- How can you decide to run huge distances, because often you cross entire regions?
- Running is my hobby, in which the dynamics gradually increased. At first I walked short distances and thought: “Oh, I did it! That's lovely!". But the more I did this, the more interesting it became to raise the bar - more, more difficult, in unusual conditions. When it was hot, I wanted to test myself in the cold; was in the taiga - pulled into the desert or into the rocks, trained in the Caucasus - thought about the Alps.
“At what point did this come?”
- It started in 2008. Then I was a classic athlete, struggled for seconds and minutes, wanted to set personal records on the pavement. But on this surface I began to get injured, and my coach advised me to change it to rough terrain. They told me about the Konjak mountain marathon, the track around Annapurna, and Elbrus. I went to the ground, and I was dragged, I did not return back.
- Not at all involved in this coverage?
- Sometimes I run marathons as a workout.
- Nevertheless, the race from Moscow to Sochi in 2014 was on asphalt.
- Yes, but it was winter. Moved along the side of the road, where everything is mixed up - mud, slurry and snow.
- Was that the event that became your starting point in your career in trailrunning?
- This race was my first stage race in Russia, which I completely organized myself and overcame for my own sake. The following events were more public, began to think about other people. He planned routes from the point of view of additional benefits - social, geographical, historical, sports, and began to pay more attention to this.
- How serious were your results on the pavement?
- The level of the second or third category.
- Why didn’t you strive for the CCM?
- Injuries. At least, I wanted to complete the first discharge, and the CCM - on a daily run. But due to my anthropometry, the ratio of height and weight, it turned out to be difficult. My periosteum began to inflame, could not withstand speed training. I tried myself on rough terrain and I liked it.
- © Dmitry Erokhin
- Nevertheless, you practically do not participate in the mass trails that suit Russia.
“This is not entirely true.” I performed in them from 2012 to 2015, until they became fashionable.
- How do you prepare for your long running trips?
- Previously, I acted as an athlete and physical characteristics (terrain, distances, roughness) mattered to me, but now I really became a traveler. I study the geographical and historical components of the territories, find out what sights I will cross.
- Now you are claiming that you are doing adventure running ...
- I discovered this for myself when Baikal passed. This is already solo movement over extremely long distances - at the junction of travel and classic ultramarathons. He translated an article about this from the English Wikipedia into Russian, wrote in social networks: “I am an adventure runner. Not a trail runner, not an ultramarathon. Engaged in adventure running. "
- What is the difference?
- The classic ultramarathon is the same everywhere, it doesn’t matter, he passes his 100 km on asphalt in Moscow or Paris, his training is algorithmized. In adventure conditions, everything is very different. For example, there was such a wind in Kalmykia that I could not move faster than five kilometers per hour.
- Such conditions were dangerous to health?
- I did not take glasses and was afraid for my eyes. There was a blowing snow, moved, squinting. And in the evening, my eyes turned red, like a vampire. And I did not think that in the steppe at a temperature of +5 ° C you can get sunburn. These nuances are not written anywhere.
- Dmitry Erokhin - about the crossing of Sakhalin
- How difficult was it to cross Sakhalin?
- According to previous projects, everyone started from the city of Okha, but it is still 120 kilometers from the starting point. He wrote a letter to the local branch of the Russian Geographical Society, where they told me that the passage of the north of Sakhalin is impossible: swamps, bears, hen, mosquitoes, taiga. They said that in summer conditions no one had passed yet.
- How did you manage?
- I studied the route according to the documents, took the map, compass, GPS. It was hard enough, but I did it. In addition, an unprepared person — a photographer — overcame him with me.
- Bears, ticks and mosquitoes are not scared?
“I perceive this as a danger, but I have no irrational fear.” I try to calculate everything from the point of view of logic.
- For example?
“There is no such thing as just bears.” In the northern reserve I was informed that there are about 15 thousand of them in Sakhalin, and I calculated the probability of a meeting. Usually the beast comes out at night, therefore, you need to go only during the day.
- How can I protect myself from the bear?
- As a rule, he attacks if he suddenly collides with a person, because he does not hear him. I had a whistle in which I blew every 50 meters. And he is afraid of the size of a person. Therefore, in case of a meeting, you need to take a backpack and raise it above your head. You can’t turn your back on a bear, but it’s afraid to attack when there are two people.
- Have you met a lot of bears?
- Only two for 120 km. One got scared and ran away when he saw me. Dogs drove the second.
- Does the danger of the world around you further spur you on ?
