Ultrarunner's notes

 The criminal returns to the crime scene… …but only for a smaller act of mischief this time — 64 km / 4100 m+. This race carries the nickname “Najtrudniejszy bieg w Polsce” — “The hardest race in Poland.” Whether that’s actually true, I don’t know. But one thing is certain: while running the 64 km course this year, I genuinely could not comprehend how I had managed to survive the 177 km version last year. And yet, barely two days after the race, I already found myself thinking it might be a good idea to come back one day… for the full 240 km madness. Whether that happens in this lifetime remains to be seen. I’m curious myself.   I won’t go into detail about the course itself — everything was thoroughly covered in last year’s report . But the weather and conditions this time were exactly my favorite kind: sunshine, warmth, dry trails (although some sections clearly preserve eternal mud…), and that gorgeous green-yellow-blue beauty of May. A change in the start/finish location ...

 Finally, a Proper Hot Summer Run It’s been two years since the late-summer gem Hriňovská 100 shrank down to just under 80 kilometers and flipped the route in the opposite direction—but none of that took away from its magic. It still managed to lure me in 😅 The course winds through places with names that sound like they were pulled straight out of Tolkien’s Eriador: Bratkovica, Málinec, Ďubákovo (more on THAT climb from Málinec to Ďubákovo later), Slopovo, Utekáč, Táňovo, and so on. In short: pure Tolkien. Photo: Monika Dratwa The start and finish are in Kokava nad Rimavicou, a quirky little town nestled among the green hills of the Vepor Mountains. They’ve got the best pizza—if not in all Slovakia, then definitely in Kokava nad Rimavicou. On Friday evening, hobbits, elves, and dwarves start gathering in the town square by the fountain, where check-in and bib collection takes place at the cultural center. Adding to the whole picture are the local Nazgûls lurking about in the gl...

 A long awaited, well-Deserved Rematch A year has come and gone since that fateful evening when I was dragging my defeated self through the sun-scorched meadows above Lipovec at 8 PM, swearing I'd never sign up for another race again. And here I am — back at the start line of the Malofatranská 100. For the third time. MF100 in 2022 was my very first official 100k race. In 2023, the organizers spiced up the course, making runners sweep across every peak of the ridge — even the ones we used to bypass. And of course, I wanted to try this fancy new version too. But last year didn’t go as planned… So here I am again, back for redemption. I arrived in Terchová as usual on Friday — picked up my bib, did a bit of sightseeing, had some dinner, and stayed the night at Hotel Gavurky. Highly recommend it to all of us spoiled ultrarunners (you know who you are — the ones who just can’t sleep in a sweaty gym with people snoring like dying walruses). The hotel even starts serving breakfast ...