Reality check

Four days later and my race on Gran Canaria already feels like a distant dream. Thrown back into a massive teaching load with so many loose threads to tie up in the coming weeks, I have struggled to even post a photo of my breakfast. 

At least the race just published this rather cool picture of me out on the course. With my legs slowly recovering, I hope to be back to running again tomorrow.

Between flights

For the return trip, I was thrilled to discover that SAS was launching a new route from Seville to Arlanda, with tickets for the inaugural flight on 24 February (which happens to be today) costing only 500 SEK. Combined with an early Ryanair connection from Las Palmas, this not only meant significant savings but also half a day to wander through the Andalusian capital beneath its endless orange trees.

After dropping off our bags via the Bounce app at a café, Petra and I settled in for a very Spanish lunch at a neighbourhood bar before visiting the cathedral and some of Seville’s remarkable gardens. With temperatures hovering around 18 degrees in the afternoon sun, this time of year always makes me question – if only briefly – the wisdom of living in Sweden.

Still, after both Portugal and now the Canaries, I feel I have had more than my fair share of winter light and am ready to face the coming week of West Coast rain. And besides, few things feel as good as having a new medal and being completely beaten up after a true trail adventure.

Transgrancanaria Marathon

At last, Friday morning arrived, and it was time for Petra and me to take the bus up to Tejeda for the start of the Transgrancanaria Marathon. With fresh legs and still energized by the raw Atlantic freedom of the day before at the Dunas de Maspalomas, the bus ride up to 1,500 metres along winding mountain roads felt almost as exhilarating as the race itself – particularly when we had to squeeze past a couple of minor rental car mishaps. But eventually, we found ourselves standing at the starting line.

After a few kilometres on asphalt, the real work began: a fierce climb towards Roque Nublo. As in previous races, uphill running is my strength, and I began overtaking runner after runner on the steep trail. Reaching the top, I was rewarded with breathtaking views across the Atlantic to Mount Teide, rising 3,715 metres above neighbouring Tenerife.

From Roque Nublo, the course turned decisively downhill – nearly 3,000 metres of descent in total, much of it on technical terrain. If climbing is my forte, descending has never been. I struggled to match the pace of runners who seemed either more agile or simply less risk-averse. Determined not to roll my ankle again, I began to lose ground, and by the second checkpoint in Tunte I had slipped into the middle of the pack.

By then it was around 1 p.m., and the sun was taking its toll. For the first time in a race – and very much against the “Rasmus Rules” – I stopped briefly in the shade, feeling slightly dizzy and needing a moment to reset.

Approaching the third checkpoint in Ayagaures, I was still about an hour ahead of the cut-off and slowly regaining strength. With most of the climbing behind me, I had imagined a runnable final 16 kilometres down to the finish in Parque del Sur. But once again, the technical nature of the trails made sustained running nearly impossible.

In the end, I crossed the line 693rd out of 1,200 starters, with a chip time of 8 hours and 23 minutes. Not my best performance, but certainly not my worst. And whatever the placing, I will always carry with me the memory of that island – its volcanic ridges, its blinding sun, and the long descent toward the sea with its memories from the day before.

3x Las Palmas

Plane and simple

After a Tesla ride through the heavy morning rain, I am now having breakfast in the SAS Pop-up Lounge at Landvetter Airport. With my luggage checked in all the way to Las Palmas, I have almost 2,500 miles of flying ahead of me today. Having finished a first complete draft of my application to the Swedish Research Council, I will spend the time in the air preparing my classes for next week when I will talk about academic honesty in relation to generative AI among other topics.

Though I have yet to fully recover from my cold, there are still 48+ hours left until the gun goes off in the mountains of Gran Canaria. In retrospect, I am nevertheless very happy that reason prevailed that day in July when I first registered for the race, in the sense that I opted for the 46k rather than the 128k edition of the race. After Denmark, I also feel much less stress about proving myself and, as such, I am really looking forward to this great trail adventure.

Those you named

Sadly, Alexei Navalny has died in his Siberian prison colony, further dimming the hopes of regime change in Russia. In the global media coverage, a photo taken at the 2019 Duma elections of him walking, seemingly healthy, with his family stuck with me. One year before, Anna and I had been to St Petersburg and, tense as those days seemed at the time, it is difficult to grasp how much the world has changed since. For all his possible shortcomings, Navalny was a true leader figure, and it is telling that Putin never dared to say his name, instead referring to him in convoluted ways like “those you named”.

Here in Gothenburg, I woke up with a really sore throat so instead of a planned expedition to Hönö, I will stay at home marking exams.

