Jesper Olsen , 19. April 2005
The 20.000 km report
After having done a look-back at 5 000km and 10 000km, I thought it would
be appropriate to sum up some of the experienses & observations during the
last 15months and 20 000km.
It won't be great poetry, as I will try to limit it to general observations
reguarding the fyscial effects of the run, the mental/motivation-related
aspects of the run, the different nature & cultures encoutered, and a small
note from the "political science" part of me ;-)
Body/fysical
- Yesterday; during one of my 3 preparation-days in Vancouver planning the
logistics of the Canadian part of world run, I participated in a 10km "fun
run"; the Vancouver Sun Run. The result was 43:50min (www.sunrun.com).
The slowest pre-worldrun time I remember having on a 10km is 42-something
when I started running competetions; as 12 years old. So the time I was
capable to do after 20 000km of this present run was both the slowest I
have ever done and a little more than 12 minutes slower than my personal
best of 31:29.
- Than pretty much spells out what a run around the world does to you as an
athlete ! ;-)
You become much slower than you would imagine; but eventually you also gain
much more physical endurence than at least I myself had expected. I felt
that side of the world run when I - to my surprise - won the 19. Colac 6
Day Race in Australia after approximately 14 000km of running at 50km a day
since London. The reslut was a bit modest, 754km for the 6 days
(http://sixdayrace.org.au/colac), but I was able to do it feeling
comfortable all the way and enjoying myself !
- And continuing with my run the day after the race without much trouble !
I had NOT expected that :-)
Mostly this is ofcourse due to adaptation. The body adapts to the slow 6
min/km that I do i average, during a 6-7hour average running day, w. 5
hours of effective running and 1- 2 hours of stops, food, navigation,
documentation pictures & gps-transmission; and afterwards setting up tent
or finding a motel, finding food etc. etc.
In the first 2-3 months/3000-4000km the body struggled with the adaptation.
It was the period where I experiensed the most 'near-injuries' and had my,
luckily !!, only severe leg injury: a pulled/strained muscle in the upper
left leg, wich was quite uncomfortable to run with for a few days.
But from there on there has been astonishing little trouble with the legs
themselves. Many of the classical running & ultrarunning injuries like
shinsplints, achilles injuries, knee injuries etc. hasnt been big problems.
And often due to the fact that there is pleanty of opputunities to slow
down, change shoes, diet, pace, streatching patterns etc. etc. when I feel
that an injury might be approaching. Usually there is a small indication
the 5-8 days before it begins/would begin to be a "real" injury; the trick
is to know how to listen for it !
Still; there is ofcourse more than pure running injuries !
My biggest problems so far has been 2 - 3 cases of severe stomack problems,
causing 2 rest-days in total: one in Krasnojarsk in Siberia and one along
the costal highway 101 in Oregon, USA. Besides this, the main thing, much
to my surprise, has been hand injuries; wounds that wont heal for months or
even half years has been a noticeable discomfort. Both probably due to a
higher pressure on the immune-system in general.
Another interesting observation has been the pulse/hart-rate change. Before
this run I would with 200 to 250km training pr. week have about 120 beat
pr. minut (bpm.) when doing a pace like 6 min./km. The first 2 months of
the run it was the same or a bit elevated to 125 bpm. But after about 4
months or around 7000km it began declining graduately. After about 8 months
it reached a steady level of 65 - 85 bpm. at 6 min./km. (!)
- Wich is low consideration that the rest pulse rate moved from 31-36
before I began the run, to about 45 to 60 in the first 2months, and
graduately to 38-42 on the "good days", 50 -55 on the "hard days" and
around 50 in average at morning or before sleep.
My guess would be that the body when dooing 5-8 hours running a day has
accepted that as the natural level of activity and got very effective at
this task its been given. Wich also fit well with that I have duing that
time come to eat considerably less than usual - again a sign that the body
has become more effective. Some of my helpfull support-crews lately has
been commenting that I was actually eating unrealisticly little ;-) Though
I have found that I gain too much if I eat the amounds I usually would;
even when I was training 20-50 % less km than I run now; :-)
Also the eating patterns has changed in the way that I tend to eat allmost
evenly around the 24hours; including 2 night-meals around 2 & 4 am. Thus
all of them small meals.
On the more uncomfortable side is the reaction of teeth. I have lost the
outher layers of the low/gum part of the 3 middle teeth in each side of
over and lower mouth so that there is a 'dent' into the teeth where they
emerge. Not as painfull as you'd imagine, but a cause for concearn
ofcourse.
Luckily it hasnt affected the front teeth; so "the runner" dont look too
battered yet ;-))
The general physical feeling is well; but with a lot more tiredness than
usually and a high level of rest & sleep needs. Not very surprisingly I
guess !
Mental/motivation
- This point has varied a lot depending on wich contry, enviroment and
climate I have been running through. And perhaps most of all: wether I have
had compagny !
