The "race" was put on by a man they call Hexer, started in a town called Bad Honnef. We all met at a youth hostel for coffee and conversation. The race began at 11am but it was really cool because there was no gun, no official time-keeping system, it was just runners, their watches and GPS devices.
We started climbing soon after the start and even though we never reached super high elevation, the climbs were pretty steep at times. The course was beautiful and interesting. Since there were no markers to tell the runners where to go, they had to heavily rely on their GPS devices. I probably should have had a handheld GPS but since I didn't I made it a point to stay with the other runners throughout the course. I totally would have been lost if I didn't stay with the lead pack. There were times when they would pull away a little and I would rush to catch up so that I wasn't left behind. I didn't want to have to wait for the runners behind me to catch up, so I just stayed with the group of guys and Gabi. Even the Race Director Hexer got a little lost at one point. I met some very nice people along the way and since it wasn't so competitive and more of a run, we were able to talk and have a little fun. The course took us up and down all the little peaks in the area. I was happy to see a new part of Deutschland, meet lots of new ultra runners and take part in such a wonderful race!
I finished with the same group of guys that I had started with in exactly 6 hours. Thanks to Gabi, Sven, Torsten, Stefan, Birger, Fabian and Mats for being so kind and making it a great memory!
After the race, I didn't feel very well. My stomach was upset and I had a bad headache but I contribute it all to not getting enough nutrition. I drank my Tailwind the whole time but I also feel like I should have eaten something too.
Running :)
:) the Rhein river
All in all it was a great day and I got to explore more of Germany!
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