Ruthenian 100 (113km / 4367m+), Stropkov, 26.8.2023

 A barbecue in the East is such a party like no other 😁

When I didn't manage to sign up for the Beskydy Seven and I didn't have the nerve to wait if anyone was going to sell the entry and see if I could grab one, I decided that I'd rather support a local event called Ruthenian Ultrarun. I heard and read rumors about the enthusiasm with which the local Stropkov Running Club prepare the event, legends about the nowadays rarely seen hospitality of local people and I was looking forward to getting to know another corner of Slovakia that was unknown to me.

There are few runners on the starting list and even fewer women - up to six. Awesome, so if I don't DNF, I'm sure to place in the top six 💪 On the one hand, it's a shame that ultrarunners don't flock here, they miss out on a great experiences, a beautiful route and interaction with wonderful people. On the other hand, thanks to this, this event has a stamp of a small, family-like community event, and there's something about it. However, the organizers, led by the Kimák gang, would deserve to be rewarded for their efforts and passion for the cause with more abundant participation.

Weather forecasts promise sunny thirties, so those who didn't take the chance to get cooked at Východniarska 100 can take advantage of this opportunity to get baked or stewed in their own juices at this Ruthenian Ultrarun.

On Friday morning, together with Monika, we travel by train-bus to distant Stropkov, and the journey goes by just like that.

After a long travel, we go out to stretch our legs to a nearby view point on the hill above Stropkov and suddenly we've walked 11 km 😂 just like that.

Tomorrow or the day after tomorrow we'll run down that hill to the finish

We'll run around this cross tomorrow morning

On the way, we stop at the event check at at the local elementary and grammar school, and we are off to dinner (based on the recommendations of the locals to a place called Lokál), which came in handy after a long journey and an even longer walk 😅 We rinsed our dusty feet in the fountain strategically placed in the colorful Stropkov Square, so we are not for slags at the restaurant 😅 (only on the square).

 

In the evening the other girls from the start list arrive and so we meet them in Lokál and take an evening lookout from the church tower.

 

Some continue to socialize, I go to sleep. My apartment is only a short distance from the city center, but somehow I have a strange feeling and am concerned just to walk alone after dark around Stropkov 😬 I prefer to pretend I'm not there and try to quickly move to the guesthouse.

The night is warm, I fall into a shallow but peaceful and quite long sleep (by my pre-race standards). The morning is .. warm 😂 I move through the sleeping city with all my luggage to the school - the following night, when I reach the finish line, I'll sleep in the school gym in this luxury:

The organizers really paid attention to every detail, among other things, they gave us a beautiful white functional T-shirt in the start package. That will come in handy today in the heat of the day. I put it on right away in the morning and during the race I mentally thank the orgs for it numerous times.

After the the event briefing, we move together to the colorful Stropkov Square, where various photo sessions, speeches, small talks are taking place. When suddenly the last 10 seconds to the start are counting down and when suddenly we are running following our pacer-for-first-10km Janko up through the town, past the cemeteries to the meadows and hills, where the morning fog is still present and there is dew in the grass. It's already warm and muggy, but at least we can breathe somehow. In an hour or so, everything will be different 😁

Gradually, the fog dissipates. The sun leans into the earth with its full force and scorching heat. I try not to hurry, for there is nowhere to hurry. I choose to bake long, slow, but well, rather than to be quickly burnt to a crisp and smoked out. The girls are up front, I can still see them for a while until I can't see them anymore. Meadows pass forests and meadows again and we pass K1 with a drone in Vojtovce. Chewing an energy bar, I wave to the drone and glide along the path in the bushes, that is meandering parallel to an asphalt road below. Rišo P. is moaning about why go this way, when there is a normal road going in parallel, I say to him, let's be happy, at least we are in the shade for a while. In the shade of the forest it is tolerable for now, but even that will soon change.

Photo: Rišo P.

