My Hardest Marathon So FarBy Jlubkoll
Usually at the beginning of December the running season is over, the big autumn marathons passed and training is being cut down a little to refresh for the next year.
I wanted it a little different this year.
Once a year - at the first weekend in December - a marathon of up to 400 participants is being run in Sondershausen, Germany in an old salt mine. This was the 10th edition of the run and mid of the year I decided to sign up for it, that has to be done early as the spaces book out completly. The mine is between 500-1100m below the surface of the earth. The run takes place around the 700m level.
The depth of 700m adds certain "features" to the run. Being in a salt mine makes this very very dry (less than 30% humidity, always, everywhere) and being so far below the ground makes it pretty warm (23-30 degC, depending on the position in the mine and the "weather" there. It is also - except a little bit of lighting installed at some places - very dark, so you better bring your own light.
The distance of 42.2km ist being reached by running eight installments of a 5.3k track that given the layout of the mine adds a positive height difference of 110m per round (and of course the same down"hill"). The environmental conditions as well as the height difference on very different surfaces (either stone, hard salt, loose salt, steel or "other") makes this whole thing a little bit more challenging. When signing up they warn that one should be very well trained. Well, I felt trained enough even when we do not have any hill in Berlin that is 110m high.
The race is started at 10 am and since i needed to pick up the Bib before as well as take the elevator unterground I got into Sondershausen at 0800 in the morning. Parked the car and went to the pickup.
Once I had my number I queued in the line for the elevator. The elevator is a big metal monster with two curtains on each exit and takes around 4 minutes to reach the 700m main level. It holds up to 12 runners at the same time. In order to bring 400 people + spectators down there it takes a while and so I had to wait like half an hour before it was my turn to go down. Goodbye little bit of sunlight for the remainder of the day.
(Elevator)
On the main level it felt a lot like a usual race, lots of people, supply stands, port a potties as well as a bar and a chapel as well as a little snack point (They do perform underground weddings from time to time, not sure who would want that for a wedding).
After a visit to the toilet and my change from winter cloth to the shortest running cloth I have (it was 3 degC on the surface) I did even put on shoes, racing flats - did not know what to expect surface wise so full barefoot was not an option. I do not do well in VFF on larger distances with my feet otherwise that would have been a choice. The biggest difference for this race was that a helmet was mandatory and on the helmet I did put a headlight. Didn't want to live in the dark. And yes, I did practice a run with the helmet before going onto marathon distance, I'd strongly advise that for everyone. Get a comfortable one, it is going to be your friend for a couple hours. I had my foot pod in order to measure speed and distance. GPS is not an option down there ...
Everybody around was getting ready, usual pre-race performance - except all those helmets and lamps, little flickering lights here and there. The crowd of 400 people wasn't that large but the room - or should I say cave - wasn't either. After the usual countdown and music we went off, around a corner - finding the first supply station, good to know where it is - into the tunnels. And with the beginning of the tunnels we went uphill, not too bad. Very crowded, take it easy in mind - around next corner, more uphill, steeper. Less than 800m after the start it really got uphill, fallback to walking. Next to us in the tunnels where old machines covered in salt crust. Abandoned when production in the mine was stopped 20 years ago. And since there is no humidity there is no rust. Waiting another million years they'd propably look exactly the same.
After the climb - the last 100m felt like climbing the path shifted into a long curved downward slope. Yes, running downhill is something I can do very good - as we barefooters really know how to do that. I passed lots of people, had enormous fun but already felt that due to the very uneaven and dark surface I sometimes stepped into the void meaning a harder landing which went right into the legs and hips. After the downhill and a couple curves another not so bad uphill track began, even, downhill, curve. Supply station. Ouch, this were only 2.5k so far and I definetly felt my legs. I usually do not grab water on 2.5k distance in a marathon but I already felt thirsty, so first cup went in.
Even course, curve, downhill, curve, downhill, long straight, uphill, curve. Weather machines. Those blow air that is sucked in from the surface through the tunnels. And as sometimes trucks drive by there is salt-snow in the air there, at least it looks like that. Oh yes, I better get used to that salty taste.
Hey, a photographer, downhill, curve, uphill. Starting area, 5.3k done. 1st round of 8. 31.x minutes. Okay, another 7 times. That is going to be interesting.
Ahh, there is that supply station. Water, I am totally dry already. Wait, suppy station means uphill afterwards...
From round to round it got harder, at the next supply station on the 2nd round I started drinking two cups of water each time. Two cups every 2.5k. On the fourth round my legs already felt worse than they did after Berlin Marathon in September. Only difference was that I had another half to go this time. I'd bravely eaten my marshmallow-like energy bars every 5k after km 10, had a little bit of banana (they had a couple varieties of fruit, water, tea, coke, dried fruit, even chocolate bare I think) on the supply stations. On the fifth round I really started to deteriorate, the upper legs hurt from the uphill as well as the uneven surface smoothing and the lower leg muscles started to cramp. I had a salt tablet (In a salt mine, funny... - in total I had three of them) which eased the cramping after a couple of minutes. The walking uph
ill got longer, back to running pace started to get delayed more and more on each occasion. Every moment the cramps started to hit, I'd fall back into walking in order to not let them happen. Once I felt better, into slow and very carefull running - jogging would be the better word for the pace I had.
Psychologically I got harder too, you can actually quit the race after the half or 2/3 of it and get counted for that. But that is not what I was there for. However that got more and more appealiing. There are cutoff times, you have to have the half marathon in 2:40 and the 3/4 in 4:10. I was at around 2:16 for the half (I run 1:38 on streets for a half). I did 3:41 for 3/4 (I do 3:47 for a full).
I fought with myself on that 5th round in endless inner debates. I had pain on my left heel, I had numerous amounts of salt-stones in my shoes (since I do generally not wear socks that does not make it easier). The cramps prohibited the idea of even taking the shoe off since I would not have been able to bend down or get up the leg.
Finally I did get through that 5th round and there was the decision to finish this one, whatever happens. Counting down three more rounds will take a while as I'd have to walk a good part of them but I'll get it done.
The last two rounds were mostly walking, although on the steep hill I was not sure that I'll not just fall backward on it. It was smooth salt sand. Unable to really walk on, from what I've read it has 18% gradient, which is pretty evil.
Finally, with the worst time I've ever had in a marathonI finished with 5:25. And no,I was not the last to finish, although I felt like it. From the 398 starters (440 registered), I finished as 220th. 50 in my age category (>80 registered). Approx 80 people were either taken out of the race or took the easy exit at half or 3/4th.
My Pace dilemma:
The fastest finished in approx 3:03. That is amazing, what an animal...
If you really want to know where the limit is, that is a race for you. 42km is not that much on a street. It is a lot different in a tunnel system below the earth that has ups and downs.
Been there, done that. Would do it again, don't have to though.
This is the race report I've been waiting for!!! (I know it's been here for a month now, but I'm just finally getting back into the swing of things--and back online--after an extended Christmas vacation. 
