100 K by the Cold River or 100 km ob Mrzli reki in Slovenian language. Ajdovščina, this Sunday, was organized by Vipava Valley Runners.

Originally the event was scheduled for Saturday, December 11th. Yet, extremely strong bora wind with bursts up to 120 km/h forced the organizers to postpone it for one day. It was a wise decision Since Sunday, December 12th was a beautiful day. Ideal for running a 100 K in a good company.

The run was also a National Championship at the 100 K distance with additional distances at 75, 50 K, both individual and in relays.

Around 300 runners gathered to run on a 5 K long lap which was almost completely flat. Two passages under the main road were the only downhills and climbs on the course.

The goal was simple - run 20 laps in under 13 hours :)

I entered for the 100 K distance months ago. It was all big eyes and wishful thinking. Yes, I do run every day. But ... I don't train for extremely long distances.

So the outcome was that I was able to run quite well for the first 30 K. Then the next 12, to complete the marathon, were a bit of a struggle. The last 8 were on autopilot. I decided to DNF after 10 laps. 50 K was enough.

There is one basic truth in running, or in any endurance sport, that never fails.

What you give is what you get.

I can run or hike/run for 50 K with hills or without them for 12 and more hours. Yet this is my limit. In body and in the head. I need to train longer training runs to be able to run even longer on the race day. Simple as that.

SO I quit with 50 K done in 5:22 hours. The overall pace was 6:23 min/km. Nothing special yet good enough. My marathon time was around 4:18 which is faster than any marathon I ran in the last 10 years :)

Despite DNFing I am satisfied. I got to enjoy the beautiful sunny day in great company. The organizers were fabulous. The course was polished to perfection. A huge thank you to everybody who was in any way involved in the event!

Will I be in Ajdovščina next year? You bet I will. At the 50 K distance certainly. If I'll be prepared good enough maybe even on a 100 K again.

Here are the official results The overall performances were amazing.

Martina Potrč was the fastest woman and national champion in 08:32:57 while the fastest man was Luka Videtič in 07:37:55.

I didn't take any action photos. Here are some after I quit.

The finish area with the mountains behind it which I crossed a good month ago on the Vipava Ultra Trail run.

The other side of the finish area is ... the start area, of course.

A look toward the event area across the meadow under the blazing December sun. It was 10 degrees at noon. In the morning at 6 am when we started it was around zero.