In Solník, there is a lonesome table with mineral water and glasses standing by the road, thank you. This is the hospitality of the locals that I am talking about. Instead of bemoaning the fact that a race will run through their village and some sweaty freaks will be hanging around their alleys, they set up a table in the shade with bottles of mineral water and glasses. We cross the ridge, under which there is a War Cemetery from the First World War, to Veľkrop, where the first aid station and K2 awaits us. And a garden hose with cold water 😍 I let myself be sprinkled, like everyone else. I eat everything, but today I especially like oranges. They are sweet, juicy and refreshing.

Photo: Stropkov Running Club

Together with Peta S. and a couple of ladies from R66, we continue along the hot asphalt and meadow to Kozubová hill. I feel pretty good despite the heat. It's already out of my comfort zone for a lover of heat and sun, but I manage it well. I drink a lot, at the aid stations I fill one bottle with water and the other with mineral water. I take salt tablets and eat more salties than sweets. And once again I am grateful for dry pavements, dry feet. Although even here there are quite a few sections where, despite the dryness and heat, the damp, wet mud sticks around.

I am leaving Peta and the girls from R66 behind and again Rišo P. is appearing from somewhere. He says something about over-motivated 100k-ers, he doesn't understand them. Says the guy who at the beginning of the summer ran the whole East Carpathian Route (255km) and has run all the 100km races around 😂. Three weeks ago he did the Vychodniarska 100 and last Saturday he smashed the High Tatra Main Route (84km). He is doing the R66 today, that means 74km. Today, the 100k-ers had the option to convert to a shorter route at the km 30 if they felt they weren't up to it. Rišo would also have preferred to declare for a shorter route, only there was no shorter route on offer.

He describes to me roughly what to expect on the rest of the route. He says that once I run off the ridge, it will be only a downhill to the finish. Hey, but it was a downhill with 1200 meters of climbing... Rišo, didn't you read that inscription on the T-shirt, that we got???? You sure didn't know what you were saying.

"Don't always say everything you know...! 
But always know what you are saying...!"

At least deep in my soul I hoped that the section behind the ridge would be similar to this one before the ridge, beautiful, runnable, full of small harmless curves. Yeah, sure...

 

Above Bukovec, we pass another nice church with a spring of water. I immediately throw myself into it, but the water somehow smells strange. I'm not religious, but I'd rather say a quick prayer in my mind, let it be just Sulphur and not something else... The cycle route will take us through pastures to Gribovo and K3, where both routes split.

Photo: Rišo P.

Poto: Rišo P.

Rišo disconnects and I continue straight along the asphalt road. There is no one to be seen far away ahead. From this point on, I will be running alone almost the whole time, except for a few encounters with a few runners. I run up the long tarmac, the sun burns my head, my arms, my legs, everything. I don't mind. I keep drinking. And I'm supposedly doing great 😍

 

                                    "You're doing great!"

After about 1.5 km, the route plunges into the forest and the ascent reminds me somewhat of Železný vrch from Východniarska 100, only it is a little less steep and depressing 😅 Fortunately, it is not very long and soon I am in the village of Miroľa, where there is K4 and O2 at the same time. I sit in the shade and chill. Thank god I still like to eat and that's good, because once I start feeling sick from hunger, I'm done. Following the green marks, the trail continues through forests and bushes, wilderness, logging, and raspberry fields up to Príkra, where 25% of the population (which is three out of twelve) sit outside in the street. They cheer, clap and offer mineral water. From there, the ascent to the crest, the Slovak-Polish border, begins. I dip my headband in the cold water in the stream and at least for a while my head is cool. Up in the Sedlo Javorina, I am in no time. So this is it, the legendary East Carpathian Route.

