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ZERO TO 100K - RUNNING BLOG OF THE CHEESEMAN

🏔️ my adventures 🌲🌳 my dreams 🏃‍♂️🌳 my runs 🐿️




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SUNDAY, 21 APRIL 2024


TCS LONDON MARATHON 2024 - THE BIG FAT SUB-4



There are races you want to run but you can't... and others you don't want to
run but you have to!



















I'm a trail runner. I like to climb mountains and explore forests. I like the
smell of freshly-cut grass, of pine trees, the sound of chirping birds and
climbing squirrels. I like to lose myself in Nature, without a goal or
destination. But above all, I HATE running in the city.





What has been a passion 10 years ago, while training for my first marathon
(Berlin), has become something I try to avoid everytime I can. I don't like city
marathons: Too crowded, too loud, too messy. Runners feeling like elites and
throwing plastic trash in the air, the crowd around you always too slow or too
fast, having to triple check every time you want to change lane or overtake. For
me, a city marathon is like a traffic jam. And I don't want to pay a fortune to
spend 4-5 hours stuck in traffic breathing motorbikes exhaust gas, until someone
trow a medal around me neck without even looking at me. I understand that all
this can be a thrill to most, but it's definitely not my thing.

Nonetheless, in spite of all this, there are some city marathons that I just
cannot decline. And London is one of these.





It's been a few years that the wife, the brother-in-run and I apply to the
London Marathon ballot. My wife qualified two years ago and had an amazing time
running it. So we all applied again, hoping to run together. And of course,
while I surely was the least excited about it, I qualified this time. After
postponing it for a year, hoping my wife would qualify too, I eventually had to
take a decision: Run or decline the London Marathon. I chose to run it, because
of the charity involvement and the low price, which is very enjoyable, when most
major marathons are getting insanely expensive (160 euros for Berlin, over $200
for NYC or Boston).





It was the right decision and I had a great time running the London marathon.
The atmosphere is unique and unlike anything I have seen before. The whole city
is in the street, cheering you up, handing you candies, fruits, pop-corn or
chocolate bars. The route takes you to beautiful corners, starting from
Greenwhich Park on the outskirts and taking you to the vibrant heart of the city
up to Buckingham Palace. Some sightseens are breathtaking, like crossing the
London Bridge or circling around the the Cutty Shak ship. Most runners are
supporting a charitable organisation and you feel like everyone is running for a
good cause above self-interest. While the weather feld quite cold (to me!) and
the wind was blowing when we started, the sun eventually made a pleasant
entrance and stuck with us until the end.





But the reason why this has been an incredible experience, is because I smashed
my PR, finishing under 4h (3.58.57 min). Since my very first marathon (Berlin,
4h 17min), I never came even close to beating my finish time, as I am solely
running trail marathons now, which are much more demanding. It kind of was my
only opportunity to try it and the sub-4 limit always appeared to me like a
lifetime goal I wished I would achive one day. But I did not expect to succeed
that day.





I kept an easy pace for the first 10 km. My brother- and sister-in-run ran along
with me and cheered me up on the way everywhere they could, it was an amazing
boost. After 10 km, I was feeling really good and started overtaking a lot of
people. An abundant source of energy and motivation keept sustaining me for
another 20km and I surprised myself holding a very intense pace. Of course, due
to my lack of training, I hit the wall around the 30th kilometer. Some quick
maths showed me that if I held a 5.20 min pace for the last 10km, I would barely
make the sub-4. It was hard to believe, so close to me that I could almost touch
it. But 10 painful kilometers were separating me from my dream.





I always take my time on trail events, I am just careful with time-limits but
never run with a finish time in mind. Now what the opportunity to try it, the
No-Pain-No-Gain everyone keeps telling about. When you push your body to the
corner, empty it from it's last ounce of energy and achieve the impossible. I
did not hesitate a second and held tight. It was tough, insanely tough. My
heartbeat increased gradually, my body having a hard time holding the pace. I
ran the last 10 km in pain, one eye on the road, the other on the watch, trying
to save on any effort, any step, any unnecessary movement, to reach my goal. 

