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Kasper Hjorteberg

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Namib Race (2008) blog posts from Kasper Hjorteberg

03 November 2008 08:56 am (GMT+08:00) Beijing, Chongqing, Hong Kong, Urumqi

Last stage. We were woken up at 3.30 am Saturday morning and loaded into buses for the drive to Giza, as the last stage takes place around the pyramides.

The last stage was a 5km sprint... and boy did we sprint... Knowing that there was pizza and beer at the finish line :-) Actually all the front runners took a detour of around 1km extra, because someone overlooked a flag, and the rest of us blindly followed the guy in front of us :-)

Looking at the bright side that meant we had time to overtake the "Ultramarathon man" (try googling him), which we did 500m from the finish line.

All in all is was a magnificent finish with the pyramides in the background and lots of spectators.

We then went back to the hotel to relax  by the pool, and later for dinner and drinks.

I am now back in Denmark, body working hard to repair itself, but feeling good, and already starting the forget why I vowed never to do this again :-)

Bye! 

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01 November 2008 09:58 am (GMT+08:00) Beijing, Chongqing, Hong Kong, Urumqi

Done. It took 16 hours and 20 minutes to do the 100km. We started at 8am (the top 25 started at 10am). Erik and me just took it nice and easy until night camp (after 66km), and we were still racing past competition, as our average speed was good and we only stopped at check points long enough to fill our water bottles (or actually a camelbag and a bottle for my part), also because I was afraid to cool down my feet too much. I have a lot of blisters, and those, believe me, you want to keep warm :-)
 
At night camp (camp out on the route where you are allowed to sleep, time will still be running though) we felt our legs... and they felt good. We really benefited from having taken it nice and easy for the last two days. So from 66km and all the way home we gave it hell and just annihilated all competition. The Danish team (Henrik, Thomas og Jacob), which are winning the team competition, caught up with us (we started at 8am and they started at 10am), overtook us, then we caught up with them, overtook them, and so it went back ad forth...back to how that ended later. 
 
From the last check point to the finish line was 14km. Normally there is a half way marker, but because they had orginally plan a water post after 10km, they had placed the half way marker half way between the last checkpoint and this water post, meaning after 5km... Bloody idiots :-) (we didn't laugh at it then... and had all kinds of conspiracy theories to explain why we weren't there yet). It was just this never ending row of glow stiks (knaeklys) among the dunes. We were running so high on adrenaline... Just wanted to get into camp so bad that we didn't care about deep sand hills or nothing (lots of that especially the last 3-4km)... we just ran as fast as we could. That also meant we ended up distancing the Danish team by over 30 minutes (the lead woman also caught up with us, but we overtook her again on the last checkpoint, and didn't see her again).
 
When we got in I had pasta bolognese (excuse my spelling :-)... Probably the best I ever tasted ;-)
 
We will now spend the whole day hanging around camp, waiting for the buses to come pick us up tonight and drive us back to Giza to do the last 5km by the pyramides, and that will be that :-)
 
Cheers!

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30 October 2008 03:54 am (GMT+08:00) Beijing, Chongqing, Hong Kong, Urumqi

"Hell day" is over, all 39km of it :-) Wasn't that bad, but the deep sand especially the last 14km wasn't funny at all.
 
Talk in camp now mostly revolves around tactics for the 100km tomorrow... and people also talk a lot about what they are going to eat when they get back to civilization.
 
Most people are also optimizing the weight of their backpacks throwing away anything they will not need to survive tomorrow. It nearly caused a riot when we went through the content of one of the Danish competitor's (Anders Kartik) backpack, because we couldn't figure out why his backpack was still so heavy. It turned out the fellow had 4 freeze dried evening meals and 3 breakfasts left (in comparison I have 2 evening meals and 1 breakfast left) plus all kind of other food... I now know what a pack of hungry wolves look like... and how they feel :-)
 
Might also mention some of the special people doing this race. There is Carlos, a Brazilian that have walked all over Brazil in Crocs, 9000km he claims... Let us check that on the Internet when we get home :-) He is however doing this race in Crocs also and that is for sure... not the fastest guy... but seems to be in good spirit.
 
