First race in corona times: Montferland Toppen Trail

Although we are still only allowed to sport in groups of two, MST organized a new race concept within the limitations set by the government. How does the concept translate to real life?

To be honest, I never expected to run another race this year. That is probably why I have somewhat ignored the MST Montferland Toppen Trail (original page seems to have disappeared, news release) until last Saturday. I just couldn't believe that something organized would be allowed to take place. But while I still had to plan my weekend run, I saw pictures of this run popping up here and there on social media. And guess what: there were still time slots left for Easter Monday. This would be the first race for me since the start of the pandemic: I missed out on the only timeframe that allowed competitions last because I wanted to go all out in the Indian Summer Ultra, which was cancelled at the last minute. And soon after that we were only allowed to run in groups of two (effectively three if you have a trainer's license), which made almost any kind of competition impossible.

The only disadvantage of this trail was the distance from home. With public transport to Braamt it takes about 3 hours and because of the sunday timetable, 11.03 was the earliest arrival time. That meant that I didn't want to do the longest distance of 40 km, but the middle distance of 23 km.

Consolation run

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The choice for a short distance was a lot wiser for another reason as well: on wednesday I fell hard with my running bike (Me-Mover). I gently braked in time for a traffic light after I had turned a corner, but the brakes jammed completely and I went flat on the asphalt at 15-20 km/hour; full on my face. The impact was so hard that my handlebars broke off. In my front tooth you can now see little cracks, but according to the dentist I must have had a guardian angel as I was relatively mildly damaged. At least for the time being nothing has to be done about the tooth. And the incident did improve my confidence in people a little: there were people around me right away who stayed with me until I was able to walk the last few kilometers (after 50 km cycling via Meijendel I was almost home) with the Me-Mover in hand.

That the fall was none to gentle, could even be seen in the stress data on my Garmin: it stood at 88 when I tried to measure my blood sugar on the sidewalk, a PR at stress level. And then there was the training after Wednesday, running didn't go all that well on Friday and Sunday, although I suspect this was more due to stress fatigue than muscle soreness. According to some, I should have rested a bit more. For me, it seemed like the ideal circumstance for a consolidary run: calm the mind in nature.

Time slots

What made this race so special that it could continue under the current restrictions? Well first of all there were 7 days to choose from, where you always had to reserve a time slot for the start. Which distance you ran (10, 16, 23 or 40 km), didn't matter for the time slot, but there was a strict finish time of 17.00 hours. Furthermore, the supply post was replaced by a container with a number lock, Marc Weening and his team sat behind a ‘very well ventilated’ wooden counter in the open air and the route was long and quiet enough to encounter as few people as possible.

Luckily for me, public transport was on my side and after running 1.5 km from the bus stop, I arrived two minutes before the start of my time slot. If anything had gone wrong with one of the four transfers, it would have been two minutes before the end of my time slot. Neat, right?

Achterhoek surprises

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At the start – chimed along by a real cowbell – it was already clear that the weather would be an unpredictable factor. The saying ‘April does what it wants’ was completely true, because even before departure I had already had a bright blue sky, hail and snow. The temperature itself wasn't even that bad, but it was also windy. I decided to stick to a merino top and a thermo shirt, and actually that was already a bit too warm.

However, the first few kilometers started out cold. Fortunately, Marc was true to his reputation as a climber (listen to the podcast about his Everesting adventure), so the engine was up to temperature quickly. However, I soon found out that maybe I should have listened to others and started more calmly: the crash damage was playing tricks on me. Because my nose was stuffed inside and out, I had to do more air huffing than usual. All the blossoming trees – despite the snow – did not help either. And then there was the bruise on my upper left leg, which was not a problem during flat running, but was particularly annoying during descents because the bump was right in a sensitive muscle spot. Therefore, I did not take the race element too seriously. So not serious that halfway I climbed a watchtower to enjoy the surroundings.

Anyway, it was not a place to worry about times. The surroundings were much too beautiful and varied for that. I had never run in the Achterhoek before, but the terrain reminded me a bit of the Limburg landscape. It started with a flat part with flowering trees, then I entered the forest with, for the Netherlands, quite nice hills, and further on there were also parts where you had a view over sloping meadows with a church tower in the distance. I am seriously considering the area for a longer adventure in spring or summer. My earlier idea of the Dutch Mountains will probably be abandoned because of the border crossings with Belgium and Germany, and because it seems to be relatively busy there at the moment. But the Maas-Niederrhein path is also still in the race.

Look another runner

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After running alone for so long, it felt a little awkward to meet other runners again. At least, runners with the same goal instead of the runners and walkers you meet everywhere by chance. I freely admit that I also didn't know what to do with it. To start a conversation or not? Can you still walk together? All things for which there are no ready-made answers in this day and age. After all, everyone has their own wishes and limitations and I myself prefer to keep some distance as a risk group (and pretty none social, I often like running alone as well).

Completely in accordance with the layout of the race, I didn't have to worry too much about that. After 5 km I caught up with the first runner. And only after 17 km the next two runners came in sight, because there was a junction with the 40 km route. After the usual corona dance around the gate – will we open it for each other, yes or no – I decided to join them for a short distance. One of the runners seemed to be a bit tired and I had some blood sugar issues, so it was good to be able to join in. It also made it easier to take a picture of a runner in the snow. In the middle of the forest we were again in the middle of a snowstorm with very thick flakes, while 10 minutes earlier in the meadow there was a clear blue sky.

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It was as if everyone smelled the tosti’s at the finish, because in the last four kilometres several running duos passed by. At the finish itself we were again welcomed with the big cowbell and the team wrote down the finish times, while we waited for a tosti. Yet it was not crowded at the finish and we could easily keep to 1.5 m+. Most runners left almost immediately after the toasted sandwich, medal and bottle of beer had been served (yes, the beer flask also fits in the Adv Skin pockets).

Good concept?

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Although meeting other runners felt a little awkward, it was a very successful ‘race’ as far as I was concerned. Although everything was done strictly under the rules, it actually differed relatively little from normal races. Even in normal times, you quickly run apart on long distances and you only really see each other at the start or briefly during the run.

I also liked the fact that the start is not at a strict time. You have a period in which you can leave when you are ready. No nervous waiting with all other runners at the starting line.

As far as I'm concerned, the concept deserves repeating, although I don't know if Marc will feel the same after 7 days behind a draughty desk. I would possibly change a few things: offer an arrangement for an early start and add a special possibility for late finishers. For example: not participating in the official ranking, but you can get your goodies (wooden medal, beer and cold cheese sandwich) from a container with a number lock if you arrive after 17.00. That way it is also feasible to do a long distance at a late time slot.

This experience also made me look at other possibilities in a more positive way. If I can get time off, maybe the Waddentrail is a serious option after all. After this match and my adventure on Ameland I feel like running together again.