The question I am most often asked is not “How do you train for running in the desert?”
nor “How do you stay motivated during
those long runs?”, but rather two simple words, “What’s next?” And from those who know the type of races I prefer to
run, they ask the question, waiting with bated breath, hoping that I will
dazzle them with something off the charts. No pressure there.
Bu honestly, I don’t choose races for the ‘Wow’-factor, I keep
my eyes and ears open as to what is out there, waiting patiently until I hear
of a race that sends a chill down my spine, and then I know it is the next one.
Choosing races of such magnitude with any other motivation I think would make
it impossible to invest in the amount of training, planning and preparation necessary
to pull it off.
During my down-time this past winter I created an Excel
spreadsheet with all the race options that interest me
including all of my standard short-distance races in and around Regensburg that
I run with my team. But for 2019 I was having trouble finding that A-Race. I
missed out on the lotteries in several big-name races in Chamonix and let those
go, knowing that something else would pop up. And as always, it did.
At the end of January I got a two-sentence SMS message from
an acquaintance asking if I’d be interested in joining his team for an
adventure race in Croatia in September.
And there it was immediately.
The Chill Factor.
I’d found
my next race.
What’s an ‘Adventure Race’, you ask? No, it’s not an
obstacle-course race nor a mud run, it’s more similar to a triathlon, in that it
is a multi-disciplinary event, but it could include a number of different types
of sports, not limited to the standard three. This race in particular will
include running, mountain biking, kayaking, climbing, rappelling and navigation.
Adventure races can be found in multiple distances, as short as a few miles or
up to a few hundred miles, which is appropriately called ‘expedition’ length.
And I knew, without a doubt, that the SMS was referring to that longer version,
the expedition length. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been interested.
The Adventure Race Croatia will take place in the beautiful Zadar region along the coast of the Adriatic
Sea. The course will be approximately 500 km long (300 miles) and, did I
mention it is non-stop? No day stages, no hot meals, no overnight camps. We won’t
even have a tent with us. If we do need to sleep, which at some point over the
course of four days it will be inevitable, we will simply find a cozy place in the grass to
lay down and sleep for a few minutes before continuing. The clock is ticking.
There is a 96-hour time limit.  |
| Those tiny things are kayaks waiting below |
Teams are comprised of four people, one of which must be a
woman, and the race is limited to forty teams from around the world. Our team,
OMM Germany, will be the only one representing Germany.
When I first looked at the webpage for the race and watched
a video from the previous year, I was mesmerized by the amazing scenery, the single-track
trails, the turquoise-blue sea, and the rocky outcroppings, until the image of
a woman dangling off a bridge by a rope appeared. A very high bridge. During
the night. She was rappelling down to a kayak waiting in the water below.
Then came the reality check. What have I gotten myself into?
The 500-km distance did not scare me, but rappelling off a 100-meter high
bridge was definitely pushing my limits. I mentioned this to one of my
team-mates, and thankfully, he reassured me by saying that only two of the team
members needed to rappel, while the other two have to hold the kayaks very steady
in the water below. So… guess what I’ll be doing in the coming months? Yes, spending
ump-teen training hours to becoming an expert kayaker and steady-boat-holder.
Spring has arrived here in Bavaria, with sun and mild
temps, which make it tempting to spend considerable time outside. I’m eager to
train my upper body with paddling, excited about learning to climb and rappel,
thrilled about devoting hours to my mountain bike as a focused discipline
rather than cross-training and, of course, long-distance running is my utmost passion.
Those emotions are exactly what it takes to not only get me
prepared for the next great adventure, but also to give me the freedom to enjoy
it.
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