At 6 o’clock this morning 22 people ran away from the prison in Nuuk and towards Kapisillit. They are taking part in the Nuuk-Kap extreme race, and plan to cover the route’s 110 kilometers in one stretch.
The direct run has more participants than there have ever been, according to the organizers Greenland Arctic Explorers.
At 6 o’clock this morning 22 people ran away from the prison in Nuuk and towards Kapisillit. They are taking part in the Nuuk-Kap extreme race, and plan to cover the route’s 110 kilometers in one stretch.
The direct run has more participants than there have ever been, according to the organizers Greenland Arctic Explorers.
One of the runners is Mara Krebs. Sermitsiaq AG spoke to her the day before the race and accompanied her during the final preparations.
Potatoes in the bag
In her bag, Mara Krebs has packed a shell jacket, a neck warmer, a pair of thin gloves, running poles, a first aid kit, a mosquito net, a power bank and a pair of extra socks.
She is wearing running tights, a long-sleeved running shirt, a thin running jacket, cap, speed glasses and her mobile phone. She had actually also packed her inreach. But on the day before the race, she discovers that the associated subscription has expired.
– I know that you have to have control of your equipment, and I actually had control of everything. That is, until my GPS went wrong. It is typical – there is always something or other, she says.
Instead, she has an ordinary running watch with her and a map. And then she runs with a colleague who has a spot on her, should an emergency arise.
However, the thing that weighs the most in the bag is the packed lunch.
To have enough energy to make it through the trip, Mara Krebs has filled two water bottles and packed small snack bags with dried fish, dried reindeer, dried fruit and sweets.
And a bag of potatoes.
– I follow an ultrarunner on Instagram who came up with some hacks for what you can eat from ordinary food when you are out on a long trip. And then she suggested boiled potatoes with salt, because they satiate quickly, provide good energy and are not so fattening.
– And then it’s also something that I can stand to eat.
In the week leading up to the race, she has been eating more and differently than she usually does. More carbohydrates, including pasta. On race day, she eats overnight oats, a bun with cheese and a bun with honey for breakfast.
In order for the food not to be too heavy in her stomach, she eats two hours before she has to run.
– So I probably get up at 3 o’clock… I probably can’t really sleep anyway, she says.
Thought it was a fun run
It is not the first time that Mara Krebs has registered for Nuuk-Kap. But when she runs into Kapisillit tomorrow, it will be the first time she completes it.
When she participated for the first time last year, and had planned to complete the race in three days, she went into it with her head slightly under her arm, she says.
But reality hit her when she had spent eight hours completing the first stage of the race – 25 kilometers over the mountain.
– I thought it was a bit of a fun trip. It wasn’t.
After the second stage, she stopped the extreme race. But in the same forbearance decided to return:
– I thought, no, next year I will do it again, and then I will do it much more prepared and then I will also do it with a purpose.
Together with her colleague and running partner, she collects for Nanubørn, which distributes Christmas aid to families with children throughout the country.
Among running poles, sunglasses and snacks, she has therefore also packed a polar bear teddy bear, which she got from the organisation.
– So we can look at it when we get tired and say that this is why we run, she says and adds:
– I didn’t expect it to be so big. It will take up a little space and weigh a little. But I want it with me.
Daydreaming gets her on
Mara Krebs, who works daily as a police investigator, regularly strength trains and practices martial arts. In order to train for completing the extreme race in just one day, she has also run distances of between 10-30 kilometers and gone on hikes in the mountains. In April she completed the Arctic Circle Race.
Her and the running partner have not actually trained together.
– I know myself and know how I am when I hit rock bottom. It will be a bit exciting to see how she is when she is under pressure, says Mara Krebs.
She expects them to complete within a day. But also that it will be hard.
For some, nature draws because it is a place to think big thoughts. For Mara Krebs, it’s just the other way around.
– I don’t think about everything. That is what is so nice, she says.
Instead, she daydreams.
– I can spend several hours on completely unrealistic scenarios, such as if I won a million kroner.
Maybe these are the kinds of thoughts that are flying through her head right now.
Read more about Nuukkap next week, when Mara Krebs takes us out on the 100 kilometer route and tells us how her trip over the mountain went.
