Namibian Viking

What is it to be successful in an ultra marathon event? To win, to make it to the finish line, or maybe just to give it everything you have got? When I was lying in the tent at CP3, 12h after the start of the race, IV in my hand and cramps moving through my body waking me up from a semi-conscious sleep I can say that at that point I didn’t possess even the slightest strength to do anything but fall back into sleep.

Later I was told that I was being transported the 60km to the finish line in an old army truck, IV still in my vein, the bag of fluid hanging from the ceiling of the truck, my head resting on a plastic box and we were all thrown around like the balls in the Euro-lottery draw, and I was still asleep. Also at that point, I guess I can conclude that I didn’t have more to give.

Still after all this, already the morning after the race, when I saw some of my fellow participants hobbling over the finish line I was asking myself: “Could I have done more, did I pull out to early”? Was there something that I could have done at the point when I was taken off the race by the medic that would have allowed and enabled me to finish the race?

Well I guess I will never know to 100%. I have my own conclusion and later in this race report I will come back to this . But before I start talking about my conclusions and what I have taken away from this event, let me tell you about the event itself.

There were many things I took with me to Namibia that made me feel that I was full of confidence. I had trained another year, I had the experience of last year’s event and except for the last two weeks training had gone well. I had logged less miles on my feet, but on the other hand I had been swimming and cycling too, so all in all, I had done my training.

Back in Namibia
To add to the preparation I had booked a week in Namibia ahead of the race to acclimatise better. I had two days in the desert mountains in Naukluft National Park, hiking 10-12 hours per day. This had the additional benefit that I got my back used to a heavy pack (camera equipment). Even if this was just hiking, I still got to feel the Namibian sun and the heat that I was going to have to deal with in the race.

I also took two rest days in Sossusvlei, some of the most picture perfect place I have ever been too. I had a great time and managed to get some good shots and also to see some of the wildlife.

I had a good session stalking an Oryx and to get a shot with the photogenic animal with the backdrop of the red sand dunes of Sossusvlei is a real treat. The Oryx is an amazing animal and they can go in the desert for more then 3 months without water. Later I would learn that I would struggle to go 30min without water!

Back in the Namib desert

And so I was back in the desert. This time the camp was further away from Brandberg. The camp was on a little plot in the middle of the Namib desert, about 80km as the crow flies from the sea. We settled in with little pain and woke up to a beautiful sunrise the morning before the race. I was reminded by the real dangers of this race when I saw movement 2 metres ahead of me. A horned adder, the closest I had ever been to a wild potentially lethal venomous snake. With a stick I managed to move it into the sun and got some good photos of it. However the thought of running through knee-high grass suddenly seemed less appealing. During the race I didn’t see any snakes but several participants saw or heard them hissing at them running past! At checkpoint 3 snakes had to be removed from the area on more then one occasion. The desert is truly wild. To add to this we found a scorpion on the race morning, something that I had not previously encountered in Namibia. During the evening I saw about 10 different scorpions passing just before my feet as I walked through the Messum crater, so sure enough, the Namib desert is wild.

Day before the race
The feeling was different this year. I knew what was ahead of us, and I shared my thoughts with Andy, who also was here last year. I think we both confided in eachother feeling that we were “in the know” whilst the others where blissfully unaware what was waiting for them.

I did a short interview with Helen from Blue Peter who was out here doing the race. This would mean a TV crew would follow her around and we would even have an helicopter coming in for the start of the event! I felt confident that I was properly prepared. I even had my racepack packed and ready the night before. A mile away from last years morning scramble trying to fit everything I needed in the pack! I was convinced that I was going to complete the race, as long as I wouldn’t have a major injury.

Race morning
I woke up and felt relaxed. Most of my things were packed up already, so I went up and head an extra breakfast (noodles for maximum carbohydrates). Even though I had packed the day before there were of course many many things to take care of prior to the race. Nerves starts to set in. This year we weighed in before the race and with my shoes and clothes I was 83kg, which seems about right. I felt strong and I was ready to start the race. The helicopter that was going to film the start arrived and it all started a bit of frantic last minute thoughts and preparations. People gathered at the start line (well, the imaginary start line). Fran gave us some last minute comments and counted down from 10.

Race start
Last year I had made a point to take the lead the first 50 metres of the race, and counting down on the start line I felt an urge to do the same. I think I actually made a false start! Maybe the first false start ever recorded in a 24h Ultra Marathon? We were away and I was leading the field. The helicopter is going sideways in front of me, and I have to hold my hat to make sure it stays on my head!

