When one signs up for a race a 4th time it must have something special and for me this is Mörksuggejakten. Although after my success in Ränneslättsturen and enjoying the nice trails there I was going to change my favourite. Or maybe not.

I was training on Lugnets röd 15km trail both days before the race and seriously that is a nasty 15km. The singletracks are tough and the hills never end. Of course you do get rewarded by their handbuilt trails which are fun but the rest of it really tests skills. The plan again was to empty my muscles and then fill them up with Enervit presport and other food but I was kind of worried that I was pushing my body too hard the night before the race.

It wasn't my body that was feeling pressure though because when I woke up race morning my back tire was flat. This is the same tube I had just replaced the day before because the valve was doing funny things. Two brand new tubes immediately thrown out...talk about pissing away money. So my morning before start was not at all relaxed.

Everyone knows and fears the first hill in this race and it really is a lovely one. Everyone started together so there was no motionär delay this time. But that hill really divided people so it was an entirely different situation from the week before. I was sitting there keeping up nicely with the competition class and I knew they would drift away on the grusväg hill at the top. But actually they didn't. I was just fine there also. Last year I remembered how tough the initial singletracks were (wet, actually, not tough) and it was a bit wet in one section but the 25C weather otherwise meant it was very dry. So I was feeling extremely good at the Nedre Gårdsjö stop where Mörksuggan is always waiting. And just before that someone else had yelled 'Heja Chris!' but I was already passed so I didn't see who it was. This is the true charm of this race...everyone is out cheering you on and it really does feel good.

After the bridge over the water the longest singletrack section starts and I remember last year I was kind of dead halfway through this and had had enough. This year it did become tiring also but that was more because people wanted to pass me. It wasn't near as bad as last week and I wasn't really holding people up so much so I didn't feel the need to change my strategy or make any clear path around me. This was one of the few races where I didn't get stuck in any queues either. Things were always flowing along nicely so I could keep my pace.

When you look at the höjdprofil there is this big hill at Östbjörka which I never seem to remember or realize when I have done it. I know now that it was a grusväg hill which ends in a singletrack part the rest of the way up. It wasn't so bad as it looks so that is why I have no real memory for it. At this point I seemed to be jumping positions a lot with those around me. I felt good so why not have some fun, eller hur? As expected I was passing people on the easier doubletracks and grusväg parts and then they were catching up again and passing me on the singletracks. But I was also stopping at the food places for a drink refill so I had to work to catch up again but after a 1km or so I was back in the same position with those who didn't stop. There was one in the women's class that I jumped positions with a lot but eventually in the last 15km she passed me for good.

There is a hill at Backa which everyone fears. Actually, there are two hills which are always full of people. And somewhere around here was that guy yelling 'Heja Chris!' again and I still don't know who it was! But there was a whole group of people that just started an enormous cheer after the heja Chris and it was wonderful, especially since I was starting to fall apart with energy. My Squeezy gel liquid had an effect for a little while during the next 10km which again is when I started passing.

Once again I could start writing about my finishing sprints and I will. But seriously it is not me that is getting any faster. Others around me are just getting slower. But I am also getting slower even if I suddenly wake up and start passing people. This is good psychologically but still I need to work on my race plans. I noticed this clearly after the race because that woman I was swapping positions with actually finished 10 minutes ahead of me.

They had changed the last 5km a bit and this is one of those parts that is not easy to have a mad final all-in approach like I usually have. There was talk of a new hill but when I got to it it was not much but people were walking. I was in the middle of my adrenaline kick but some shady motionär from Uppsala and his friend were blocking the entire path and walking slow so I had to kind of shove my way through and run up. They didn't think that was very nice. But I kept accelerating so I would not have to listen to them complain but it was a tough singletrack so I had to brake for a downhill and the two idiots decided to fly passed me (one on either side) on a freakin singletrack! What the hell?!?

