Recce

Yesterday, I met up with seven other seasoned ultra runners for a recce along the first segment of Halland Ultra Beach. A mere kilometre from Götaplatsen, I found myself at what was once the endpoint of an aerial tramway leading up to a faux lighthouse built for the 1923 jubilee exhibition in Gothenburg. With both the tramway and the lighthouse gone, only an abandoned concrete structure partly overtaken by vegetation remained, reminding me of my 2016 visit to Chernobyl. 

From there, we crossed Guldheden and continued into Änggårdsbergen which I have long been wanting to explore. Running on fairly technical trails, we eventually made it down to Mölndal and Sisjön which was glimmering as a morning shower gave way to sunshine.

Thanks to my trusted Hoka Speedgoat 5, I felt confident on the slippery trails, and happy to be out on my first longer run in almost two months. Talking to some of the others who had done the full 320-kilometre version of Halland Ultra Beach, I felt immensely humbled. Whereas most of the people around me keep questioning the wisdom of ultra running, here I could feel like a relatively junior and “normal” runner.

Approaching Särö, we met a group of stunning white horses which again reminded me of the forests of Chernobyl. Though my mother-in-law has mentioned Särö several times, I was still surprised by how beautiful the coastline was once we made a final loop around Västerskog. All in all, a fantastic run, and I look forward to joining the HUB people for another recce in the future.