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An ice bath and running – how do they go together? Hilmar Schmundt explains it
Photo: Private
Today is the 23rd of December, Christmas is just around the corner and maybe you're missing one last gift. In the world of running, there are all kinds of gadgets. But honestly, what do you really need from it?
In this last issue of the 2023 newsletter, the »SPIEGEL laufen« team has collected its best running moments of the year. Maybe there's something that inspires you to give a last-minute Christmas gift? For example, a starting place in a curious race, as our author Sven Christian experienced? Or a voucher for an ice bath?
Detached from everything, free
By Susanne Amann , Investigation Department
At the end of October, we met up with old university friends in the Uckermark. In a really small place. A collection of maybe twenty houses, in the middle of nowhere. It was probably four or five kilometers to the next paved road, no matter which way you moved.
"I've got my running gear with me," said a friend. "Shall we?" She remembers that there is this lake somewhere that you can walk to. So off we go. Without GPS reception (we were really in the middle of nowhere), just always along the one path, in the middle of the colorful deciduous forest. Just the two of us, no children, no men. Just nature.
We walked, chatted, told each other how the year was, how we're doing, what topics we're dealing with at the moment. And peace all around us. And autumn.
At some point after four or five kilometers we really stood at the lake. We looked at the water, peaceful silence. At some point we had to tear ourselves away, turned back because it was already slowly dawning. It started to rain. But we flew and were almost disappointed when the houses reappeared in the semi-darkness. We could have walked on for hours. It just felt good, detached from everything, free.
The year was not conclusively discussed. We continued this in the evening with food and wine. Was different. But also good.
First place!
By Sven Christian , Video Editor
2023 was a great running year for me: I took part in the Chicago Marathon in October, so I have now completed all six major marathons (London, Berlin, Boston, New York, Tokyo and Chicago) and achieved something like the Grand Slam for amateur runners.
But what I was most happy about was a race I won. The first ever. That I would be able to do it again at the age of 55! It was a small race: the Lusatian Lakeland 100 Bike & Run Marathon with 38 participants.
»Bike and Run«, a fun format. One rides a bike, one runs as fast as he can, you take turns constantly. My running partner Jens and I changed about every 400 meters. This gives you about 90 seconds of full load, followed by 90 seconds of rest on the bike. 42.195 kilometres covered at fast intervals. The very best tempo training. It took us just under 2 hours 50 minutes – a marathon running time that I will never achieve on my own, I don't want to speak for Jens.
So we actually stood at the top of the podium – proudly with the tin medal and plastic cup. Strong picture for me and my runner's diary.
Disclosure: We were just the fastest men. A mixed team of women and men was even faster – congratulations!
Seeing and jamming kipchoge
By Jan Göbel , Sports Editor
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Jan Göbel crossed the finish line at the 2022 Berlin Marathon, this year he has recovered
Photo: Private
Berlin Marathon at the end of September, then vacation, switching off: I had developed this routine over the past few years. But why not just cheer others on? In 2023, I had my best running experience off the track. It was just before Berlin's Ku'damm, about kilometer 35, when marathon superstar Eliud Kipchoge rushed past me, lonely and abandoned, much too fast for the rest of the field. Wow, what does 21 kilometers per hour look like for a human? That's how fast he ran. And how relaxed can a person look when he makes such an effort? Kipchoge grinned.
I had already written about the Kenyan professionally; he is the first person to run the 42 kilometers under two hours in a laboratory project. I've participated in races where he took part (of course, he always finished loooong ahead of me and I didn't even see his back at the start). But live, right in front of my eyes, the running technique, the arms forming a triangle with perfect angles, the legs always in flight mode, zack, zack, zack: you have to see it up close.
Of course, Kipchoge also won in Berlin that year, but he lost his world record a few weeks later. Does that make your life's work smaller? Kipchoge has taken running to a new level over the years with his miracle runs, has driven shoe innovations, and is a role model for many. Who knows how long Kipchoge will continue to run at the top level. He is already 39 years old. There probably won't be many more opportunities to see him live.
Quick Beer
By Ole Reißmann , Head of Audio
My moment: it's Sunday, the mood is bad, the weather is bad, the temperature is nasty, everything is terrible. And yet five people from the crew quickly find each other on WhatsApp and walk 15 to 25 kilometers through the cold mud in the rain.
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Let's put it this way: carbohydrates are important in endurance sports
Photo: Private
(You can find out why you can still have a lot of fun running in winter in this older edition of the newsletter – keyword: January Battle.)
Another good moment in 2023: the beer mile. One beer, 400 meters of running, and times four – greetings to the Hamburg running crews Fat Boyz Track Club & Tide Runners Hamburg.
"Brrrrr. I can do it, I want to do it too."
By Hilmar Schmundt, Science Editor
"Ah! Brrrrr! Phew! Hmmmmm...«, that's about how my best running experience in 2023 can be summed up. To understand: On Sundays in midsummer, I like to do a long run of about 30 kilometers to prepare for the marathon, the next day I usually have stiff legs.
To get rid of sore muscles, some athletes use cold baths or ice mist ("cryotherapy"). So I sign up for an ice bathing seminar. Sweltering summer heat, next to us a hot tub with ice cubes floating in it. The trainer does a few breathing exercises with us, plus esoteric humming from a Bluetooth can, then off into the brutally cold water. The trick: don't hesitate, don't scream, but exhale looooo "I can do this, I want to do that!" the coach intones the mantra of ice bathing. But I hate the cold, even in summer I often have a wool sweater with me, you never know. So teeth together and: Brrrrr. I can do it, I want to do it too.
After about a minute, I become very calm. Hallelujah, my body has performed a miracle. I close my eyes. My heart rate slows down from 111 beats per minute to about half.
Three minutes have passed, the trainer pulls me out of my pleasant trance, I climb out of the barrel, immediately put on a wool fleece, but still tremble: the notorious "afterdrop" when the cooled blood flows from my arms and legs to the middle of my body. After a quarter of an hour, the shivering subsides, a wave of euphoria seizes me. My mood is still great the next day.
Many people curse about the dark winter months, but now I see their advantage: the bathing lakes are wonderfully empty and invitingly icy. Hmmm.
By the way: Unfortunately, the ice bath didn't chill away the sore muscles in my case. All the same. Grins.
Oh, poop!
By Uwe Schauder, a reader of our newsletter
My best running experience was in October in Sinaia in the Romanian Southern Carpathians. I went hiking there with my wife and walked in the mountains for about an hour every other morning before breakfast. I knew there were a lot of brown bears there. But I didn't really care about it and just started running at dawn. On the way I saw many overturned trash cans and often huge piles of excrement right next to them. Of course, I wondered what it was and took pictures.
When I came back on the first day of running, I showed my photos to the receptionist and he explained to me that every night the bears come from the mountains to the parks of the city and plunder the "treasures" in the trash cans. The buckets consist of three parts, so that they can be easily reassembled by the street cleaners after foraging. I was thrilled to see how relatively easy it is for predators and humans to live together if you adjust to it. The next few days I walked with a little more caution and respect.
Thank you for your submission and also for all the other messages we have received from you this year.
We wish you a Merry Christmas, which hopefully will be cozier than an ice bath. We'll see you again next year!
The team of the newsletter »SPIEGEL laufen«