Night Trail Run 2016

Hello again!

I am back standing in front of my computer after a “long” 10K run in the dark woods.

To sum up my feelings, I am mostly relieved that I fought through the whole trail and got my tired body (with no broken bones) over the finish line.

The start was a bit delayed due to an accident at the E4 highway and I was really freezing since I’m stupid and don’t know how to dress properly according to temperature. I realized that I most likely had the wrong shoes for the occasion as well.

The trail was slippery and demanding. It was hard to get a grip and I was close to fall too many times to keep count, luckily it never happened to me (some were not as fortunate). I got annoyed on my left shoelace which untied itself two (fucking) times causing me to stop and lose valuable positions. Oh well it was either that or tripping over myself which would have been even worse! 😀

I managed to keep the tempo and pulse quite steady at 175-180 BPM and in some parts where the visibility was bad it got so fast I ended up outside the trail. This was my first time running in the dark with a headlamp and also this kind of trail run. A lot of roots to trip over, rocks to hurt your feet, hills to climb and fallen logs that you had to jump or walk over made it even harder. Luckily I’m not a pussy and got my sorry ass to the finish, even though my mind started to doubt halfway through. That should count for something.

Image found on nighttrailrun.se

Result

Distance	Time	Behind (category = male 10 km)	Average Pace (min/km)	Place (category = male 10 km)
10 km (6.2 miles)	1:16:58	+36:47	7:41	244/267

Afterwards I had two hot dogs and the mandatory Kexchoklad 😉

Verdict: 7/10 tears of joy! I will be back next year (most likely), bring some running pals and come better prepared.

Tomorrow (today actually) is Run-Off with TSM Running so I better get some sleep. 🙂

Did you enjoy this race recap? I can definitely post more in the future!

/ Rasmus