There is so’n runner's wisdom that says that after 30-32 km you meet the man with the hammer. Led by Frank Dorenbos some twenty RMD's have removed him from the Kralingse Bos.
I'll be completely honest: I don't actually believe in most running myths. The man with the hammer or the wall (hitting the wall) are so ingrained in the psyche of the marathon runner that it seems almost a certainty that half of us (well, 43 percent) after 30-32 kilometers or so we will feel terrible.
Of course, there is some truth behind this principle. After about 32 kilometres, your glycogen stores are depleted and therefore you feel fatigue, is the generally accepted theory. Nice theory, but that would mean that by taking in gel and/or sports drink you should be able to leave the man with the hammer behind you. Yet I also ran into him last year, despite my addiction to gels (Powerbar strawberry/banana or Hammer Peanut Butter please). I guess.
It is also surprising that I don't meet a man with a hammer on long trails. And those trails certainly take me as long as the point where I meet him in the Kralingse Bos. Since there are a lot of runners who never meet the man with the hammer anyway, and there are also much longer distances than the marathon, it is probably not surprising that our body is not the most limiting factor here. It is the mental side that is supreme here: you expect the man with the hammer, so he is waiting for you. You fear him, change your pace, et cetera.
The nice thing about Rotterdam is that the man with the hammer happens to coincide with the most boring part of the route: the kilometre-long run through the Kralingse Forest, where there are few supporters. That's why I was happy with the idea of Frank Dorenbos to run the last 14 km of the marathon. Indeed through that forest. Because if you know what to expect, it is possible to drive away the man with the hammer.
The joint run turned out to be a great success. Frank thought we were a very small group, but there were twenty of us. That makes walking (and lunch) a lot better than walking alone. Still, it turned out to be a tough walk. Els Hogendam, who walked next to me for part of the route, was already wondering when we would really get to that forest when we were swinging along on the bike path. And also the sun was practicing for the seventh, which we had not counted on with our thermo shirts. In short, a good general.
Together we can take our focus off our own sore bodies. Chase away the villain with the hammer. At least I haven't felt my ankle and fatigue (less fresh than a week ago) hardly played a role. If it goes like this on the seventh, I'll be completely happy.
And for those who want to support us even more: the organization knows that the forest is a difficult place mentally for many runners. That is why, as a supporter video submission to surprise the marathon runners. Thanks to the chips in the start numbers, those video’s will appear on the big screens at the beginning of the forest as soon as the runner approaches it.
Now only question is, which shoes: Altra Torin 3.0 or Altra Escalante Racer Tokyo. My inclination is the latter, they are just a bit more solid for my ankle.
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