 

Right off the bat, I'm greeted by fresh wolf 💩. The path undulates between grass with long light-brown spikes, raspberries and trees. It's a bit airier here, a pleasant breeze blows in places. I pace as fast as I can, slaloming between puddles and mud bogs, stepping over a fallen tree here and there. A few climbs and a few descents, the section is quite long, but it went by pretty fast. At the observation tower at Dukla, there is K5 and at the same time O3. The tower is huge. I'm thinking about what it would be like to go all the way up to the viewpoint for the checkpoint, like in Zázrivá at the Terchovské srdce lookout tower 😁 I better get this idea out of my head quickly and hope that the orgs won't be inspired by this for the future editions 😇

at the aid station, I drink the best coffee ever and eat everything they put in front of me. It's lot of fun there 😀 Stano is here too, saying that he is packing it in and at the same time waiting for Peta S. I tell him that she is a few minutes behind me. Actually, I could feel her on my heels the whole time and that made me not to dawdle completely. Thanks, Peti 💕 I tell Stano not to fool around and carry on. He didn't fool around and carried on with Peta all the way to Svidník. But there, he went completely crazy, packed it in for good and handed Peta over to Dano, with whom she made it to the finish line three hours after me.

  

I am slowly leaving Dukla, passing by the memorial and the cemetery, where I meet Janka. She says that Majka and Zuzka are a little ahead of me. And Monika is somewhere far ahead. It is so great that her stomach is holding up today, I'm happy for her and I hope she makes it to the finish line strong and even wins. At least she'll fix her motivation after Východniarska. I wish for her very much. So, I'm mentally setting myself up for fourth place and I'm going to try and hold on to it.

I cross the busy E371 and connect to the East Carpathian Route. Beyond Brdo, however, the trail leads us down to Medvedie. I'm running through the forest on what looks like a bike track. It got cloudy and is quite dark in the forest. Thunder can be heard in the distance. At first quiet and occasional, later still distant, but urgent and ominous. Everything fell silent. I try to run as fast as I can, so I can get to the next aid as soon as possible. The forest seems endless to me and the further into it, the darker it gets. The winds started blowing. When am I finally going to get out of this damn forest?

I finally get out of the damn forest, join the cycle path that is also the Slovak National Uprising Heroes Route, and arrive at Medvedie. I have to run all the way through the village to the end, under a ski slope. A local resident working in the garden asks me if I need anything, water or whatever. This hospitality 💓 I say thank you, there is a refreshment in a moment. He remarks that there will probably be a lot of refreshment from up above in a moment too. I look at the horizon where heavy black clouds hang over the hills.

At K6 and at the same time O4 Medvedie, an excellent broth and excellent risotto is being served. I'll have both. I sit in the shelter and listen to the crew talking in the Ruthenian dialect. I don't bother with changing clothes this time. The wind dried me out a bit. I only pack a spare t-shirt to be safe in case we get wet or if the night wants to be a little colder (ha ha..). I finish up my food, refill the water, say goodbye to the wonderful volunteers and hurry away. Climbing the ski slope, yesss.. I like that! While I was sitting in the aid, the clouds lightened, the wind stopped blowing and I could no longer hear thunder. Great, hopefully it will bypass us completely. And it did. Later, I read in the news what damage the storm did in other parts of Slovakia. Fallen trees and branches, injured tourists from fallen trees and branches, hail as big as eggs...

Behind the slope, along a side crest, we rejoin the border ridge. The forest is warm and stuffy again, with a hot breeze here and there. This section is about the same length as the first one on the border ridge, but I like it better. There's less mud, less detouring, more views and lots of fantastic blackberries. I feed myself. They're sour, juicy, refreshing and definitely full of vitamin C. But I can't get stuck in those blackberries forever otherwise I won't finish.

The trail meanders up, down, right and left again, and I am at Uhliská, where K7 is. Cheerful staff are cheering on me from afar, playing the harmonica and singing Anička Dušička. Immediately, I'm enlightened, they're amazing. They even offer me "something", but I gratefully refuse. I don't want to blur even more than I already am 😁

I'm glad that I'm coming down from the ridge and it's still daylight. Three kilometers below is K8 and at the same time O5 Kuchtovce. I get another coffee, eat something and leave. After a short steep climb through the forest, I run out into the meadows. A beautiful region with farms, forests and pastures rolls around. The sun is slowly starting to set. It hides in the storm clouds and the last rays shine through them. Cows graze on the horizon.

