Kildin Ultra 54km
Due to bad weather, the race was moved from the island to the mainland. This is the edge of the earth. You live in the south, and this is the north. This is the cold Barents Sea, after which only the Arctic Ocean. The weather changes every five minutes: the sun is shining, the rain is pouring, it even snowed before the start🙈
The trail was very narrow, or rather, there was no trail. There was virgin land. We ran through swamps, over soft ground, over hummocks and pits, over the yagel. Such a surface does not give a good foothold, there is no push. There were also many stones. There are a lot of descents and ascents. It was impossible to run on the slopes, because it was slippery and the degree was very high. Just ride on the ass down. The climbs were such that my knees rested on the slope. It was my hardest race! After five kilometers, I was desperate. I scolded every swamp and every hummock. There are a lot of swear words in the Russian language, I used them all.
My legs were tired from the very beginning, I felt tension in my thighs. I was worried that it would only get worse. I think that after about 15 kilometers, I accepted the situation that the run would be very long, that the whole road would be like this, and just started running.
Despite the long time, it flew by unnoticed. I survived and was attentive to the road so as not to get injured.
We had only two food outlets. On the 7th and on the 39th kilometer🤦🏼♀️
You could say it was one. I'm glad I brought enough food with me. No one expected that the race would be so long, and many people were left without food. But I love to eat so much that I took enough snacks with me😂😃
I ate according to plan. Every 28 minutes to get the right amount of carbohydrates. They were mostly gels. There was also marmalade, and dried apricots with hot sweet tea at the food point. I wasn't hungry, I didn't have any problems with my appetite. Everything is fine with this. But of course I didn't have enough water! My water ran out to 39 kilometers. And what did I do… I took water from a mountain river, hoping that it was clean🤷♀️😁
It helped me well! I drank one salt tablet an hour. While I didn't have any water, I also skipped salt. I was afraid that I was hyponatrating my body.
All the way, I ran at my own pace, controlling my pulse. In the beginning, a lot of people overtook me. But it never bothers me. And then, I was already overtaking them. It was a small goal every time I saw an athlete in the distance and realized that it was in my power to catch up with him. Or, just keep it in sight. A few kilometers after the food point, I ran alone. There is not a soul around, only the harsh nature of the north. As it turned out, there were not so many athletes in front of me, and also, a lot of people left the race after 39 kilometers. It was really very difficult for many.
I received an award for the 3rd place!
By Amina Khafizova