The Copenhagen 6-day Race

The Copenhagen 6-day Race started as a thought, a curiosity - that with time became an urge: To experience in Denmark & Scandinavia what was happening in Colac, Australia, and New York City.

The 6-day Race - the 6-day battle - the 6-day joy.

We soon became aware that this was no easy event. Not easy for the runners, not easy for the organizer. Exactly this convinced me that motivation was going to be easy to find. And from there on there was no return. This, me and my helpers - on which I always deeply depend - had to try.

The aim:

To give the ultrarunners in Scandinavia a source for inspiration by meeting some of the most experienced athletes in their sport.
To provide a proving ground for European runners that had the whish to try the 6-day event; but didn't have opportunity to go much abroad.
To introduce the public in Denmark to international-level ultrarunning. And on the other hand - to make the dream about an ultra-race in the middle of a major city come true.
- That's why the race was staged in the middle of Copenhagen’s 'Central Park'. With all the many, many difficulties this meant; and with all the many, many opportunities of grand running.
To give myself a final lesson of the combination of organizing and running before the scheduled start of the world run at new years day 2003/2004 in London.

The Race has begun - not yet !

Only a few days before the start almost everything looked as if in control. But what a lesson to begin with.

Top participants began to draw their entry. Three top-of-the-poster names: gone. Was the race going to become reality at all ?

A fourth international runner got 'caught' in the Schengen Zone of EU - at first denied entry in the EU due to visa for Denmark but not to the transit airport in Germany. Two hours before the scheduled pick-up in the Copenhagen airport. The organizer had a busy evening and night. By the way this runner was later to become my very good friend, the Indian runner Mr. Arun Bwai.

Risking being put on the next plane back to New Delhi, Arun and I fought a battle of diplomacy armed with our mobiles and the patience of ultrarunning. After being sent to Switzerland he finally made it to Denmark; one day later. We were already friends by the time he exited the gate in Copenhagen Airport, International Arrivals. A first victory !

- I'll spare you of more details of the next days; it's sufficient to say that had I not already known the golden rule of organizing then I got the hang of it after a few days: What can go wrong, and even what can't go wrong - expect it to go wrong. And make alternative plans; always !

All this being said it was a fantastic experience. And the race did become reality. Indeed very much so :-)

Four runners slept in my 40 m2 apartment in Copenhagen. The French woman Christine, the two Frenchmen Claude and Jean-Pierre, the polite Indian Arun Bwai. And myself.

In tents in the garden: two Swedish runners and two Danish runners. (Camp Scandinavia !). Outside at the roadside: The tuff German runner ms. Cornelia Bullig and her supportive husband Sigi; always ready to lend a hand to the organization with transporting 'essentials' to the track in their Autocamper.

As you can imagine this was besides a hard 6-day race - also somewhat of a 'Summer Camp' of ultrarunning.

- And I think that many of us less experienced ultrarunners learned tons of lessons in this one week of 'ultrarunning-university' !

Start !

Twenty five degrees Celsius. Almost no clouds. Light wind. A beautiful Scandinavian summer day.

Route inspection; Technical meeting; Last minute Media-interviews. All done. Five minutes to the start.

- Three of the runners has been in this situation before.

- Seven of us is new to the challenge that lies ahead. Thoughts; doubts, hopes is clearly visible in the faces.

One minute to the start. The count-down begins. Time chips is demonstrated again. Difficult to understand through the whining noise from the last furious hour of a nearby Formula 3 race - also a 'first' in Central Copenhagen.

10 seconds. Shaking of hands.

5 seconds. All look determined. (what can go wrong now ?)

2 seconds. (everything can go wrong !)

1 second. (nothing will go wrong.)

We're on the move !!

Quickly the field is spread in small groups along the tarmac and gravel paths. The two Frenchmen immediately takes the lead. The experienced 24-hour runner Jean-Pierre Guymarc'h pulls away, pacing at about four and a half minute pr. kilometre. It's quick by any standard of ultrarunning but he must know what he is doing. Last year, for example, he came third at the European 24-hour Championships doing easily over 250km.

A friendly smile covers his face. Supportive remarks is being made to runners already taken with several laps. He speaks only French but the rest of the field has no difficulty getting the point :-)

Further back in the field the two Swedish runners is running disciplined. Very disciplined. Keeping the strategy announced in e-mail weeks before the race. To make the daily 'cut-off' at 42km. Should be no problem. At least not until the last day of 6-hours open track.

Also the other Danish runners is clearly careful. Shifting between running and walking from the very first laps. Later this calm slowly is replaced by visions of possibility. One of them is to leave the race at the 4.th. day.

This is clearly also a study of the different ways of culture. - As ultrarunning so often is with it's extreme demands to the mental resources and strategies of the athletes.

The Indian runner, Arun, patiently walks. Walks, walks and ...walks. The first time I notice him run is on the last lap of the day. When there is only a few minutes until the track closes at 24:00. Then he almost sprints to get that last lap counted.

The track opens again at 08:00. As always. And Arun begins the day with 10-12 hours of walk. As always. Carefully turning the wheel of distance one more lap; one more day.

