Some time ago I wrote about ultrarunning in FiveFingers and I did reviews on both VFF Spyridon and the Merrell Lithe Glove. At that time I didn’t know which shoes to choose for my coming event, the 80 km Ecotrail de Paris (50 miles). In the last week before the race I decided on the Merrells. And now, without further ado: the race report!
March 24th, Paris, quite early in the morning. My alarmclock went off and I had to get out of bed. The evening before I already laid out all of the clothes I wanted to wear and my backpack was packed. So without having to think I put on the clothes and went to get breakfast. Then off to the trainstation where our train to St. Quentin de Yvelines was leaving. It was great to see the train station fully packed with runners, some nervous, some relaxed.
In St. Quentin de Yvelines (about 50 km outside Paris) we were herded into busses and taken to the starting grounds. The sun was shining, temperatures rising, and there was just enough time for some tea and to get really nervous. And then it was noon and we were off into the woods!
Shortly after the start of the Ecotrail de Paris
The Ecotrail is a trail run in the woods and parks close to Paris. We had a nice warm up of about 20 km starting in St. Quentin de Yvelines. A little bit up and down and nice trails, so we could keep running. After 23 km was our first stop where we could fill up our water recources. And right after that the climbing started! For about 20 km we had to climb quite steep hills. I loved it! That is what I came here for!
That's me running down a hill somewhere on the trail
Lots of lovely trails, woods and even castles were passed by. The trail was weaving around villages to keep us off the pavement. Many little and slightly bigger parks with people enjoying the sun (it was a very sunny day) were passed by.
Somewhere along the way something went wrong and I took a tumble. OK, more than once. So I ended up at the first aid tent at the 55 km stop to have the guys there take care of my hands. They were very bloody, but it was mostly superficial, so I could go on. My feet where still feeling fine!
At the last stop (at 68 km) I could finally see the Eiffel tower. Later I heard that I could’ve seen it earlier (around 50 km), but I guess I wasn’t paying attention. Now it was getting dark, so the brightly lit Eiffel tower was a beacon! That is where I was going! And I was going to make it, even with the bloody hands and knees.
A mile or two later someone passed me and said: “You are awesome for running all the way in those shoes”, pointing at my Merrells. He had them too, but was afraid to run 80 km in them. We went into Paris itself for the last 7 or 8 km. At a traffic light we had to wait for the traffic to pass. A woman (also a runner) was standing there and we looked at each other and laughed! She had a chafed chin and I had bloody hands and we just laughed! It was so funny. We ended up running together for some miles, then I had to slow down a bit. I would see her at the Eiffel tower!
Yes I was tired. At 75 km I think I was allowed to be.
I was getting tired and at the same time I wasn’t tired at all. Very strange. I just wanted to go to that beacon, those lights, that tower! Then, suddenly, I was at the quai underneath the Eiffel tower. A few steps up, across the street and I was running underneath it! One last challenge: going up the stairs to the first floor. Before the race I thought that would be the worst part. But it wasn’t. I just flew up those stairs (ok, in my head I was flying, in reality I was just walking up the stairs) and there it was: the finish line! I made it! I finished my first 50 miler!
I made it!
It took me 9 hours, 49 minutes and 15 seconds, and I was (and still am) very proud of myself! I did it, barefootstyle! I AM INVINCIBLE! ;-)