Jungle Marathon
86 km of Inferno and Confusion
Fredrik Olmqvist / 28.09.2004
Many runners miss the first cut turn and get lost immediately. From having been in the first group I fell back and have to run alone. At one point I was attacked by fierce wasps that hunted me for more than 50m. I haven’t run that fast for a long time. They leave me with three stings and wait for the next runner. The trail is almost as tough as the first day, very undulating and technical, with lots of logs, roots and braches and leaves that try to cut and tear or strangle me at every chance.
One vine makes me trip and fall hard on my chest and face. The buckle of the watch breaks and I am just inches away from cutting my chest on a sharp edged stump. After a few hours I reach the front group of Karim Mosta, Bafu (a very strong triathlete from Santarem), the Korean 2:17 runner Mr Ki An and Cardoso, the young Brasilian I ran together with the previous day.
Cardoso makes a two finger sign, which means there are two jaguars close by. The group moves silently through the dense jungle. After 8 hrs running on jungle trail we reach CP 5. The others refill the water bottles but I have to stay in the shade, its just too hot and I have to get some energy in my body. Alone on the sun exposed dirt road I find myself very weak and slow. The natives along the road seem to pity me.
Charlie Engle passes me when I’m resting under a tree. It’s almost impossible to run in this punishing heat, and I have bad blisters under both feet, toes, forefoot and heel. I have experienced similar situations in other races, when it feels like you’re in Hell. When the fun factor is far away. Therefore I don’t hesitate even a split of a second when I get a glimpse of the beach of the glittering Tapajos River a little more than 100 m from the road.
Like a madman, crazy and delirious I shuffle into the water without listening to the people who try to redirect me. I have to cool off. I stay in the water for maybe 10 minutes, which is the time it takes for the school class to get over their curiosity of my strange behavior.
SleepMonsters
