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Posted on the Ultralist
The 2005 Deutschland Lauf
DL-2005
Translated by Jurgen Ankenbrand from German
into English.
What is this event about?
was the brainchild of race director Ingo
Schulze
who had run this event solo several years ago on his own and directed
it once
in 1998.
Where did it take place?
The idea was to across Germany at it's longest distance from the
northern
most point at Kap Arkona on the island of Ruegen to the Southern
most point
in the small Baden Wuertemberg town of Loerrach, near the Swiss
border. The
route would cross seven German states and go mostly through small
towns and
villages avoiding the heavier traffic areas as much as possible.
Once the route was
set a department of traffic for the entire country had to approve
all routing,
possibly making small changes due to changed traffic conditions
such as
road closures or constructions. The entire route was to be about
1,200 km or
roughly 750 or so miles. Once this was done Ingo would drive the
entire
distance by car speaking into his tape recorder, noting distances
and reference
points for the later to be developed daily routing schedules.
Who has the time, energy and patience to organize such
an event?
Ingo Schulze has successfully organized other long-distance running
events,
notably the 2003 Trans Europe Foot Race from Lisbon to Moscow, a
distance of
5,100 kilometers over 64 days. The Spree Lauf is another event he
has hosted
several times, a seven day run through Northern Germany, which is
very popular.
In addition Ingo is an accomplished ultra runner in his own rights
and
understands runners needs.
Why have such an extreme run?
Currently the Trans Goal run in France is the only longer multi-day
running
event in Europe and Ingo wanted to offer one in his home country
of Germany
and revived the DL across Germany run for 2005 after hosting it
once in 1998.
The initial limit of planed participants of 50 was quickly reached
and more
and more applications rolled in so that the eventual starting roster
had 68
starters from nine countries including two runners from Colorado,
USA, namely
Peter Bakwin and Stephanie Ehret, both accomplished ultra runners
in their
own rights.
Why would any one want to run 1,200 kilometers in 17 days?
This is the 64-million dollar question, which is always asked by
"regular"
people who have a difficult time understanding that any one can
do it, let
alone would want to do it.
The simple answer in a nutshell is this:
It's there and some runners think they can do it. It's the ultimate
challenge for an ultra runner (an ultra run is any distance longer
than the
"normal" marathon distance of 42 kilometers or 26.2 miles.
This may not sound too
logical but this is the answer in a nutshell.
Ever wondered how the marathon became to be 26.2 miles, a rather
odd number?
At one time it used to be an even 25 miles, run in England. The
event ended
short of the Queen's residence and she could not see the finish.
She asked
that the distance be changed so the finish was where she could observe
the
event from her balcony and here we have 26.2 miles ever since. When
you are the
Queen, almost anything is possible.
Organization:
Needless to say, to get seventy runners, about 15 to 20 volunteers
at any
given time and a column of around ten vehicles all the way across
Germany, a
1,200-kilometer distance, is no small feat and requires very detailed
planning.
It took well over one year of preparation including driving the
entire distance by car.
Having a full time job at Mercedes Benz meant that Ingo spent much
of his
vacation and free time working on this project.
Logistical considerations:
1. Sponsors for financial support:
The entry fee of Euro 60 per day per runner does not cover all expenses
and
without some financial and other support such an event could not
take place
1. Route to prepare daily schedule:
Once the route had been established and permits from the proper
authorities
were secured Ingo drove the distance and set the daily route schedule.
2. Support vehicles to carry crews and supplies to the aid stations:
Volunteers had to bring to the aid stations and the baggage had
to be
brought to the new quarters every day requiring a large van.
3. Volunteers, since no running event can take place without them:
As all runners should know, no running event can take place without
volunteers.
4.Those are the selfless soles that offer freely of their time,
standing often
hours at aid stations waiting for runners to have food and beverages
served to them.
5.The average daily stage was about 60 kilometers and often the
time between the
1st and last runners coming through an aid station could be as long
as four hours,
a long wait indeed. Especially in inclement weather.