Then there is also this blind Korean guy doing the race... imagine all this pain without the views... No way in hell. I am equally impressed with his guide, however, that guy have to always have enough surplus energy to take care of another guy before taking care of himself... impressive as we are all struggling out here.
 
Well, it is almost time for my freeze dried "skipperlapskovs" and a bit of crushed chips...yummi :-) can't wait.
 
Bro could you please bring a "kartoffelkage" (cream cake covered in marcipan) and a scapel with shaft (for the blisters) to the airport :-)  
 
Well, when I blog again I will hopefully have completed 100km in the Sahara... 
 
Cheers!  

Comments: Total (6) comments

Posted On: 31 Oct 2008 10:15 am

Hej Kasper Vi står lige, (her på jobbet) og snakker om hvor imponerende en bedrift du er ude på. Held og lykke på den sidst strækning.

Posted On: 31 Oct 2008 08:54 am

Hi Kasper Held og lykke med de 100 km! Glæder mig til at høre om din tur og se en masse billeder når du er tilbage. Inge :-)

Posted On: 30 Oct 2008 09:03 pm

I can't even imagine the psysical pain you're dealing with, when you climb those dunes! One done....and yet another one coming! No worries bro, I'll bring the stuff to the airport on Sunday! Just like being at Aalborg Flyvestation hey? :-) The desert must seem endless, but it seems as if you keep the spirit high. Have a nice run tomorrow and finish off the last hard part of stage 5 with style. Saturday must be a walkover for you guys. A.Hjorteberg

Posted On: 30 Oct 2008 01:57 pm

Ohøj mester! Det ser sgu imponerende ud. Jeg kan huske, du nævnte det på et tidspunkt, så det er fedt at læse om. Lillemor og jeg er ved at have bygget vores køkken færdig, skal hente en hundehvalp på lørdag og har fået installeret brændeovnen, så du ved, hvor du kan få en portion stegt flæsk og vinterhygge. Held og lykke i morgen med de 100 km! Det gik jeg også engang - bare op og ned af Strandvejen fra Hørsholm til Helsingør... /F

Posted On: 30 Oct 2008 12:15 pm

Hey Kasper, If I had a hat, I would take it of for you:-) It's so cool what your doing rigth now. I'm glad to read that your ok and that you seem to enjoy the whole experience (at least as much as it's possible with sand between your toes). Looking forward to hear much more when you get back to good old TrygVesta:-)

Posted On: 30 Oct 2008 07:15 am

Every morning - I read the blog, curious to find out, how many kilometres you now have "eaten". Wondering how your legs can keep on?! I'm still amazed and hope you are fine. It seems like the spirit's still very high :-). Looking forward to se some pictures. Hugs

29 October 2008 06:45 am (GMT+08:00) Beijing, Chongqing, Hong Kong, Urumqi

Dunes, dunes, never ending dunes... Now it starts to look like the Sahara from the pictures :-) The dunes come in long straight rows, because of the wind... marvelous view... Shitty running terrain :-)
 
I had a nice day, we took it a bit easy, because of the terrain and did the 40km of the third stage in 6 hours and 45 minutes. The plan is not to spend all our energy before the 100km the day after tomorrow, which I have come to think of like another race entirely :-), so in my world there is only one day left, which is tomorrow also know as "hell day"... yeah :-(
 
But right now I mainly think of dinner... I should maybe have brought a little more food... I am alright, but I am slightly hungry most of the time... I tried worse though, at least I know when I will be fed :-)
 
The camp site is beautifully located among the dunes and there is a nice breeze here, so nothing to complain about in that respect. It is actually extremely relaxing to be in camp, because (beside the daily blog) there is absolutely nothing to do except chill and chat with the other guys, so should you ever get fed up with your mobile ringing all the time, I would definitely recommend a vacation like this :-) Might also be why it is very popular with bankers and other financial type guys from London and Hong Kong (a few of course unemployed for the moment).
 
