D’un male nasce spesso un bene. 

Do I really want to script something about this jog? Not really to be direct. Maintaining a blog does also mean to write about unpleasant experiences and that’s what is laid out in the next couple of sentences.

It would have been the icing on the cake to this weekend excursion to the Tiber. Yet again, the miserable truth of road racing and a long overlooked stomach whinge caught me badly.

Till I paused at around 22k into last weekends Maratona di Roma it all went like envisioned. A sub-3 hour finish was on Fabian’s and my whish list. However a marathon does not end at 22k. I had to rest. Essentially, my stomach required me to stop. It did not take to long and I vomited. I puked a lot and the race-officials must have been a little bit anxious. Some dudes just came along and asked me if I want to take a shuttle back to the finish. “No, grazie!” was my answer. Luckily. I took some time beside the street to recover and then went on to finish well outside my goal and ability. It has been a while since I broke the 3-hours on the road and I obviously would have loved to dip below the magic mark yet again or even get a good long run in (as seen in Quito or Santiago de Chile). Maybe I lacked some long or tempo training runs, maybe my stomach got upset with the gels I used. Possibly. Maybe.

So I did not score the icing, but the cake was certainly a pleasing one. Had a blast during the weekend with my good mates Fabian and Steffen. It was not my first time in Rome but I’m always astonished by this city and fascinated by the charismas of this matchless place and the Italian people. Combining all off that with racing it is just a perfect environment, at least when you get something out of the actual race.

The marathon itself does not really feature a fast or flat course. What it features is a remarkable course around the city and most of the tourist attractions. The race website features the fact that you run across 7,6k cobblestones. I’d say it is way more. Also my Garmin and the general feedback of fellow runners told me that the course is a bit longer then it should be. It all did not really matter during this Sunday long run. Put it in the pipe and smoke it. Unfortunately. Onto the next one.

Anyway. Grazie Roma.

Brooks News / Race Website / Pope

Some of my instagram images surely raised some inquiries. While pretty much well-known around Germany, the Ecco Indoor Trail meeting in Dortmund is pretty much nameless abroad. Running non-natural trails protected by a large roof? It surely is something different and it certainly raises the eyebrows across a genre affine running community.

Yes. It is strange and it undeniably isn’t true “trail running” as people would like to identify the new hysteria in running. But are benchmarks like Sierre-Zinal or Zegama also “real” trail-running or mountain running or whatnot? Well. The Ecco Indoor Trail in Germany’s city of Dortmund has it’s own niche and it’s forte. When the weather outside is unpredictable and cranky it is good to know that you can go inside and race without wind and rain.

When I got the offer by Ecco to go up and experience their race I was just too curious. Determined by some new territory, a new style of racing and the stories of my buddy Flo Reichert it did not take me to long to agree. The best way to judge something is essentially doing it.

I was jogging for an hour round the time-worn Westfallenhallen in Dortmund and pretty much went straight to the start line. A tense and winding course like this makes it necessary to have separate starts for each contestant. It is a battle against the clock and only the top 10 dudes get to race against each other in the last duel of the day.

The 6 loop-race was the one I selected. You can choose from single day races which start on Friday with the 3-loop race continue with the 6-loop race on Saturday and finishes off with the 9-loop race on Sunday. The course takes you through tight corners, over fallen trees, up steep ramps, over footsteps, across the hallways and over different kind of synthetic obstacles.

At first I took it defensively as I had the Rome marathon coming up next weekend. But after I got in the atmosphere and rhythm I absolutely enjoyed the course. It takes a distinct strength to deal with the short sprints and the hurdles. It is fun and it is special. As you have to run across this “a-bit-more than 1k” loop you need to pass people. This is something that can get a bit tricky from time to time and made for a more challenging atmosphere.

Generally it was a great experience and a nice way to spend a weekend. It still is weird and it still raises the eyebrows but certainly in a positive way.

Image Set 1
Image Set 2

I never experienced the Japanese running culture myself but I’m regularly drawn to races and gossip about the local scene over there. The Japanese fashion of road racing is very passionate and intriguing.

On a recent expedition past Japanese websites I came across the great work of Shota Matsumoto, a Japanese photographer born in 1983 in Osaka who now calls Tokyo home. His “The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner” exhibition features some amazing racing and training pictures.

Check his website and enjoy the solitude.

Copyright © Shota Matsumoto

Copyright © Shota Matsumoto

Painful rip
in my upper hip
I guess it’s time
to take another trip

Curtis Mayfield – Little child runnin’ wild