6. Route marker to plaster 1,000s of bright orange stickers with
large
black arrows on sign posts or whatever surface they would stick
to, so runners and
drivers would know where to go. Could stickers not be used, white
chalk marks and
arrows did the job and once in the dark up the Feld Berg, hot-pink
spray paint did
the job guiding the runners until daylight.
7. Food buyers to purchase daily supplies for meals and aid stations.
Not always an easy task supplying between five to eight aid stations
and
food for breakfast and dinner a few times. Generally no special
food order
requests were taken, with almost 100 people, a virtual impossibility.
8. Daily quarters in gyms, our quarters for each night.
On a scouting trip, Ingo tried to secure sport halls along the way
and get
commitments ahead of time, for us to stay whenever possible.
9. Traffic permits in highly bureaucratic Germany entail a very
lengthy
process taking several month at best. Then the fine-tuning of the
route can take
place.
10. Runners entry fee, the financial basis to support the event.
Rarely does an entry fee cover expenses, especially by such a large
and
longer event. Hence sponsors are a necessary part of the financial
picture.
11. Policies, rules and regulations, without them chaos would ensue.
These are by no means all considerations but the mayor points to
give the
reader an idea of the complexity to organize such a multi-day event
across an
entire country.
12. Group dynamics:
Having close to 100 people at the beginning at close quarters in
sometimes
very crowded conditions isn't easy and can create frictions due
to
personalities. Fortunately this happened very little and the entire
team worked as a
unit and few incidents happened.
13. Food, always a very important part of any athlete, was very
important
here. Several evening meals were taken in restaurants and several
were cater
ed.
Breakfast was usually served and eaten in the hall were we slept.
14. Quarters were exclusively in gyms.
Sleeping on a wooden floor with your inflatable mat is something
you have to
get used to, but it's not bad especially when very tired.
15. Weather can either make or break an event.
To say we were fortunate is understatement. Out of 17 days we had
one full
days of rain, one very windy day, a couple of partly cloudy days
and the rest
were sunny. This made the entire event so much easier as moral was
high and
all looks better with sunshine.
Trans Europe Foot Race comparison:
Those six runners who also ran the Trans Europe event, naturally
made some
comparisons. Four of these six finished and also were under the
top-ten place
finishers. One thing is for sure, all were glad the DL-2005 run
was only 17
days long. Some of the runners had little or no multi-day running
experience
but did surprisingly well.
Final analysis:
The event was very well organized and all seemed to run pretty smooth,
at
least viewed from the participant's vantage point. The DL-2005 was
a
full success and it's already for sure that there will be a 2006
edition,
as there are already several runners signed up for it.
It's impossible to please every one all the time, especially when
things get
tight, runners get injured, tired and even may be thinking of quitting.
Based on this I have to say, all went very well and no serious problems
happened.
As the official photographer with the freedom of driving a runner's
car every day, I was in a very enviable position. Several days I
either had one
aid station or helped at one. For at least halve the time I was
free to follow the
runners from the start, following on their heels as they basically
led the
way for me. On a few occasions I was able to time the runner's location
with an
incredible sunrise, which made for some great images which must
be created
and require planning, enthusiasm and often much waiting and walking.
Was it
worth it? Absolutely, check out my many images on the DL-2005 web
site
The day I returned to the US, Jesper Olsen the Danish world runner
also
arrived in NY finishing his US leg of his world journey. I met him
early Thursday
morning together with several other local runners as he ran from
the South
Ferry to the UN building, officially ending his US running leg.
He mentioned
that I was the very first runner to accompany him on his US journey
and now
I also became the very last one to do so, something I am very proud
of.
All this gave me certainly something to think about as a matter
of
comparison. The runners who just finished a 17-day run across Germany
certainly
had displayed much courage and accomplished a great feat. But now
seeing Jesper
nearing his ultimate goal of circumventing the world, the Germany
run sort of
paled against JesperE28099s effort of running for a year and ten
month
consecutive days of an average of between 30 to50 kilometers day
in and day out, no
matter what the circumstances.
Any one wanting more info or photos on either event for personal
or
commercial use can send me an e-mail at
(mailto:Ankenbrand@aol.com) ,
Jurgen Ankenbrand, the Ultra Kraut
_www.photographybyjurgen.com_ (http://my%20photo%20website/)
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