And as soon as I finished running the Europa Marathon I had to do two things. Firstly hydration, and secondly food. Luckily they were both available right at the finish line.
And I can promise you that I had more than 1 of both. Refuelling, of course, is very important!
This was my pre-marathon dinner when I raced the Europa Marathon in Gorlitz. Not only was it excellent, but it certainly hit the spot. Just perfect before a long race. I ate it at a lovely restaurant called The Potato House. It was so good we had a couple of meals there.
When we last travelled to Poland, I realised that we could take a (somewhat) small detour and visit the lovely town of Gorlitz. The reason being that the Europa Marathon was in Gorlitz, and of course I grabbed the opportunity of running it.
Entering Poland
This is a somewhat unique race in that it crosses the border into Zgorzelec in Poland – just over the river, and then back to Germany – my first (quite literally) cross-country race.
Supporters – one of them gave me a mid-race beer
It was a tiny marathon; only 110 people ran it, so it was small and intimate; it was great running past the supporters because they would sit around relaxing and then burst into cheering and applause as I ran past.
It was also a beautiful route to race – a large part of the race was country roads and bicycle paths through woods and farms.
Mid-race
At the finish
I loved running this tiny marathon, and I’m somewhat amazed that it is not bigger. It was super-well organised and a lovely route. There are also a few other events (half marathon, inline skate races, unicycle marathons etc). If you have the opportunity go and run a marathon in Gorlitz.
A well-deserved brakwurst and beer at the finish
I left you on the Tatra mountains, roughly halfway between Zakopane and the Slovakia border. I was soaking wet, and running on some very water-logged trails, and having loads of fun. The flat, wide and dry touristy trails turned into waterlogged impromptu rivers, and these finally turned into firm earthy single-track trails.
While I ran through the forest, I could smell a wonderful wet and earthy decay. That wonderful smell of nature composting dead branches and leaves back into earth from which new trees will grow. It was misty weather, so everything had a slightly mystical nature. I felt like I was running in one of the many fantasy novels that I have read.
The view from the top was spectacular. I had finally run above the forest, so I could look down at the trees. I couldn’t see much besides the tops of the trees just in front of me, but it felt liberating to stand there, having run all the way to the top.
When I say “to the top”, I was only about 1/2 way to Slovakia; I had already climbed over 500m in about 7km, and that was the easy part of the trail. I very much doubt you would be able to run the second half to Slovakia. It would be a very tough hike.
Here is the route I took if you want to see it. https://www.strava.com/activities/702351830
Some quick notes on safety.
In my previous post I was telling you how good the trails in Zakopane were to start with. Well as soon as I got off the flat touristy trails it got wet…very wet…By now I was very much alone, and very much wet!
There was so much water running off the mountain that the trails turned into rivers. This is part of the trail that I ran up. Yes, this is a trail – not a river.
Two rivers joining an even bigger river.
And more of the trail. At first I tried to stick to the edges and keep my feet dry, but soon I revised that it was hopeless, so I embraced the water and ran straight through the water. My feet got soaking wet. But I was having so much fun. I hadn’t felt so alive in ages!
To be continued…
One of the things I wanted to do in Zakopane was to go running in the mountains, so I make sure to pack my basic trail running kit (hydration pack, first aid kit, space blanket, compass etc). It was pouring with rain for the entire day before my run, so I knew that the trails would be wet, but it was far more wet than I expected.
It started very civilized. The trails were wide, flat and well-maintained, and on the route I encountered groups of tourists & families going for morning walks. It reminded me of a very wet Newlands forest.
The beginning of the trail. There are loads of trails on the Tatra mountains (you can even cross the border into Slovakia if you go all the way), so I just picked a random route up beforehand and started running. By the way the trail maps are excellent, so it was easy to figure out a rough route and avoid getting lost.
Everybody was hiking in their winter clothes – jeans, thick jerseys and sturdy hiking boots. I was running in my usual running gear. A technical short and lycra shorts.
The rivers were flowing fast, and there were plenty of sturdy bridges crossing these small gorges
To be continued…
The Constant winelands
Last Sunday was one of my favorite races in Cape Town. The Grape Run is a half-marathon (21.1k) race through the vineyards of the Constantia wine farms. The scenery is spectacular, and for a total elevation of over 420m, for a half marathon it’s a pretty tough run. Note I say run and not race. While of course you can race it, this is an opportunity to enjoy the route, take a few photos, and of course stop for the mid-race wine-tasting. Yes you heard correctly. There is a 10k wine table, serving Klein Constantia wines.
While you almost never get wine on a race, this particular wine-tasting is a Grape Run tradition, it wouldn’t be quite the same without it!
Running around one of the farm dams
At least the farm dams still have water, so if we run out of water in Cape Town we can still drink Constantia wine
Mid-race fuel
Because its on the farm roads, there are almost no supporters, except for the occasional overprotective cow and calf.
My in-law’s house in Krakow is on the border of the Ojcow national forest. It is a small yet beautiful forest, full of trails, steams and wildlife. So of course I spent as much time as possible exploring the trails in the forest.
Running along the trail
One of the many rivers; I found many otter dams on this river, and lots of trees that the otters had cut down (yes the otters quite literally cut down the trees to use as dam-building material)
A most-covered tree; when you get deep in the forest it gets very earthy and wet. You can smell the earthy smell of the decomposing plants on the forest floor
I even found an old castle in the middle of the forest
Running uphill – the forest was suprisingly hilly – they were plenty of good climbs
Finally, here is the route I ran – about 14k. If you’re ever in the area I highly recommend a run through the forest.
Last weekend I went for a run in Cecelia and Newlands forests. It is such a privilege to have since amazing forests in my back garden. It had been pouring with rain for most of the day, so everything was wet and had that crisp and clean smell you get after the rain.
An old tree reflecting in a puddle.
The silver leaf trees on the jeep track. These trees literally look somebody has spray-painted the leaves with sliver paint, and they glisten with an almost mystical sparkle as you run past them.
Running up – there was plenty of running up, and of course running down on this run.
I’m convinced this trail was created for hobbits, or just for really short people. I had to bend over and just about crawl my way through the vegetation.
It was an excellent day out, and you don’t need to be a runner to enjoy these trails. There are plenty of walkers and families going for shorter strolls in both Cecelia and Newlands forests at the weekends.
Running on the beach at sunrise (pic from Energy Events)
Wednesday was the second Muizenberg Monster Beach Run – a 20k “there and back again” dash starting on Muizenberg beach. Only about 45 or so peopled entered, and I ran it in 2:01, with a very respectable position of 22nd. But it was tough running on the beach – even though most of the sand is hard, there are still soft spots, and you are always running on a slight camber.
The start line
My trail shoes were so full of sand by the end that I had to wash them with the hose-pipe afterwards. But it was amazing running on the beach as the sun slowly rose, and the sky went from almost black, to a golden yellow sunrise, and then into the day.
I will be back next year!
One of the water crossings
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