UPS AND DOWN
Our annoyingly cheerful ultrarunner Damian Hall had some highs and lows at the Madeira Island Ultra-Trail
TOKEN BLOKE
JOÃO M FARIA / MARIO PEREIRA
Running 100 miles is like living a year in one day.” I love that quote by the amazing US ultrarunner Ann Trason. From finish line euphoria to sobbing because your shoelace is undone, because you get so tired and emotionally raw, longer races can have so much emotion involved.
The recent Madeira Island Ultra-Trail, one of my two main B races before August’s UTMB, was 28 miles short of the full 100, but I certainly had the soaring emotional highs and plummeting lows to match the course geography.
I loved the pre-race excitement, the loud music, banter with friends and local dancers. I loved those fast and furious early hours. I love night running – the silence, the visual simplicity of the world, the way no one can see you if you’ve got snot smeared across your face.