It seems like a slow pace, but no one is overtaking me and I keep looking back. It feels a bit ridiculous that I am leading the group now, but soon enough Tom, Jerry and Tom overtakes me and put the world back in order again!

I run in my own pace and slowly but surely participant by participant come up and pass me, and it doesn’t bother me. I know what there is ahead and am in no hurry. It is 9am and it is already hot. There is something in the air that makes it incredibly hard to run and soon enough people start to speed-walk. I try to keep jogging, even though the pace is not much faster then the people speed walking. I come up to the improvised checkpoint 0.5. This was setup since the organisers had added 6km to this years race and they were all added on the first leg, so they had broken it up with a station at 10km or so. I refilled water and then was off again, not stopping more then 2 minutes or so. I was back on the long road and I knew that it was going to be a long way away before I would break into the dried-up riverbed. I see Emma coming up to me and she is looking a bit in distress, it turns out that she wasn’t certain on the route and at exactly the same spot where Tom overshot the course by 5km she was about to do the same thing. I show her the way and she goes ahead with her light small steps. Once in the riverbed I go for an “as-the-crow-flies” route, rather then following in the meandering road, mainly because the road is a dirt track with a foot of loose sand and it is too punishing on my legs. By this time I am walking and am in no position to run.

After what feels like an eternity I can see the tent and the Blue Peter film crew is there filming me as I approach the the first check point, Checkpoint 1 (CP1). 10 people or so are trying to share the shaded space and I sit down on a chair and relax, refill water and try to eat. I try to empty my shoes of these sharp grass seeds that keep coming into my shoes. They are a real pain and rub, itch and the discomfort is very real. Emma had taped elastic bandage around her shoes to keep the seeds out, and it is a trick I will remember to next year. Generally I would say gaiters are not needed for the Namibian Ultra, however they would have been nice for this first leg.

All in all I was feeling strong though. I knew what was left to do and I felt I had it in my body to meet the challenge head first. I was going to be proven wrong on the next leg of the race, but sitting at CP1 gathering strength, I found myself feeling confident. After about 30-40 minutes I left and there was no way I was going to run now. Speed walk was the only way in the heat.

The trouble had started, and in the next part of the race report, you will get to know why Amy, the race medic, pulled me off the race after 61km.

I knew something was wrong. My guide, Andrey, and his wife should only have been some 15min behind me. It had now been 30min since I last saw them and we said we would meet at the waterhole. My heart started to race, what should I do, I dont have a map of the route we should take and how should I get out of here?

I was in Naukluft National Park in Namibia and we had been hiking for the whole day. It was now less then 2h left to sunset and I had just lost my guide. I put some stones down on the ground saying “Andrey, wait here” and walked back 20min to see if I could meet him. But no sign of him.

What do I do? At least I have water and fire steel (Thank you Bear Grylls!). I started to descend quickly, at the water hole I changed the stones to say “Joakim has gone down”, should Andrey be further back, but somehow I knew this was not the case. He should have been here by now. I came to a big waterfall and started to climb down. 5m down and I felt that I was rushing into things, climbing a 20m waterfall with no ropes might not be the best idea. Am I acting rationally?  The questions kept rushing through my mind. I climbed up and got my backpack off my back. I looked through what I got: All kinds of camera equipment (great for being able to document, but not great for survival), fire steel, knife, some dried sausages, fruit, energy powder, sun screen etc. I guess the only thing I was lacking was warm clothing and a back pack. The desert gets cold at night, about 5 degrees or so but worst case I would just start a fire. Thank god for my two weeks last August with Kobus when I lit the fire every evening with only the fire steel and dried grass, and thank god for all the hours I have watched Bear Grylls!

I put my backpack back on and I found the right route to descend the waterfall and did so, after about 2hours on my own I hear a faint whistle, it has got to be Andrey and I shouted back. I found him!

Well, what could have been an even greater adventure of having to sleep rough in the national park was to an end. Together we did the last 45 min hike back to camp and I got a warm meal.

I still slept rough though. Africa’s stars, the sounds at night and the feeling that if a jackal, snake or scorpion wanted to, they could come and join my sleeping bag is just a too good opportunity to say no to. Having said that, 5 nights into my holiday and so far the only thing that has joined me were some ants (mental note to one self – always check if there is an ant trail before you put your sleeping bag down!).

Over and out form Namibia, next time you hear form me will be after the race.

