Last week, my plan was to introduce a young woman called Tarry to her first race.
Unfortunately, it didn’t work out. The evening before the race, I got a text around 10pm. Tarry wrote that she had to be at a picnic at 8am the next day. What the what?!
Of course, this didn’t change our plans for the day. We already had a small group of three friends who would do the 5k while Kai was doing the half-marathon. We all met at 4.30am at our place, filled the car and drove to the race (and yes, there were a lot of picnic jokes).
We watched Kai’s half-marathon start at 5.50am.
Then, at 6.30am, I watched the other three friends start their 5k.
While waiting, I walked around a bit and enjoyed the beautiful morning.
Soon, the first 5k runners came in. Clement, Deuel and Cara arrived after roughly 30 minutes. They did a great job!
Finally, Kai came in after 1 hour 48 minutes. Considering that he hadn’t trained for this hilly half-marathon (he’s running much less since my Achilles injury) he was quite happy with the result.
Then, things got hectic.
You see, this week we met a young Russian couple who were staying at our neighbour’s place. The wife, Varvara, was an elite runner who had signed up for the 100k Ultra Trail Cape Town (which includes 5’000m / 16’400ft of elevation).
We got chatting and Varvara asked us whether we would like to support her on race day. Yes, of course!
Therefore, as soon as we got back from our own race, we quickly showered, got into the car and rushed to Varvara’s aid station at kilometre 41. Cara, who loves new adventures, joined us.
We were just in time to see Varvara arrive. We respectfully stood back and watched. First, Vavara ate. Then, her husband Roman carefully replaced her bottles. After that, he guided her over to another table where he rubbed her legs with ice. When Varvara finally set off, he accompanied her for a bit to film her with the GoPro.
It worked, but we felt it could be done more efficiently.
At the next station, we proposed some of our ideas to Roman. He agreed.
Varvara came in and we sprung into action like a Formula 1 team: Kai took over the GoPro, Cara replaced the bottles, and I did the ice cube thing while Vavara sat and ate. We also provided Roman with race data to brief Varvara: current ranking, distance to the next runners, and elevation profile of the next segment.
It worked! Over the next few aid stations, we repeated our process. This was so much fun!
Here are four photos from other runners and their crews:
Varvara worked her way from the 4th position to the 3rd. She kept that position until the finish line. We were so proud of her!
- Have you ever been part of a support team?
- Are you a slow or fast eater? -Those ultra runners can eat fast!
I’m joining Kooky Runner and Zenaida’s link-up, Tuesday Topics. I’m also joining Runner’s Roundup with Mile By Mile, Coach Debbie Runs, Confessions of a Mother Runner and Runs with Pugs.
Liebe Catrina,
wow, was für ein Laufwochenende – auch ohne spzielle Picnic…(Was hat denn Tarry da bewogen, oder ob sie der Mut verlassen hat…?)
Kai ist ja “ä ächte Sibbesiech”, wie “wir” Berner so sagen. Ohne großes Training mal eben so eine gute Zeit rauszuhauen, ist mir MIT Training noch nie gelungen, Glückwunsch! Auch an Cara, Clement und Deuel für ihre 5er Rennen!
Tja und dann ein großer Kontrast, statt nur zuzuschauen plötzlich mittendrin dabei. Das habt ihr prima gemacht und sicher hat das Varvara beflügelt. Da fiebert man sicher nochmals ganz anders mit, als nur am Straßenrand zu stehen. Wie waren denn die Temperaturen? Wenn es morgens schon gegen 6 Uhr losging, war das doch sicher wegen der Kühle…?
Ich habe Chris schonmal in Biel supportet, das war sehr spannend und man freut sich sehr, wenn man den anderen unterstützen kann.
Essen? Da nichts kalt werden darf, esse ich eher schnell. Bei Läufen allerdings geht fast gar nichts, der Magen streikt.
Liebe Grüße aus dem heute verregneten Köln
Elke
Liebe Elke
Ich glaube, Tarry hat im letzten Moment kalte Füsse bekommen… und auch das frühe Aufstehen war wohl nicht so attraktiv. Sie meinte, ich solle ihr das nächste Mal Bescheid geben. Das werde ich, so schnell entkommt die mir nicht! 🙂
Kai hat das super gemacht! Er musste auch noch 400HM in den Weinbergen bewältigen. Sein Ziel war, einfach “gemütlich” zu finishen und das ist ihm gelungen. Die anderen drei waren ganz begeistert. Ich glaube, wir haben für das nächste Mal die kleine Lauftruppe wieder dabei.
