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First Ultra Run – Done!

Kristi Rohtsalu, 13 June 2017

Maybe I should say: “First Ultra Walk – Done!”

Truth to be told, I actually walked most of the time which (to my surprise) resulted in third place

among women. Anyways, here is the story.

…

10-11 June 2017 was The Weekend of this year’s Laulasmaa Ultra, the longest distance running

and walking event held in Estonia.

How I came to it?

I don’t consider myself as an athlete or anything; I simply like walking and Sunday jogging.

My dad, who has been practicing ultra-running as a hobby for quite a while, talked me and my

brother Martin to participate:

“There needs to be three participants to form a team. We can get a family team! You know what

is good about ultra-running: you don’t need to run. It’s not a contest of speed; it’s a contest of

endurance, calculation and willpower. Think how many kilometres you can pass by just walking?

If you say ‘yes’ by April, you can participate in choosing the team name. You’d get 10 euros

discount…”

That was back in February. I took a while for reconsideration. At some point, I found myself

calculating in my head something like:

“One half marathon slight jogging, three laps walking, one lap somehow... Pretty sure, I could

make 100 km… It would be a new record for me (in terms of the longest distance on foot non-

stop). 125 km would be a great result… I can ‘sacrifice’ that one weekend, after all – and a week

after that for recovery.”

I replied: “The more I think about it, the more I like the idea of trying out. So, yes.”

The team name became FK 400+, an abbreviated combination of each one’s name suggestions:

a) ‘Kulgurid’ (“Sounds like “Kolm vanderselli vallatut,” I joked. “Yes, but the carriage you may

leave home,” my dad promised a bit easier walk.),

b) ‘Fantastiline 3+’ (‘3’ referring to the number of team members, and ‘+’ leaving an option for

someone else to join us later, just for the case),

c) ‘400+’ (Clearly, Martin was already counting kilometres.).

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Briefly about the race

The race takes place every year in Laulasmaa, a summertime hot-spot located just 30 km west

of the Estonian capital city, Tallinn.

Laulasmaa Ultra 2017: The track

The track is opened for a total of 32 hours. There is possibility to start and finish anytime during

this timeframe.

Maximum length of the track is 10 x 21,1 km laps aka 5 full length marathons aka 211 km.

Minimum distance is one 21,1 km lap. Counted are all full laps and possible 3 consolation laps

3,0 km each.

Winner is the one who runs (and/or walks) the longest distance within the given time frame, that

is within 32 hours. If two or more runners pass equal distance, the fastest wins.

Teams consisting of 3-6 participants generate a team result from the 3 best results. Teams are

divided in three categories: women's, men's and mixed. Mixed team result is the sum of three

best results where at least one is of opposite sex. All team members participate in the individual

line up as well.

More info can be found here: http://www.estonian-ultrarunners.com/?language=en

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Training

I did not do any special training. Nothing at all. Only what I had done with or without the prospect

of an ultra anyways, that is jogging 10-15 km and sometimes slightly more on Saturdays and

Sundays, and climbing up the stairs to the office on 19th floor.

On May 22, my dad sent out a reminder: three weeks remaining to Laulasmaa Ultra! It’s time to

start taking it slowly: on trainings 7 min/km maximum. From June 5th onwards forget running

altogether. Then he added a side remark that he himself is going to err a bit on this, for a weekly

foot orienteering.

I replaced my weekend runs with the weekend walks at once after having received the note, while

effectively turning out as the only one who actually followed the rules 😊. It paid off.

Preparations: My checklist

• Buying new running shoes that would suit for the occasion, and taking them into regular use

just to make sure that they are comfortable enough.

• Buying three pairs of running socks, two pairs for the change on race.

• Buying new batteries to the headlamp; the nights are short in summer, but one would still

need the lamp for a couple of hours.

• Buying a raincoat for the case it starts raining.

• Buying a pack of plasters (that I, in fact, only needed after finishing).