Everything is packed. I have looked through my nutrition plan and counted my calories… 4,000 kcal should be enough. Mostly from energy drinks, some energy gels, and 3 self-heating meal packs (spicy ravioli mmm).  Packing makes me positively nervous. I feel the race is coming on.

To combat the race nerves a nice bottle (well not a whole, but still) of Rioja always helps!

Many of your have sent me small thoughts and I will print them tomorrow to bring to Namibia and read during the race. If I should grade them all I would give 10 out of 10 to Paul Goodey, Martin Murbeck and Elena Talegon. Elena for saying “you are crazy, I can tell that you are from Bilbao!’” (my Bilbo friends will be happy to hear that!) and also for promising to put up a statue of me in her garden if I complete the race. I will hold you to that Elena!

Paul on the other hand spent most of the morning finding quotes for me, went to the extent of quoting half a movie, only to then say “if you are still reading this, start running and eat the path ahead of you!” Very true, I will read that and laugh many a times!

Last amongst the top three is Martin’s electro chicken from youTube, it is a must to watch

Thank you everyone for all your comments, they will make me stronger and I will promise that bar a serious injury I WILL complete the race.

Keep the comments coming, I am printing it at 13.00 English time, so still time for you to give me some last words of advice, jokes or comments for my trip!

Until soon…

/The Namibian Viking

You close your eyes, feel the wind on your face, cold air on your nose. Open your eyes and you see the most amazing set of stars, as many and as clear as you have ever seen before. That is what I will feel every night when I go to Namibia. Last year during the race I slept in the tent and heard the animal noises from the (relative) safety of the tent. However during my two week trek I slept outside and that is what I am now looking forward to. 

What else is there in store for me for this Namibia trip? Well most importantly there is the race of course. It is very difficult to really remember what the race is all about. When I try to remember last year’s race I can only think of good things. Yet still I have had times during my training when I have had glimpse of flash backs. One of these was yesterday when I was completely depleted of all energy and still had to keep going; another was the late night walk last month. They all add up to what are miles of experience I bring with me. 

A better way to remember last year’s race is to read my race report. When I do this and go stage by stage through the race I can remember individual moments and that makes me scared for what is in store for me. I will go to some very dark places in my mind. I will have to dig incredibly deep to even stand a chance of completing the race.

But I also have learnt things from last year. I know that my will is strong and if I am determined to do something I can do it. I know what will happen if you dont prepare properly from my failed race last year in northern England. 

I tried to balance up good and bad and came up with this list:

Good – That I know the race and what is expected of me

Bad – That I know the race, how will I react when I have been going for 8 hours, am about to collapse, and still know that I have 14-15 hours to go!

Good – I have another year of hard racing and regular physical exercise to help me

Bad – I have run less miles then I did last year

Good – The last 3 months I have pushed myself harder and trained more then last year. I have in average done 5 days a week, but I have mixed swimming, running and cycling

Bad – I know how important it is to train with a race back pack. I have told everyone going how important this is, and yet I have not done enough training with a full race back pack

Good – I will have more days to acclimatise. I will arrive on the 3 April, and the race is on the 11 April. Last year I only arrived two days before the race.

What do you think, will I make it? Do you have any tips or mind games that could help me along the way? Please keep your comments coming!

Back in the Cross Country tracks. We celebrated christmas up in northern Sweden and the feeling to be back in a snow covered landscape is great! I had my cross country skiis with me and yesterday I went out for a 32km training session. The first 10km or so I was definitely a bit unsteady on the skiis, but in the end it felt like I was back in March… Finally back training! Thank god.

In the morning sun Namibia’s Brandberg mountain truly lives up to its name (fire mountain, in German). Standing at the plains surrounding the mountain I took this picture one morning in August 2008. The following two days we went up and down the mountain. Climbing in above 40 degrees heat was not an easy one, and with my camera equipment, water, clothes for the chilly night, food, etc we were carrying more then 20kg each. This climb was the most memorable part of my trip and a huge sense of achievement when we made it up and down in two days (most people do it in four).

Taking the photo I had to hi-jack our truck from Kobus, since he was busy packing up the camp and I knew I only had minutes to grab the shot that I wanted. The sun was coming up from behind and the shot changed every 30 sec. I found the spot where I could have the tree in the foreground to the right, and waited until the main part of the tree was lit by the sun, but part of the trunk was still in shade. 2 minutes later and the sun was too strong. But the moment was captured, and I thought it was a suitable photo to remember one of many good memories I have from Namibia, the land god made in anger, a very suitable name indeed!