That sounds cool, doesn’t it? Not just a runner, but an ✨ ultra runner ✨. But even though it sounds cool, I know a lot of you are also wondering what the exact definition of an ultra runner is. Well, wonder no more my friends:

An ultra runner, also called ultra distance runner, is a person who runs footraces longer than the traditional marathon length of 42.195 kilometres (26 mi 385 yd).

The source of all sources: Wikipedia

What that means is that if you ran any distance longer than a standard marathon, you can call yourself an ultra runner. Naturally, I signed myself up for the absolute minimum distance to call yourself an ultra runner: a 50K race.

It is important to note here that there are two main categories of ultra marathons. There is the distance based version (usually 50K, 50M, 100K, or 100M) and the time based version (usually 6h, 12h, or 24h).

In order to give myself the title of ultra runner ad infinitum, I decided to stay on the safe side and run one ultra marathon from each category. Of course I went for the easiest version of both categories, because that’s simply the type of person I am.

Sofia Spring360 (6h ultra marathon)

First up was the Sofia Spring360 ultra marathon on the 17th of March 2024. In all honesty, I was not feeling ready for this ultra yet, as it was in the middle of my training program for the Gozo Ultra Trail Run in May. But what option did I have? The ultra marathon was being organised a few hundred meters away from the apartment Becky and I had just moved into one month prior. Surely that was God telling me that I should run this race, right?

Well that’s how I took it. It was a bit of a weird concept for a race: the route was a simple 645m lap through the park and you could either sign up for the 6h or the 12h version of the race. And that was pretty much it. You run the same damn loop for 6 or 12 hours straight. Absolutely bonkers.

It sounded crazy and rather stupid to me. Who would sign up for such a race? Not me, right? Me, who always proclaims to prefer trail running over road running because you get to see so much nature and interesting scenery. Would I now sign up for the exact opposite of that concept?

Yes.

How did this happen? First of all because the race happened to be at my doorstep. But I have to be honest and also disclose that the concept of the race woke up a sadistic fascination inside me. Running the same loop for 6h, doesn’t that drive you crazy? Especially someone who prefers to run without headphones. That means 6 hours of just running the same lap with only your thoughts to keep you company…

Fortunately for me though, I absolutely adore my own thoughts, so I was having a grand time during the race. I was just cruising, lap after lap, entertaining myself with various silly thoughts. Plus who needs headphones anyway, when you can repeat the same 2 seconds from ‘We zullen doorgaan’ by Ramses Shaffy in your head?

I think I sang the chorus of ‘We zullen doorgaan’ to myself for at least one hour straight without getting crazy, so that’s one for the books.

For the international readers, I will include the translated lyrics of this famous Dutch song, so you will understand why it was stuck in my head during this race.

We shall go on
With the punch of mild power
To go on
In a speechless night
We shall go on
We shall go on
We shall go on
Until we are together

We shall go on
With wavering certainty
To carry on in a speechless time
We shall go on
We shall go on
We shall go on
Until we are together

We shall go on
With the sweat on our faces
To carry on alone
In a trench without light
We shall go on
We shall go on
We shall go on
Until we are together

We shall go on
Every time we stand still
To continue again
Naked in the hurricane
We shall go on
We shall go on
We shall go on
Until we are together

We shall go on
When no one expects more
That we continue again
In a speechless night
We shall go on
We shall go on
We shall go on
Until we are together

My objective for this race was to just to start and then see how far I would get. I regarded it as a test case for the Gozo Ultra trail run, to see how far I was in my training journey. I would not be too disappointment if I had to quit the race. At least, that’s what I told myself in the weeks prior the to race. My competitive nature would of course dictate that I had to finish the race no matter what.

