Running my first 100k

Race report of my first 100k race.

Rationale

I have never trained as much as I have done this year and never so consistently. My mileage has been between 80 and 100k since last September and my plan was to try and set some new PBs this year, mainly on shorter distances such as 5k, 10k and half-marathon. Then Covid happened and all races where cancelled.

I did manage to keep up the consistency throughout the spring but it was hard to have any specificity since I didn't know which or even if there would be any races this year. Instead I just tried to keep the mileage up and put in some interval sessions each week.

In the middle of the summer the organization behind Fjällmaraton sent out an email which said that they would most likely arrange their races but with some covid-modifications. I have participated in several of their races before and would love to try to set a new PB on the 43k variant but this year they had a new variant stretching 100k on a route that on the paper looked super exciting. The thing was that I had only once run more than 50k and I had not done any extended long runs at all this year.

Anyhow, I figured that since running a 100k would spoil all races several months afterwards, perhaps it would be perfect to try it out this year since there isn't any races to spoil. Said and done, I took on my backpack and went out for a 50k run to see if my body could cope with the at least half the distance without going bust. It felt pretty good so I bought a starting ticket online.

Fjällmarathon 100k

The Fjällmaraton week is a week of several races taking place in the end of July each year around Åre and Vålådalsfjällen in Jämtland, Sweden which is my home turf. The topology is more hilly than mountainous as is common here in the Nordics and the terrain is in effect like a large mire.

Even tough the lack of big mountains the 100k race has around 3500m cumulative altitude gain and can be exposed to bad weather with cold temperatures and strong winds.

The 100k race was new and part of something called SPARTAN TRAIL WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP. I'm not sure what that really is but the price tag was quite substantial and several international runners where registered like Pau Capell who won UTMB last year.

The race

It had rained pretty much during the summer which meant that the race likely would be muddy but then the weather changed the days before the race and became very warm (around 25°C) and almost no wind.

I usually don't perform well under warm conditions and as it turned out, it was true this time also.

Preparations

Since I lacked previous experience about running this long and I wanted to learn my own lessons á la Thoreau I did not make any special preparations besides buying lots of gels, salt pills and a can of vaseline to avoid blisters.

I estimated the time for me to run the race to be between 12-14 hours.

We where allowed to have a dropbag at around 50km. I put half of all the gels and a change of clothes in the bag. Also I added earphones so I could start listen on music or a podcast after half the race since I expected running for so long could become quite tedious.

The start

The start was at 5am. I met up with a friend which had camped at the start. The weather was a bit chilly but there was no clouds and no wind to talk about. Around 100 runners where gathered and because of Covid there was a "free start" for the non elites which meant that the race timer started when you decided to pass the starting line.

The first half

My friend and I saw the elite runners run away at 5 and decided to go just a couple of minutes after. The first kilometer was easy running on a gravel road and even tough we took it super-easy we still passed lots of runners which had started right after the elite runners.

I noticed directly that my friend wanted to keep it a bit slower so I decided to leave him and continue in my own pace. After a km or so, the road turned into a narrow but good flowy trail.

I kept on passing runners even though I felt that I was taking it very easy. I actually enjoyed myself and thought for myself that maybe ultras aren't that hard.

At around 20km we reached the village of Vålådalen where the first aid station was placed. Even though I did not have any problems I still decided to change socks to prevent any coming blisters. The thing was that as soon I sat down mosquito's arrived, in millions. I have never experienced so many mosquito's before. Anyhow, if managed to put on some new socks and refill my bottles with some sort of energy drink and eat a banana.

Everything up until Vålådalen was warm-up but now the real deal started. From Vålådalen the trail turns up onto Ottfjället which is an elevation gain of 600m. I set of and really tried to conserve my energy and actually did continue to pass a couple of runners. When I reached the peak everything still felt really good and now there was downhill until Nordbottnen, more than 600m lower in altitude in pretty bad terrain.

Around here I also started to really feel the sun. It was a bit windy which took the worst warmth away. Also I started to dip my cap in creeks regularly so that I could keep my head cool.

Curses

I'm not a very good downhill runner, I don't know why but my leg-muscles have a tendency to gradually stiffen. With this in mind I tried to really take it easy and save my legs. This seemed to work until I reached the last downhill section at around 35km. Then, out of the blue, both my legs cramped from behind the knee. Fudge.

I screamed words that should not be mentioned, half in panic, half in frustration since I knew that this was not just going to go away. I had two options, give up at the aid station in Nordbottnen and hope someone there could drive me to Ottsjö where the drop bag was located and also the finish line, or to try to go there by myself.

I decided to go for the second option and then reassess my situation in Ottsjö.

After a couple of kilometers of running/limping I reached the aid station at Nordbottnen. Here I encountered even more mosquito's than I had encountered in Vålådalen and I actually felt sorry for the race staff that where there.