Das Supporten hat RIESENspass gemacht, das hätte ich nicht gedacht, dass es so spannend sein könnte. Die Temperaturen war tagsüber recht heiss. Gegen Abend wurde es kalt und vor allem windig… wir konnten gar nicht genügend Jacken finden, um uns warm zu halten. Für die Läufer war es optimal.
Ah, richtig, Biel! Das muss auch spannend gewesen sein, in der Nacht unterwegs zu sein. Ist nochmal eine andere Nummer!
Essen während dem Laufen ist schwierig… hast du eigentlich schon mal Maurten probiert? Die gabs ja auch in Berlin. Die meisten sagen, dass sie es gut vertragen.
Regen! Gut für die Natur!
Liebe Grüsse aus dem sonnigen und endlich nicht mehr windigen Cape Town!
Ja, Manfred, hatte mich schon auf Maurten gebracht und das ist das einzige Glibberzeugs, das ich unterwegs vertrage. Aber auch nur in sehr überschaubarer Menge. Für Marathon reichts gerade so. Kais HM hatte 400 Höhenmeter?! Das ist aber auch kein Pappenstiel!
Ah, super. Das wusste ich auch nicht, dass es so hügelig sein würde – aber der Lauf hiess “Winelands”, da hätten wir es uns denken können. 🙂
Ugh Tarry! Boggles my mind. Enuf about that😞
Kai’s time was great. Great sub 2-hr HM. That is excellent! Congrats 🤚
All other runners looked pleased w their runs as well. Perfect morning!
A Russian couple?😱 Hmm. Too many questions to ask about them! I won’t say more!
Glad it was a good experience as a crew. No never participated that way for a single runner. But of course volunteered for events as being a Marshall and such.
Eating so fast is not good unless it was liquid. One has to break down the food to digest. It would sit in your Stomach as a blob bouncing around making one feel sick!🤢🤮 Oh well🙄
Great pics. Thanks again.
I tell you! I was so annoyed and disappointed… I was glad the others made me laugh about it.
Thanks, Yves, I will tell him! Kai was pretty happy with it – he has hardly been running lately. It seems my Achilles has brought two runners down, ha!
Oh, I know what you’re thinking about that the Russians. You are guessing right… It’s an amazing story.
You were missing in our team, Yves! I have the feeling that you are great at organizing teams and processes… I’m sure you would have brought it to the next level! Who knows, maybe Varvara would have made it 2nd?!
I don’t know how these runners did it! That French woman stuffed herself with tons of solid food and then washed it down with water. When she took off, she was still chewing. Incredible!
Oh my – I hope Tarry had a good reason to attend that picnic instead. (I´m sorry to say but I´m not impressed by people who think they can cancel arranged plans if something “better” comes along.) Looks like all your friends and Kai had a great run, as they seem to cross the finishing line with still a spring in their step!
Fully agree! I have a hard time with short-term cancellations… especially since I tend to be the exact opposite and do my best to stick to commitments (no doubt you are in that category too!)
The race was a blast. I love seeing those post-race endorphins on people’s faces! 😄
Congratulations to all the runners and the support crew. Looks like you had a very successful day. Weather looked spectacular too although by my standards it may have been a bit warm.
Thank you, Ilona! It was a wonderful day – so many inspirational moments! The weather for the ultra runners got quite hot. I think you would have been fine with the half-marathon in the morning. Let’s hope that the Two Oceans in April will be nice and cool!
That is so sweet. I’m sure she appreciated it. What a great experience.
I’ve volunteered at races. I did it at one where a friend wanted to PR and ran her in. Another time when one BQed. It was so fun and rewarding.
I’m a fast eater lol.
She was so grateful! I guess it was also nice to have a little group of people at the aid station to encourage her (there are no spectators en route).
Oh, helping runners to PR and to BQ is extra-special! I’m sure you got the same amount of endorphins as they did.
Varvara truly had a proper Formula 1 Support Team, LOL! Tyres changed, car serviced, and refuelling done all in a matter of seconds!!!! Brilliant!! What an incredibly active day – still in the running space but taking on a different (and just as important) role in the sport! You’ve heard me talk about my cousin Tapiwa a lot – this was the race she did a few years ago and said it was incredibly gruelling – well done to Varvara for her third-place finish and in the longest distance.
