august 2025: before the bottroper ultralauf festival

In 11 days, it's race time again! Then the 24-hour race in Bottrop (Bottroper Ultralauf Festival) will take place. But what are the last four weeks before the race actually look like, and what still needs to be done?

Of course, there have been many training runs: Interval training, long runs and very long runs. After an intensive 100 km week, I travelled to Andalusia, where my partner Mike was waiting for me. I had planned to run the Subida al Pico Veleta in Granada as a training run. This race covers 50 km and 2,700 metres of ascent at an altitude of 3,400 metres. On the race day, the thermometer registered 46 degrees in Granada in the afternoon. I spent the weekend in Granada with Christina Khinast, an AAUT friend who was taking part in the race for the third time. Mike, my partner, cycled the route that day, accompanying me for a few kilometres and taking some great photos. After climbing Pico Veleta, Mike and I drove back to our village. Then it was time for a two-day break from running. After that, I would continue with regeneration runs and stretching. 

The traditional fiesta in our village finally kicked off. Our acclimatisation to the Spanish rhythm was obviously too short. We were unfortunately unable to keep up. Our endurance already failed us shortly before midnight. The main programme did not start until 1:00 am. Too little training time! Consequently, we missed most of the night-time festivities and didn't sleep much either, as it was difficult to sleep in the intense heat with the windows open. I decided to keep the window closed and to keep two ventilators blowing the whole night. The result was a runny nose, which eventually turned into a cold. I had to switch from an active recovery programme to complete rest and fled from the fans and air conditioning. 

When I got back to Luxembourg, I was immediately greeted by a cat in need of a cuddle, and I spent another day in passive recovery with Kiwi. 

Then, I started training again; my nose was clear and I had fully recovered. The next week, I would do a tempo run, a 54 km run at Backyard Ultra pace and another recovery run. My equipment has been waiting impatiently for its next outing since the Biber Backyard Ultra. New shoes are on the way, and I've made some homemade protein bars (although unfortunately they were in the oven a little too long...).

In any case, I'm really looking forward to the run and will enjoy the anticipation and preparations thoroughly.