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Deep in the secretive Amazonas, where the boarders of Brazil, Peru and Colombia collide is a place called Leticia. Just about on Colombian territory one can effortlessly hop from one country to the other.

On my way to Brazil I stopped in Leticia for a day to experience the distinctive settings.

Click on the image above to view some pictures I took.

At the Banff Film Festival in Bogota the other week I bumped into Oswaldo who I met at the TNF race in La Calera. After raving about the exciting flicks he told me about a race close to Bogota the next weekend.

Pointless to say I decided to join Oswaldo and his friends. After some explorations round Bogota I ended up in the charming colonial town of Villa del Leyva (2,144 m). I spend the days prior to the race running the countless mountains around the place and drinking heaps of good coffee in town.

Sunday, race day, started off early as always and a good crowd of around 600 people lined up. When the organizer stepped on the microphone to announce something I got reminded that I’m still in South America. As there was a massive fire in the mountains the police, the fire-brigade and several other officials couldn’t help the race organizers. And as always a solution was found pretty fast. The half-marathon couldn’t use the initial route that would have required to close off some vital crossroads. The organization decided to run all races (6k, 10k and the half) out of competition on the same loop.

I was signed up for the half-marathon but then decided to run the 10k instead. The route was impressive and pretty harsh. I didn’t check the course profile and was amazed by the climbing that waited for me. The course was 50% on road and the other half on some rocky back-roads. Great running.

I didn’t wear a watch. Once I crossed the finish line I waited for the guy behind me. His Garmin GPS thingy told him that he just dipped under 38 minutes on an exact 10k course. So I guess I ran pretty solid 37 minutes time. Pretty happy with that considering the height, the tough course and windy conditions. I stopped at the finish, had a chat and a drink. Once Cesar passed the finish-line to go out for his 2nd loop I decided to join him for his half-marathon. The pacing payed off as he ran the second half significantly faster.

Even if you fall on your face, you’re still moving forward.
Victor Kiam

It took me a bit longer to create this post. Cause for that was that I was not able to write. With a taped-up left ring-finger it’s not that easygoing to use a keyboard. At around 45k into Sundays TNF 50k in Colombia I fell. Pretty bad crash on a downhill. A visit to the hospital in Bogota the next day brought the good news that no finger is destroyed. Only a distress makes the finger look pretty evil and has me to sport some kind of fixation. Not too bad.

The race itself went fine. Despite having huge problems with the altitude as I just arrived a day prior in Bogota (2,625 m) I finished solid and felt reasonably okay during the race. At this stage I shouldn’t have any problems with the elevation but I’m still struggling. I have been to lot of high-up places around the world and I never fully adapt. A lot is down to talent I guess. I continue to ignore it as well as I can.

This time the course was perfectly marked and a striking but hard-hitting route. I had all Altitude sickness symptoms’ you can imagine. A horrible headache, sleep problems and overall weakness factored up on the exciting course throughout the La Calera (Route was hovering between 2.746 m and 3.120 m), just 45 minutes up the mountain from Colombia’s capital Bogota.

I started off defensively and could grind my way further up the longer the race went. I had to puke twice and beside the usual fatigue I had to fight the headache that did not stop. The course made up for all that pain. Very diverse and exciting terrain, I loved it. Beautiful single trails combined with steep uphill’s as well as some pretty nice runnable sections make this race a true adventure and the 50 kilometers felt very short.

Another great day in the mountains was finished up with numerous friendly people on the streets of La Calera. Thanks again for the welcoming and friendly atmosphere Colombia!

Gear used:
Shoes: Brooks PureGrit
Shirt: Brooks ID Elite Singlet
Short: Brooks Speed Short
Armwarmers: Cutted 1 EUR Kneesocks
Handheld: Ultraspire Isometric Pocket / Ultraspire Isometric Race

Some Trail Pictures

SPANISH VERSION
PORTUGES VERSION

My 80 Liter moveable household and myself headed on for La Mojarra, a paradise for rock climbing and photography!

