Running race 7:19:16 37.24 km (11:48 / km) +2116m9:11 / km ahr:146 max:174 shoes: Brooks Caldera blue
UTMR day 1.
Started dark and early. Plan was to start easy then back it off, and feel good all day.
My stomach wasn't 100% but a detour to a fortuitously placed WC put me in dead last but feeling much better.
Caught up with Bash, and met Wolfgang from Italy who set an excellent conservative pace. Between my German and his English, we did best in Italian. Kept HR really low, and had some amazing views as we ran above the clouds. Some really mysterious bits in fog and Lord-of-the-Rings terrain.
Some long technical stretches that had a lot of nervous runners jamming up traffic, but no rush. Got some great footage on the GoPro.
We crossed the longest pedestrian suspension bridge in the world, around 0.5km, which saved some nasty descending and climbing.
I eventually left Wolfgang and that part of the pack, and ran the easy descent gently by myself for around an hour.
Some avalanche slopes had concrete shelters and bunkers. Finished up running with Dora the Dutch neurosurgeon on a cruise to the finish. Probably bottom 1/3 or so.
Felt great 100% of the day- maybe being in the back of the pack is the way to go!
Saw Bash finish strong.