Haha, it really felt like a box stop! Poor Varvara, she hardly got a chance to sit down and we were already ushering her out again, ha!
Oh, Tapiwa has done the UTCT? Amazing! They had a 23k and a 55k distance. I would like to try one of the two races next year.
For a split-second, I thought about the 100k – but dismissed it immediately. It would take me days to finish!
Yes! Can’t remember the distance – I think it was the middle distance. It was always a dream of hers. She’s also done the famous one in Lesotho, I forget the name, but it’s hosted in winter when there is still snow.
Very cool! 55k sounds like a nice distance. I’ll have to look into it.
Hach, hier bin ich auch, nachdem ich heute den ganzen Tag anderweitig beschäftigt war – Laufen inclusive – logisch !! 😉
Erst einmal Glückwunsch für Kai, sehr gut gemacht !! Man sieht ihm seine Zufriedenheit an, und wenn ihn dann auch noch sein Sonnenschein im Ziel empfängt, was will Kai mehr ??
Dann die Betreuung, was für ein Segen für die Läuferin, es ist eine große Hilfe, wenn man von netten Menschen – auch noch Läufern – betreut wird, ich weiß, wovon ich spreche !! Schöne Geste von euch. Und du wirst auch bald wieder betreut werden , nur noch eine Frage der Zeit, Anfang Dezember – und dann geht die Post in South Africa erst recht ab !!
Ist der Sand am Strand tief oder lässt es sich dort gut laufen ??? Frage von Meer zu Meer !!
Alles Gute weiterhin für dich, bin sehr gespannt und drücke weiterhin feeeeeeeeeeeest die
Daumen – Ehrensache !!
Liebe Grüße
Ah, so sind wir alle vielbeschäftigt unterwegs – so muss es auch sein! Schön, dass du heute laufen warst. Wir waren 7k in den Hügeln wandern und anschliessend schwimmen. Fast wie Urlaub! 🙂
Danke dir, liebe Margitta, ich werde es Kai ausrichten. Es hat ihm Spass gemacht, obwohl er nicht richtig dafür vorbereitet war.
Varvara war so dankbar! Ich denke, es war schön für sie, ein richtiges kleines Team zu haben. Auf den Trails war sie ja immer sehr alleine, von Zuschauern keine Spur. Sogar ihre Mitläufer waren etwa 15 Minuten entfernt von ihr.
Ich hoffe, dass ich bald wieder anfangen kann! Morgens dauert es immer noch eine Weile, bis die Sehne sich aufgewärmt hat. Mal sehen… allzu lange kann es nicht mehr dauern. Ich freue mich auf alle Fälle, wenn ich die ersten Laufschritte machen darf. 🙂
Es lässt sich nicht so gut auf dem Sand laufen… es ist nicht kompakt genug. Ganz schön hart, bei KM 41 da durch zu laufen.
Danke dir! Ich bin sicher, es nützt!
Liebe Grüsse vom sonnig-warmen Cape Town!
Congratulations to Varvara! I am sure that she was so appreciative of all your help during the race. I have volunteered at NYCM a few times and I really think I enjoy volunteering more than running, lol. It’s so fun and rewarding!
It felt very rewarding and gratifying, Kim! I’ve never volunteered like this before. It was a new experience for me and I intend to do it more in future. So much fun!
Ah yes, it does happen that when you introduce someone to racing that sometimes they aren’t 100% obsessed yet so they allow other life events to take precedence over the race. Oh well.
You did a brilliant job on the Formula 1 team for Varvara. This sounds like so much fun, especially with her result.
I don’t see ultra running ever becoming part of my life but if it did…my eating speed is there!
Yes! I think Tarry got cold feet at the last moment… and she was probably happy to have an excuse. Although she did ask to be included the next time. I will take her up on that – I will not allow her to escape, haha!
We had a fabulous time. It was so exciting and inspiring to see Varvara’s grit and determination. A lot for me to learn for future races!
Haha, me too, Birchie! At least we’ll master the fuelling part!
Wow, this is really cool, Catrina! Varvara had herself a kick-a$$ crew!!! I’ve never been to an ultra even of this caliber (the two overnight ultras were pretty low-key in comparison), but I can only imagine how fun and inspiring it would be. Great job to Kai…that’s a very nice finish time, especially with his recent limited distance running!