When you feel kind of chubby and sluggish amongst all the other contenders you know that this must be some severe footrace clash. Examining all the other joggers while warming up for the “Campeonato Suramerica de Carrera de Montana” I had more than a notion that this would be some pretty serious get-together. I was probably the only one that wasn’t racing in a national vest. Runners from Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela, Ecuador and the host nation Colombia beside several other countries looked like they meant business. When you show up at a mountain race and nobody wears mountain running shoes you finally know that this is going to be wild!

The La Mojarra canyon in Colombia’s “Parque Nacional de Chicamocha” was the perfect playground to host a championship race like this (…and the World Championship course in 2013!). Just by looking at the raw figures you get an idea on what the route feels like. I checked the course the day before with a gentle downhill jog to get an idea what’s been waiting for us. The data I got looked like this:

• Course Length: 7,5 km
• Elevation Start: 540 Meter
• Elevation Finish: 1.580 Meter
• Climbing: 1.040 Meter

Given that the first kilometer and the last 500 meters were plain flat or slightly downhill gives you an idea that climbing 1.040 Meters during 6 kilometer is pretty nasty climbing and not really runnable. If I trust what a Swiss math’s teacher told me, this would be an average of 17,59% elevation. Pretty bad ass.

As the “Teleferico” transported us to the start at the bottom of the valley the sun came out and heated up the route. Once arrived at the start it seemed that the organizers were waiting for the hottest part of the day to start the race. I tried to cool down with loads of water. As always in South America the water at the races was handed out in little plastic bags. I became a huge fan of that drink system. It is so practical and easy, more than an alternative to cups. I just wonder why nobody else picks up that system.

The gun sounded and after a smooth 1k stretcher the climbing madness commenced. Straight up the hill we went. Just wright from the start the course was technical and the tight trails did not give many possibilities to overtake. I did not need them anyway. No serpentines, no switchbacks. Parts of the course were so extreme that the only chance to not fall or slide was to use the hands, a full body effort. My race routine moved between power hiking and sprinting for a few meters. It requires a special type of fitness to be up the front in a race like this. Jogging for hours on South American trails is more less my daily routine. Running hard not. I felt it from the start.

The field was stretched out right from the first vertical. A Brazilian girl and I experienced the same troubles. It was helpful to have someone to run (hike?) with. A bit after halfway I passed the Brazilian miss and caught some more runners (hikers?). I felt stronger the longer the race went and suffered on in the boiling Colombian lunchtime sun. Despite not having the top fitness for a race like this I really enjoy the concept of the Vertical K races. Certainly something I would like to train for in the future. The last downhill stretch towards the finish line in front of the National Park was a relief. I was literally grilled and ready for shadow and a cold beer. This mountain racing is sick. My muscular agony was (…and still is) so intense. I haven’t had a similar experience before.

The Colombian hospitality and friendliness doesn’t know any boarders. Coming from Ecuador I was already stunned and spoiled by warmhearted and welcoming people. Hanging out around Colombians just tops that. The atmosphere before, during and after the race was an example on how to deal with guests. Pointless to say I had to take heaps of pictures with tons of people I haven’t met before. I was just surprised how many of them knew my name. It is refreshing and inspiring to be received in a community that way. Columbia – hands down.

Song of the day: Madvillain – Sick fit

SPANISH VERSION
PORTUGES VERSION

This is the end – Finish in front of “Parque Nacional de Chicamocha”

Numero 27 – The canyon where it all happened in the back.

50 Meters to go…

Team Colombia with a certain sunburned and bushed holidaymaker.

It was about time. I was fed up and genuinely pxxxxd off. After numerous runs I was so over my old earphones. No matter what I was doing they didn’t do what they are supposed to do. Stay on the ears.

I like listening to podcasts (check this post & article) while training. It’s great killing time or boosting energy or lack of motivation while listening to interesting interviews or documentaries. But the best podcast or album is useless when you can’t listen to it stress free.

Every ear is different; mine seems not to be made for the average iPod or in-ear-plug-in. After a bit of examination off the interweb I got my favors down and made my way to the local shopping mall mad place. My goal was to avoid buying one of the earpieces that does not have an adjustment to fix the little speakers on the ear (like this). I think they don’t look cool, and it has to look cool at the end, right? So the choices got narrowed down furthermore.

