Soul of the World - Oman by UTMB 2019
Knock, knock, knock. Hm, how comfortable it is under a soft blanket, on a soft bed. At the border between wakefulness and sleep, with my eyes closed, I dream and relive the events of the last two days and two nights. Scenes and feelings fly in my mind like on a movie screen. A darkness that is only interrupted by green glittering dots, with sun-lit deep gorges and steep slopes to climb. And uncomfortable rocks and stones at the end. And talking to a man who moves his arms and legs, where only for a very few moments I realize that these are my limbs and my body. Knock, knock, knock. "Mr. Dušan?" Maybe I'm just not dreaming about this knocking. Uh, sure, I ordered breakfast at the guest house today, that's it. I open my eyes, put myself firmly on my feet and make my way to the door. In front of them stands a friendly Bangladesh young man who works at our hotel, to name it that way. "Breakfast is ready, Mr. Dušan. The sun will be out soon and the tables will have to be cleaned then." I feel an unknown hunger in my stomach. “When was the last time I ate, at noon yesterday at the target running space?” I think. Thank you, this is food that will come in handy now. In the courtyard, a dream-like scene, a fully lined table waiting for me. When I sit down, Olivier Saleh, a Frenchman with Lebanese roots, joins me from the building, who also sleeps in our hotel and attends the race at the same distance as Robert and I. Robert headed back to Slovenia last night. Olivier's story is hard to imagine. He went through the whole race, survived all the hardships of two days and nights, and then, with the acquaintance of the Japanese they had been running together, only wrongly turned about 2 kilometers before the finish line and arrived at some wrong destination. Tired as they were, they did not immediately realize the mistake. By the time they found it and they were looking for the right finish, it was too late, as the race director decided after the complaint. Yesterday afternoon, Olivier was totally disappointed as only a psychologically and physically emptied man can. Today, he is a completely different person. Satisfied, reassured. He knows what he's been through, experienced and done. And no one can take that away from him. He understood the essence of the matter. The point is not at the medal you get at finish line, as well as being directly ranked at UTMB and all other official matters. The point is in personal satisfaction when you know that you have done everything you can and that you have succeeded. That you are full of new impressions that will remain forever. I immediately liked Olivier two days ago, I felt a kindred soul. He further confirms when he tells me, "Now I have to write down a story in my note, that pops into my head. Write it down so I can read it again and again and relive the events that went on in the race."
Note: I apologise for some "strange" translation, because article was quickly translated from Slovene language using "Google translate" and after that checked very quickly.
I too was emotionally drained yesterday afternoon. After 2 nights without a minute's sleep, as soon as I had eaten pasta and rice in the finish area, I fell asleep at the table. When I woke up, the Polish guy I talked to earlier said, that I slept so well that he did not want to disturb me. The main emotion I felt was the anger at the organizer that the last 12 miles were driven by on such challenging terrain that it took me about 4 hours to run. Sharp, sloping rocks all the time, and large rocks and boulders cause you pain in your already tired legs and knees. And you have the feeling that this will never be over. I ran with two Scots women and we went mad. I knew what was waiting for me, only tired brains could no longer function normally. Today I woke up to a completely different person. Like Olivier, it took me a night of sleep to figure out what was going on, what we did and started to rejoice. And how to rejoice. When my stomach is full, I feel like I could jump to Mars, the whole world is mine. First, I write to my wife Martina that I am great and that I am happy. "Don't write this on Facebook right now," she teases me. Of course, I won't, what about :) I take my phone and tell the world that I have a great wife and children and that I'm a happy man. Has anyone thought I wouldn't?
However, a story is already forming in my head that I feel I would like to write on a piece of paper. I just have to find the time and energy to do it.
