Huge congrats! That was one of the best race reports I’ve ever read and I’ve read quite a few. Total bonus points to all the pictures and formatting which made it seem like I was reading a magazine article instead of a forum posting! 
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Haha, thanks, really appreciate that! That was me trying to make it easier for people that wanted to skim to the key parts, figured not many would want to read the whole thing LOL
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Super Well Done, Kimber!!! Such an accomplishment!
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You just made me tear up with this report @kimberg 
wow what a day. Thank you for being so open and btw there is no TMI when it comes to IM.
So stoked for you, proud of you and WOW what a transformation from a power/speed athlete to an ultra endurance athlete!
Can’t wait to see what else you will do!!
MJ
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That was an amazing read @kimberg … thank you so much for pouring your heart out… through your training, in the race, and with your race report back to our community. 
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Congratulations!
And this made me LOL 
Remi.
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Hi Jock,
I enjoyed it start to finish. Really professional and well run. More work can be done to drive the atmosphere, especially the last 3km of the run course, you were away from spectators and in a sun bowl. Even some music would have lifted it.
The other thing, would be to have put km markers for the lap turn point. Some people did an extra lap and most people work asking others if it was time to turn .
Overall, 8/10 though I don’t have anything else to compare it with…
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“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all.” Helen Keller
Many athletes experience depression after a big event they have been preparing for intensely for a long time. Same happened to me after Ironman World Champs this year. I felt like the big adventure was over and I had nothing to look forward to.
After a big year of training I didn’t want to put more pressure on myself, simply do something that I enjoy: challenging myself with something new and exciting: Running for a very long distance.
I signed up for this ultra trail run, didn’t tell anyone, didn’t buy any special trail gear, didn’t run on trails once. Didn’t run longer than 12k in the lead up.
I want to be fit enough to jump into an adventure at anytime and training with Athletica allows me to do just that.
Trail running is much harder than road running - I was in for a rude awakening as I started the race WAY too fast. As I finished the first way-too-speedy lap of 13k I did something I never do mid-race: texted my Athletica training WhatsApp group. The pep talk I received was so amazing I decided to start one more lap. “ I can do 26k”.. After second lap, I called my family and told them to not come as I was going to DNF. Of course they told me to “just start the third round”. My coach @Prof also got a message. He reminded me I was a “tough nut”, and to keep going to the next bend of the trail, and then the next. Break it down to small chunks.
I’ve only once DNF’d and I’ve hated the feeling for 30 years. If there’s anything left in me, I’ll finish.
The last lap left, Axel, my youngest and hubby joined me for the beginning half of the loop. Having company definitely made it easier.
The last 6k I didn’t walk at all, I knew I had everything I needed to cross that finish line. It’s usually that way: it’s in the middle that it’s the hardest. Once the finish line looms, you know you’ll get there.
I wa surprised with the First Overall Female trophy as I crossed the finish line. 
Sports are mini-lessons in life:
- have your team close and don’t be afraid to rely on them when you need them
at Athletica, community is at the heart of what we do and I feel so lucky 
to be able to rely on my team when I need a pep talk - don’t let lack of gear or preparation stop you from adventures
- break down your goals into small chunks and focus on the step in front of you, not the last step way out in the future
- emotions, both good and bad will come and go in cycles. What seems impossible now will be totally doable in the future
- you never know what waits for you at the finish line
Keep on adventuring courageously 
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Wonderful writeup and way to keep moving!
That’s amazing. Thanks for the story and stoked for you on your accomplishment!
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Well done, Marjaana!
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Inspiring and amazing how encouragement from friends and family can turn things around.
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I owe it to you, my team 
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Fantastic. You’re learning some of the rules for managing what “ultras” throw at you. You really do learn a lot about yourself when you push beyond your comfort zones.
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I ride audax / brevets which are none competitive long distance cycling events. On Saturday I did a fairly local 100km event. This is a very short cycle event for me. I tend to be conservative on my longer events but like to test myself a bit more at these shorter distances. Now we don’t race these events for context.
Conditions were tough with temperatures of 5/6C, rain, and wind between 40-50 km/h. A headwind for the first 50km west, then tailwind for the leg back to the start / finish. I was the first rider back out of the souls who turned up, and started, given the weather.
It’s a good marker of what condition I’m in, at this time of year. Looking forward to seeing where I’ll be in June for my next A event.
I’ve been on Athletica since mid 2022 and yet to get bored with the training. I’ve found it very sustainable and suits my mindset.
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Last race of 2024 - BCS Marathon
As Alan Watts said: “You’re not running to get somewhere. You’re running to experience being alive.”
Running to me is meditation in motion. Some days running is a slog. Most of the time it makes me feel great and happy. But every once in a while, I get to experience a spiritual connection to something I can’t explain. Higher power, awareness, Euphoria? It’s a place where the thinking mind and inner critic quiets and the soul takes over.
You could certainly call it a runner’s high.
To get to this place, I have to get through pain and discomfort. When I stop fighting the pain, it reveals strength, and surprisingly joy in ways that comfort never will. Pain becomes the price I pay to feel this joy. As masochist as this may sound, I’ve rarely felt such joy as when pushing through pain in a race situation, even when I’m only racing against myself. And rarely do I feel more alive than in THAT moment.
Sunday’s on-a-whim marathon to benchmark my stand alone marathon performance: 3:50 - 4mins off my PB from January 2019. 7th out of 22 AG. Now let’s get to work! Fueled with jelly beans and larabars - 35g/hr. Check out aerobic decoupling and hit 0% WR at 70 mins showing I can be much more prepared to run a marathon…
MJ
No photos as it was literally in-and-out mission without family to cheer me on.
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Congrats on your ‘on-a-whim’ marathon!! Nicely done ! 
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4:27 at CIM 2024, a PR of 69 minutes. Do I know how to interpret these charts? No! Am I proud of my results and glad Athletica got me there? Yes!
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@ohlylo That’s an awesome effort! My quick glancing takeaways would be a great finishing kick (and holding on) to close out your race. A pretty rock solid even pacing and HR throughout. A massive personal best effort of -26% mWR and crossing past 0% into the negatives are around 2HR27M and have the ability to continue on at a similar effort for another two hours! Also, no huge aerobic decoupling (still under the 5% threshold where you wouldn’t be considered “decoupled”) Which means the 2nd half of your activity didn’t decline very much in comparison to your 1st half. Instead, you seemed to keep it steady throughout and then kicked it into another gear to finish out. Good job!
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Wow - congrats! Nice looking chart! 
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