Week 5 in Russia: Baikal Ice Marathon

Forgive me--I know it's the end of week 6, but I never got around to posting week 5!

My fifth week in Russia was marked by the International Baikal Ice Marathon, held last Sunday, March 8th. I spent the week training--although not very successfully--for a half-marathon (21k). I ran 8k on Friday, 10k on Saturday and played some soccer during the week. Despite our lack of training, my friend Martijn and I, nevertheless, took our unprepared selves to the train station at 6am Sunday morning. Were we ever in for a surprise.

We arrived at the station dressed for the run...only to realize that everyone else was in street clothes, planning to change later on the train. Oh. Then, we took a train for three or so hours around Lake Baikal. When we got off the train (a little further than Baikalsk, which is where I went skiing the weekend before), there was no path. We trekked through the snow, sometimes up to our knees, to a spot on Baikal away from the railroad tracks. There, we prepared to run across the frozen lake. The start was not marked, and we waited for a marshrutka (those 15-seater vans I mentioned last time) to drive across before beginning. One of the coordinators gave a speech and then yelled for us to begin. So we slowly made our way behind the marshrutka, following its tracks.

I don't know why, but for some reason when I signed up for the "Baikal Ice Marathon" I expected to be running over ice. Well, technically, I suppose I was, but I didn't plan on the inches of snow on top of that ice. Have you ever tried to run a half-marathon through the snow? Let me tell you: it is difficult. I normally jog at 10k/hour, so I figured I'd run the first 10k and then run/walk the other half. No such luck. It took me upwards of 2 hours to "run" the first 10k! It was so difficult that at the 10k mark I decided to give up. On the plus side, my friend Martijn and I got to ride in a hovercraft across the rest of Baikal. That was an experience in itself. Our friend Tomasz (a Polish Catholic priest) finished the half-marathon, and we were there to greet him. I don't regret signing up for thе marathon at all. Like any experience here--it was unforgettable.

After we arrived at the other bank of Baikal, we hobbled to a hotel to change. Tomasz suggested that we got get a bottle of vodka and some food to celebra te our triumph (or more accurately, his). We got something to eat and then bought a bottle of vodka and juice. Unfortunately, they wouldn't let us drink in the store or restaurant, so we took our party to the street. We sat on a bench near the shore and toasted to various parts of our adventure.

We drank a little and then went into the hotel for warmth and an awards ceremony. Then all 45 participants boarded a bus for home. The ride was quiet...I think perhaps we were tired. I wonder why? ;-)

(Pictures courtesy of Tomasz)