Nationality-wise UK, US and South Africa (most of them flying a second flag also) is strongly represented in the race.
 
In a minute we will be going up into the dunes again... Only wearing our thights, our slippers and totally mummified in tenso (tape that act sort like another layer of skin). Well, enough intimate details for now, there are plenty, but trust me most of you don't want to know :-)
 
Also thanks a lot for all your emails and comments, keep them coming ;-)
 
Cheers! 

Comments: Total (3) comments

Posted On: 29 Oct 2008 09:59 pm

Det bliver mere og mere fantastisk! Det er utroligt, så stabilt I har løbet de seneste dage. Det må være rart at kigge på resultatlisten og tænke over man ikke er en af dem, der har være ude i ca. 30 timer allerede! Husk at snøre skoene godt...det ser ud til etapen bliver laaaaaang de næste to dage. Fed læsning. A.Hjorteberg

Posted On: 29 Oct 2008 03:41 pm

Det er jo for vildt at læse på din blog! du er alt for sej - og jeg glæder mig meget til at se billeder fra turen! Får helt ondt af at tænke på de 100 km:-) spændt på at høre, hvordan det går.

Posted On: 29 Oct 2008 11:43 am

Hej Kasper, var lige inde og skrive til Anders så tænkte at jeg også lige ville sende dig en tanke :-) I er for seje og det er så imponerende at se jeres gode resultater. Håber at du kan få noget mere at spise så du ikke går og er sulten hele tiden. Held og lykke med løbet. og nyd turen og naturen. Pernille

28 October 2008 08:08 am (GMT+08:00) Beijing, Chongqing, Hong Kong, Urumqi

Todays stage (the second one) was 38km and 38 degrees celsius in the  shade, which we didn't have a lot of :-) But we did get plenty of deep sand, which is virtually impossible to run in, but we were able to keep a decent tempo working hard with the poles. The time today was 6 hours and forty minutes, which was somewhat slower than yesterdays time that was approximately 5 hours. I, however, didn't suffer as much today in the deep sand as I did yesterday, saying is was pleasant would be somewhat an exageration, but I had a great day in the dunes :-)
 
The evening meal was, however, the high light of the day... freeze dried chicken sweet and sour... heavenly I tell you :-) I also brought some tea, which is a very nice break from plain water, and quite nice to sit drinking at the camp fire at night.
 
Yesterday evening we also went outside camp after dark, and lay on our backs watching shooting stars for half an hour. I know I mentioned it before, but that is an absolutely amazing view out here in the desert.
 
Tomorrow the third stage will be more deep sand, but it will start at 7 am (second started at 8am and the first didn't start before 8.30 am, due to waiting for some government officials, they should have bribed them more probably :-). 7 am is good, because it will give us more relatively cool hours to run in.
 
Well off to my sleeping mat I am :-)
 
Cheers!

Comments: Total (1) comments

Posted On: 28 Oct 2008 11:29 am

First of all: wauw! We really should take a leaf out of your book; to live ones dream! Further to your blog I see you are doing well, tough man. It must be a life imposing experience, looking so much forward to be hearing and reading from you. Eating any Chili con Camel to boost your turbo ;-) Kasper, all the best and strength from rainy cold Luxembourg, Faetter U

27 October 2008 05:08 am (GMT+08:00) Beijing, Chongqing, Hong Kong, Urumqi

First day in the white desert, it went pretty well, I was grateful for my poles and that I had only brought 7.5 kg in my backpack, though. Some competitors weighted in at 14 to 15 kg, which is absolutely crazy... it will hurt tonight.
 
