Rinjani100 2018- 60K race report (Part 1)

"I can accept failure, but I can't accept not trying"

RINJANI 100

The Rinjani 100 ultramarathon was by far the hardest race I have ever taken part. The 60 km category comes complete with a package of 5,324 m of elevation gain, or roughly 16 times up and down the stairs of KL tower and you have to finish in 20 hours, the official final cut-off time. The route takes you up the volcanic mountain of Rinjani – yes, volcano that spits hot lava and suffocating ash - which its last eruption was less than 2 years back in September 2016.

Many had forewarned me that it is impossible, insane and somewhat stupid to do over 5,000 m elevation gain in 60 km under such a tight cut-off time, which also includes an arduous climb to the summit of Rinjani (3,726 m a.s.l.). Many have tried, but only few have succeeded. For the past 2 years, there were only 43 finishers combined for 60 km category (2017:24 finishers, 2016:14 finishers) and 100 km category (2017:4 finishers, 2016: 1 finisher). I knew about this before I signed up for the race and bought the flight tickets, right?

TRAINING DAYS

I did and started training for every single week since January for 17 weeks till race day and logged a total distance of 758 km and elevation gain of 27,108 m which comes to an average distance of 45 km and elevation gain of 1,595 m per week. Training days were long and hard. There were ups and downs, but I’m thankful for those who came on runs, hikes and climbs with me, making it much more bearable and a little less lonely. The times I spent during training, were the times I spent away from my family. Training days required commitment, discipline and sacrifices.

TRAVELS

Along for the ride is my manager and support crew who is my wife. It was on Thursday when we landed at Lombok airport after a 3-hour flight, and another 3-hour van ride, and we finally arrived at Semb;alun (1,100 m), a village located at the slope of Mt. Rinjani. We stayed at a guesthouse about 5 minutes walking distance from the race venue. There were not many shops nearby the race venue, so food options were limited. The one where we had lunch on the first day eventually ran out of food the next day due to the unexpected high volume of customers from the RInjani100 crowd. So we had to do a little bit of walking and exploring. My advice when racing outside of the country would be to pack some canned or dried food in your suitcase in case local food couldn’t satisfy your taste buds. Rookie mistake learned.

Mt. Rinjani from the window seat. Stunning!

Mt. Rinjani from our guesthouse doorstep. Breathless!

Getting acquainted with trekking poles with a short 
hiked up Bukit Telaga in the morning of race day.

Getting a taste of the trails around Sembalun at Bukit Telaga.
That view though.

Race pack collection.

At the race briefing later that evening.

RACE DAY

The start point for 60k and 100k was in Senaru, a village 30 km away which was about an hour drive from the race venue (finish point). Shuttle buses were provided for participants around 9.00 pm and the ride was bumpy and winding. I started to feel light-headed and dizzy. My head was spinning from the ride that I had to lie down for 30 minutes when we arrived in Senaru. Definitely, it was not the start that I would’ve wanted. There were others who even threw up from the ride. Thankfully, I managed to recover quickly and started to feel better after my short rest.

Race ready faces with Malaysian comrades.

With wifey before the race.

WS 1 – SENARU RIM (2,636 m)

Distance: 11.33 km

Total distance: 11.33 km
Time spent on feet: 4:05’18”

Time spent at WS: 12’31”
Elapsed time: 4:17'49"

The flag off was at 11.30 pm from Senaru (600 m) and the route took us along 7.5 km of rain forest vegetation with some runnable sections. Once we got out of the forest and into the open section of the mountain, cold gusty winds welcomed us as we made our way across rocky and dusty hills accompanied by thousands of night stars along the way to Senaru Rim. This was by far the coldest section of the race that I had to put on a second layer of windbreaker over another windbreaker I was already wearing once I reached WS 1.

WS 2 – SEMBALUN RIM (2,638 m)

Distance: 7.33 km

Total distance: 18.66 km

Time spent on feet: 3:14’20”

Time spent at WS: 20’43”

Elapsed time: 7:52’52”

After a while we got a break from the strong winds as the route took us straight down the hills into steeply rock boulders to Segara Anak lake crater (2,000 m). Throughout the race, we would passed by trekkers and several campsites for those who were making their climb to Mt. Rinjani. As the sun started to rise, the beauty of the mountain presents itself. I cannot believed my eyes of the stunning landscapes facing the lake as I made my way up the steep incline towards Sembalun Rim. Hungry and tired, I decided to take a longer break and eat before the demanding climb to the summit of Rinjani.

Making my way up to Sembalun Rim with
Segara Anak lake crater in the background.

To be continued...