So all that's left is this downhill with those 1,200 meters of ascent... So far, it looks like pleasantly runnable curves. And I'm running strong, I guess the caffeine from the last aid kicked in. I like these open spaces with a sense of latitude and endless freedom. Yahooo!!! Let's just not stumble over something on my caffeine-enhanced, but otherwise quite exhausted legs, and kiss the ground with my nose somewhere. I run through Kečkovce with a church and an Orthodox temple with golden turrets and shuffle up to the opposite meadow.

I'm climbing Kalinec Hill, when I spot something garishly pink looming in the gloom of the hill in the near distance ahead of me. Is it Monica and her garishly-pink shorts? It's her. My heart pounds a few beats faster, but at the same time I feel sorry for her. Her stomach betrayed her again. But today it wasn't until 83 km that I passed her. Other times, I catch her around 50 km. So she must have been doing something right for a while. I tell her to hook up with me, to try to run with me, that I would pull her along. Let her at least be third. But she doesn't want to. She sends me ahead. So I go. I know she'll fight till the end, like she has done so many times. Slower, without eating and drinking, but she will. I wouldn't be able to do this. In the end, she arrived at the finish about three quarters of an hour after me.

I run through Belejovce and looking at the hills behind I see that the sun has definitely set. A moment later I enter the forest and switch on my headlamp.

And NOW it's starting. The first steep climb and descent through the dark forest to Nižná Jedľová, where the shorter route rejoins the long one again. It's still stuffy and warm in the woods. From there, another steep ascent through a warm and humid forest and a descent through the city park to Svidník. My stomach is starting to feel weird. I force myself to eat the gel. Either it kicks me in or it knocks me down. Fortunately, the first option happened and I even managed to make one small detour in Svidník. I run past the War Memorial, military equipment and Julka's plane. It's already dark, so I don't bother to take any pictures at all. Finally I hit K9 and at the same time O6 right on the square, near the statue of Ludvík Svoboda. There is a fridge. They offer me chilled Coke and chilled mineral water. This is life-saving. I gulp down cold Coke and close my eyes in delight, feeling the cool wash over my insides. I am at the 91st km. Another 20 kilometers and some 700 meters of elevation. How many hours will that take? If I were fresh and crispy, it would be roughly around 2.5 - max three hours. Now that I am trashed I guess it will be 4, maybe even five hours... who knows. But 20 km to the finish line is always better than 50 😁

So let's get this over with as fast as possible. A steep and sensationally long climb to Ostrý vrch, and then long rocks through the forest. It's spooky. I prefer not to loom my headlamp around at all, only in front of me. Every now and then an animal shouts at me, every now and then something crackles beside the trail. I'm frightened by squirrels rustling in the leaves and grass. The trail is washed out with deep potholes, and it's tiring to keep a constant eye out. I pass an abandoned shelter somewhere, an empty haunted building with no doors or windows. It's still hot and stuffy and I'm stewing in my own juices. I'm tired of it. The cool mineral water from Svidník in my flasks saves my life again. I imagine a cold shower at the finish line and a dewy beer and this idea drives me forward. And also Peta, who is surely on my heels 😅

There is to be another check and refreshment stop at the 100th kilometer. I'm at the 100th km and I'm still in silent woods in the middle of nowhere. I look at the map to see where something like this might be. Nothing nowhere. But maybe there will be some random refreshment station. Like Maruška also found a random grandma with a cottage in the middle of the forest in Salt over Gold. I listen into the dark to see if voices can be heard. It's totally silent. The desperation is growing. What if there's just never going to be an aid station and I won't have a checkpoint from K10? What if the finish won't even be at km 111, and in fact, what if it will never be anywhere? Tears almost welled up, but luckily the rest of my common sense told me to look at the checklist. K10 will be in Rakovčík. Good 😅. 

