Since deciding to run Ultra-Trail Du Mont Blanc (“UTMB”) in August 2015 and turning into my dream, I have come a long way. It feels like the journey in itself has turned into an ultra trail, filled with plenty of steep ascends and wild downhill sections, mental highs and lows. More than eight years into this journey, the most recent segment of this adventure best compares to a difficult, technical trail. Running countless races and accumulating thousands of kilometers by foot, I came to realise that it was time to hold my breath and pause. So, let’s take one step back and rewind my journey until today.

How should I run? Where should I start? What’s the secret to sticking with it? As a new year arrives the same question comes pouring in again: How do I run? People never want to hear the simple truth: run slower. Most of us are blessed to move daily in some form, but our ego often is not prepared for the low rate at which our body can stride after time off.

There is a special pleasure in embarking on a run of unknown duration or undetermined distance. It brings time closer. When I set out on a long run, I check the clock and calculate progress. During speed workouts, my mind is focused on the intervals that are yet to come, and even easy runs sometimes have me ticking off sections, with each turn becoming an item on a to-do list. In recent months, I had decided to discard these preconceptions in favor of open-ends, curiosity and adventure.

The experience of not seeing progress as fast as I would want to can feel frustrating. While can borrow someone’s idea or dream, but you cannot borrow their conviction. Conviction is the glue that holds your dream together when everything is falling apart.

There is something special about this trail running community that is hard to put into words. Never mind your background and life outside of your running shoes, the sports brings people together.

During the course of 2020, all of my planned events had been cancelled for obvious reasons. Even when I had that I had an UTMB qualifying race, a few weeks later, the prospect of running the Camí De Cavalls in Menorca had also been erased. So, after a few months of waiting, I finally found myself at the starting line in Cituadella in the middle of May 2021.

One cannot deny that it has been a year filled with plenty of ups and downs, and a need to adjust, requiring patience, while facing the unknown. I began to note a number of similarities between running an ultra-marathon and living life amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. It has become clear to me that having a defined goal, offers purpose and direction, while navigating towards an unknown future.

All of my 2020 races have been cancelled or postponed for obvious and good reasons. It started with the Paris Half Marathon back in March, followed by The Speed Project, Mozart 100 as well as my plan to run the 150 kilometer-long Jebel Shams trail in Oman. While searching the UTMB website for potential qualification races, I stumbled upon Camí de Cavalls on Menorca.

After a just-in-time cancellation of the The Speed Project in March, a couple of hours before Donald Trump locked down the United States, I had no doubt that The Speed Project will go ahead in 2020 one way or another. In a year where everything is cancelled, the renegade spirit of The Speed Project will live on in TSP DIY.

On March 12, exactly four months ago today, I received the message that The Speed Project was canceled. On March 13, Donald Trump, closed the boarders, prohibiting any oversea flights from entering the United States, and we have moved to working from home. Since then, it has truly been an interesting journey in all areas of life.

Community building, self-optimization, digital gadgets and lifestyle aspiration, all targeted on the mass market. As an amateur sport, running combines every aspect of creating brand relations in a modern way and serves as perfect role model for other sports categories.

In the midst of the pandemic, and with people coming up with all kinds of challenges, I decided to run a 100 kilometer around Englischer Garter in Munich on Good Friday. It was a spontaneous undertaking, inspired by Elisha Nochomovitz running a marathon on his balcony and Jan Frodeno, who set out to complete a full Ironman at his home in Girona the following day. I had written about the importance of supporting your local before, and I kept thinking about what I can do to help my favorite businesses that are serving my daily cup of espresso. During my Thursday run, I came up with the idea of running 100K to raise funds for two my favorite locals - Morso in Munich and Cafe Kraft in Berlin.

Things are changing fast with the on-going COVID-19 pandemic. While the The New York Times, Die Zeit, El País and all other media outlets continue to offer a wealth of information, this is my personal take on the situation. I am not a doctor, and the following post is not medical advice. It is, however, a summary of what I have researched, as well as I am sharing my thoughts on the current crisis that we are going through. If you do not have the time to read this post, the key takeaway from this piece of writing is to isolate yourself as good as you can, stay at home and follow further notice by authorities and governments.

Less than two weeks to go until I will embark on an adventure that is beyond anything that I have done to date. Less than 14 days until I will take the first step away from Los Angeles’ Santa Monica pier towards Las Vegas. 550 kilometers lay in front of the team and I until we reach the famous “Welcome to Las Vegas” sign.

As I have been preparing for The Speed Project in recent weeks, I was especially excited to use the Christmas break to log some longer long runs (pun intended). I completed a few sessions in the hills around our house, being reward with beautiful vistas across the lake and a number of wonderful sunsets. Yet, I aimed to have at least one 100 kilometers run.

Ultra-Trail Cape Town has been one of the most breathtaking and thrilling trails I have had the privilege of running to date. The course was pure bliss and the vibe throughout the weekend was incomparable. Above all, for whatever reason, I have been put a South African flag on my big, which I like to refer to as my second motherland, filling me with additional pride to run the course.   

I have read “The Alchemist” by Paolo Coehlo for the first time while I was travelling around South East Asia in 2014. Ever since, his words have become a guiding piece to my journey through life, especially the word “Maktub”, which means “it is written” or “it is meant to be” in the Arabic language has had a significant impact on me and my believes. It implies that in life things happen for a reason and correlates to Steve Jobs’ famous Commencement Speech at Harvard in 2005: “You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backward. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.”

In 2015, I visited Chamonix for the first time and witnessed the start of Ultra-Trail Du Mont Blanc (“UTMB”) - an experience that has changed my life ever since. Hooked by the atmosphere and the magic of this event, I turned UTMB into my life goal. I left the French alpine resort with the ambition to complete the course, turning this endeavor into a part of my everyday life.

Before arriving in Chamonix, I was digesting the words that my father had shared with me last year about making decisions and pursuing them. So, when I had decided to run Ultra-Trail Du Mont Blanc for a second time (Race Report: Ultra-Trail Du Mont Blanc 2018), I committed to the five steps and continued my journey to complete the course this year. Unfortunately, things turned out to be different than planned and for a second consecutive year I had to drop out of the UTMB (Race Report: Ultra-Trail Du Mont Blanc 2019). Another missed chance and shattered dream is heartbreaking. I was progressing through the mountains, but after more than 150 kilometers, my race was once again stopped by hallucinations. 

For the second consecutive year, I had to drop out of the Ultra-Trail Du Mont Blanc (“UTMB”). Another missed opportunity is heartbreaking and hurts. I was progressing through all the ups and downs of the course, but eventually got caught up by hallucinations that ended my race after 150 kilometers.