When I signed up for this walking marathon I expected a similar experience to the ones I’ve had during my previous marathons (I completed walking a full marathon a couple of years ago, and also completed two half marathons before that – but I did those before I started this blog).
This marathon had about 100 participants (I’m still really bad at numbers in Danish, but I think one of the leaders mentioned 53 women and 39 men. Then again, it could have been 73 women and 29 men. Danish and its wonky number naming system…) and a few people keeping the pace. There was someone up front setting the pace and someone at the very back holding the pace. And no one even dreamed of getting ahead of the guy up front.
We started out in the town of Birkerød. We live just south of the start point and so it was easy for me to get there by train.
The beginning of the day was very nice. We had sunshine, but it wasn’t too hot either (this would change completely by the afternoon).
Now, what I’m used to – from my past marathon experiences – is this: you don’t stop (for any reason; peeing penalizes your overall time), you eat on the go (mostly gels that give me the runs – more time spent in port-a-potties), and drink water and electrolytes on the go as well.
This marathon was very different. We took two breaks before lunch. People snacked and drank tea. They peed in the bushes (many men opted for peeing in full view, just against any tree). They took off their shoes. I realized I didn’t bring any snacks, so instead I snacked on the plums and apples I foraged along the way.
We kept walking through some truly beautiful areas. There were forests and lakes.
There was a giant oak called JC Jacobsen’s.
There were also horses and cows, and they really made this walk very pleasurable.
During our second break, everyone began to notice the dark clouds moving in. At this point, there was still hope that they’d disperse.
Around lunchtime, we arrived in a little coastal town of Vedbæk. Here we split up and went to enjoy lunch at some local eateries. To be honest, I never thought I’d have an opportunity to eat a sit-down lunch – in a restaurant – during a marathon.
What I also did not expect was to be left behind by the marathon group! Yeah, it happened. I went into a bathroom and when I came back to the meeting point, everyone was gone. Resigned, I took the bus back home. But then, when I was feeling a bit let down, it started to rain. Really rain! So, all is well that ends well. 🙂 I still clocked in almost 22 km.
21.6 km (13.4 miles); 209 m of elevation (685 ft)
YTD Hiking Km: 56.45