If the child we were, today asked us what was the best thing our life had taught us, what would we say to him and what would then be revealed to us? (1)I'm sitting on a plane from Zagreb to Doha. We'll fly in a little while. I have a five-hour flight to Qatar and then two hours to Muscat, Oman, with a two-month wait for this adventure to finally begin. There is no excessive crowding on the plane. How is it that I found myself again on this path where, during the race last year, I assured myself countless times that I would be gone to this race because it required too much from a man? I close my eyes, take a few deep breaths and try to disconnect from the outside world. I turn my attention to the interior, to the spiritual body, to open one door after another, leading to different levels of our consciousness. Some time ago, I decided to take advantage of this year's adventure in Oman to meet the guy I once was, to talk a little about the experiences I gained during my first 50 years of life. I remove the veils of consciousness, cross the boundaries between worlds, I fly over the mountains and valleys in my consciousness and then I see it. He stands on the shore of a green mountain lake and plays with a wooden boat. I slowly approach him.
"Who are you?" I ask.
He laughs at me, "You know who I am, because you sought me. I'm Dusko, I am you when you were 10 years old." A little more annoyingly, "Well, you've grown a little over these 40 years since we haven't seen each other. Where are we going?"
"In Oman, at a 130 kilometer long ultra trail race where we will need to climb 7,400 meters. It is called Oman by UTMB, and last year after its baptism it was named the Best from the East. It was 8 kilometers longer than this year, last year it took me 44 hours. This year, in addition to the 130 kilometer course, more shorter routes were prepared for beginners, along with the 50 kilometer and longest, 170 kilometer route," I reply.
"Yes, I remember. The terrain is very challenging, unmatched by any other ultra trail match. There are lots of rocks and boulders where already walking is problematic. And there is some rock climbing as well. Wasn't this an adventure where you repeatedly said that you had to reach your destination because you would no longer return there? Then why did you change your mind? "He asks me.
I laugh, "Yeah, I want you to understand that. Because that's the essence of our existence, our soul of the world. Last year, I really thought I wouldn't repeat this adventure again. Then this year, I realized more and more that I was missing the depth of experience that can only be offered by an experience that brings you to the brink of your physical and psychic abilities. Exploring my borders. Something that made me once climb to the top of eight thousand meter peak. I want you to feel this need, this call. "
"I don't understand, because I'm only a 10-year-old boy, and you speak so complicated. I'm very interested. Well, let's go on this route and this adventure together," he replies gravely. And our journey begins.
Believe in yourself and the rest will be put in place. Believe in your skills, work hard and there is nothing you cannot achieve. (2)The flight passed very quickly and without complications. I arrived in Muscat, the capital of Oman at 8 pm in the evening. This year, I decided for a daily flight so that I would not get one night without sleep before starting. I took a taxi to the pre-booked hotel where I slept. Due to the fact that the local time is 3 hours before the Slovenian time, I was struggling to fall asleep, so in the morning I could pull a little more than I used to. The next morning I had a good breakfast at the hotel and drove back to the airport afterwards. There I had to register for a 2 hours bus ride to Nizwa, organized by the race organizer. Many runners have been gathered in the lobby of the airport, that you could recognize through clothing and footwear. Immediately I started talking and meeting interesting people from all over the world. The organizer boasts this year that it has attracted nearly 2,000 runners from 69 countries. There are about 250 of us on my 130-kilometer route. On the bus, I sit next to a runner from South Korea who speaks less English. In addition, around me are Spaniards, Danes, Swiss, French, Polish, Japanese, in short a mixture of everything possible. It is interesting to note that on the whole bus I was the only one who was in the race last year. I give some tips on warmer clothes for second night.
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| On the bus |
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| With a friendly runner from South Korea |
When we arrive at the first hotel, which is part of the official hotels of the event, I change the bus there and head to the ancient city of Birkat Al Mouz, where this year's starting numbers are lifted and equipment checked. The start of our run is in the same place. The inspection of the equipment was detailed, but it was smooth. Omanis are very nice people. Interestingly, there are 4.6 million people living in the country, 45% of them immigrants, who were brought to the country in search of work and a better life. They came from other Arab countries, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Iran and Africa.
