Team Geared Up

 

FIGUERES, SPAIN (Team Geared Up) Sergio Fernández has completed the Libyan Challenge and the Rock and Ice Ultra, two ultra-marathons, taking place in the south of Libya and in the North of Canada, 200 km non-stop and 225 km in stages, respectively, at 35ºC and -35ºC, with backpack and carrying a sled, on sand and on ice. Back from Canada, after finishing the project, he tells us how everything was.

How was it in Canada?
Relatively well, I finished which it was the main purpose and I wasn’t too sure about that. Also I managed to finish in the 5th place. Taking into account the unknown environment, my physical problems and the exhaustion from Libya, it was quite an accomplishment.

You weren’t quite sure about the cold and specially being tired from the Libya’s 200 km, was it as hard as you thought?
Yes and no. I hate the cold but I was motivated and I know that part of getting acclimatized is the attitude. I also wore good Raidlight clothes, I made a combination of layers and garments that worked for me, and going a little bit over the top, I would say that I wasn’t cold. Of course I was, quite a bit, but the cold in the body, the feet, or even a sleepless night were nothing compared to the hands ache, they didn’t freeze but there were a few hours of heavy pain, just plain pain. That was the toughest part.

What about the sled? It was your first time, how was it?
It wasn’t very good due to the fact that the snow was very soft and even without carrying a lot of weight, approx. 15-20 kg, it rubbed a lot and it did slow us down. I had some bruises on my hip, but nothing out of this world.

How is it to be at -35ºC under a huge storm and trying to compete?
The first day was crazy one. For those who failed with the material they abandoned that same day, but for those of us who made it up to 15 km before the finish line, we found ourselves in a harsh situation. On one of the many lakes we crossed, without any kind of protection, a big storm started, having the wind against us. In my case I was worried about my hands so I put myself on “survival mode”: don’t make stupid mistakes, don’t stop, have someone always on sight, don’t lose your body heat and make it to the finish line. It was a harsh start and some people came face-to-face with reality.
It’s not bad to start a race with such difficulties, it makes you focus, you forget about comfort and stupid things, you start the race and become the selfish person you need to be for a few days, which doesn’t mean not to help someone else out, but the world turns around you, you forget about almost everything and you live the moment at it’s maximum.

So you’re saying that your hands were the worst problem?
And the snow: the first three days I was walking between 8 and 9h30, it was long. Also, a foot tendon kept hurting a lot. It’s been months already, it becomes inflamed and the 200 km in Libya didn’t help either. I almost had no time to recover between races. It really undermined my morale; it slowed me down and prevented me to use the snowshoes for long distances because they hurt me, so as a result I spent more hours on the trail.

Was it essential to use snowshoes?
I think it was for 90% of the race, the snow over the lakes was very soft. There was no trail; we were just using the snowmobile tracks. I was one of the few not using the snowshoes more that a half of the race because of the tendinitis. I also had a slight nose freezing but nothing too important.

It’s supposed to be safe walking over the frozen lakes, right?
Yes, by the end of March there’s still enough ice for the trucks to drive over, but that doesn’t mean that you’re not worried sometimes when you see water under your feet or when you hear a metallic noise and you know there’s no solid ground below you. 90% of the race is over lakes, so you better get used to it.

Would you recommend making these two races in a row, like you did?
No, because if something goes wrong and you don’t want to abandon, you’re going to suffer, a lot, and that’s what happened to me. It’s been kind of crazy, I started with the left foot months before Libya and it didn’t get better. There’s only one thing that did get better, a sinusitis I had when I arrived in Canada: I think that the cold and the dryness helped, so I had no problem with that.
Obviously, in the distance I see everything easier and optimistic but it was very hard and I had lots of reasons to quit.

So, why didn’t you do it? You shouldn’t be dragging a tendinitis for three months, right?
In the first place for what I wanted to accomplish. It was a dream, in capital letters. I wanted to do it for a long time but I couldn’t, and this time I was able to try it; I didn’t want to leave it half-finished and only on specific moments, for a few hours, I thought that I didn’t deserve all that suffering. But at the end, step by step, you achieve everything. In the second place, for those who have supported me all along, starting with my people, my sponsor Buff and my collaborators Raidlight, Garmin, Injinji, Clinica Podotec and Ranning; I haven’t felt pressured by any of them, my commitment is to do my best, and I did.

Tell us what have been your best and your worst moment of both races.
Making it to the finish line is a release, but when you know you’re really going to make it, that definitely is a good moment. It’s now too recent to appreciate but I guess that in the distance I’ll value what I have done.
There have been some bad moments. I can’t forget about the foot ache my fourth day in Canada and the hands ache on the fifth day. The first one because I knew how much I had left to suffer and it was getting too painful; and the second one because I was afraid that a freezing would make me abandon one day before achieving my goal. I also remember the week before the Libyan Challenge, it was horrible, I had fever, I was in bed and I didn’t want to run 200 km at all.
At the end, even though I do not feel satisfied with the final place, I think that I should be because of the way I have behaved. For that reason, although I already appreciate it, I think I will even more in the future.

Do you have something in mind for the rest of the year or for 2010?
There are always things to do. Now I want to rest and try to recover, but of course, I would like to be ready for something else very soon. I’ll try to do something like this, but only if I’m excited about it, otherwise I’m not interested.

- Ed Martinell -
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