The race was approaching and I'm ready!
I 'm at my best of my potential.
I'm ready to defeat this beast of a race..... ready to go and conquer the adventure!
Than I woke up! I was NOT ready.... like at all!
The thing with the whole 2024 was that I decided to devote a huge amount of my time that I usually use for my training and races to my family. I needed the rest because I felt that I was starting to feel tired, less motivated and was even struggling mentally with those grueling events like Kullamannen is. So, after the Kullamannen 50k in 2023 and the Sätila race a week after that, I decided that I will "pause" my training and especially my racing in 2024 and do other things in life.
I was quite active on our propriety painting and creating the first steps of the garden that is slowly taking a shape of our work. It's a challenging process that takes a lot of effort and I actually adore it. Because of the fact that I just hate the gym, the workout by lifting heavy stones, digging, painting etc. was the best exercise I could get! I just love the evolution of my actions, the results that I can enjoy after a hard day of working. It's like a miracle happening in front of my eyes.
The running and my training was like an adventure, a tiny escape to relax, reflect on future projects and just feel good in nature. I was training like at 40% of my past volumes. But I was really content with it.
Still, at the end of August something started bothering both my body and my mind! I got the opportunity to run the Craft Idre 45k race and I knew that such a distance was quite OK for me to handle with such training. The idea was to enjoy the distance and that part of Sweden where I never was before. And I did just that! I went there with a colleague of mine and we had a blast! Indeed!
When I returned back home something unexpected happened.... I was reading about Kullamannen again, the online posts and I noticed how I actually missed the community, how I felt a deep emptiness in my soul because after all..... I am a part of the local running community and I do love the sport that is of course a part of my soul.
So.... I decided to apply for the 100k race and enjoy the flat distance race and have fun along the course. No expectations.... just have fun! My level of fitness was way too low to have expectations!
Anyhow, at the same time I started looking at the ultra races abroad and felt the urge to run again the UTMB race in 2025. I felt a powerful need to apply for that monster of a race once again and perform better that during my two last attempts that ended with a miserable DNF! But there was a problem.... the damn stones! I had no stones. Well, I would have some after the Kullamannen 100k BUT.... there is a HUGE BUT...... I had no 100M distance in 2024 that is a requirement for the UTMB 100 mile distance.
So, despite all odds, I managed to get the 100k distance "magically" transformed into a 100 mile one! I would be running the Kullamannen 100 mile race!
I was well aware that I had no time to get myself ready for the distance so I figured to focus on the facts:
- this is going to hurt
- this is going to be a long day out there
- I am going to powerhike a huge part of the race
- I need to get ready for a huge mental battle.
With all these fact in my mind I started to prepare myself for the battle ahead. I focused a huge part of my training on hikes and powerhike sessions. I needed to get my muscles ready for that effort due to a huge amount of hiking that I would be doing. There was no chance for me to run 160km at this stage of my training! I knew that. At the same time I was getting ready for the best nutrition plan that I could have if or when the nutrition plan would go bananas! I did a lot of mental training as well, picturing all the possible scenarios during the race getting ready for all possible workarounds in order to solve those issues that would surely come.... I was kinda ready. Yeah right.....
The day came, I worked from home the race day to 11 a.m. and an hour later I met my buddy Amer and we drove to Båstad. An easy 1.5h drive. We ate at the local fast food because everybody knows that trash food is the best ultra running energy right (please understand that I am joking with this!)!?
At 16:00 we took the bus to the start line. I was ready..... sitting there with all those runners around me, waiting to start the race, trying to relax a bit. Went to the toilet.... something was off!!!
Something was very off! I had a weird feeling of being waaay too tired! Like already!??
I decided to start the race from behind in order to assess the issue. I was shaking. Was it the chilly weather? The wind? The anticipations of the event? Was I just stressed or a bit tired?
Too many questions. I decided to start slowly, the only thing that I had in my mind was to respect my body and run at a max heart rate of 125 beats per minute. Nothing more! And boy was it slow. I consider myself a "middle of the pack" runner that can run faster or slower depending of the daily form or feeling but moving forward as one of the last runners was really something different. Actually, a few km after the start we were moving quite well, I relaxed and trued to stop thinking about the pacing, the finish time or things like that. The event had no meaning for me apart the only goal that was on the table - to finish the race, enjoy it and get the needed points.
We were moving quite well, slowly towards the Kullaberg, the natural reserve where we would run two loops that include almost the whole elevation gain of the race. The hills in this part of the race are short but steep, quite technical and slippery. The potential of falling is quite substantial and the need to keep a steady pacing and calm down the breathing is essential. My only focus during this part in the dark was to relax as good as possible, move forward and enjoy the woods that provided some kind of protection against the tough and chilly winds that challenged many runners. Many have chosen to stop and DNF (Din Not Finish) after two loops. I did not! I felt that I hat things in control as long as I kept respecting the pace and the nutrition plan that was really simple. One gel every hour or so, the energy drink from Umara during the loops and the food that I would get after the second and last loop.
The loops were done and I felt good. In control of my body and quite happy with the hours in the woods. The hilly section was done and the long flat section of approx 90k was ahead of me. I was ready. I knew there that I had to respect the fast that I was absolutely not feeling well. Something was off. I couldn't identify the issue but I noticed that my heart rate went dramatically up when I tried to run up those hills. That was one of the first decisions that I made - not to run the hills. I had to survive this....
After the final loop we got the chance to rest a bit and eat something warm and tasty. Well, I couldn't really appreciate all the exposed food because most of the food would impacted in a catastrophic way my GI. I opted for a potato soup that was good but it wasn't salty at all. Well, it was a good thing that the night was windy and quite chilly!
