a few pictures of my 40th birthday “celebration”! It was another very special moment when at the awards ceremony, the organisers presented me with a birthday cake and all the participants sang “happy birthday!” for me.
Again, many thanks for coming out at such gruelling hour of the day in support!
Kindest regards and see you soon,
Andreas
No Comments »It’s D-Day!
Saturday, October 6th, 2007Four hours ‘til they blow the whistle and 40 runners go over the top to race for 24 hours in Tooting. I slept surprisingly well, had a light breakfast and a hot cuppa. I checked my gear several times over, everything’s in place. Looks like it’s going to be a perfect day - no hurricanes, snow storms, earth quakes nor tsunamis expected. Moderate temperatures reduce the chance of working up a sweat.
Wish me luck!
Just 28 hours away from the finish, 133 days to the Thames Meander and 176 to the start of the Marathon des Sables! Keeping running for a heck of a long time, Andreas
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