I descend through the forest to Rakovčík and catch up with the group from the shorter route. Together we arrive at K10 and at the same time O7. I have over 103 kilometers on my watch. So much fuss for three kilometers? Well, what can you do, in the final stages of an ultra, things are pulled out of a person that they would never know about 🤷‍♀️ Apparently a lot of runners clocked more kilometers there. But it doesn't matter, as long as I have a checkpoint from K10 😄 I'll force myself to eat something, drink something, refill my mineral water for the last stretch. There are stars in the sky and a big orange moon.

The final long climb to Baňa. Another spooky forest. Animal sounds, washed-out pavement. There is a huge transmitter near the trail blaring ominously into the silence of the forest. Better get out of here fast. The spirit of this section is saved by large wooden boards with motivational inscriptions, it warms one's heart that one is not completely alone here. The signs are here with him.

"There's no way back" Photo: Martin M.

"Speed up!" Photo: Rišo P.

"Once you're here, you're a winner" Photo: Martin M.

So I arrive at the very last checkpoint K11 Baňa, where there are nice guys and they encourage me that in an hour and a half I'm at the finish line. I made that finish in a little less than an hour. They pour me another Coke and I make my way down the meadow. There are a few more motivational signs and placards in the meadow so that one doesn't lose one's direction and spirits.

"You are just before the finish" Photo: Martin M.

"Come on!" Photo: Rišo P.

And I take a photo of the night view of the lights of Stropkov.

I run through two more woods and a meadow and enter the town by the church. There are still streets with motivational signs to weave through 😀 It's long, like xxxxx, but it has to end sometime. And I'm really looking forward to that beer!

 

"Slow down here 'cause people are asleep"             "One more km and you've got that beer!"

I run through the silent nightly streets of Stropkov and hope that the locals are really asleep. I don't meet anyone. I turn right, left, right, left, then only left to the school gate. The finish line is in. I enter inside and it's all lively there. Atmosphere's noisy, people are clapping and I'm supposed to ring the bell. So I ring the bell and my Ruthenian fairy-tale is over 😍 running time 18:29. It's Sunday, half past 2 in the morning.

 

Both photos Stropkov Running Club

Zuzka and Majka arrived twelve minutes before me, I greet them and there will be a prize giving ceremony in a minute. Great. We received beautiful diplomas and cups, plus useful trinkets. I am very happy about the placement 😊 All the pain is forgotten.

 

Photo on the left: Stropkov Running Club, photo on the right Riso. P.

A long longed-for shower follows and after that a long longed for cold beer. Total bliss. I also get soup and risotto and eat to the fullest. I'm very tired, but don't want to leave the company, I feel good there amongst my fellow runners. Eventually the tiredness overcomes me. I spread out my sleeping bag on that luxurious thick blue bed and lay my bones in a horizontal position. I can't get much sleep, thanks to the amount of caffeine I've consumed, so I just doze off, feeling the ache in my muscles every time I roll over. I'm loving it 😂

Despite the night's overeating, I'm awake before six feeling ravenously hungry. I have to go get a coffee and something to eat. Jožko Kimak's wife Valéria grants me all my wishes and I just sit and chill 😊 unbelievable how she shows no signs of fatigue, and she's been up on her feed in full speed since God knows when, and besieging us since Friday evening. More hungry runners are joining in, and at the same time the last runners and hikers are coming in for the finish. We admire them for being able to stay on the trail for so many hours. A huge round of applause to all those who made it to the finish line today in the heat, and a big congratulations to the winners and placers on both routes.

I can't stop thanking the organizational team headed by the Kimáks, they constantly welcomed us with a smile and fulfilled our every wish. They created an incredible unique atmosphere at refreshment stations and checkpoints, refilled us with strength for the coming sections and lifted our spirits all the time. Everything was beautifully arranged and organized, the route was stunning and perfectly marked. You can see that they really put a lot of effort and heart to it all. 

It is not true that there is nothing in the east. There's a lot here and it's beautiful.

Final Results

Web Ruthenian 100

FB Rutheninan 100 a Stropkov Running Club