40 seconds

Taking the bus at 5.40 am, it was finally time for my great adventure. Starting in Ottenby, the first 25 kilometres were incredible with the Baltic on my right and a steady breeze but, once I got to Skärlöv, the real test began as I had to cross the World Heritage landscape with absolutely no shadow and the temperature rising. As a mirage, I finally made it across to the church in Kastlösa where I could refill my water bottles and drink. However, by then I had already become dehydrated so I suffered from headache for most of the remaining run despite filling up with water on all publicly available taps that I could find (as per the FKT-rules, I was not allow to purchase anything or ask other people along the route for water).

Much like I had expected, the psychological dimension was the hardest as my Salomon S/Lab Ultra 2 shoes gave me absolutely no problem whatsoever throughout the run. Several times I was close to giving up. As I got closer to Färjestaden, I figured that problems with the signage had led to quite a few detours and that my window to beat the previous FKT was quickly closing. For the last kilometres I ran with maximum effort, with my heart rate climbing up to 180 which felt not so good. In the end, I reached the finishing line at Träffpunkt Öland with 40 seconds to spare and a total time of 9 hours, 57 minutes and 55 second. My average pace was 7:01 min/km compared to the previous record holder who had been pacing 7:11 min/km. I have now submitted my claim to the FKT website and I guess I will hear back in a couple of days if it is accepted. Quite funny, you run 85+ km and it all comes down to less than a minute.

Overall, I am super happy about the day even if it entailed some suffering. While I had SPF 30 on my head and neck, I completely forgot to put it on my legs so they are quite badly burnt. Otherwise, I have learnt again what I already knew, that hydration is key.