Chornohora Sky Marathon 2015
This year I decided to participate in a marathon for the first time. Looking up the list of competitions held in Ukraine online, I immediately noticed the marathon along the Chornohora ridge - Chornohora Sky Marathon. I was interested in the idea of "lightly" running and walking the route proposed by the organizers, which I had traversed many times during hikes...
My "support group" was Diana, my constant companion in all undertakings... :)
The starting camp of the marathon was located in the Balzatul valley, in the clearings along the dirt road. We planned to get to this place on foot from the village of Lugi, to which we had to take a bus from Rakhiv...
Leaving Rakhiv for Lugi that day was not easy... We planned to catch the 11:30 bus, but at the bus station, confused ticket sellers told us that the tickets were sold out, and the bus did not even show up at the stop... At 13:30 (according to the schedule) the bus also did not arrive... I was able to link all this "hassle" with the buses to the fact that the marathon organizers had arranged for the transportation of their participants (paying an additional 200 UAH for delivery to the starting and finishing camps) with a "private owner," whose buses also run on the Rakhiv-Lugi route... Naturally, the "private owner," seeing an opportunity to make good money, took the buses off the route and rushed to transport the "marathoners"...
At the bus station, there was a small "mad house," with some participants crowding while waiting for their arranged transport, and others hurriedly looking for alternative ways to get to the starting camp... For example, we were offered a transfer to the Balzatul valley for 80 UAH per person in a "UAZ," but we refused... We didn't want to jolt along the rough roads starting after the village of Lugi, and also overpay for this "service"... It was also amusing to hear the deeply concerned reaction of some marathon participants to our desire to walk from the village of Lugi to the starting camp: "You still have to walk 13 kilometers to the camp!!!" said one of the "marathoners" as he climbed into the "UAZ"... If 13 km scares him so much, what is he doing here, I thought...
Eventually, we were sold a ticket for the bus that departed at 15:30, and since we now had a "wagon" of time, we went for a walk around the city...
The only thing that worried me a bit was the registration time for the races. The marathon website stated that you could register for the race at the starting camp from 15:00 to 19:00 the day before the start. Therefore, I was a bit worried that we wouldn't make it to the starting camp by the specified time... And it was impossible to call the organizers to clarify the possibility of registration after 19:00 that day...
Having arrived by bus to the village of Lugi and walked 13 km to the camp site in the Balzatul valley, I realized how baseless my worries were... Registration after 19:00 was in full swing...
Having registered and received the starting number "143", and previously arranged insurance at the neighboring "table-box" (the process involved paying 20 UAH and signing), as well as signing a paper stating that I take full responsibility for any possible harm to myself, we went to find a place to sleep in the participant-crowded clearings...
The final route of the race in the latest version was slightly different from the one previously announced. The organizers moved the finish camp 5 km further from the planned one, closer to the main road, for better communication. But at the same time, they eased the route itself - we bypassed three out of six two-thousanders by traversing... This exchange can be considered quite fair. The route was about 45-47 km, at least 3 km longer than the classic one...
The next morning... At 7:30 the race began...
Rushing into the forest along a narrow path as a huge crowd, I somewhat regretted starting in the middle, even a bit deeper... My climbing pace was higher than that of the surrounding flow... Therefore, to get to a comfortable space for myself, I had to overtake participants not on the path but "off-road," which was a bit harder...
I climbed the first two-thousander of the route - Pop-Ivan (2028 m) in 1:15. Later looking at the results of the "Vertical Kilometer" distance, whose participants started from the same place as us but finished on Pop-Ivan, I saw that my result (1:15) was the third... And this despite trying to conserve energy before the remaining 40 kilometers... At the first intermediate point, located at the summit, I didn't even stop... I had enough water and didn't need refueling... The second intermediate point, near Lake Brebeneskul, pleased with the presence of sliced bananas and oranges, which were perfect for a snack...
Since I did not take photos during the marathon, to fill the post with route photos, I used shots from my previous hikes, displaying them in the same sequence as the marathon...
The section from Mount Pop-Ivan to Lake Brebeneskul...
The section at the summit of Mount Breskul. View of Hoverla, and clearly visible to the left in the distance is Petros...
Photo by the volunteer-photographer of the Chornohora marathon (beginning of the ascent to Petros)...
The third intermediate point with oranges, bananas, water, and the most pleasant volunteer was at the Petros-Hoverla saddle... After this, the toughest ascent of the route to Petros awaited... Noon, more than 30 kilometers of the distance passed, the sun already starting to scorch... Yes, Petros became the true cherry on the cake called the "Chornohora Sky Marathon" :)...
But after Petros, one could breathe a sigh of relief, as only some 15 kilometers of mostly descents remained...
The section descending to the Menchul meadow...
After the Menchul meadow, I was informed of my position and how much was left to the finish, encouraged by a portion of applause and cheerful exclamations: "Well done!!!" and "Come on, come on"... Hearing that there were about five kilometers left to the end, I was "so happy" that a blister on my heel burst :). Stopping to apply a band-aid didn’t even cross my mind, I wanted to maintain my position... The closer to the finish, the more my problematic lateral knee ligament reminded me of itself, and my body trembled a bit from overheating... But the feeling that I might be caught up awakened a kind of excitement in me, which allowed me not to stop... and to overtake another participant a kilometer before the finish.
And here I run out from the next turn and see the long-awaited finish... Diana with a camera in her hands waves and shouts something... I hear the people waiting at the finish cheering...
At the finish, they recorded my name as the 23rd and put on a genuine Carpathian wooden medal...
But the most important and most anticipated gift at that moment was - WATER!!!
150 participants finished the "Chornohora Sky Marathon 2015" and I was 23rd. Results of the top thirty...
To conclude the post, I would like to answer the frequently asked question of why I needed this... So, participating in the marathon, including a small intensity five-month preparation, primarily expanded my understanding of my body... I felt how my body worked under overload and how my consciousness reacted to it... The marathon allowed me to get to know myself a little better, to see my strengths and weaknesses. Overcoming such trials, when you cross a boundary you have not been beyond before, is the main reason for participation...
Of course, an important aspect is the ability to analyze and evaluate the "new feelings-emotions" obtained as a result of the trials, which subsequently accumulate in a single core called "experience"... The feeling of filling this "core" brings satisfaction, joy, and happiness, the very components that are the key to the cherished feeling of peace...
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