24H RUN "ICE AGE"

In December 2022, I organised another 24-hour run around the lake in Echternach. Ultra runner Claude Stiefer took part again. This time, we were collecting donations for Ndaalân asbl, a newly established organisation that supports the construction and equipping of a birth clinic in Senegal. As I know the founders of Ndaalân asbl personally and am familiar with their strong local commitment to implementing projects in Senegal, I was glad to combine the 24-hour run with a fundraising campaign for the organisation. We informed the municipality and the Echternach Lake Youth Hostel about our project and received support in the form of a sales stand for Ndaalân asbl in front of the hostel.

In previous years, December temperatures were always quite mild. In December 2020, when I ran my 17-hour lockdown run at the lake during the pandemic, temperatures reached 17 degrees. But two weeks leading up to the planned start of the 24-hour run in December 2022, cooler temperatures were forecast day after day. The day before the race, the lake froze over and remained frozen until Sunday. Temperatures as low as -13°C were reported overnight from Saturday to Sunday during our 24h run. It was supposed to be exceptionally warm again on Monday at 15°C. It could only be a bad joke from the meteorologists, couldn't it? But it happened exactly as predicted.

I packed all my running clothes, including tops made of merino wool, warm wool socks and several warm anoraks, as well as all the hats and gloves I owned. I also bought thermal pads for my hands and feet. Claude was there again with his camper van, and we set everything up for the long, cold hours ahead.

We set off at 10:00,, the temperature was freezing and we were surrounded by a dreamlike Santa Clause ice landscape. The frozen lake offered an extraordinary view. Despite the cold, many people came to support us, which made me very happy. The Ndaalân asbl was also present all day, selling cakes and Senegalese products, some of which were partly frozen.

We ran round after round, taking as few breaks as possible. Although we were able to warm up a little during these breaks, our bodies then needed a lot of energy to acclimatise to the cold again. I tried to work out how to keep my body as warm as possible without burning too much energy. If I ran more slowly, I saved energy, but my body cooled down more quickly, so I needed more energy to maintain my body temperature. If I ran faster, I used more energy, but I didn't cool down as much. So, the challenge was to find the optimal balance.

When it got dark, we were surprised by a few runners, including my partner Mike, my personal trainer and some of Claude's friends. After 23:00, we were running alone. The night was extraordinary in several ways. As well as temperatures of -11, there were some very strange sounds coming from the forest and the lake (probably from the ice). It was really spooky. The stars and the crescent moon were clearly visible, and the grass and trees around us were glittered. It was an unforgettable sight.

I was wearing a couple of woolly hats and a hooded jacket. As well as gloves, I also had bandanas wrapped around my hands and a heating pad inside my gloves. Nevertheless, my hands were still cold. The water in my bottles had frozen by now, too. We decided to take a break in the camper, lie down, and warm up a bit. However, I didn't really warm up; I was frozen to the bone. I found that I was struggling to find the right words when speaking, which I put down to tiredness and lack of sleep. After all, we had already been running for about 15–16 hours. Nevertheless, the difficulty in finding the right words persisted for another week.

About an hour later, we left the camper again and continued running. It was now -13°C and our bodies were slowly reaching their limit. Despite all my clothes, warm pads and hats, I was shivering. The more I moved, the colder I got. After another hour, I was shivering more and more, so we went back into the camper. We decided to stay inside for the next few hours, only going back out into the cold at 07:00 to continue running.

The sunrise was magnificent and beautiful. I can't remember the last three hours very well. We walked around and around. Then it was 10:00. Twenty-four hours were up. My watch showed that I had run 115 kilometres (despite some GPS problems).

This 24-hour run was a huge physical and mental challenge. It was fascinating to observe how the body copes with such extreme cold temperatures and to discover its limits. However, we didn't put ourselves in any danger and always listened carefully to our bodies and went back to the camper van. 

Through our project, we were also able to support Ndaalân asbl, raising 1,481.30 euros in donations. The construction of the birth clinic has now also been completed. Many thanks to everyone who supported us!