24H RUN "ICE AGE"

In December 2022, I planned another self-organised 24-hour run around the Echternach lake. Ultra runner Claude Stiefer was also taking part again. This time, we were collecting donations for the newly established organisation Ndaalân asbl, which supports the construction and equipping of a birth clinic in Senegal. Since I knew the founders of this new organisation personally and was aware of their strong local commitment to implementing certain projects in Senegal, it was a pleasure for me to combine the 24-hour run with a fundraising campaign for Ndaalân asbl. We informed the municipality of Echternach and the youth hostel at the lake Echternach about our project, and we received support in the form of a sales stand for Ndaalân asbl in front of the youth hostel.

The previous years, temperatures in December were always quite mild. In December 2020, when I ran my 17-hour lockdown run at the lake in Echternach during the pandemic, temperatures reached 17 degrees. But one to two weeks before 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 in Echternach froze over and would remain so until Sunday. Temperatures as low as -13 degrees were reported during the night from Saturday to Sunday, and on Monday it was supposed to be exceptionally warm again at 15 degrees. Exactly on the two days of the 24-hour race! It could only be a bad joke from the meterologists, right? But it came exactly as predicted. 

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

We started at 10:00, the temperatures were freezing and we were surrounded by a dreamlike ice landscape. The frozen lake offered us an extraordinary view. Despite the temperatures, we were accompanied and supported by many people, which made me very happy. And the Ndaalân asbl was also present the whole day and sold (partly frozen) cakes and Senegalese products.

We ran round after round and took as few breaks as possible. Even though we were able to warm up a little during the breaks, our bodies then needed a lot of energy to get used to the cold temperatures again. I tried to figure out how I could keep my body warm as much as possible without using up too much energy. If I ran more slowly, I saved a little energy, but my body cooled down more quickly, so more energy was needed 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, a few runners surprised us, including my partner Mike, my trainer and some of Claude's friends. After 23:00, we were running alone. The night was extraordinary in several ways. In addition to the temperatures of -11, very strange sounds were coming from the forest and the lake (probably from the ice). It was really spooky. The stars and the crescent moon were very clearly visible and around us the grass and trees glittered. It was an unforgettable view. 

I was wearing a couple of wool hats and a jacket hood. In addition to gloves, I also had bandanas wrapped around my hands and a heating pad in my gloves. Nevertheless, my hands were still cold. The water in my bottles was frozen by now, too. We decided to take a break in the camper and to lie down and warm up a bit. However, I didn't really get warm, I was frozen to the bone. I noticed that I had to search for the right words when speaking and attributed this to tiredness and lack of sleep. After all, we had already been running for about 15 to 16 hours. However, the difficulty in finding the right words lasted for another week. 

After about an hour, we left the camper again and continued running. It was now -13 degrees Celsius and our bodies were slowly beginning to reach a certain limit. I was shivering despite all my clothes, warm pads and hats. I got even colder even though I kept moving. After another hour of running, I was shivering more and more and we went back into the camper. We decided that we would stay inside for the next few hours and only go back out into the cold at 7:00 and keep running.

The sunrise was just beautiful and magnificent. The last three hours passed by and I can't even remember them very well. We walked and walked, round after round. And then it was 10 o'clock. 24 hours were done. My watch showed 115 running kilometres (with some GPS problems).

This 24-hour run was a great challenge, both physically and mentally. It was very interesting to see how the body copes with these exceptionally cold temperatures and where the limits are. But we didn't put ourselves in any danger and always listened carefully to our bodies. 

We were also able to support Ndaalân asbl with our project, and we raised 1,481.30 euros in donations. And the construction of the birth clinic has now also been implemented. Many thanks to everyone who supported us!