Sintra

After breakfast in the TAP lounge, we are now aboard TP752 to Copenhagen as our four days in Portugal are coming to end. Yesterday morning, we once again rented a car, this time a Volkswagen Taigo, which we used to drive up to the Medieval city of Tomar and its 16th century Knights Templar castle which was delightful in the rain with all the orange trees and green courtyards. 

From Tomar, we then drove back to Sintra for a visit to Quinta da Regaleira which the boys had been talking about ever since watching “The Last Will of the Geographer” some five years ago. 

Walking down the “Initiation well” or inverted tower of sorts, we were once again grateful for having chosen to go here in February rather than in summer as we got to have the place more or less for ourselves. Though much of its grand architecture is actually quite modern, Sintra is still such a lovely place and perfect to explore on foot rather than behind the wheel. On Monday, we had failed miserably at finding a parking spot so, when returning yesterday, we had learnt our lesson and chose to park a bit away from the main attractions and walk around town. Now, I really should stop writing blog posts and return to my grant application but, already on Wednesday, another adventure awaits.

Altano

Today I got to do two runs, first 8 km alone at dawn along the Tejo and then an additional 6 km with Anna and William around Parque Florestal de Monsanto. Still, I think I just have to accept that I will fall a bit behind with the running this week, at least I am making it up with a lots of walking as we have been busy exploring the Jardim Botânico Tropical as well as the Torre de Belém.

In the afternoon, I took the boys to the newly opened “Quake” museum. Although pricey, I cannot recommend it enough as it was a truly fantastic experience, also in terms of English language exposure. We also got to eat more than one pastel de nata before wrapping up the evening over a glass of the appropriate named “Altano” on the balcony.

Eléctrico 28

Waking up in Lisbon, we started the day with returning the rental car to the airport and then taking the classic yellow tram number 28 back to Campo de Ourique. The last time Anna and I did the same crazy steep ride was when she was pregnant with Eddie twelve years ago. If there is one thing that we will take with us from this trip, then it is this feeling of how big the boys have become. 

After a highly Monoclesque brunch at Copenhagen Coffee Lab, William was eager to check out the forest trails near our Airbnb apartment for five invigorating kilometres.

Guincho

A bit like in California where I used to drive down to Half Moon Bay and San Gregorio State Beach after spending all those hours in the air, we picked up a Renault Mégane and followed the A5 to Cascais and then Praia do Guincho for some beach time. Walking barefoot on the beach, the kids were simply stunned and overjoyed by the sudden change of scenery, considering that we had just spent the night at Scandic Triangeln. 

Feeling like summer, we then went up to Sintra before returning to our lovely Airbnb in Ajuda which will be our home for the coming four days.

Back on the road

Four weeks after Ringkøbing

Today, four weeks have passed since I successfully completed the Ringkøbing Fjord 100k ultra marathon. While I have been able to run 10 km per day on average, it has mostly been on heavy legs and sometimes with an elevated heart rate, making me think that maybe I have not given my body enough time to recover after the immense effort. On Tuesday, even the rowing felt tough.

As such, I have decided to take the weekend off to recover, especially as I might have a cold coming on, and instead focus on writing my grant application to the Swedish Research Council. Tomorrow morning at 10.24 the train leaves for Malmö where we hope to check out the submarine U3 at the technical museum before flying to Lisbon at 6 am on Monday morning.

Time for take-off

After a week that I thought would never end, it is finally Friday night and, in a few days’ time, all of the family will be on its way to Portugal. 

When going grocery shopping earlier today, I saw the pink pages of The Escapist screaming to me across ICA Focus. Having stayed away for half a year from the Monocle universe, it felt like a sensible investment. So, now I have one more thing to pack.

New home

As for more great news, tonight Anna and I finally signed the contract for a new permanent home here in Gothenburg. Moving less than a kilometre from our current apartment, we will now have a garden and be even closer to the trails in Skatås. Pictures will follow once we have moved in.

Smarter than

At last, we can officially announce that the TV production that Eddie has been taking part in over the last few months is “Smartare än en femteklassare” and that the first program with his “class” will be broadcast on Thursday the 15th of February when we are in Portugal. The whole journey from the first casting to the last day in the studio has been incredible for him and he has found so many new friends.

Windy

The last week has been exceptionally windy in Scandinavia, with sustained winds of 52 m/s in Stekenjokk setting a new all-time record for Sweden. Even here in Gothenburg, it has been pretty windy (as can be seen above) but nothing too crazy. 

Unlike in Florida where severe thunderstorms are keeping the Swedish astronaut Marcus Wandt in space for a few days longer, the sky cleared up this afternoon as I went for a run around the Delsjön area. With more wintry conditions around the corner, it feels fantastic to know that I will be running up the hills of Parque Florestal de Monsanto in little more than a week from today.