Sofia Spring360 ultra marathon
The epitome of speed

Notable events that occurred during the race:

  • I ran 7K long side-by-side with a Bulgarian lawyer, which made for interesting conversations, but also destroyed my pacing and fueling strategy (too fast and too little food)
  • My knees started to hurt at around 33K
  • Walked 1/2 lap at 38K, then decided it didn’t matter if I ran or walked, because the pain was equal
  • Started picking up the pace at around 40K, when I realised it was still possible to make the 50K in 6h
  • The final 10K were by-far my fastest 10K of the race (> 1 min/km faster than my average race pace)
  • Finished at 51.8K and earned my free pizza 🙂
Sofia Spring360 ultra marathon-3
Oh, the things I do for free pizza…

Gozo Ultra Trail Run (50K ultra marathon)

With the experience of successfully finishing the Sofia ultra marathon, I felt pretty confident that I would be able to finish the Gozo ultra. This, of course, was a grave overestimation of my own ability. The Gozo Ultra Trail Run was an entirely different beast than the Sofia race. For starters: it was a trail run, so much more challenging terrain than the smooth asphalt in Sofia. Second of all, it included an astonishing 1450 meters of elevation. That’s about five Netherlands stacked on top of each other – an incomprehensible level of elevation for my smooth Dutch brain.

So with the false sense of confidence that I garnered from the Sofia ultra, I flew to Malta. Back to the country where I had lived for the past four years and where I only moved away from a few months ago. As you can understand, being back in Malta meant I had to meet up with all the friends I had left behind. And meeting up with friends of course means: excessive drinking. And with excessive drinking comes smoking too many cigarettes. A great preparation for running my first ultra trail run. But can you really blame me? (the answer is yes)

Gozo Ultra Trail Run drinking
One of these pre-race drinking nights with the legendary Vella-Zarb brothers at the Queen Victoria pub in Valletta. I remember feeling a bit sad afterwards because I realised that these casual mid-week late nights with them would be mostly a thing for the memories now. But man, are those memories great! (I should’ve ironed my shirt)

How different was this preparation to the preparation for the Sofia ultra marathon: the Sofia race was in the middle of Lent, which meant I had been eating very clean and very little for a couple of weeks already. And most importantly: I had not drank or smoked anything for at least 5 weeks. My body was clean and strong.

Did I take any of this into consideration? No, of course not. I was very confident that I would be able to finish the Gozo race, and that was my only goal, so I went on a drinking spree that week. Virtually every single day of the week prior to the race I was drinking alcohol, smoking cigarettes, eating poorly, and going to bed late.

Absolutely terrible pre-race behaviour. And in hindsight, I regret it. Yes, of course I did get pre-race anxiety and I went to sleep early on the last day before the race, but that could not undo the damage that all the previous days had done.

I do realise that it now sounds as if I was drinking myself blackout drunk every single night of that pre-race week, which is not true. I had 3-5 pints of beer each night. That’s still a lot of beer, and definitely not good, but I wasn’t getting super-duper drunk, so I just wanted to make that clear 🙂

Gozo Ultra Trail Run-3
One of the only pictures I have from during the race, but I think it does show a bit of how steep some of these cliff side trails could be (notice the angle of the ankles, or the person climbing on hands and feet in the background). Unfortunately it does not properly show the incredible views were that we received as a reward. This was by far the most beautiful route I’ve ever ran in my life (so far).

Now, to summarize the race:

  • Cruising for the first 30K
  • Met a lovely couple from France/Greece and ran together for 10K
  • Met a French colleague of Becky around 30K, helped him getting through a slump
  • Walked a lot between 30K and 45K (together with David, Becky’s colleague), challenging terrain, lots of elevation, knees not cooperating
  • Roles reversed now: David pushed me through the final 5K
  • Managed to put a smile on my face for the finish photo 🙂
Gozo Ultra Trail Run-1
Crossing the finish line together with Davide after we pushed each other through this race
Gozo Ultra Trail Run-4
Perhaps a more accurate representation of how we felt at the finish line

So there you have it: I’m an ultra runner now. You’ve just read the story of my first two ultra marathons. Does the story stop here for me? Am I satisfied with reaching this milestone? Will this be enough for me to casually mention at birthday party conversations that I am an ultra runner?

No, of course not. You should never underestimate the power of the imposter syndrome: I’m not a real ultra runner, I’ve only reached 50K. That’s the bare minimum to call yourself an ultra runner. And I only ran two ultra marathons? What’s that? Rookie numbers! And my average speed? Pathetic!

Ergo: I have to continue running… *sigh*

Nah, not to worry: I really enjoy running 🙂 and I’m excited for my next challenge! What that challenge will be I’m not sure yet, but my mum did casually tell me that the longest ultra trail run of the Netherlands passes through my hometown… (Petranpad Ultra Trail, 112K)