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| Castle in Birkat Al Mouz, where the race starts |
After the formalities are over, I take the next organizer bus back to the Safari Hotel, which is the farthest from the start and the closest to the place where Robbie and I will sleep in a small hotel called "Beyout Guest House". I have one problem when the bus leaves. I have an app on my phone that can call an Omani taxi, but I just don't have an Omani SIM card so I cannot use the data transfer. With a Slovenian card, 1 MB would cost me 10 euros, which means I would spend 100 euros quickly before blowing it. What now? On the other side of the road, I see a large complex that looks like a shopping mall. I run across the road because there is no pedestrian crossing anywhere. In the center, it first surprises me that there is a whole amusement park for children with full carousels and everything else under the roof. I eat something at McDonald's that I find at the entrance because it seems the least risky at the moment. The manager of the shop tells me that they do not sell SIM cards in this mall, but they sell them in one another, which is 15 minutes on foot. As I pull my suitcase down the road toward it, I stumble into a taxi parking lot. After a fight between taxi drivers who would take me, a young boy apparently won, saying he knew where I would get my phone card and that he would take me. It turns out that the boy is an economics student who drives a taxi during the holidays to earn money. For the next hour we were driving around together because his first attempt was unsuccessful, they were not allowed to sell the cards to a stranger. In between, he explains everything alive to me. When I asked him if I overlooked pedestrian crossings he said when laughing: "You have to run fast across the street in Oman. If you're not fast, then an accident." He said laso this: "There are many children in Oman. A family of 5 or 6 is a small family." Well, in the end, when he barely found a small hotel in the middle of the desert, he showed off his entrepreneurial vein. When I asked him how much I owed, he said, "How much do you think is right." And I gave him 10 rials, which is 23 euros, because he helped me and made me laugh. Needless to say, I paid 1 rial the last day to go backwards :)
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| Sunset in front of Omani mall |
When I arrive at the hotel and settle in, I'm not ready to finish the day. I walk out into the darkness by the side of the road leading to the mosque some 30 minutes away. I go past the restaurant the receptionist recommended to me, but I decide not to eat again today. I sit in the sand in front of the mosque, and I close my eyes a little. “Do you have pre-match porch?” Dusko asks me. "Of course I have some anxiety. But the positives. I know it will be challenging and I don't know how my already damaged body will react. But I don't remember the last time I had such a hard time expecting an adventure. I'm full of excitement, I can't wait for again, to be driven to parallel worlds that open to tired brains," I reply to him.
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| A small mosque in the desert |
After a circle around the mosque, I return to the hotel and head to bed. I expect Robert Kerezi, a friend and co-runner from Maribor, at around 1 am at night, and I know he will wake me up. He arrives directly from the airport today to the hotel. In the middle of the night Robert really shows up in the room and I cheer him on. Fortunately, I manage to fall back asleep quickly, and in the morning I wake up rested and hungry. First, I find that there will be nothing for breakfast at the hotel, since I should have ordered it the day before. Uh, what a disappointment. Then I start talking to a guest I meet in the yard. He introduced himself as Olivier Saleh, a Frenchman with Lebanese roots and that he also goes the same distance as we do with Robert. In the following, I learn that he has a rented car and is just heading to the city where the starting numbers are issued. I think quickly and ask him if he can take Robert by his side and wait for him. He kindly agrees and I'll run to Robert and tell him about the good option he got. In the meantime, I also decide to go with them and find something under the tooth there.
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| Robert during the checking of mandatory equipment |
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| Robert and me |
The most beautiful things in life are the ones you reach by persistently overcoming problems (3)A shoot from an antique rifle marks the beginning. A river of 246 runners sets off on the trail. We have the first stage to reach Al Muyadin, 13 kilometers long, with 300 meters of ascent. The only stage in the race that you can even go through relatively quickly. Well, of course relative, because this one runs along the sandy terrain, which sucks you a lot. But the only one is not rocky. First we run through the ancient city of Birkat Al Mawz, along its narrow streets and through the ancient fort. After a while, we leave town and head out into the desert. I try to run at a normal pace all the time, as I have a plan to gain some advantages at this stage compared to the maximum time allowed to be on the safe side later. I'm worried about the time halfway through the Alila Hotel, where this year, like last year, is the point where we get to the bag with our stuff. According to the theory, this year is 8 kilometers less, but we have 2 hours less time. I don’t know exactly what that means, or I’ll be fast enough. Towards the end of the stage, where the path gets upright a little, I'm already struggling, the hunger in my stomach grows stronger. What comes next is the realization that if I did well last year, when I was less prepared, I should have this year.
