Saturday, April 20th 2024
So here I am, registered for my 9th 6 days. Recap of the previous episodes: 2010, 2013, 2014, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019. It's a long story. Long but interrupted, because the last one was 5 years ago. Back to my roots, then.
I am supported by Florence, my sister, who will handle my crew duties, and I am set up in a fully-equipped bungalow. I run into friends of course, in particular Sébastien with whom I did a backyard in Monteux.
What to say about this race? That I wasn't really well prepared, I had a hard time with the "so Christian, are you going to win?" greeting some people gave me. Let's say I'm never against a win, but this time I wasn't sure of anything. Just managing to run a clean, decent race would already be something. And I wasn't born yesterday — there is always (always) a runner, male or female, coming out of nowhere, who creates a surprise. This time it would be Jean-Michel Terme.
I see his name, without fail, on the lap board — sometimes ahead, never very far behind.
Of course, when it goes like that, you don't know who it is, because you never overlap, you're going at roughly the same pace. After two or three days I ask Florence to find out who he is, basically to look up his DUV profile. And so he is an excellent runner: under 9 hours at Millau (faster than me), 27-something hours at UTMB (almost 10 hours less than me, on a harder course...) — in short, this guy is no rookie.
On paper, comparing raw performance over comparable distances, he crushes me, no debate. That said, over 6 days, I have what they call "the experience". We'll see.
So I run my own race. The weather is rather good for a strong performance; many athletes complain that it's cold, windy, etc. Yes OK, it's blowing, but it's still better than 95°F (35°C) and dead calm. Granted, I'm in a bungalow, that makes things easier. Jean-Michel is on his own, in a tent — that's a different ballgame. I've done that, alone in a tent. It is different. But in the end, I'm not sure you lose that many miles because of it.
I remember one night in particular when I decided to pick up the pace to try — fingers crossed — to beat my personal record. No luck: despite the music full blast in my earphones, despite all the willpower in the world, I half-collapsed asleep on the side of the track. OK, the PR isn't for this time, and 560 miles even less so...
Jean-Michel goes on to grab a very fine first place at just over 800 km. At the very end of the effort, past 800, he sits down on a chair — I think he is good and cooked, exactly the right amount. Done to a turn.
He'll come back stronger, I'm sure of it.
On my side, I finish first and rack up a 7th "over 500 miles". It matters to me, out of pride: "500 miles" lands at roughly 805 km, just past the symbolic 800 km milestone Europeans celebrate. So once you've crossed 800 km it's worth pushing another 5 km to claim the 500-mile mark. 806 to be sure. I know runners who have been disappointed to land at 199.97 km instead of 200.03 km after a track re-measurement...
Next year, this same circuit will host the world championships.
I'll be there!