• Buying glucose troches as a moral support (in fact, I did not use them).

• Buying two bags of M&M’s, 90 grams each (for me, this chocolate in sugar & colour works

incredibly well during long walks).

• Consuming two small tubes of some sort of food supplement ‘Magnesium +B6’, maybe good

for preventing muscle stiffness.

• Ensuring one free day from work before and a couple of free days after the run, for mental

preparation before and for recovery (and for writing this article) after.

• Taking good mood with me.

“Leave speed home,” was one of the dad’s last instructions before the start.

“No problem,” I thought. “As if I had any to take!”

Getting started

Martin picked me up on Saturday morning at 8:45. The start in Laulasmaa was scheduled to

10:00. It was a beautiful, practically windless sunny day; the temperature was about +19 degrees.

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“I feel like an office rat who just came to think ‘let’s run an

ultra’,” I noted during the drive.

“Indeed, there is little feeling of a competition,” Martin

replied. “Go to the race whenever you want!”

At that point, I did not have any specific plans or strategy

whatsoever in mind, only vague goals of 100 km being ok

result, 125 km being fairly good result and 150 km being

aggressive, theoretically possible achievement.

In the start, we were given numbers, chips (yes, every

participant was microchipped) and dedicated T-shirts.

“After the run, you can mark your distance on the back,”

came instruction from the organizers about the later.

As it was warm, I changed my own old black T-shirt to the

new fluorescent yellow. My bag found a place in a green tent meant for the runners to leave their

stuff.

We took some pictures before the start, when

still looking fresh and full of energy. Ready to

start. There was no need to warm up. The race

was long enough and slow enough for this.

“Three minutes left to start,” invited the

announcement everyone to gather.

No ‘big bang’ for the start, no scrambling in the

start. Just about 60 runners and fairly modest

pace to start with.

The first two laps, that is: the first marathon

The first marathon was pretty easy. I decidedly walked all of the ascents (the sum of accents per

one 21.1 km lap was ca. 220 meters), while doing some really slow running in between.

The runway was varied, meandering among others along the scenic park trails of Keila-Joa,

passing the beautiful waterfall of Keila-Joa and a recently renovated historic castle. Interesting for

the first couple of times to pass.

I just got my number

My team mates ready to start

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There were ‘Battery tents’ that is support

points with the Battery (you know, that energy

drink) logos in every 3-4 km. Besides food

and drink, entertaining chats, moral support

and encouragement were in offering.

“What do you think when you run?”

That’s the question what I was wondering

before: “What are people thinking during this

32 hours? Aren’t they running out of

thoughts?”

Actually, the answer turned out pretty simple: the brain starts rationalising. It ‘throws out’ all the

unnecessary for the time being and given the task at hand. Sort of:

“X laps to pass altogether, one lap passed X-1 left.

Y km passed out of this lap, 21.1 km – Y to pass. Then it’s the ‘pit stop’. I have to take my head

lamp after the third lap. For the next lap, I need my M&M’s.

Just Z km left to the next support point. What to choose for drinking this time? Coca-Cola is quick

energy… No, this time I want something salty. Värska?

Which one to choose for the warm food this time: soup or rice?

My energy is limited, but I still have plenty of time. Should I sleep meanwhile? If yes then how

long? What if I cannot get up at all after sleeping?”

Calculations like that were repeating over and over again. While I did not have any specific plans

at the outset, I formulated them gradually on the way.

There were the other runners to meet and greet. As there was a number of turning points on the

trail, one met the others rather often. Everyone seemed to encourage each other – or maybe it

only seemed to me like that as I did not take the event as a competition but rather as just going

as long as I possibly can.

Small chats and jokes with the volunteers working in the support points, a la:

“Still running?”

“Yes, of course. No, actually I’m sleeping here in the bush.”

“Haha, and looking at the watch: now it’s time to go for the snack.”