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| 1. Checkpoint |
I don't dwell too much on the refreshments point because there is no food, only drinks. I need to get to the 20 kilometer distance at Masirat Al Rawajih if I want to eat. The second stage immediately shows the teeth and what lies ahead. In 12 kilometers we have to climb as much as 1,161 meters of difficult terrain. Soon we turn into a narrow gorge that stands upright. We climb over large boulders, jumping boulders numerous times across the stream from side to side. To me, however, there is a growing crisis. I feel like something has stuck my stomach together and I can't breathe normally. I do not know if it is from hunger or the result of the virus that has plagued me before leaving. It only comforts me that I know from experience that these initial stages are usually the worst at ultra runs, because it takes my body a while to get into an ultra "diesel" state. I shift two gears lower and pull myself up, with the sole purpose of surviving to the next snack bar and to the food. Quite a few runners overtake me. I somehow survive to the refreshment point, I feel miserable. They put a bowl of something cooked in my hands that looks like semolina and tastes like bananas and roasted. But the effect is incredible. A few minutes after I eat something warm, I'm suddenly fell better. The nausea discounts and all of a sudden I feel great. Follow the steep road to the top of the hill, and on the other side, descend down to the second checkpoint in Sallut, 25 kilometers. In between, I overtake quite a few runners who overtook me earlier when I was struggling. I'm on the road for 4 hours and 19 minutes.
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| 2. Checkpoint |
Immediately after the second checkpoint, we again plunge into a slope, where in the dark I can see a column of lights twisting far up. Weakness is the past, it flies me well. Climb 500 meters to the top of a high plateau, then head up and down to Wadi Wani Habib at 33.5 kilometers. A nice Japanese guy sticks to my heels, saying that I have a good steady pace which suits him. Together we come to the next point.
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| The lights twist up and down in the mountain desert |
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| 4. Checkpoint |
After refreshments with food and drink, I continue my journey into the darkness. The next stage is not so difficult. Climb over the 2,000-meter-high mountain top and descend to the tent at Kahf Al Hamir, on 42 kilometres of the trail. On that stage was the only change since last year. This year we descended directly from the summit directly down to the refreshments point, but last year we were first taken deeper into the valley and then had to climb back up to the checkpoint. I like this year's version much more, it is more fluid and allows for better progression, because of this we will be able to overcome two steep and difficult climbs in the dark rather than in the daytime sun when it is much more difficult. I already have a safe time advantage for 2 hours before being locked up.
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| 5. Checkpoint |
This is followed by an extremely long and challenging stage to the next Al Hiyalat checkpoint, where we have to run 17.4 kilometers and climb 1,100 meters. I had it done in the strong sun last year and it honestly made me ver tired. This year, I started it in the dark and in the meantime sunrise started. It's nice to me, in the first half of stage I run relaxed.
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| 7. Checkpoint |
Then we come to steeper ascents, followed by a long descent into the valley of a narrow gorge where the settlement is abandoned.
From the bottom of the gorge last year was one of the most hellish steep climbs. This year, without the sun shining into the head is much easier. In the village at the top, I again have some food and drink and prepare for the next stage.
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| We have to climb to the top of this ridge, where there is a checkpoint settlement |
This is followed by a 12.8 kilometer long stage, first beginning with a short ascent, followed by a crossing along the edge of the valley and continuing with a longer descent. The descent first goes partly down the road, then from AL Mihaybis the trail follows an ancient trail called "The Path of the Lost Villages". The path leads us down steeply before connecting to an exposed path that crosses a steep slope over a large precipice. Before the turn, it descends back under the cliff to reach an especially impressive old stone village. It's been a steady run for over two hours now and I realize that sooner or later I'll pay the bill for it. But right now, I feel so good that I feel like I'm hovering and enjoying myself.
There are no impossible things, only limited awareness of one's own abilities.“Do you believe in the afterlife?” Dusko asks me as I look at the abandoned village.
