The start of this.race was at mesastila, a wonderful resort in
Central java where participants could stay, dorm style. For the first time they added an ultra distance to their event (otherwise I would probably not have been there anyway :-)) I went and picked up my race pack the day before the race.
I also booked myself a space in the dorm house! without a doubt the most luxurious dorm I've ever started at!
After receiving my pack I went back to my 5 euro hotelroom!
That night in the room I got woken up by loud banging on my door, I heard several voices, one telling me to open the door, they were speaking indonesian. When I opened the door (half naked) there were 6 men in front of the door, one holding a big camera, one dressed like a policeman, they wanted to see my passport and asked me who was in the bathroom??? I said I was alone and I had to open the door for them to see. After they checked my visa they said: sorry to disturb you and they left. For a moment I thought I was going to be kidnapped! I had all these images going through my head the moment before I opened that door!
Anyway, the next day I went back to the resort around noon.
The race would start at 22:00 that night but we could check in at 11:00. There were not many runners yet but step by step they arrived. A few other Belgians as well. But one of the organisers told me I would probably have to compete with the american guy who won the rinjani ultra last august.
A few hours before the start I joined a canadian for dinner. I needed a good meal before we would start. All this rice is good but it doesn't give me the nutrition I need for my ultra races! I feel that I have less energy than I got back home and that's mainly because of the food.
Meanwhile all runners joining the 60k had arrived. The temperature was mild at 700m! The sky clear and everyone enthousiastic and eager to conquer the four mountains that had to be climbed of which the highest one is 3100m!
At The start I had a good feeling...my legs felt good!
At 22:00 sharp we started and 2 guys and myself took the lead, I just followed assuming they knew were they were going...yeah right...10 or 15 minutes later we got lost already, not being able to find the marks back we had to run back to the start and do it over again.
There goes my top 3 aim! We were now the last ones in the race!
We started our pursue each at our own pace and a bit later I was on my own. Gradualy I picked up runners untill I was in 9th position again...I couldn't believe it...there was hope again! It surely gave me an extra boost! One more climb to go and during that climb I came across another runner he wasn't sure about the route and completly exhausted! I was gonna stay with him untill he maybe felt better. That was a big mistake! With only another 6km to go it Looked like I could still finish in a good time, but then it went completely wrong...somehow we were still following the marks but apparently it was the trail we took when we left. So instead of going back we were on our way to do the whole thing a second time. I noticed something wasn't right here the moment I started to recognize places and we were running for more than an hour already. We asked for directions at the villages we past and the people always replied with the same answer: another 2 km! 2km...untill more than 2 hours later I finaly gave up...I called the organizers and asked them to pick us up. There was no use in continuing! That was it! So, I hate to say it but this is my first DNF!!! I can't believe it! It wasn't even half as hard as the Transylvanian trail! This is worse then when you can't finish because you just can't! How Just a small mistake can make such a big difference!
Central java where participants could stay, dorm style. For the first time they added an ultra distance to their event (otherwise I would probably not have been there anyway :-)) I went and picked up my race pack the day before the race.
I also booked myself a space in the dorm house! without a doubt the most luxurious dorm I've ever started at!
After receiving my pack I went back to my 5 euro hotelroom!
That night in the room I got woken up by loud banging on my door, I heard several voices, one telling me to open the door, they were speaking indonesian. When I opened the door (half naked) there were 6 men in front of the door, one holding a big camera, one dressed like a policeman, they wanted to see my passport and asked me who was in the bathroom??? I said I was alone and I had to open the door for them to see. After they checked my visa they said: sorry to disturb you and they left. For a moment I thought I was going to be kidnapped! I had all these images going through my head the moment before I opened that door!
Anyway, the next day I went back to the resort around noon.
The race would start at 22:00 that night but we could check in at 11:00. There were not many runners yet but step by step they arrived. A few other Belgians as well. But one of the organisers told me I would probably have to compete with the american guy who won the rinjani ultra last august.
A few hours before the start I joined a canadian for dinner. I needed a good meal before we would start. All this rice is good but it doesn't give me the nutrition I need for my ultra races! I feel that I have less energy than I got back home and that's mainly because of the food.
Meanwhile all runners joining the 60k had arrived. The temperature was mild at 700m! The sky clear and everyone enthousiastic and eager to conquer the four mountains that had to be climbed of which the highest one is 3100m!
At The start I had a good feeling...my legs felt good!
At 22:00 sharp we started and 2 guys and myself took the lead, I just followed assuming they knew were they were going...yeah right...10 or 15 minutes later we got lost already, not being able to find the marks back we had to run back to the start and do it over again.
There goes my top 3 aim! We were now the last ones in the race!
We started our pursue each at our own pace and a bit later I was on my own. Gradualy I picked up runners untill I was in 9th position again...I couldn't believe it...there was hope again! It surely gave me an extra boost! One more climb to go and during that climb I came across another runner he wasn't sure about the route and completly exhausted! I was gonna stay with him untill he maybe felt better. That was a big mistake! With only another 6km to go it Looked like I could still finish in a good time, but then it went completely wrong...somehow we were still following the marks but apparently it was the trail we took when we left. So instead of going back we were on our way to do the whole thing a second time. I noticed something wasn't right here the moment I started to recognize places and we were running for more than an hour already. We asked for directions at the villages we past and the people always replied with the same answer: another 2 km! 2km...untill more than 2 hours later I finaly gave up...I called the organizers and asked them to pick us up. There was no use in continuing! That was it! So, I hate to say it but this is my first DNF!!! I can't believe it! It wasn't even half as hard as the Transylvanian trail! This is worse then when you can't finish because you just can't! How Just a small mistake can make such a big difference!