It was so exciting and so much fun, Kim! I think this would have been right up your street. It was so inspiring that I’m going to download the GPS so that I can do that trail in my own time when I start running again. I would love to see how technical the trail was and what it feels like.
Thanks, I will let Kai know! I was happy that he enjoyed it despite the lack of training. I hope I get better soon so we both can start training properly again.
It is fun to be on the other side of things sometimes! How great to get to support your friend as well.
It was great fun, Deborah! I’m so glad that we got the opportunity to do this.
How fun to help crew for Varvara and congrats to her on her 3rd place finish! I’ve not crewed for anyone, but certainly appreciated my crew and all they did for me when I ran the JFK 50-Miler.
Oh, you ran a 50-miler, Debbie! That’s very cool! I’ve run a few ultras but never had someone crew for me. I imagine that would be extra motivating to see your friends at every aid station!
Liebe Catrina,
oje, das ist schade, dass Tarry kalte Füsse bekommen hat, aber gut, dass ihr ja nicht nur wegen ihr dorthin gefahren wärt.
Gratulation an Kai, wie macht er das, ohne Training so entspannt ins Ziel laufen zu können??? 😉
Wie toll, dass ihr danach auch noch Varvara supportet habt. Ich musste so lachen bei deiner Beschreibung. (Das geht noch besser!) Da spricht die durchorganisierte Schweizerin aus dir! 😀
Liebe Doris
Wirklich schade! Für einen Moment konnte ich es kaum glauben, dass sie einfach gecancelt hat… aber beim nächsten Mal werde ich sie wieder anfragen. Ich kann richtig hartnäckig sein! 🙂
Danke, ich werde es ihm ausrichten! Keine Ahnung, wie er das macht… vielleicht tut ihm die Laufpause auch gut? Ich bin gespannt, wie das wird, wenn wir beide wieder anfangen.
Total!! Kai und ich sind beide Prozess-Maximier-Freaks…. wir konnten beim ersten Aid Station fast nicht zuschauen. Es hat richtig Spass gemacht, ein bisschen mitzuwirken und die Abläufe zu optimieren. 🙂
It sounds like you made a great crew team! I’m sure she was very grateful for your help. And congrats to Kai on his half-marathon!
It was an exciting experience, Lisa! Kai enjoyed his run – I’m glad he didn’t bail out, too! 🙂
How fun to support your friend! I just love your enthusiasm and how you jumped right in! One of my trail friends is going to sign up for the Ice Age Trail 50 miler and I offered to help crew her. That is a tough one!
Congrats to Kai on a great finish time. Sounds like a fun day all around.
Ohhh that’s exciting, Wendy! You’re going to be the best support team! One of the things we didn’t think about was a bowl of water so that she could wash her face. We improvised with bottles, but a bowl would have been better. And we didn’t have a towel to dry her feet, so we had to make do with someone’s T-shirt.
Thanks – I will tell Kai!
Congrats to Varvara, Kai and everyone who raced! It was so nice of you to support everyone. One of my best running friends ran the Leadville 50 miler and I went to Colorado to be part of her support crew. It was so amazing not to mention fun!
Thanks, Marcia!
Oh, supporting at the legendary Leadville 50 miler must have been great fun! I never thought that this would be so exciting. Varvara is sponsored by Salomon and has done many races this year. This was her last one for 2022 and I think the most challenging one.
Liebe Catrina,
so, der Stollen ist gebacken, jetzt hab ich wieder Augen und Ohren für Anderes! 😝
Ich denke auch, dass Tarry kalte Füße bekommen hat. Schade, aber gut wenn du dran bleibst! 👏 Lass sie nicht so schnell vom Haken! 😉
Jetzt aber erstmal allen euren Finishern HERZLICHEN GLÜCKWUNSCH! … und deinem Kai ein besonderes Lob für seinen gechillten Lauf mit guter Endzeit. … nur nicht zur Gewohnheit werden lassen, nicht dass es mal nach hinten losgeht. Spätestens wenn ihr wieder zusammen und mehr lauft, hat sich das dann auch erledigt! 😆 Lady A. soll mal Ruhe geben, ist doch kein Neymar, der sich oft wie ne Diva benimmt und über den Rasen rollt. Hoffe, es geht mit A. voran! 🙋
Tolles Supporter-Team, das ihr dann ‘dirigiert’ habt! So eingespielt macht es ja auch richtig Spaß und ‘verkürzt’ die Nacht! Bestimmt einiges im Beruf ‘eingeübt’, da ist Prozess-Maximierung nicht mehr so schwer, oder? – … und Varvara hat es mit dem 3. Platz gedankt! Toll!