“I would say no. Maybe into the reincarnation of the soul. That is why I believe in our lives that we live here and now. That is why it seems even more important to us how we will survive this life given to us on Earth rather than consoling ourselves to be better in the next or in heaven. We must make heaven or the next life here and now. And by that I do not mean material goods. Many times I think that I have experienced so much beautiful and fulfilling life that even though I die today, it was worth living. A man needs someone to hold his hand when he is a child. And he needs someone to hold his hand when his time comes. And the most you can do in life is have someone to hold your hand when you need it. Hold on because she/he loves you because she/he thinks you're a good man. But we are increasingly lacking in this crazy pace of life, "I reply to him.
From the village we head to the bottom of the canyon (Wadi river valley) and make our way up the river bed to the rocks where the water is cut. The aesthetically pleasing part of the path lies ahead of us, in that part of the day when the sun is strongest. This is having impact on my climbing speed.
From the lowest point we have to climb somewhere for 1,000 height meters. There are quite a few climbing sections, some sections need caution, and you should certainly not be afraid of heights. When you find yourself at the lower lake, you are breathtaking in beauty.
When climbing these water-smoothed and wet jumps, care must be taken not to slip and to get well.
Just before the hotel, appears the steepest part of the climb, which is the only one secured with a steel pipe. Here we get, like last year, a helmet and a safety kit, and there are volunteer mountaineers who help you install the equipment if you are not skilled. As a mountaineer, this is of course my terrain. As I walk, I grab my helmet and pass people sitting and resting and start climbing. Most of the time, I don't attach myself to a cylinder to go faster.
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| Selfie in the wall |
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| The exposed part of climbing |
At 1:50 pm, after 18 hours and 20 minutes, I reach the Alia Hotel, where is the checkpoint where a bag of spare equipment and honest food at the restaurant awaits me. I take the matter one by one. First I have a big meal, then I go to the toilet and wash my feet. In doing this, I put down the shelf with my gloves to wear hiking poles. At this point, a lot of competitors leave race. After 20 hours you are really tired and when you eat something, many people decide that they can not go on. Getting to this point is more difficult than reaching the end of the race of most of the 100 kilometres ultra trail runs I've gone through.
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| 9. Checkpoint |
This year I have no problem eating here, I'm obviously in better shape than last year. I got so tired and hungry last year that I barely and forcefully swallowed every bite of food. When I do this I go to the bag, put on a charging phone and a sports watch and change into dry clothes. I also take a new pack of energy gels and spare batteries and put everything back in my running backpack. When I want to leave, it's 2:45 pm. But I feel that I would go to toilet again, as long as I still have the opportunity. When I'm almost there, it turns to me that I don't have the shelves for hiking poles. I remember the shelves on the toilet and I went to see them there. There are none and the gentleman who works there tells me that he saw them, but someone had to take them away. I'm sure none of the runners here would steal anyone from this matter, but someone probably took it to the organizer if anyone will looking for it. Such as mine, I find on one of the tables in the dining room, next to some running poles. It takes me another 15 minutes to find the owner who confirms to me that the gloves are not his and therefore mine. At 15:15, an hour and 25 minutes after arriving at the hotel, I finally leave. I don't see anyone either in front of me or behind me. Obviously I'll be alone for a while.
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| 9A. Checkpoint |
There is a 10.3 kilometer stage ahead of us, with 772 meters of ascent, where we have to overcome three longer climbs. First, after climbing ravines in a beautiful world, climb to the first peak. The sun is slowly setting, which turns the landscape around us into beautiful shades of red. Before the summit, I turn around and take pictures of two runners that I just caught up with and overtook.
My soul floats peacefully around me and I know that I am privileged to enjoy such feelings. I hope Dusko feels that too.
"How are you feeling, tired?" Dusko asks me.
"Of course I'm already tired. On the other hand, I may be a little disappointed. I was expecting to go back and forth between reality and imaginary worlds. So, for one night and one day, I was on the road and everything was almost too routine. The matter is too much under my control, I didn't expect it. I'll see what else comes. "
What you knew before you were born is not lost. You hide until you've been tried until it's time to remember. When you want to, you will certainly discover some strange, fun way and find it again. (4)And then came that famous second night. Or the other half of the second night. And all the routine came crashing down, everything soon turned upside down. First we climbed over the second slope to the top of the ridge, after which we continued. And here, above 2,000 meters, a very cold wind began to blow, much like last year, except that this time it might have been easier to tolerate. For too long, I didn’t want to stop to replace the shorts with the warmer three-quarter ones I had in my backpack. I knew that at least 10 runners would overtake me before I could do everything. Already really chilled, I finally decide to stop and change my clothes. Little before that, in the cold wind, the drums in my sinuses and my head, which were the result of some virus last week at home, which I had hoped to kill in myself the first night, sounded again. Drowsiness starts to take me away a little. Boom, boom ...