>From the beginning in London I ran toghether w. Alexander Korotkov from
Sct. Petersburg, Russia. An astounishing strong runner who besides beeing
responsible for all the logistics needet to get me running the 10 000km
across Russia, also did some tuff preformances (1. place in a 12-hour
invitational race in Finland, wich we did while we were running through;
Alex did 143km !!) untill he had to stop due to a very severe tendon &
spine injury, in Eastern Siberia.
Ofcourse it was a hard thing to see Alexander get injured and eventually
stop the run after 9 800km and 8 months, of them 5 (5!) months of running
through and into new agonizing injuries wich probably occured due to trying
to compensate for the initial injury wich he got shortly after the 12-hour
race in Finland.
Around the same time the japanese runner, Kazuka Kaihata, who had been
running with us since Sct.Petersburg got a severe knee injury wich forced
her to walk for 2 months of our route out to Vladivostock.
- Obviously that makes you wonder when it will be your turn.. And to some
extent I had a hard time convincing myselves that I would be able to
continue the run without getting the same fatal injuries; and continue it
alone.
Due to very good support in Australia (organized by the never-resting mr.
Phil Essam :-) I didnt really get problems w. running alone there; not even
the approx. 1500km running across the Nullabor Desert - there I had Peter
Gray as crew all the way; an ultrarunner who not only is a more experiensed
runner then I, but who also own the most valuable aspect of a sportsman: to
take pride in helping other athletes as well !!
But especially the lone running up the Californian highways and into the
Oregon and Washington states in the US on the way to Canada, was amongst
the tuffest mental parts of the run. Beeing alone in the cold rain, at
times lost, half-injured, not knowing if there would be support further up
the route and having a fall-incident down a small ravine made me very close
to not beeing able to face continuing the run.
My littlesister and her husband took a holiday to Seattle to come down to
meet me (Thanks ! :-) yet after about a month of slightly painfull struggle
alone - I had difficult recognizing them when they met me (!). (The only
situation that remind me of what I experiensed during those weeks leading
up to it was the scenes from the old movie "Deer Hunter" where one of the
caracters had played 'Russian roulette' a time too many.. The situation in
my run beeing that I for a week or two had realised that I couldnt handle
the fysical & mental struggle, but decided there was no other option than
to continue the run; wich makes you shut out the outside - and inside -
impressions for a while.. ;-).
It is my definate experiense that the loneliness is the main thing to worry
about in a run like this. Besides this its a matter of using the common
strategy of ultrarunning: to allways focus on the short-term & intermediate
goals and not be too intimidated of the long-term perspective. In the world
run this means to motivate yourself to reach the next major
city/competetion/runner compagny on short term, and crossing the present
continent at intermediate term - but NOT contemplate what lies between me
and the finishline in total km or year/months. That was part of the mistake
I made when running in California; taking daily looks at the distance and
months remaining to London (5-7 moths and 6000 - 8000km) ! Distances wich
still is as incomprehensive to me as to any other athlete :-)
Nature
- The obvious question "What has been the most scenic place ?". Difficult
to answer ofcourse; the Nullabor Desert in Australia certainly has its
beauty at surrise & sunset alone out there in the silence; the Lake Baikal
in Russia holding around 30% of the worlds freshwater reserves; the
Reedwood Forrests along the Highway 101 in California with its more than
1000 year old trees with space enough to put up a tent inside the hollow
ones; the Finland winterlanscape wrapped in deep snow covering lakes and
dense forrests; or the big cities w. their "artificial nature" of
architecture - among my favorites Sydney, Omsk; San Francisco; Helsinki,
Copenhagen..
Yet I am not in doubt what place I would enjoy the most to re-visit:
A valley about 25km from the friendly 20 000 pop. city Biribizhan in
East-East Siberia. A green valley w. a slow clear river winding through its
middle; the railroad & carpath on a low mountain shelf on one side; and
small groups of birch and fruit trees on the flat plain of the valley.
The surronding mountains not too high to keep the autumnn sun out; and not
too low not to invite for an interesting climb !
The valley itself, a couple of km wide and about 30km long; not to small to
make you wish for "lebensraum",yet not too big to make you feel lonely in
this siberian abundance of nature.
And perhaps most of all: the blue sky and cleanness of the air that you
would not imagine coming from europe yourself.
- All just waiting for a wood cabin to be build and for someone to enjoy
this luxury ! :-)
Cultures
- In general I have been astonished by the very positive 'culture of
friendship' that I have encountered allmost everywhere my run have brough
me !
Most of all in Finland where my fellow runner Alexander and I were
accomodated every single day of our run across the Southern part of the
contry to the border to Russia (and that in luxury accomodation) - often
met by the Finns picking us up at our finish point, driving us to a warm
house, leaving the house, ready made dinner & desert, to us to enjoy.
Themselves staying at friends or at a log cabin. A support and helpfullness
I up to this point still cant really comprehend - but appreciate on a daily
basis here 18 000km later. For them especially, I will take much hardship
to keep this run going.