Bei geplantem Supporting bei Läufen war ich noch nicht dabei, Streckenposten und ‘Streckenabschnittschef’ 😜 war ich schon, sonst nur Tempomacher. – Beim Basketball aber habe ich verschiedentlich Supporter gespielt.
Mein Esstempo ist wohl recht normal, mit Tendenz zu etwas erhöhtem Tempo. Manchmal kaue ich nicht so ‘ordentlich’, mit der Gefahr, dass es dann länger im Magen liegt. Das wäre im Wettkampf fatal! Erstaunlich wie die Französin das macht.
Bleibt gesund und munter!
Aus dem nächtlichen Darmstadt
liebe Grüße Manfred
Lieber Manfred
Stollen klingt gut!
Tarry ist auf meiner Liste… so schnell entkommt die mir nicht! 🙂
Genau! Kai hat jetzt mal einen gechillten Lauf gehabt… aber das nächste Mal wird trainiert und dann geht die Post ab!
Die Lady A ist jede Woche, oder fast jeden Tag, wieder anders drauf. Letzte Woche dachte ich, ich könnte im Dezember wieder loslegen. Kaum ist Dezember, mault sie schon wieder herum wie nach dem Berlin Marathon. Neymar könnte noch was von Lady A lernen!
Supporten hat riesig Spass gemacht. Gestern habe ich Varvara wieder getroffen – sie hat müde Beine, aber von Muskelkater keine Spur. Unglaublich, die Frau.
Streckenposten, Abschnittschef und Tempomacher sind doch auch sehr wichtige Funktionen für einen Lauf. Reto macht das übrigens auch bei einem lokalen Lauf, da blüht er richtig zum “Chef” auf. Er macht das gut und gerne!
Yep, ordentlich kauen könnte ich auch besser lernen. Als Kind habe ich mal was über Kauen gelesen. Anschliessend habe ich eine Phase gehabt, wo alles 30x gekaut werden musste… das dauerte zum Glück nur ein paar Wochen. 🙂 Die Französin war krass!! Vielleicht war diese Super-Power ihr Rezept für den 1. Platz.
Geniesse den Rest der Woche und liebe Grüsse aus dem sonnigen Cape Town!
A good support team is so important for an elite long distance runner. You guys did a great job. It must have been interesting to see a race from the point of view of the very best.
It was a very interesting learning experience, Debbie. The stamina and the grit were unbelievable – something I will need to work on for my next race.
I don’t think there’s ever been anything as amazing as support crews for ultra runners. I’m so glad you got to do that! And it sounds like your adjustments really helped her overall performance! What a fabulous day! Maybe you can celebrate with a picnic! 😛
This made me laugh out loud, Jenn! Yes, we should celebrate Varvara’s race with a picnic!!
It was an awesome experience and I hope I will get to do it again one day. So much inspiration and so much to learn from those elite athletes!
What an amazing crew and wonderful experience! Congrats to Kai too. No training? I am very impressed.
It was fabulous, Zenaida. Ha, the no-training phase will end as soon as I’m up and running again! 🙂
Wow, I wasn’t expecting the second half, Catrina. Congratulations to Kai on his HM. He is amazing. At 1:48, the same time at my fastest half marathon. And he hasn’t done much running of late.
What an amazing experience this would have been to crew for Varvara. To finish in 3rd place is incredible.
I will let Kai know, Carl! There was quite a bit of elevation too. He was glad when he saw the finish line, though. 😊
It was my first time to be in a support team for an elite runner (she runs for Salomon). It felt nearly as great as running it! 😄
Hi Catrina,
you did well as the crew and great she made 3rd place. Yes I have crewed and paced for people and have been crewed and paced at ultras. In the backfield it’s not so much about speed, though you don’t want to linger to long at aid stations. But it’s such a big psychological help as well to not have to do everything yourself.
Next time you pick up Tarry! But 4:30 am – that’s early!
Hi Roni
It was nearly as much fun as running it myself! Or maybe even more, ha!
Yes, you mentioned in yesterday’s post how you helped out at an aid station for a trail run. It’s great because you are an experienced trail runner – you know what is needed and what the exhausted runners need to hear.
Yes!! Then she will HAVE TO come with us! 🙂