"So you don't believe in god?" Dusko said again. I think, “I am not a member of any religion. But I believe that man is more than just a material body. I believe in what we usually call a human soul. I believe we get more at birth that the DNA of our parents. Many religious and secular theories agree that human character, behavior and thinking are characterized by four, five generations of your ancestors. I believe this is somehow carried forward. All too often this "deya vu" effect occurs to me. I am in a situation where I am convinced that my situation and feelings have been known to me somewhere, but not from this life. For example, images and feelings make me think that my ancestors were warriors and world travelers. It's kind of embedded in my soul, in my feelings, in my memories. "That sounds complicated," Dusko imagined. "But I think that one day in the future, children will learn about these things at school and laugh at how ignorant we were. Today, many things are still unknown. 400 years ago, if you will know these what is commonly known today, you will be burned in the bush, ”I reply to him.
We ascend to the third ridge and when I reach the checkpoint in Qiyut after 24 hours and 22 minutes, I am already quite tired. The runners around me dress everything they have, and I also spend everything I carry with me. He screws up like a devil anyway. Of course, an even warmer layer, but heavier to carry, I left in my bag to have a less bulky backpack, though I had been saying for the last month that I would take it for another night. However, because of last year's experience, at least I had warm gloves and two thin hats, which I both put on my head.
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| 10. Checkpoint |
It takes me an hour and 20 minutes to reach the next checkpoint at Sharaf Al Alamyn. Most of the way down the ridge, slightly down. Returning to the crime scene, at this point I forgot my start number last year and lost 2 hours to get back after it. This year, I prefer not to stop at it a lot, especially because I know what lies ahead in the next phase.
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| 11. Checkpoint |
From the checkpoint, we first ascend to the top of the ridge, and there begins a shattered, sandy road, which can only be driven with a four-wheel drive off-road vehicle. The road is killerly monotonous, all the way down, steep at times. By the next place, we have as much as 12 miles of this one-of-a-kind monster road. This torture lasts for two and a half hours. In between, I see runners falling asleep, falling, standing up and moving on while running. I myself becoming more and more awake as there is nothing that catches my attention.
These are forces that may seem evil, but are really teaching us how to realize a Personal Legend. These are the forces that stimulate your spirit and your will. Why there is a great truth in this world: that your desire, whoever you are, whatever you do and whatever you really want, has been born in the soul of creation. Your desire is your mission in this world. (5)I consciously recall in my mind the faces of the women I loved and were gone. First, my partisan grandmother, who was very young, after her husband's stroke, left alone with a widow's pension and had to raise two sons on her own. She never complained and many times she said to me laughingly, "Dusko, life is a struggle!" Or my dear other grandmother, who survived the war in a Nacist concentration camp and, at the age of 75, was carrying a heavy iron pole around the house, which I, a 25-year-old athlete, had a hard time raising. She never complained about anything and went quiet, telling no one about her illness. And my mom, a gentle woman and a passionate smoker. Her most common sentence was, "As long as I smoke for my money, no one will tell me anything." Yes, her cancer did not tell anything. And my father, who never put down any tools behind him and always grunted, "Who wasted all my tools again!". Yes, I miss them all. They were fighters, and each one of them marked me in its own way.
Finally, I leave the dusty road and climb the narrow gorge to the next village of Balad Sayt. The consequences of the road are burning blisters on both heels and both toes.
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| 12. Checkpoint |
You need solitude to live with spiritsI spend half an hour at this point where a warm meal is again available. I have no will to choose and I eat the first thing they put into my hands. With the corner of my eye I notice that some runners eating pasta, but I can't deal with it. The body desperately calls for sleep. I probably would have done the smartest thing if I had lounged here for 20 minutes and then moved on. In front of us there are 1000 meters of climbing height, over very exposed wall. I'm scared to get into the climbing so sleepy, because I feel like I'm not in control the most. The brain starts to drift away. On the other hand, I notice that most of those who came then as I have either gone or gone to bed. At one point, I notice 2 younger runners, a Pole and a Roman, who are heading to the wall together. In the current impetus, I choose to follow them.
