Icebug 24
A Run for the Money
Fredrik Ölmqvist / 30.07.2007
How do you feel when you lose 1st place and 5000 SEK (aprox 500 Euros) by just one second? Ask me! Because this is what happened today in the Mountain Marathon class.Our team started 10 minutes behind yesterday’s winning team, local Team Tärnaby, and we slowly, slowly made up for the fatal orienteering error of day 1, being strong on the ascents through the steep and foggy scree and fast on the descents over rocky slopes.
At the last checkpoint, just a mere kilometre before the finish we were hot on their heels, just 10 seconds behind, with another team, the strong Team Sweroc 10 seconds behind us. Chasing them down the ski slope we gained on the leaders and almost, just almost caught them on the sprint for the finish line with a cheering crowd wild with excitement.
One second only, after totally 5 hours running. Bitter? Not really. It turned out the Tony Stenvall of the winning team celebrated his 40 years birthday by running today’s stage, cutting the cake just minutes after the tight finish.
Well, at least I can say that I was “close� to winning. Lesson learned today: never give up until the end. Always push forward and remember that every second counts. Looking back on today’s stage, of course we could have done a few things different, to save those seconds.
At the finish I also had a word with Team FJS (Daniel Hansson and Johan Hasselmark of the FJS adventure racing team) who won the 24 hour rogaining class, and 24,000 SEK (2400 Euro), totaling 40 points, 8 points more then second placed IKSU Multisport Svart.
\"It was long, maybe not as long as adventure racing, but the terrain is quite demanding, putting a lot of strain on the groin,\" said Daniel Hansson, who had been fighting stomach problems from 8 hours into the race and having hard time to keep his food down.
\"Eating is absolutely crucial, you won’t get very far if you don\'t eat regurlarly, but I managed to eat energy gel and some “gelehallon� (Swedish candy).\"See All Event Posts