But also in Russia the support has been amazing; expecially in Siberia
where the small villages as well as the big Siberian population centres met
us with all they could provide: homemade food, presents (more than we could
carry !), accomodation in all from houses where the rain would go right
through, peasant homes, big-city appartments, small Siberian hospitals at
low-seson, administration offices, a bakery, various (former) party-hotels
to extreme luxury homes of "new russians".
Interesting also were that the russian way of helping allmost allways went
through the local administrations, who would support us w. accomodation,
food and even financially (of reasons I have difficulty to find w. my
"western logic" !) while the help recieved in the rest of the run would
mostly be from private persons or sponsors.
I imagine that this difference relates back to the "old system" in Russia
where the State took care of all matters.
Also Australia has been fantastic in its support of the run. Here it has
been a combination of ultra-organizors like mr. Phil Essam (vice pres. of
the Australian Ultrarunners Association), the longdistance & ultra runner
community as well as the danish population down there. Some of the support
& crewing efforts over the long open hot streatches of landscape was in
many ways as impressive as any part of my own effort in this run !! :-)
So far only the Californian/US part of the run and the short Japanese part
has been not so positive an encounter. Probably becouse these societies are
so motorized and with so dense an infrastructure that a runner making his
way through the contry does often rise more suspicion than support. Yet
when there were helpfullness there, it was certainly warm !
And my impression just starting the long Canadian part of the run is that
it certainly is a friendly place to be as a runner. Allready a few days
before reaching the border up to Canada I had a canadian team helping me
!!!
- If I make it to the finish line back at the 0-meridian at Greenwich
Village in London, it will perhaps most of all be to the honour of those
that has helped and supported me. In a run like this, no matter how strong
an athlete, not much can be achieved without outside help :-)
- The 'culture of friendship' and helpfullness of people met in all these
contries by the way makes a vast contrast to the average 'conflict' image
of the world given in allmost any "News" section of a newspaper of
tv-station. It could be interesting if some of this common quality of
friendship was brought more into perspective when defining the various
international political agendas and problemsolvings !
From a political science point of view...
- Carrying along with me a masters degree in political science &
international politics (though a bit outdated by now ;-), I ofcourse cant
help making a few observations during a run like this:
(What else it there to do during the daily hours on the Siberian
gravelroads, in the Australian desert or along the American highways ? ;-)
My first major impression after leaving the european part of the run behind
me, was the vastness of the Russia; also in a political science sence !
Especially in Siberia there are an amount of ressources (mainly oil, coal,
wood, diamonds and gold; among the largest known reserves i the world) I
have never encountered elsewhere.
The problem beeing, naturally, that Siberia is too remote for an efficient
use of these ressources; providing the paradox that the lovest living
conditions (economically and measured in 'western convenienses' like warm
running water, sanitary systems, elektricity, telecommunication, outside
supplies and other infrastructure related issues) that I have seen so far
in during this run has been in Middle & Eastern Siberia. And at the same
time it also contains some of the vastest wealth in natural ressources in
the world.
Besides beeing an infrastructure problem, it seems more fundamentally to be
politically related. It's too remote from the main part of the population,
wich is in European Russia, and especially its very remote from the
decitions of the political and economical elite (Moscow; Sct.Petersburg and
Nichi Novgorod).
- And for the sake of preserving Siberia's extremely beautifull nature it's
perhaps good so; though its a luxury saying so without having to endure the
everyday living out there. The people in the villages and cities out there
doesnt have much of a choice. There is a travel in the area of 5000km at
least.
Though discussion this, for example with local administration (the benefit
of our support beeing mostly directed through the local & regional
administrations), you often find that one of the explanations of this is an
idea of reserving these ressources for "later" - 20 or 30 years from now.
Wich makes good sence w. for example oil; but wich still wont be much of a
help as long as the infrastructure isnt there !
At the present a highway is beeing build across Siberia, from the Ural
Mountains to Vladivostock on the Pacific coast. If it gets completed (we
ran on the gravel & rock preparations for it the last about 3000km out to
Vlad.) as planned in 2008 it could give a huge lift in the prosperity of
this incredibly vast area.
Still there are many other factors. For example the relation to China, just
south of the border of Middle and East Siberia. As far as I could
understand and observe, there is a big Chinese immigration across the
border and seemingly a military tension (most of the newest and largest -
LARGE - military compounds I saw all across russia were along the Chinese
border); while many of the local administration near the border orient
themselves more towards the Chinese politics than what is the official word
in Moscow - wich has its own sence as Moscow is 6000 - 8000km away and the
chinese colleages only 20 - 100km away ;-) And in Eastern Siberia the local
adm. often told of cooperation across the border despite what the official
governments had of standpoints.
- Obviously there are many other interesting analyses to make of the other
continents, but at present this will have to be all for now. The run has to
continue after all.. :-)
© Jesper Olsen , 19. April 2005
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