Anyhow, the part following that aid station in Mölle went well, I had no particular issues apart a nasty feeling in my belly that was quite swollen..... my stomach did not handle the food to well after all. There was a quite simple explanation to it, and I knew already the why! I knew also that I would struggle a lot with GI issued along the way to the finish line - if reached at all!
The thing is that because of the fact that I had very few long runs and a really limited number of races in 2024 I had no chance to practice the art of "eating while running". This consequently means that I had no proper gut- training and because of that everything could happen! I was ready for that.
In order to fight that I took extra gels and foods that might do the trick.
I was a bit wrong! Just after the Svanshall aid station where I managed to refill my bottles with some energy drinks from Nääk (I had nightmares of the taste of it for several days after the race) I started to vomit. I took just one date in my mouth and that was the beginning of a long fight to the very end of the race....
Despite the vomiting and I knew that I had to adapt to the reality that I would race the remaining 90k of the race on low energy. The first decision was to lower the pace and walk whenever I felt for a walk and run when I would start to get colder. This worked just fine and the whole way to the half of the race I still felt that the game could work just fine.
At the Råbocka Ängelholm aid station where we had our drop bag (half of the race) I just refilled the bottles, changed the upper clothing that was wet and icy. Tried to push some food into me and the idea was to get out right away....
... well, it didn't happen! I had to run to the toilet and vomit again. Everything and more! I had to clean the facility as well! I made a mess! Crap!!!
Anyhow, I started shivering.... a lot! I was literally freezing! I went into a worm tent (I didn't even know that there was one otherwise I could have changed my clothes inside it) but after a few minutes I forced myself out.....
I met a few friends there Daniel and Oscar and a few more. That was nice. Another thing that was kinda nicer was the knowledge that they are behind me. That knowledge I would have in my mind the rest of the race. I was peaceful because if something should happen I knew that they could take care of me if needed! I was in a bad place!
During the long lovely weed promenade after the Råbocka Ängelholm aid station I tried to powerwalk it. I needed to raise the body temperature. I was freezing and I noticed as well that the trails were frozen! It was damn cold! I met Mattias (Turbo) in the woods. It was quite impossible not to notice him and his unique style of power hiking that was kinda inspiring! So inspiring that I found the power to run in order to reach him. We chatted a bit.... it felt immediately good, nice, relaxing. The effort started to feel "lighter". He was faster. His technique is quite amazing indeed. We passed a few runners that were running! Impressive indeed!
Anyway, he did helped me a lot! He managed to clear the "dark clouds" in my mind and from the bridge leaving the wood section ahead I knew that I had this race inside my pocket. I just knew that! I was once again in a good place despite the low energy levels.
After a few 100 meters there I started running. The pace was the pace that I could wish during the best of my race prognosis and I knew that that situation was just temporary. I decided to use the moment in order to gain the most of it.... and I ran, enjoyed the surroundings, ate a few more gels just to be sure to keep my energy levels on point and kept rolling forward...
After 122k and the Glimminge aid station I was getting ready for the second night and the real fight to the finish line. I hoped that I could reach the station a bit earlier (ca. 30 min) in order to meet a fellow colleague that ran the 50k but I was unfortunately waaaay too slow!
After the Hovs Hallar aid station I was almost completely empty. The only thing that worked for me were the Umara energy gels while the Nääk products were just killing my mouth, throat and everything after that! Just a nasty feeling. I met many runners complaining about the product. I was certainly not alone!
I was moving slowly, I started to get sleepy as well.... I had issues with that. I would have paid for a bed! Well.... "thankfully" the vomiting was helping me against that problem! After each time when I puked I found myself awake and ready to push again. The first hill went amazingly well. I powerhiked it easily and rolled down quite well..... controlled and easy. The only goal was to avoid any kind of damage and finish the race. The second hill and the last obstacle was a copy of the first. The uphill was great and I had almost a good time climbing I passed a few runners as well. Unbelievable that I could even pass people! Well.... we were all zombies fighting our own demons!
I remember stopping for a second and the picture of the fellow runners fighting the trail conditions was epic, like soldiers coming out from a battle or something.... it was a quite "cinematic" view in my head! Well, maybe I was hallucinating or something.... who knows....
The last part of the race is the "prelude". A stretch of approx. 7km where the runners reach Båstad, pass a few meters from the finish line, and continue into the dark for the last sandy loop heading back toward the end of the race.
Hearing the cheering of the finishers, the crowd applauding the runners was a confused feeling. The need to move forward from that spot seemed unreal, unnecessary, cruel.... I just wanted to finish this!
A fellow runner in from of me fell like a stone with no control. He was mad about that. The family members tried to help but he was really desperate about the situation. I felt the need to stop, help him up and just give him the "you are good to go" energy to finish the race. What an achievement!
Those last kilometres of the race felt eternal. I decided to respect my body and to take it easily. I had no intentions to gain a few minutes by hurting myself. I was so immensely happy that I could finish the race despite all odds, with little or almost no proper training and all the issues during the race.... I made it!
The finish line was something that I will cherish for a long time!
That friendly hug by Mikael Blomqvist, a dear friend and fellow runner that knows what it means to be out there for 28hrs was unique, beautiful, emotional, sincere and beautiful! Thank you m8!!!
I just had to find my buddy Amer that finished amazingly well in 24h and reach the hotel. I needed to shower and sleep!!! The food intake was scheduled for the day after..... I just needed a proper rest!
Feel free to check my short video on YouTube as well:
Thank you for reading this! What an adventure! :)
MORE Information about the race:
» https://kullamannen.utmb.world/races/ultra-100-miles