“Yep 😉”

“Good luck!”

And off you went.

(In reality, ‘shortcuts’ were not possible as every runner was tracked and registered in each

support point.)

Waterfall of Keila-Joa which I saw 14 times

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I had equipped myself with the music, an audio book and a list of topics to think about. In reality,

out of the 30+ hours that I spent on the track, I spent less than an hour on listening the audio

book. Absolutely no need for the music and yeah, nothing came out of more ‘productive’ thinking

concerning more distant matters.

Low-points

I don’t recall any particular moment that I’d label as low-point; there were simply easier and more

challenging periods.

After the second lap, I started walking even if the feeling was good enough to continue jogging

for some time. Still, I did not want to become too tired too quickly. My plan was to simply walk till

the end.

The third lap turned out one of the most difficult too. First, by the time I had got a bit too much sun

at once (of course, I had forgotten the sun cream). Secondly, it may have been the point when

‘easy energy’ was spent and the body switched from burning carbons to burning fat, i.e. spending

stored energy which is more complicated to access. I don’t know; I’m not an expert on this. Thirdly,

it was challenging from pure thinking point of view; imagine: you have been on the trail 6+ hours

already (which feels like an eternity) and the outlook is 20+ more hours like this.

The second challenging point was going to the fifth lap. It was between 00:30 and 01:00 in the

night. The day had been warm, but the night was cool – and those were the few dark hours. Why

didn’t I take warmer trousers for the night?

My dad passed me with a lap (that is: was ahead of me with 21.1 km) some time when I was in

the last end of my fourth lap. For a short while we walked together.

“I’m sure you can do at least 100 km,” he noted.

“I’m pretty sure too,” I replied.

“You now have to think what to do: you have plenty of time left, but limited energy,” he advised.

“Whether you continue right away or in the morning. It may be difficult to get started after a stop,

but it may pay off later.”

I took this into consideration. It turned out to be a good advice.

After finishing the fourth lap I took some food (hot chocolate and rice with chicken) and went to

the tent to have a late dinner. It was so good and warm in the tent – it would have been so easy

to just sleep till the morning. Some other people were already sleeping. But no: I just had to do at

least 100 km before sleeping, that is one big circle more. Just to be sure about making this 100

km.

The lap was difficult to start with, but gradually it went easier and lighter too. Somewhere where

the trail runs along the sandy beach of Türisalu I met Martin. He was now some 15 km ahead of

me and already on his sixth lap, apparently tired. He said that this lap was probably going to be

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his last one. I replied that I was going to finish my fifth lap and then sleep a couple of hours. The

prospect of warm tent was appealing enough to continue moving on a relatively decent pace,

given the circumstances.

I happily reached the tent at 4:30 in the morning and, after having eaten three small slices of

bread, fell fast asleep.

Eating and drinking

Eating is most definitely a strategic part of the long distance running and walking. In details it’s

individual, but some general principles apply. Here is my experience.

As a breakfast, I choose porridge (made with water) and bread with salted butter, spruce growths

added. (Thanks, mom, for the later. I just made it a bit saltier while knowing that I’m going to lose

salt because of sweating.) By the way, the spruce growths are a great source for vitamin C, and

they are good for taking away fatigue and nervousness; they were also provided on the trail for

the runners.

In general, the choice of foods and snacks in the support points seemed appropriate for the

occasion; new items were added to the menu as time passed.

At first, water melons, bananas, muesli bars, cucumbers (both fresh and pickled) and tomatoes

did pretty well. In the second lap, I started to miss bread or white bread – and voila, there it was

with cheese. In fact, seed bread tasted good all the time, later with some salt added. White bread

with jam was also excellent. In limited extent, I also chose chips, olives, honey, raisings and other

stuff I wasn’t so sure about.

