Liesa Fialkowske - Aug 31 2021
Marko Gränitz is an ultra runner. Today he takes us on his mental and physical rollercoaster ride at the 24-hour race in Bad Blumau. Marco comes from a triathlon background. In the meantime, however, he is on the road as an ultra runner and reports on his experiences in training & competitions as well as various trips and adventures in his blog. The blog is aimed at hobby runners who are looking for inspiration, motivation and new goals: Bike Run Fun
The 24h race started at 10am. As planned, Marko ran at a controlled slow pace of about 5:40 min/km. Up to 50 km everything is quite relaxed, only the heat gets to everyone. There are three cold showers on the course, which are permanently ready for use during the day with moderate water pressure. This is perfect for cooling the face and hands and for soaking the cap and arm warmers. The legs, however, are occasionally wetted with a rag at the camper so that the water doesn't run into the shoes, soften the skin and cause blisters. But against blisters he has another secret weapon in his shoe: the CURREX RUNPRO.
Up to about 100 km, everything goes according to plan. But then he suddenly gets the feeling that he is "running out of juice". In retrospect, Marko simply stuck with the slow carb strategy for too long and thus ran out of his glycogen stores. It immediately switched to a mix of maltodextrin and buffers, but it doesn't really get any better. It's an energy hole that can't be refilled. Even several cups of cola don't help - and that so early in the race, it's not even half over yet...
Slow Carb. The idea is to consume only high-quality, slow carbohydrates - slow carbs. The trick is that the body then switches to fat metabolism and uses fat depots for energy.
Maltodextrin. Maltodextrin is a carbohydrate mixture that is mainly obtained from maize starch. Maltodextrin is often used by endurance athletes because it is nutritionally more valuable than other carbohydrate mixtures. For example, maltodextrin is absorbed more slowly than other carbohydrates.
After 120 km Marko has to walk a whole lap for the first time. The physical low is now joined by the mental one. Every lap he takes in liquid energy, but it's just not enough. The trend is downhill, the walking breaks are getting longer, the question about the sense is getting bigger.
After about 150 km, he starts to feel dizzy. Probably hypoglycaemia. This is now something serious. The walking breaks are extended again. At kilometres 155 and 163, even sitting breaks are added. But the dizziness remains. At the third sit-down break, Marko also starts to shake. It all seems hopeless now. He simply can't get up any more. His body is completely empty, a powerless shell. He realises that he has to get off the plane in order not to endanger his health.
Covered up on a couch with several layers to dampen the chills, all he can think about is how best to get to the shelter and into a warm bed. The race is ticked off. For a while he watches the runners pass by on the course. Guilt sets in - this preparation, carers sacrificing time, etc. Marko has never abandoned an ultra run before. But once is always the first time. With all these thoughts, he falls asleep.
When Marko wakes up, he has only been asleep for about half an hour. He has to go to the toilet urgently because of all the cola, which is probably the only reason he woke up at all. On the way to the toilet he gets a little warmer. He tries to go for a second round. Suddenly it goes much better, even with careful jogging. One lap later, he is walking consistently again. Another lap later, his head is also clear again. The best feeling: Marko is back in the race!
He would never have believed before that such a comeback was possible. From now on it's clear: if he wants to keep going, he has to pump everything his stomach can take: extra strong Malto-Buffer-Mix, Coke, gels. Something every lap. Due to the long break and the walking breaks, he has lost about 1.5 hours. So the top is out of reach, but towards the back other runners had some problems too. It is now about 04:30, so there are still more than five hours to run. And his pace is good, maybe even the fastest in the field. So there should still be some way to go in terms of placings, and there is still the team classification.
Lap after lap is reeled off, the rhythm fits. Around 7 a.m. Marko has another small energy low, but he overcomes it with more cola. At 8 o'clock he is in 6th place overall and 3rd place in the German championship. The last two laps are probably the fastest of his whole race.
It is the unbelievable happy end of a race that was disastrous in the meantime! The absolute elation as an unbelievable contrast to the abysses of the previous night.
Despite a disappointing performance of almost 214 km for Marko, absolute satisfaction prevailed at the finish! On the one hand, of course, because of the joy over the grandiose team success, but also because a low that seemed insurmountable to him was overcome.
"I have been running with RUNPRO MED for many years, first in triathlon and now in ultrarunning. And now also for the first time in a 24-hour run. Conclusion: Perfect!
Of course, the shoe has to fit as well, but as far as my foot feeling is concerned, I had no problems at all." Marko Gränitz