At first, I'm feeling sick. Because of the calluses, I step more away, and because of drowsiness, it makes me more reliant. I have to stop shortly to take off my long sleeves and fall behind. Well, that's my terrain, I think. I do my best to follow the lights in front of me. Soon at the first more exposed spot, I come across a runner from South Korea who was sitting next to me on the bus. Obviously, he is so scared that he dares not climb higher. I try to convince him not to look down and follow me, but he just keeps saying, "I'm not gonna make it, I'm not going to make it," and he doesn't move. After two minutes of desperation, everyone knows best what is best for him. Later I heard that he gave up and resigned here. Although I find it difficult to concentrate, I run behind the lights above me. In time, I catch up with both boys, the Poles and the Romanians, and together we climb. We talk a little bit all the time to stay awake. My feet are burning, but I don't want to let go and fall behind.
»What is your fear of solitude, darkness and silence? Aren't you afraid of being stunned by these rocks? " Dusko asks, looking deep in timidity. Yes, I remember when I was 10 I was very afraid of heights. From the friend's window on the fifth floor of the block, I barely dared to look. "Don't worry," I reply to him with a quote from O'Brien, "I have learned that fear limits us and our vision. It serves as a shade for what is possible for us, perhaps just a few steps down the road. Traveling is valuable, but believing in your talents, your abilities and your self-worth can inspire us to embark on an even brighter journey. Transforming fear into freedom, how big a deal is that? "
After two and a half hours, the wall was climbed. As we step out onto the top ridge, we are again caught by a strong and cold wind. I stop to put on long sleeves, the guys are moving forward. The long sleeve T-shirt is wet from before, and it makes me fell even more frozen. I pull on everything I have, bow my head in the wind and nibble toward the checkpoint at the top of the mountain.
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| 13.Checkpoint |
The wind breaks us into individuals, at one time everyone is alone, with their own problems and tremors. I remember explaining to everyone who listened to me to take warm things for another night before starting. And some just looked at me incredulously. Gloves that they don't even have with them. Olivier later thanked me for rescuing him with his advice that he had all the warm things he needed. Some do not have them, and I see them taking their will on the ridge. You have nowhere to run. We are currently in the most remote part of the trail, a good 10 kilometers away from the nearest sandy trail. Somewhere along the way I pass Romanian, with a corner of consciousness I notice that he is trying to dress in the wind. Suddenly I'm completely alone, not in front of me, not seeing any light behind me. The world around me is black, I barely recognize the shapes. The only thing I see are small green glittering dots that lead me up and down the slopes of the highest ridge along the way.
The brain, however, gets lost. Drowsiness and fatigue did her part. I notice the hands and feet of a man walking and talking to him. For a while, I’m convinced that this body is from my wife Martina and I talk to her how to move, what to do. A couple of times my mind cuts through the realization: "Fool, this is your body, these are your legs." But as soon as it comes, the realization is lost. I continue to talk to the running man. I feel he's getting sick. I ask him if he would take an energy gel, but at the same time I warn him that he might vomit because of it. There are three of us at one point, changing people I'm sure I am. The automatic pilot, however, still closely follows the green dots and avoids the reds, which represent an abyss.
All the while, I expect to find myself at the top of the highest mountain on the course. "But since I didn't go here for so long last year, they probably changed course or I got lost," I think. In front of me, I observe a cable car that leads down the mountain. "When did they just make it, wasn't there last year?" I wonder. Then I look at the rock carved castle, with its beautiful towers. "Who tried to carve here in the middle of nowhere?" I think. When I want to touch the tower, it turns into a rock.
It's slowly starting to get cold, it's the coldest part of the night. And I'm the highest on the road. At one point, I decide to give the runner I’m looking at an energy gel. He hardly bites the top of the bag and squeezes it into his mouth. And then it was as if someone was giving me a big slap. My head clears in an instant, all of a sudden I'm back again, aware of who I am and where I am. And to shake from the cold. With my last strength, I pull up to the top of the 2,300 meters high mountain, the highest and, according to the organizers, the most remote point on the trail.