- My training begins with reconnaissance of the terrain and conditions. I try to minimize the risks. For example, the passage of Sakhalin was originally scheduled for June 1. But then they told me that at that time it was still cold there, and the bears were hungry. As a result, I shifted it to August 1.
- However, two years ago you ended your movement around Lake Baikal due to a tick bite.
- The unaccounted factor worked. Never in my life was ill, relying on my immunity. In addition, locals did not even get tick vaccinations. As a result, he somewhere managed to bite me, and I was evacuated from Baikal after 28 days. During this time he overcame 1200 kilometers.
- © Dmitry Erokhin
- Was it a shame?
- No. If the risk is conscious, then I admit a similar possibility. But when something unexpected and stupid happens, then I get upset and upset.
- Do you consider failure as a possible outcome of your trip?
“I don’t go the distance if I’m not ready for it.”
Many travelers died because they were not ready for failure, were strongly attached to fame, popularity. Or they took loans, and the situation turned for the worse. And when it was necessary to finish, they continued to drive themselves.
- How do you set yourself up before starting the trip?
- I say to myself: "If after a kilometer my leg breaks, and I will be ready for this, then I will start." I admit that everything will go downhill for me - psychologically, financially, informationally.
- How do you make a decision about the gathering?
- As a rule, there are accumulating difficulties and problems. I always take a piece of paper and write pros on the one hand and cons on the other. I always consult with two or three experienced people, showing a plan. I never make a decision alone. When you are alone under stress, you turn into a crying three-year-old child.
“Don't you regret the gathering later?”
- No. Always slowly exit the game. I have no emotional decisions.
- Dmitry Erokhin - on the attitude to failures
- Who sponsors your races?
- Basically, myself. There are those who provide me with equipment, technical devices. There are sponsors for a specific project.
- Who is the first to contact?
- There is two-way communication. I’m announcing projects in advance, and they are offering me something, they come to me through social networks and friends.
- What is the budget made up of?
- Preparation is 90% of the total cost. In second place is restoration, and the lower costs are borne by the race itself. When I walked the worst 120 km in the north of Sakhalin, I had only a liter of condensed milk. I drank water from a stream, the locals fed me at a weather station.
- But still, how much does the full cycle of design and preparation cost?
- On average, from 30 to 100 thousand rubles a day. That is, the cost of a 10-day project can range from 300 thousand to 1 million rubles.
- Which project was the most expensive?
- On Baikal. It took me a million rubles.
- How to combine such projects with work?
- It's very hard. I have a double burden, because I have to maintain professional relations. Even when I run, an hour or two a day, it takes me to check mail, answers, phone. I am a lawyer, engaged in private practice. I can work five days a week for eight hours, and I can work in freelance mode.
- Have you increased the number of clients in connection with your hobby?
- No, I hid it. After becoming a famous athlete, they read about me in the media and were surprised. When the Moscow legal community decided to run a Legal Run for lawyers, they turned to me as an expert. Now many lawyers began to run marathons, ultramarathons, and took up the triathlon.
- How do you look at your followers or people who are trying to develop in such areas - from trailing to ultramarathon?
- It happens, I unknowingly offend. Once a man wrote to me and said that he wanted to run from Novosibirsk to Krasnoyarsk. He asked to teach, to prompt. But it’s not interesting to me. Now doing Nordic walking.
- © Dmitry Erokhin
- Why did you decide to do this?
- In April 2016, I was the main judge at the Almaty International Marathon, and there was a separate discipline - Nordic walking with sticks. I tried it, I liked it, it gradually tightened. On November 17, 2018, I said: “I am the northern walker. I'm not a runner now. ”
- This year you broke a record in 24-hour Nordic walking. Who owned it before?
- Tyumen athlete Boris Vorontsov. The national record of Russia was 120 kilometers and was set in the Crimea, and for my I chose Krasnoyarsk.
- Why?
- In the future I plan to set a record for ultramarathon at ultra-low temperatures in Oymyakon. The so-called cold pole. It is -60 ° C, and in Krasnoyarsk it is 20 degrees warmer.
- Was it training?
- Yes. I thought that if I can go 120 km in 24 hours at -40 ° C, then I can probably run 60 kilometers in six hours at -60 ° C.
- What do you think when you walk or run so much?
- I look underfoot, on the sides, admiring beautiful places. I evaluate my physical condition. There may be some current situations - they will write about work or with personal questions.
- Fyodor Konyukhov prays when he is on his solo journeys. Do you turn to god?