Cornelia Bullig of Germany is not to be understood. At least not by me. And that isn't intended to be impolite. Exactly the opposite; actually.

We are many that have difficulty to apprehend her silent strength. Without us really becoming aware of it, she easily surpasses us. After the race I understand some of the sufferings. From other officials. Still she seems untouched. More than 100km pr. day. On a track that is open 16 hours a day.

- What about me ? With a track that I have chosen myself in a race that I have co-designed. How can I complain !
I keep my thoughts of the burning sun, 24 to 27 C; the absent wind; and the painful desire to do more than my 80km pr. day. - To myself ;-)

I shouldn't have to complain. Not compared to my officials that is putting in an incredible effort. I owe any success of the race to them. Those of them that came day after day and turned problems into possibilities.

The End.

The end is finally reached ! Everyday.

As I after the race talked with my friend from India about: every day, every night, the runners is like the sun in ancient tales.

In the morning it is born. Everything glows. In the midday it burns. In the afternoon calm smoothness arrives. By the evening cool beams of proudness shines on a duty done. In the night: death.

Every day a new morning comes to rescue and the celebration of life and running commence again. At least so it feels to some of us. Being surprised every morning that the body has done the impossible and recovered. Despite what the mind whispers in the sleepless hours of doubt.

In small philosophical moments at the track it seems as had the body a clear awareness of the thousands of years of hard work passed down through generations. While the mind only remembers the last day, year, decade or lifespan of joy and pain.

Well. Thoughts we all have. During the many hours on the track and back in the apartment in a overcrowded kitchen and living room there is often remarks made of the 'odd' thoughts and tactics that is used to make it to the finish line.

And surely the finish line is something almost magical to all competitive athletes. It makes them work the last drop of energy through the engine of the body - or it makes them despair because of the long long space between them and the line.

Looking at the 'leader board' this also becomes visible. The middle-day, Wednesday, is for many the first day that they even dare think about the finish. On Wednesday it's clear that some athletes react positive; and other meet their frontier.

Most worth mentioning is perhaps Christine Bodet. She is the only one who manage to run more km's in the last full (16-hours) days than in the first. She becomes stronger for every day. Remembering her low expectations in the e-mails months before the race brings a smile on even a very tired competitor while fighting the effects of a limited 3-4 hours of sleep a day.

From a sociological point of view this fact is just as clear. In the crowded, humid, packed and almost 'upside-down' apartment she displays the ability to take care of other athletes. Clean after them, motivate them, put old food waiting since days ago to be wasted - in their right place.

Other athletes react in the opposite way. Life in the apartment is at that point becoming more and more like the situation when mountaineers camp in altitudes above 7000 meters. The stress of balancing near the limit of the bodies ability to recover, makes even basic things difficult.

Changing clothes before sleep: annoying ! Showering: demands full willpower (I fell asleep one time actually !). Collecting ones belongings in one place: why bother ?!! Eating: a must for anyone who want to be able to reach the next day's goal of running. But putting the food left into the fridge', waste dump or just away from the kitchen table: no such possibility !

This being said not in disrespect, but just to show non-ultrarunners what the 6-day is also about: To reach limits that most of us don't notice before we are 70 years or maybe older.

And yes; it might be painful at times and full of victorious joy at others. But the knowledge and food for thought it brings is much more valuable, I imagine.

Awards

After much talk of the finish - and during the race: much waiting for the finish - finally we arrive !!

With 20 minutes to go we all gather to walk the last lap together. Carrying our national flags and what-not :-).

With 17 minutes to go we actually collect ourselves and begin the walk.

With 10 minutes to the finish we are halfway. The last half way of the 1442,5 meter track. We came to know it quite well, the only reel change being the reverse of direction every second day.

5 minutes left. We turn around the last corner. Lots of people in the Park. Not quite true that we had no change of scenery during those days.

2 minutes left and we form a line with the Winner Claude Hardel in front: 761km. Many things made for a changing environment.

- The people: Calm morning hours. Busy noon with schoolchildren, students and spectators curious of the race. Beautiful women strolling the park. In the afternoon: Football players of many ethnic groups playing and partying.

- Vehicles: The large S.A.R.-helicopter several days landing on the grass at the inside of the track. Not to search and rescue runners but to bring people to the National Hospital right next to the track. - The car that we drove the 20 minutes to/from the track. Driving 07:25 from my apartment. Back 0:20 from the Park. Becoming more and more dusty and battered for every day that passed.
Yet even though it was also on duty picking up runners at the airport and used for some sightseeing before and after the race, it never got as much km 'on the clock' as the 5 best runners in the 6-day race.

- But perhaps most change was made by the light. I remember only one day with partly cloudy weather. And that was only for 2-3 hours. Hence the sunbeams from minute to minute would draw up all the different shadows of the park. Ever changing and moving.

- Shadows of trees, people, buildings, media, helicopters and park department trucks; pets, birds, foxes, shops and tents for resting. Shadows of runners on firm gravel.

1½ minute left. The race is over ! We pass the finish line.

- The rest is awards. Awards to the winners, awards to the main officials.

And awards to all participants that now know that they master the 6-day race.

Yours sincerely & see you somewhere on the roads,