The first two checkpoints today were fine, but from the second and all the way to camp it was just deep bloody sand, that was when you really started to feel the heat. In the sun in was 38 degrees, which isn't too bad, but I don't really want to find out what 50 feels like :-)
 
One Dane struggles with his knee, but the rest of us are fine (including Anders and Erik).
 
The rest of the day we will basically just hang around camp, trying to keep from eating the rations for the next couple of  days and drink a lot of water.
 
The terrain we ran in today was absolutely amazing, white rock formations and fantastic views. We have taken a lot of pictures that I will be showing you whether you like it or not when I get home :-)
 
Well that was all for today. We were just told the first part of the stage tomorrow will be deep sand, so prepare for some whinning in the next episode :-)
 
Cheers!

Comments: Total (3) comments

Posted On: 28 Oct 2008 07:32 am

It's so crazy and amazing that you are doing it. It takes a man with a body and strength of steel :)

Posted On: 27 Oct 2008 09:48 pm

Go get them Tiger - I know you can do it! Go luck in the sand - I wish you all the best!! Hugs Chrille

Posted On: 27 Oct 2008 07:06 pm

Amazing stuff bro! So good to hear that you're all doing well in the desert. Looking so much forward to all the pictures. Browsing the videos and pictures on the site, already gives me a good idea of how big an experience it is....but without the pain:-) Can't wait to read the next blog. I'm really impressed by your project down there. Give my greetings to Erik and Anders too. A.Hjorteberg (A proud brother)

26 October 2008 12:26 pm (GMT+08:00) Beijing, Chongqing, Hong Kong, Urumqi

After check-in at the hotel in Cairo, we were all loaded into buses for the 7 hour drive into the desert. After 7 hours the buses stopped in the middle of nowhere, and we were transferred to 4 wheel drive cars and driven to the campsite, which is beautifully located right by some rock formations. We then had dinner, while enjoying the absolutely stunning view of the night sky in the desert... I have never seen such a display of stars before in my life!
 
Tomorrow at 8 am we will start the first stage, which will be 36km of lenght, so the atmosphere in camp will probably be somewhat more quiet tomorrow night :-) So far I must say the people here are great, so I am looking forward to a great week with some spectacular view of the Sahara.
 
Details on the first stage will come tomorrow. Bye :-)

Comments: Total (4) comments

Posted On: 27 Oct 2008 09:54 am

Hej Kasper. Tager hatten af for dit actionman projekt. Det er lidt trist vejr herhjemme. Så sved lige lidt for mig. Stort knus Helle

Posted On: 26 Oct 2008 05:35 pm

Så spændende at følge med hele tiden. Det lyder som et rigtigt eventyr. Pas godt på dig selv - og NYD HVERT ET SEKUND. Kærligst Lisa

Posted On: 26 Oct 2008 04:56 pm

Brormand! Jeg glæder mig til opdatering på den 1. etape! Hvad mon tiden bliver?! Respekt. Anders

Posted On: 26 Oct 2008 04:33 pm

Hi Kasper and Erik, Im sitting here at my desk following all news from your challanges closely - Have nice trip. BR Henrik

24 October 2008 08:49 am (GMT+01:00) Amsterdam, Berlin, Bern, Rome, Stockholm, Vienna

Almost out the door :-)

Comments: Total (6) comments

Posted On: 25 Oct 2008 07:52 pm

Bare så spændende Kasper. Håber alt lykkes for dig på turen. Venter spændt på at høre om det hele når du kommer hjem. Kærligst Lisa

Posted On: 24 Oct 2008 12:32 pm

Ha´ en super fed tur! Run........

Posted On: 24 Oct 2008 12:06 pm

Et forbillede for os andre. Det er bare stærkt gået :-)

Posted On: 24 Oct 2008 09:07 am

Du er for sej. Respekt. God tur hele vejen.

Posted On: 24 Oct 2008 09:04 am

Også god tur herfra - håber du giver den gas - hele vejen :-)

Posted On: 24 Oct 2008 09:00 am

God tur. Glæder mig til at læse din blog. Steffen