Ringkøbing Fjord 100k

You know what they say, fourth time lucky. After failing twice at Fjällmaraton and once at Tjörnarparen, it was finally my time to run 100 kilometres. With Madeleine setting off with the goal of running 5:45 min/km on all splits, I decided to tag along, completing the first marathon in 4 hours and 8 minutes. With most of the course being on gravel bike paths, I felt strong and fully recovered after a week with almost no running. Somewhere around 46 kilometres into the race, I started falling behind Madeleine, accepting that now it was just me and those remaining 54 kilometres.

For the most part, the weather stayed dry but there were a fair bit of hail and rain during the day. But most of all, the wind was constantly blowing from the northwest, gusting up to 20 m/s, and making the air all salty and sandy (more on that later). Gradually, slowing down, I was feeling colder and colder as the day progressed, and starting to fear that I would again experience hypothermia like at Tjörnarparen. Some warming tomato soup at the Lyngvig Lighthouse briefly restored my hopes of finishing but it was first when I was given a spare jacket at the 95-kilometre checkpoint that I could truly believe that I would be able to complete the race.

Once back in Ringkøbing, the course took an extra two kilometre path around the harbour, again facing strong winds but 14 hours and 26 minutes after starting, I made it across the finishing line. Having set a new 50k PR of 5 hours and 7 minutes, I had then spent more than nine hours doing the other 50k. Finishing last but still 34 minutes ahead of the race cut-off, I could not be any happier about finally being able to put a 100k behind me. And true to form, Madeleine of course soldiered on, finishing first among the women in just above 11 hours.

However, as expected, I slept miserably after the race, not only do my legs ache but I also managed to get a grain of sand under my left eyelid, which, if it does not go away, I might have to seek help with once I get to Sweden. Still, it is so worth it and, even if I right now do not want to think about any future races, this has definitely been a confidence booster.