Last year, I ran a 30k (and a nighttime 10k) in Schiermonikoog, a tiny car-free island in the North of Holland with a total population of 930. I registered for the Devil’s Trail race on a whim because my friend Bram from Amsterdam told me he was running it. Thirty kilometres would be more than anything I’ve run in the last eight years.
In the last month leading up to the race, I ramped up my runs and managed to get up to a weekly total of 40 km for one week. At this point, it would have been sensible to ditch the 30k and accept that it was beyond my reach. But eh. YOLO, you know.
The main business on Schiermonikoog is tourism; the island is a UNESCO world heritage site because of its unique natural features. A local told me that you could walk to the mainland through the muddy sea bottom during low tide if you know the way.
The whole island is a national park. The beaches are probably lovely in Summer, but I was there in November, so it got dark early, and the water was too cold for any swimming. The horses from here are special too. They're much larger than "regular" horses (I am certainly not an expert) and have fur on their legs.
The island is also dotted with many bunkers built during World War II. They were filled with sand by the departing Germans but have recently been turned into places of historical interest. It was fascinating to walk inside them and imagine soldiers cooking, living, and shitting in those cramped quarters.
There is also a cemetery for soldiers who died in the war. The cool thing about it is that it has graves from all sides of the war. Maybe it’s strange, but I felt pretty peaceful walking and reading all the gravestones. Soldiers from Australia, Germany, New Zealand, England, and more, together in their final resting place.
The Runs
The first of the two runs was a 10k at night. Running in the dark was quite an experience. It’s very peaceful. You wear your headlamp and set off into the night. Your only focus is on the trail, so your mind goes into a pleasant meditative state. The organisers had kept a gap of a minute or so between consecutive runners so that everyone could have the experience of running in the dark. The descriptions had promised a view of the stars, but a thick layer of clouds thwarted this. I finished with great enthusiasm.
Maybe it was because I had run a 10k less than 12 hours ago, but the 30k kicked my butt.
The route for the long run meandered through a variety of landscapes: dunes, mud, cycle paths, hiking trails, swamp, beaches, farms, and lighthouses. I enjoyed all of this for the first 20k, but then a slow pain built up in my inner thighs. By the 23k mark, they were cramping and hurting badly. I sat on a bench to rest, but the pain didn’t disappear. So I thought to myself, “It’s going to hurt either way, so maybe just finish the race”.
Almost an hour later, I triumphantly ran the final stretch through a cowshed with healthy Dutch cows welcoming me at the finish line.
My friend Bram and his friend had finished well before me and were waiting for me with smiles.
I was 7th from last, but for what it’s worth, on that day, I was the fastest Indian in Schiermonnikoog.
This was a wonderful read! Adding to my list of places to visit in Holland.
Love your writing. It's a chance for many of us to live a life we could dream of. Exotic, sometimes scary, always interesting. Good thing is all the stories have a happy ending :)