MIWOK 100K
Miwok100k Amerika’daki cok meshur 100km yarislarindan biri. Meshur olmasinin en onemli sebebi, kosu parkurunun gercekten pek bir sahane olmasi. Okyanus kenarindaki tepelerde, inip cikarak (3600metre irtifa kazanimi!), sirtlardan sahane manzaralara doyarak, kah ormanin icinden kah calilarin kah cimenlerin arasinda gecen bu parkur bircok ultra kosucusunun listesindedir. Ben ultra kosularini uzun bir zamandir yapiyorum ve cok seviyorum ama cok cok ozel bir yaris olmadikca herhangi bir kosu yarisi icin uzun mesafelere seyahat etmeyi pek tercih etmem. Neyse ki bu yaris yasadigim yerde ve antreman icin zaten kostugum patikalarda oluyor. Bu yarisa cok fazla talep bulunmakta oyle ki katilimcilar kura ile belirlenmekte. Ilk defa 2012 yilinda bu kuradan sans eseri benim ismim cikti fakat o yil inanilmaz kurak gectigi icin parkurun gectigi arazinin bir kisminda yangin tehlikesi arzediyor dendi ve yaris basladigi sabah 100k’lik mesafenin 60k’ya dusuruldugu soylendi. Esasinda 1-2 tane loop eklenerek yine 100k kosulabilirdi cunku bir dolu insan sehir disindan sirf bu yaris icin gelmisti ve ben de dahil bir kisim insan da bu yarisi UTMB icin gereken puanlar icin de kosacakti. Yaris organizatorlerinin kararina saygi duymakla beraber neden boyle esasen cok da zahmetli olmadan yapilabilecek bir modifikasyona gitmediklerine hala sasiriyorum. Neyse. Daha sonraki yillarda 60k kosan kosucular direk olarak x2 hak ile kuraya alindilar. Ben bunu unutmus ve normal kosularima devam ederken bir email ile bu yilki Miwok’a girdigimi ogrendim. Ogrendim ama hemen pek sevinemedim cunku cok ciddi antreman yapamamis ve yapamayacaktim. Nisan ayinda annem ve yegenim 1 ayligine benim yanima geldiler, onlar geri doner donmez ben de Turkiye’ye uctum Turkiye inovasyon haftasinda konusmak icin. Dondugumun ertesi gunu de Miwok100k icin baslangic cizgisinde inanilmaz yorgun bir sekilde sirami aldim. Ilk 28-30 mili sorunsuz kostum ama daha sonra kasiklarimda ve ayaklarimda inanilmaz agrilar basladi – tek sebebi de antremansizlik. Normalde 100k gibi bir yaristan once en az bir 50k ve bir 50mil yarisi kosarim ama bu yil ikisine de firsat olmadi, daha dogrusu Miwok kurasinda adimin hala otomatik olarak oldugunu unuttugumdan ve herhangi baska bir ultraya yazilmadigimdan antremanlarimi normal mesafelerde yapiyordum. Neyse 30.mil'de cebimde tasidigim agri kesicilerden 1-2 tane aldim, 1 saat icinde kendimi daha iyi hissetmeye basladim, bir sonraki 25 mili de yine normal bir sekilde kostum. Ama son 5-7 mil'de yine agrilar basladi. Oyleki en son bir sirtta kosarken ta uzaktan gozume kestirdigim onumdeki 3 kadin kosucuyu yakaladim. Gecmek istiyor musun diye sordular ama gecebilmek icin takatim kalmamisti, o sekilde devam ettik ve bitirdik yarisi. Tabi ki bittiginde agrilar sizilar hala olsa da dusundugunuz sey onlar olmuyor. Iyi ki Turkiye’den 2 gun erken dondum, iyi ki bu yarisi kostum diyor insan. Cunku pismanlik kalici, agrilar gecici :). En cok aklimda kalan anlardan biri de sabah gun isiklari daha dogmadan, ortalik hafif gri iken, ormanlik bir kesimde sis icinde kafa lambalari ile kosarken uzaktan duydugumuz surreal tulum (Iskoc tulumu) sesi! Evet yanlis okumadiniz. Ormanin icinden cikip orada kosede bu yaris icin gelmis ve kosuculari desteklemek icin sabahin 5'inde Iskoc etekli bir adam, sisin icinde Iskoc tulumu caliyor… O muzigin, o anin hissettirdigi saskinligi, heyecani, ve mutlulugu unutamiyorum.
(Note: Photos from Miwok100k's Facebook page)
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Miwok100k is one of the famous 100k races in the US since the course is on a magnificent terrain. It goes through the hills next to the Pacific ocean, up and down (11,800ft/3600m elevation gain!), through forests, single tracks, pastures, and ridges with fantastic views and makes the lists of many ultrarunners. I have been running ultras for some time now but I’d want to travel for a race only if it is really special. Miwok100k is one of those and attracts many runners all around the US and thankfully it is in my backyard! and I usually run on those same trails! Due to high demand however, there is a lottery system. In 2012 I was one of the lucky ones though the course got cut to 60k the morning of the race due to fire danger on some sections. I respect the decision of the race directors though I think they could have added a loop or two without too much trouble to make it still 100k as many people traveled from long distances and some (including myself) were going to use it towards UTMB points. Anyway. But they gave 2x entries in the upcoming lotteries which I completely forgot about until I received an email about my entrance! I was happy but not super excited as I wasn’t seriously training for a 100k. Usually I run at least one 50k and a 50mile race before a 100k race and I hadn’t done any of those. Plus, my mom and niece were visiting for a month right before the race and I had to be in Turkey for a presentation a few days prior! I managed all that and found myself at the start the day after I got back from Turkey. The first 28-30 miles I run ok until the pain started to carve deeply. I took a few pain killers and run the next 25 miles again in an ok shape. However, the last 5-7 miles, the pain made a big comeback. Although I was able to catch a group of female runners ahead of me on the last ridge, I couldn’t pass them. They asked me if I wanted to but I just didn’t have anything left in me to do it. Anyhow, at the finish, all that pain was forgotten and I was full of incredible joy. Physical pain is temporary, pain of regret is permanent! :) One of the most memorable moments of the race for me was to hear a Scottish pipe as coming out of a forest in fog in the early am with headlamps still on when it was still grey/blue around. It was otherworldly! At the end, I was so glad that I made it back from Turkey a few days early to make this race happen.