From Nordbottnen to the trail leads up to Hållfjället which is a climb of around 400 meters. The terrain is pretty muddy but there are footbridges at the worst sections.

It felt pretty good to run uphill but as soon as I reached a downhill section, the cramp hit my legs. I thought that I would be passed by lots of runners but only a couple caught up.

After Hållfjället and then down to Ottsjö the cramp worsened since it was almost only downhill running so I had to stop and stretch and then walk several times.

The (mental) battle at midway

Finally after 5.30 hours I reached Ottsjö. I felt pretty good overall except for the cramps. Perhaps it was due to the fact that I couldn't really push myself since everytime I tried to increase the pace the cramp hit again.

I had a mental battle going on at the same time. Should I call it quits or continue? It was very tempting to just say fuck it and go and have a burger but I thought for myself that I had already done more than half the race in 5 hours. Even if I would walk the rest of the race I still would probably be able to finish it before the cutoff time. Also, if I didn't finish it, I would have to do it again next year.

I changed clothes, refilled the backpack with gels and ate the most disgusting hot dog I have ever eaten. It literally got stuck in my throat since there was no ketchup or anything and I guess I was a bit dehydrated.

Off I went and pretty soon realised that I forgot my headphones.

Bad but not worse

Before the race I've heard that you get gradually more tired up to around 50km but that it didn't get so much worse after that. This was true for me, I was tired but that was not an issue, the cramps where. At around 70km I had to walk as soon as there was a downhill section and when the cramp hit I had to stop and stretch. Sometimes the cramps hit both my legs at the same time and I could only stretch one at a time. I was starting to wonder what the hell I was doing.

I continued with my running/walking and arrived finally at a gravel road at around 75km. Here I could finally increase my stride and do some proper running a couple of kilometers until I reached the aid station at Edsåsen. Here I finally felt that I would make it and reach the finish.

From Edsåsen the trail went up to the peak of Välliste. That section went slow but I could do some running. After the peak there was a very steep downhill section from the peak down to Trillevallen and here my legs gave up. I could not even walk down but had to go backwards in order to not get hit by cramps. It took a while and a lot of curses until I reached the bottom at Trillevallen.

From Trillevallen and to the finish in Ottsjö there was some nice and easy trail running which went uneventful besides me screaming once in while when the cramps hit. I actually passed some runners but got passed by some as well.

The finish

The last couple of kilometers where easy running on road. I tried to pick up the pace and passed a runner that I had switched position with during the race. I thought for myself that I would not let him pass my again so I gave my prayers for not getting cramps the last section before the finish.

When there was around 500 meters left to the finish line I could feel that tingling sensation behind my knees and when I finally could see the finish line the cramps hit with full force in both my legs. I had to stop and stretch again. I looked backwards expecting the runner I had pass to come but he never did for some reason. I started to walk and then tried to run and finally there was just a couple of meters to the finish line. Both my kids and my partner where there waiting for me to finish and the last couple of meters in to the finish line where fantastic.

The watch stopped at 12:42 hours. It felt so good to not having to run, to just stand still and do nothing. After a minute or so I really felt how beaten up my legs where and they stiffened up so much that it was impossible for me to lay to on the ground. My partner and a fellow runner had to give me a helping hand.

There where some other runners there at the finish line as well that didn't feel so good, one was puking and another was getting medical attention.

As usual after races I did not feel happy, there was more a sensation of emptiness combined with a relief that it was over. I also think there was a bit of disappointment since I felt that I could have run much faster if not for the cramps.

The other thing I noticed after a couple of minutes was that I had severe cravings for meat. Not food in general but meat. I have never felt that before, I guess it was my body telling me to provide it with protein so it could start repair all the damaged I had caused it.

Due to Covid we where not allowed to stay in the finish area so we went to the car and drove home.

A couple of hours later

When we arrived home I tried to go to the shower but my whole body ached and I was completely stiff from my waist down. I couldn't take of my clothes and especially not to shower myself so my partner had to help me. Then she helped me walk to the bed and there I spent the rest of my evening.

Epilogue

After the race I had trouble with a toe where I got some sort of infection under the nail and also felt pain in the muscles I had experienced cramps during the race. Even now, more than a month afterwards I have not entirely recovered, I can run and I can now also do some speed work but I don't think I'm ready to race yet.

Looking back with some distance I'm glad that I did it but I am a bit disappointed of the result. I don't feel that I was near my running limit due to the cramps.

I have experienced cramps before and I think that it has only occurred when running in the same terrain as the race. I'm suspecting that it has something to do with either the uphills which requires pretty long strides when "climbing" over rocks or on the downhills which are long compared to the downhill sections I have on my training sessions.

I will definitely run the race again and to the next time I will train for it properly. I will need to run more extended long runs and definitely run more in the terrain of the race.