I realised that my watch was a bit optimistic. By overtaking a lot, I had run a
little more than the actual distance. I kept doing the math in my head,
converting miles in kilometers, crossing distance and time. It's gonna work, no
wait it won't... It's gonna be 2min after 4h, no 1min before... It was as
painful for my head as for my legs. But evething held on and I covered the last
kilometers in an hypnotic state. I could not hear the people cheering around me,
nor lift my head to see the city monuments. One last turn, one last look at the
watch: 3h58, two minutes to go... And finally the finish line was in sight, I
crossed it 1min before this insane goal that I still believed impossible 4 hours
ago.



It took me about 1min to stop my legs from shaking. With a medal around my neck
and a bottle in my hand I can't remember receiving, I started crying. This never
happened to me before. I cried for a good 20 min, lying down in the grass
looking at the sky, until my legs stopped shaking. Oh boy, tomorrow's gonna be
painful, but right now I feel amazing. I changed this marathon that I did not
really want to run into an amazing memory I will remember all my life.



"They did not know it was impossible, so they did it..." - Mark Twain


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Libellés : city marathon, london, marathon, run, running, tcs, trail



FRIDAY, 13 OCTOBER 2023


XTERRA O-SEE ULTRA TRAIL 2023


It's not over until it's over! After an engaging running season and finishing
the stunning 6D-Marathon, I couldn't call it a year yet. This Saturday, I put on
my shoes for one last ride in the Zittau mountains. Located in a little enclave
between the German, Czech and Polish border, the village of Oybin has been
hosting for a few years now the XTerra O-See Trail Running event, with races
ranging from 500m to 65km. The 25K and 50K ones are part of the XTerra Trail Run
World Series and can help you qualify for more events. I'm in for the 50K / 2120
m+, which should be a realistic step after my recent training and the
6D-Marathon in July. I didnt have time to do a proper training/tapering this
time, but my few hills repetitions should do the trick. I still feel quite in
shape after the summer. 


The centerpiece of the O-See race surely is its locations, right at the heart of
the Zittau mountains. Nothing compared to the Alps, but the hills can be quite
steep and challenging. On top of that, the region's geography is very
surprising, with huge polished rocks growing like mushrooms everywhere and
transforming the forrest into a natural obstacle course. It's a unique
experience to immerse and lose yourself, while following these endless trails
snaking from one hill to another.



I had an amazing first part of the race, up to km 25, as the morning weather was
just perfect. I grew up in Corsica and I spent long afternoons playing in the
rocks behind my house, never tired of exploring and discovering hidden places.
That's exacly how I felt today, while each new turn was bringing more awe and
suprising challenges. 


The second part of the race, around 25-35km has been a little less interesting
though. It started raining and we left the funny rocks for larger paths through
the forrest. But the rain did not last long and the end of the race brought a
new layer of challenges, with steep hills, painful stone stairs, slippery slopes
and astonishing scenery. While I had been able to run all the way down during
the 6D-marathon, it was really tricky this time and I had to alternate between
fast walk and careful run all the time, using poles to stay in balance. But I
didn't mind, with a 10h cut-off I had all the time in the world to enjoy the
race one step at a time.

It took me a little more than 8 hours to cover the 51km and 2100m+. Quite a long
time compared to my previous race, but I didn't have time to get bored. The
route was pretty technical all the way and I had to stay focus to keep a decent
pace and not get hurt. I am very happy with my finish time and I had a lot of
fun, which is the most important thing after all! It was a unique experience
"taming" those hills and finding my way through all these funny rocks. I am
already considering attempting the big 65k next year, as it is quite close to
Berlin. All in all, this was another wonderful stone in my little trail-running
zen garden.





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Libellés : cheeseman, event, mountains, osee, oybin, race, run, running, trail,
xterra, zittau

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I AM THE CHEESEMAN 🧀


French busy dad with a serious food addiction and a craving for trail running, I
live in Berlin and explore the world one run at a time.



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