After the second lap, there was warm food ready: one could choose between meatball soup,

mashed potatoes and there was one more choice which I don’t recall. I had made that mistake of

eating a bit too much cheese and muesli in the previous lap, and so left the warm food after the

third lap. It may have been one reason why the third lap felt more difficult than the others – but

maybe not. After the third lap, I did not miss any chance to get warm food, but only took half a

serve at a time (which, in fact, was a really small portion).

As for drinking, then pure water is the best when one is thirsty. CocaCola was one of the drinks

that I chose most often; the other favourite one was Värska, a salty tasting natural mineral water.

I also tried out sports drinks, kvass and juices. Cocoa was absolutely excellent in the night.

How many meals did I have during this 30+ hours? Cannot really say; it was more like continues

eating. If it wasn’t a support point, it was a hard candy or M&M’s.

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Last two half marathons + a small lap

“Pēteris, Pēteris, wake up! Wake up! Go-go-go!” someone came to wake up fellow Latvian runner.

Of course, I was awaked too. I looked at the watch: it was 6:15 AM.

“More sleep,” I heard Pēteris replying but slowly starting moving.

As I did not get any more sleep, I got going too.

It was gradually getting warmer.

“Now it’s time to become a tourist,” I though and

took my smart phone for a few pics on the trail.

I heard people in the support point applauding

when making the first steps on my sixth lap.

In fact, it wasn’t all that difficult – and this

probably showed up on my face. Virtually in

each and every support point that I passed, I

was encouraged (even strongly so) to do one

more lap. With six laps, I was passing my ‘great

result’ (125 km) benchmark; I was starting to

feel a bit lazy. With a couple of ‘consolation

laps’ (about 3 km each) I would also have won Martin (who apparently had not fully recovered

from his Xdream a week before).

“Still, come to the next lap,” a fellow runner invited.

“My fans want it 😊” I found a motivation to get over the laziness.

So, it was decided. After a late breakfast, I was on my way again, this time literally counting down

kilometres. Just 20 more left, 19, 18, 17…

“But what if I do one small lap in addition? It would be 150 km, a nice number…” I almost heard

a little voice in my head. “I could do it…”

If I was suggested the same thing in the next support point, it was decided.

When I was almost finished with the seventh lap, it started raining. Now I finally had the chance

to use my rain coat.

“Lucky me that not before!” I congratulated myself for the good luck.

Some ascents on the trail would have been really difficult with rain.

Results

I finished at 16:28, nearly 30 and half hours after the start. I was this satisfied with the result that

I even did not feel tired. It was only a bit cold despite of the sun which had come out again.

Vääna-Jõesuu beach and U-turn

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“You don’t go away!” someone stopped me when I was looking around for my dad to go home.

“You have something to do on the podium. Did you know that?”

“No,” I must have sounded pretty stupid.

This came as a complete surprise to me; I had not been following the interim results whilst

competing with myself and with no one else.

At first, I did not get if I had something to do on the podium on my own or we as a team had; I did

not ask either – will see. It turned out that both:

• I became to the third place among the women, and

• We as a team won the first place among the mixed teams.

Our final results:

• Jaak Rohtsalu: Distance: 168.8 km; Time: 26:45:16.4; Average speed: 09:30 min/km - 5.25

km/h;

• Kristi Rohtsalu: Distance: 150.7; Time: 30:28:21.4; Average speed: 12:07 min/km - 4.12 km/h;

• Martin Rohtsalu: Distance: 129.6, Time: 24:19:54.6, Average speed: 11:15 min/km - 4.43

km/h;

• FK 400+ (Jaak + Kristi + Martin): Distance: 449.1 km, Time: 81:33:32.4.

All results can be found at: http://my2.raceresult.com/55567/results?lang=en#

…

You only get to understand how tired you actually are when finally allowed to relax, i.e. at home.

In fact, after some sleep and a couple of days for recovery, I was pretty ok again. Not exactly

ready to run, but without obvious walking difficulties or something like that.

Thanks for the great experience – to everyone participating and/or supporting!