Tuesday 24 October 2023
Trans Jeju is somewhat a revenge race after last year’s DNF. The experience made me realise the importance of proper gear for overnight running, e.g. good powerful headlamp and watch with navigation functions. Although pricey, these pieces of equipment are critical for long overnight races and can mean the difference between finishing and DNF. For that I have to thank COROS Apex 2 and Ledlenser NEO10R 600 lumens.
The race started well with nice weather, unlike 2022 where it started raining from the first few hours. After CP2 it was time for the first ascent up Hallasan. Scenery was beautiful but there was no time to stop and admire, just shoot video while walking and enjoy it later. Legs felt strong on the climb and descent, where we had our first encounter with the notorious Jeju lava rocks. Then it was a long slightly downhill road section to CP4 where our drop bags were waiting for us.
The race really started from CP4 (40km) because that’s where we ascended Hallasan for the 2nd time. This was longer and higher than the first ascent. I was mindful to conserve energy knowing how tough it was to ascend and descend. The strategy paid off as I was easily overtaking runners near the summit when they were out of gas. Once at the summit I quickly put on my goretex pants coz I learnt from previous experience that downhill is gonna be cold and windy. Overall I took 3hrs to reach the summit and slightly over 2hrs to descend to CP5. By then it was dark, time to activate my headlamp.
From CP5 it was “only” 40km to the finish, but it was a long and hard 40km. Fatigue had set in, quads were shattered from the 9km downhill, knees were hurting and abrasion formed where it never formed before. It became a long slow hike over slippery rocks (raining since evening) mostly alone in the forest. With the time buffer I accumulated I knew I just had to keep moving to finish. Maybe aim for sub24 hrs, that was my motivation to move faster.
After 23.5hrs i made it back to the World Cup stadium where Esther and my mum were waiting for me at the finish line. So happy and elated to see them and to finish this adventure.
After thoughts from a first time finishing a proper 100k trail race. Although it’s a finish, I’m annoyed at myself for not being able to jog more during the last 1/3 of the race. Wonder if I need to train with higher weekly mileage to finish strong, or get stronger with weights and downhill running. That’s for next year’s training plan. For immediate focus is Trans Lantau 50k and VTM70 in Jan.
Watch the full video here. https://youtu.be/n_d5o675B_k?si=RBrKOly2s02O6Kxh
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