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18 July 2026 - Bulle

Today's race in Charmey was more difficult than it should have been. I stayed out too late last night finishing a book in a bar here in Bulle. And I woke up with the ear infection that I've had the past couple days moving down into my throat. I was prepared for the heat with plenty of water and a hat, but left my sunblock at the hotel. Fortunately much of the trail was in the shade. The 24K was basically three hills. The first was a 700m climb up from the start. Much of it was in little bit of the forest on the edge of a steep dropoff to my right and fenced off cowfields to the left. Despite dropping a deuce in the morning before leaving my hotel, my stomach decided there was another which needed to happen. But there was no where to hide. I ran the second half of the hill in this sorry state, but fortunately was able to find relief in the cable car building at the top. Then it was down the other sides on roads and fields to the second hill. By this point I was feeling my skin burn. This hill was only about 300-400 m up, and all on gravel roads. At the top was also the second aid station, where I refilled the water pouch on my back. By then I was 3 hours in and it was midday. Coming down it was tiny dirt trails through the forest and then trodden grass on steep fields. The third hill was a different route up the first hill. It was, fortunately, mostly in the forest until close to the top. Then I had just 6km of downhill to get back down to the finish line in Charmey. But I really suck at downhill and do not feel confident on my feet. Especially on steep gravel when there's steep dropoffs to my right and left while faster people from a longer race that started earlier are passing me. It took me almost as long to get down as it did to go up. But I made it to the finish line before the cutoff.

There are a few takeaways from this experience. Stomach troubles and colds can't always be avoided, but slow you down. Having plenty of water in the heat is critical, and a hat and sunblock protect against later pain. Carrying the extra weight on my body slows me down too. And going out the night before instead of having a boring, sober evening at home also hurts your performance. I need to work on my downhill skills, but uphill I am solid. I passed several people on the second two uphills who then passed me on the subsequent downhills. My lower back started siezing up on the third hill, which I take as meaning I need to do more situps. My friend Fabio, who is around my age, ran the Eiger 51 this weekend that I ran 5 years ago. After today I am not sure that I could run it again with the shape I am in. Still, the struggle continues.