NUTS Karhunkierros- 53km

When few months ago, i asked from the organizers to switch my registration from 31km to 53km and they agreed i was thrilled! I thought it would be a great preparation for my Swissalpine 78K race on July. However, at that time i didn’t take into account getting injured and being forced to stop running for 5 weeks. I already booked to the flight tickets and hotel so i knew i wouldn’t just cancel but my plan was to either ask to transfer for the 31km route, run the 53km course and drop out if the pain becomes worse or just volunteer or help at one of the aid stations. I still had pain during the last week before the race, but in the last 3 days before i was getting much better and was basically pain free so i decided to go for the second option. I knew it was a long shot, but i thought to give it a try…yes, looking back that was probably not the wisest decision i’ve ever made but nonetheless i decided to take a chance and try to run my first ultra. It was the first time i was so scared before a race but not because of the distance or my fitness level…my feet worried me and i was afraid my healing process would regress again.

Anyhow, after spending almost 2 days in Ruka before the race i was feeling optimistic and enjoyed so much the familiar spectacular views from this ski resort. After an early breakfast at the hotel, the bus took us to the starting point : Oulangan luentokeskus, the nature canter of the Oulanka national park. It was a good thing that we arrived there about an hour before the start so there was time to rest a little bit and make the final preparations.

The starting point at Oulangan luentokeskus

We started exactly at 10:00 am. The first few kilometers were easy and nice to run, this time, as a lesson from the Brighton marathon, i opened very slowly, to preserve the energy for later. The view of the Oulanganjoki (the river), was really nice and even the rain had stopped for a while so it felt good.

The demanding part started after about 10km, with more swamps and rocks. This year, there’s not much snow on the trail but they’re full of swamps which meant running with wet feet almost the whole time while occasionally getting icy shower baths inside by shoes. But this is something i got used to already in previous races, even falling down twice was somewhat fine but what was bad, what was really bad was twisting my ankle after about 15km making it basically impossible to run fast downhills (i had to walk them very slowly) and even the fact i managed to continued running seems a bit like a miracle (i was even thinking whether i should call the emergency number..). Anyhow, since anyway i was in middle of nowhere i decided to continue until the first check point which was about 30km from the starting point, so i had to run about 15km to reach it . Luckily (or not..) i’m used to running in pain, and the pain even masked my slight foot pain (from my earlier injury) so i was a bit cheered up. Although, after that point i was forced to slow down (I think i was overtaken by most of the 53km runners by the time i reached the first check point) i was happy i could at least run and when i saw the signpost :'Ruka :26km' i started to feel better!

I was so exhausted when i reached the first check point. I refueled myself with sports drink and snacks. Unfortunately, they could not provide any medical assistance and i noticed the pain became worse when i stopped. I was feeling i could continue so when they told me the next stop is 7km from the finish and that i could get some help there i decided to continue.

I was slow, but i ran, and that was good. The 470km i ran during March might have injured me but they also improved my endurance and strengthened my legs. Then, after about 43km i missed a sign and got lost so i ran extra 800m and about 10 min were lost i guess. But anyhow, since at that point it was very clear i was not racing but rather just trying to finish it was not a big deal. However, i started to have stomach ache so i could not run several sections and had to wait for the pain to diminish (maybe it’s because of the gels or other reason…not sure). I felt a bit bad since i felt as if i’m the last runner left behind overtaken by all others, but soon after crossing more swamps and hills i was relieved to see that last check point .At that point i realized there’s no point to stop and i’d better continue to the finish line dead or alive!

The last 7km seemed like forever…really! Most of them couldn’t be run as they were very steep uphills and downhills so i had to walk for about 3 km…i started to think i’ll never see the finish line…although i remembered the last part of the route is the most demanding , somehow, it felt more difficult than i thought…i can’t believe i hiked it with a huge backpack :)

The best part of the race was actually the view from above (e.g., Valtavaara) . When i hiked it , it was raining so i couldn't enjoy the view, but this time, once i reached the hilly part, the sun came out just on time to provide the best possible scenery after a grueling journey of 50km. Even though i was so eager to finish and it was very windy up there i still decided to take the time and take some pics with my GoPro (at least i didn’t carry it for nothing:) .

The rewarding beauty at the top just before the finish line

When i saw Ruka from above i couldn’t be happier…i started to run fast as if my life depended on it…I ran and i ran as fast as i could (ignoring the pain in my ankle) and finally reached the finish line after 8:53 hours. What a great finish! It was funny that on my Garmin i saw only the moving time and not the elapsed time so i was sure i was running for 8 hours..but oh well…

When i went to the race personnel and asked for some ice the nurse said i should see a doctor as my ankle was at a size of a baseball and all reddish. Even though i just wanted ice they insisted i go to the hospital to have Xray so a very nice guy from the NUTS staff took me to Kuusamo hospital where we waited for 2 hours just to hear the doctor say it’s probably a sprain and i should just ice it and rest…well, unfortunately that’s what i’ll have to do for the next few weeks i guess..

Knowing this, would i have run the 31km? of course yes, and that would have been the sensible thing to do..but of course, i could easily fall down or twist my ankle even if i ran only 8km..so it was just bad luck! I’m not proud of my result but i am proud of myself being able to run like that for 7 hours..I’m having second thoughts about running 80-100km races..but i know that if my feet are 100% i can push myself to do it…In any race there might be unexpected ‘surprises’, and this is very common in trail running where it’s very easy to get injured…For now, i just want to get my feet back and race without pain (unless it’s muscles pain of course!). The ironic thing is that my legs muscles feel quite good (cramped but not as bad as i thought they’d be) , if i had to run 10-20 km more they could do it….that’s what i’ll have to remember before my next ultra :) . One important thing, as much as i was happy to finish 53km, i'm so impressed by all the amazing and courageous runners who ran 80/160km...knowing the course and trails...this is an unbelievable achievement.