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| A few minutes ago, I returned to this world |
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| It is so cold :( |
From here to the race finish, the route is mostly just down. But I knew I had nothing to look forward to, but a hell of a path awaited me. The first part of the descent from the summit to the Col Trail Split checkpoint is very steep and a little dangerous. It requires care and concentration, as you step down into the crunchy, exposed and steep world. After 35 hours and 17 minutes, I'm at the checkpoint where they smoke and heat around the fire.
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| 14.Checkpoint |
In theory, it's 13 kilometers down the road by the end. Last year, I thought I would be in finish in two hours from here. But I honestly counted myself, from here I spent at least another 5 hours. Even though I tried to run all the time. It tells you what kind of terrain awaits you in the end. The first 4.6 kilometres of steep cliffs and rocks to the waterfront coffee house, Coffee House, are completely slow. I spend an hour and a half on this stretch. In the meantime, I catch up with two women runners from Scotland and together we continue our journey and together we curse the organizer for this conclusion. It gets hot, but I don't have the will to stop and take off my long pants, and the long-sleeved shirt and jacket off.
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| 14A. Checkpoint |
The sun blinds me, but also changing glasses in running glasses is something that is superfluous to me. I just hope it doesn't blink my eyes too much. After Coffee House, the journey becomes even more difficult. We turn into a steep gorge and the organizer signs the path all the way across the most overgrown parts, where are the largest and most rocky rocks. At least it seems to us so angry. We take long steps all the way down the rocks, and of course, as soon as possible, your knee has to start hurting as if it is already blistering and the rest is not enough. At some point I can no longer tolerate the heat and stop and change my shorts. In the meantime, three or four runners overtook me. 2.5 kilometers before the finish line, when you could be kindly led to the finish line on the road, path turn the same as last year, into uncomfortable rocks, onto the "last small trail". The course retains its character to the very end. Four hours after leaving the checkpoint at the ridge, we find ourselves at our destination. I run a little further from the Scots, but I decide to stop and wait for them to go through the finish line together if we have been suffering together for the last hours. A meter in front of the goal, another "gentlemanly" flash flashes over me, and I stop for a moment allowing them to run into the finish a little ahead of me.
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| It is done :) |
I was 39 hours and 15 minutes on the route. 5 hours faster than last year, barely 3 hours before the limit. The only feeling immediately in the finish is, "I did it for what I came for." I'm empty, I don't feel any triumph. Yes, I got myself a direct ticket at 170 kilometres race on the Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc next year. Over time, my Polish young man runs through the finish line. We eat something together, and then I fall asleep at the table. On the bus back to the hotels, I see my friend Olivier, and so I have a solved ride back to our hotel. Robert succeeded, too, and he also improved his last year time by 5 hours. Congratulations my friend.
Knock, knock, knock. Hm, how comfortable it is under a soft blanket, on a soft bed...
Above all, don't forget to follow your Personal Legend through to its conclusion. (7)
We sit on the seashore, the wind blows through our hair, the temperature is comfortable. Dusko throws pebbles into the sea and looks forward to them bouncing more than twice. Yeah, kids just do it. The sea is calm, just like my soul. I look him deep into his gray-blue eyes and ask, "Do you understand now?" He laughs and throws another pebble that bounces eight times. Wow! He returns his gaze to me and replies, "Dusan, now I understand why. I felt it." For the last time, calm, I deeply capture the pleasant seaside air. We need to go back home. I wave him goodbye. "Salam alaykum, my friend." "Alejkumu selam, I'll see you later," he mutters back.
Quotes:
(1), (4) Richard Bach, Flight into the deep(2) Brad Henry
(3) Andrej Štremfelj, the recipient of a mountaineering recognition as a golden ax
(5), (7) Paulo Coelho, Alkimist
(6) Anne Michaels
Path overview:
A little impression of Oman
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| The Sultan's Palace |
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| National Museum |
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| Ancient Marketplace |
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| Girl, which dress to choose? |
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| Sultan |
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