After checking the Adidas/ Senheisser models I was pretty humbled. They did not fit me at all, felt very uncomfortable and the sound wasn’t what I anticipated. Next stop some massive retailer. Lucky enough they had all the models I already knew off from my research. All on the table and after a quick in house test of the Sony, Phillips, Arriva, Motorola, dB Logic and shure, the “yurbuds Ironman Inspire Pro – Dry Mic” seemed to be the one I favorite.

Products with the ironman logo are not certainly on my xmas wish list but that did not hold me back after testing and listening to them for a while. The earphones feature the so-called “Patented Twist Lock Technology” system. First off all this seems to be a bit strange. After several tries I got used to it. The outcome is as efficient as the idea is simple.

After “drilling” the plugs in, I went out. The first run just proved me right. I completely forgot about the earpieces while I was listening to the new Amon Tobin record (which actually is a great test for every headphone). Once back at home I figured out that I didn’t had a problem. More runs later I’m still surprised by the clear and quality sound as well as the comfort the yurbuds deliver. I also like the little control triangle. Same here. Simple and effective. No small buttons I can’t hit anyway with my big fingers. Straight forward control. Hands down yurbuds. Well done. Not that easy to please my ears.

Now, 4 days after Sundays Ultramaraton de Cuenca, I ask myself: Why? Why did I stop this race?

Since crewing for my friend Simone at the Passatore 100k in Italy I was charmed by the distance. The race in Cuenca, in the south of Ecuador, was basically “on the way” coming from the Galapagos Islands heading for my next target in Colombia. I found the race in the internet and thought about it for two or three days. 100 kilometers on the road is special. Very special.

I love point-to-point races and I love low-key organizations. This race had everything that makes running special. The organization team did an extremely well job setting up a race like this. To offer a race free of any charge together with free accommodation is more than respectable. Thinking about the love, dedication and time Leonardo Morales and his small team put in this race makes me even more annoyed with myself and desperate to go back and running this race again. I should have thought exactly about that when I retired from the race at the 60-kilometer mark.

It started off early when two buses gathered all participants at the “Coliseo Mayor de Deportes” and brought us to Biblian, just outside of Cuenca. It was cold and it already started to drizzle. The weather looked good for running. Police closed the road for a minute and Leonardo started the race with a simple ”Go”. Off we went in the night and the cold. The feelings I had on the first kilometers where just incredible. To run at the time of the day on such roads into the morning light is remarkable.

After a couple of minutes I formed a good partnership with a small police guy. We trailed along the roads, passed flashy parties and drunken people walking home from the nightclubs. We left towns. We entered towns. Cars passed us and the simple style aid stations (A car, A person, Water in bags…) popped up out of nowhere. Truly magical. Really special.

After a bit I lost the police guy and continued with my “self-protective” tactic. I tried to slow down when I felt good and was always (positive…) surprised when I saw my splits. It all felt so easy. I walked an aid station to reload me with heaps of coke and water. Still I did not find any gels so I tried to get at least a bit of sugar in.

A bigger group caught me and I decided to stay with those guys and trail along in the back of the pack. After a while the group split up and I saw myself running on my own again. As I passed one of the several crews (basically every runner had a car with friends following) they told me that I was in fourth place. Minutes later, running through a traffic jam, I passed the winner from last year. I was surprised. What am I doing up there?

I went on and minutes later some motorbike came up beside me and told me that I was in 3rd with 3 minutes to the guy in 2nd. Finally at this stage I should have stepped back and question what I was actually doing. I still felt strong, I still felt relaxed. I was too convinced. Rookie!

When the first bad patch of the race came around I did not respond to it. One car of the organizers came up to offer me drinks and food. I took the backseat.

Now 4 days after the run, still with extremely beat-up legs, I have to learn from that race. Can you run a race like this with no long runs on asphalt? Can you run a race like this with flats? Can you run a race like this without gels? Can you run a race like this in 2.500 meter altitude? I think you can!

The “race smarter list” for the “Big C” now has lot of points!