- Konyukhov is a priest, and this is the main thing for him. And I go to church for Epiphany, Easter, and Christmas. I try to follow the customs of the area where I am. In Buryatia I went to the datsan, in Kabardino-Balkaria - to the mosque.
- Do you know Konyukhov?
- Yes, met several times. Keep track of all his travels. But he is more a navigator, and this is not mine.
- Who else do you follow from Russian travelers?
- Denis Urubko. He is a climber, writer, journalist. He has interesting projects.
- Do not regret that there is not always time and energy left to admire the surrounding nature?
- This happened to me in 2014, when I fled around Issyk-Kul. Then he was an ultramarathon, and planned to walk 110 kilometers a day. It is very powerful, to the limit. On the first day I saw nothing at all. He ran up at night and fell.
- What changed then?
- Now I’ve overcome 60 kilometers to leave at least an hour of perception, not to tear my veins out of myself. At any moment I can go 110 kilometers, but I do not want to feel like some kind of biorobot.
- Dmitry Erokhin - about Fedor Konyukhov
- In your opinion, is it realistic to cross all of Russia?
- Yes. But is it important to understand what “whole Russia” means? With Kaliningrad, with the islands? This is very difficult, but so far I decided not to do projects longer than 30 days. It is very exhausting. Having run a month, then you must rest and recover for six months.
- What recovery procedures do you go through after the races?
- I’m trying to make a rule mandatory: if I’ve been running for 10 days, then the same amount should lie in a sanatorium. But until he had never fulfilled it, the biggest rest was three days.
- How do you replenish strength during the project?
“Just a dream.” Of course, a massage therapist is still needed, but I don’t have money for it. Naturally, I’m running unrepaired, so the main thing for me is not to get hurt.
- Are there prohibited substances that you can use?
- Does not exist. Since the ultramarathon does not spin a lot of money, there is no doping in it either.
- Is it that expensive?
- The course costs $ 20 thousand. But if they give me such funds, then I’d better spend them on massage.
- Ultramarathons suggest that you regularly have to adapt to new types of cuisine. How difficult is it?
- Very difficult. At least a week before the start, I try to come to my place and get used to the air, water, time zone, food. I study in advance what they eat there and try to try it in Moscow.
- What can be called a key element of your diet?
“Proteins, it's the building material of your body.” It is necessary to eat meat, fish, dairy, eggs. Muscles are the first things to break down while running. At the same time, fats, carbohydrates - this is a standard diet that maintains the current state.
- Track how your body composition changes before and after the race?
- Sure. There is a standard analysis of body composition on devices. I always look before the start and after the finish, due to which I ran.
- There is no fear that at one moment health can not stand?
- This is a common misconception. It does not happen that the body suddenly turns off. Adverse signs appear in advance. I try to track them and always think about the consequences. During the last passage of Baikal, I had a deep callus on my foot. He began to limp, but constantly monitored whether inflammation had begun or not. If not, then you can go further.
- What could be the consequences?
- Even if it was festering, then it is treated with antibiotics, and in a month I would recover.
- What was the most unpleasant moment in your career as an ultramarathon?
- It happened on Lake Baikal. The temperature was +30 ° C, I crawled along the slope, and mosquitoes gnawed at me. It was sweaty, dirty, smelly and all in ashes. But this was not an objective danger.
- Do you think that at one point you will be tired of doing ultramarathons?
“That doesn't happen to me.” As a rule, I change activity on average once every two years. Cooled to run - switched to Nordic walking. I do not rule out the transition to related sports. When I was injured, I rode a bicycle. In addition, I track ultramarathon records in ocean rowing.
- Is there a chance of your transition to game sports?
- No, but I can do cycling marathons or mountain climbing. By the way, I already have three mountains from the Seven Peaks. True, the most unpretentious. These are Elbrus, Kilimanjaro and Kosciuszko.
- For you, travel is only part of the projects, but nothing more?
- In this regard, I am a fan of Jack London. He said everything about travel, the fight against cold, hunger, adverse conditions. Before you travel, read it. You will either think that you can handle it like the heroes of his works, or you will be scared and put the book aside.
- The three places on the planet that surprised you the most?
- Sakhalin, of course. This is such a terra incognita (unknown land. - RT ). Also Kalmykia, the steppes, and, perhaps, the North Caucasus, North Ossetia.
- Is there a place where you would like to stay?
- Already rushed to talk about it. I was even offered to get a Far Eastern hectare on Sakhalin, they said that they would give me a certificate on camera. I do not exclude the possibility that if I get to the Khabarovsk Territory or to Kamchatka, I will want to stay there. But for now, I'm holding back.