This is the first time I have entered the finish field in a group of cyclists and it wasn't all that pleasant at all. After the long loop there is this one steep little hill and I decided that this would either work or I would die in a cramp. It worked and I could pass two or three more...including at least one of those Uppsala guys. But after that there is a grass corner and then another steep hill but it also went well and I could shift down for the bridge drop and a sprint. But a finish sprint coming off of a downhill is hard because everyone has speed but still I was determined and ended up bascially equal to another two plus I kept Uppsala behind me by enough.

My time you say? It was 3:21:46! For the first time in any långlopp I averaged over 20 km/h! 20.8 km/h to be specific. Not even in the grusväg rallys (Dalsland X-Country, Den Långa Dagen, Grenserittet) have I managed this speed! And again this meant crushing my 2012 time by 22 minutes and finally some improvement.

Doing this race 3 times and getting essentially the same time is not encouraging. I broke the curse. How? Well I have to thank my Allebike Ipsum 26 for this and my training/comfort on the singletracks. Training where you are slowest is the key. But overall I have felt better in these last two races and this probably has to do with eating and preparations. Still, I can be better. Many of those I was battling with had 3:10:00ish times. I have thought about cutting out my stops altogether because in total that probably costs me 10 minutes. But a stop does give me new energy and like I said I catch up again. Of course all of you are probably just thinking 'Buy a 29er' and everyone is telling me that. If anything I will put 650b wheels on my current bike because they will fit. But psychologically I needed to get rid of my old bike which was so wrong for me. The evidence is clear. So with my carbon 26 MTB and trails have become fun again. So why should I dump fun immediately for yet another new bike?

As you can see I am a bit behind with my reporting but now you can get a double report in one day. It is MTB långlopp season and I chose to stay in Eksjö rather than panic-drive on the race morning. And as soon as I arrived the rain poured down, I mean seriously pouring. Lovely. This in combination with not getting any sleep due to the noise of the Eksjö nightlife scene, which apparently was more than a couple drunk guys on a scooter, meant I was not at all positive to my start. I have mentioned many times before that this is my bad luck race and I have only managed to start it once, the rest was riddled with injuries or car trouble. So my plan was simple...just see this as a nice little training pass in singletrack. Afterall half of these 78km were singletrack.

Last time I went out way too hard and was ready to die after the second loop heading north. But my start may have been a slight bit relaxed since I was dead last in the competition group immediately.
Something which I realized shortly after this picture was taken. I looked back and said 'WTF???' and wondered where the motionär were.

But I got better after that and kept a fairly steady pace with those around me during the first grusväg sections. I was not surpassing my ability which was something I appreaciated later. The problem was that there was so much of a delay between the starts that the motion group caught up to me just when the singletracks were starting. These were not too serious trails but still the leaders in that class are not the least bit kind and they want passed immediately. Honestly what is the point of this class anyway because they are just as fast as the competition class. I suggest a change...why not charge motion cyclists more than people supporting the sport.

Anyway, the rest of the first loop (section 2) and most of second loop (section 3) I was being constantly passed by literally hundreds of cyclists. Section 3 is the toughest part of the race and I was doing just fine on the singletracks but I was getting frustrated with all those trying to pass. At the times I could be on my own my technique was fine and a reasonable pace. So my training pass was going just fine so far.
One of those motionär types that passed me.
But here I still look like I am enjoying my training pass even though I am blurry.

So then it was time for section 4 and the Eksjö training track which is fun but it was here I started to feel a bit tired. It was after this part last time where I suddenly woke up and started flying along. But this time it was not quite the same case because it was wet and I kept having this feeling that the worst part was coming next.

Everyone had been talking about the skidstuga which is section 5 and I had this faint memory of it being really horrible. And apparently last year when it was really wet this was basically a walking section. I didn't see any problem with it at all. Sure, the grass hills were wet but I had just changed to a brand new set of Conti X-Kings so I had tons of grip everywhere despite the mud. And I think this was what made my day.

So then, as you know, it was time for my final 'all-in' method which it a common part of all my race reports. Because in section 5 among all those grass hills things changed and my uphill skill could finally come to use and I could start passing people. Section 6 is pretty technical but I was on my own and trying pretty hard at this point to go fast on the trails. I knew I was over my normal level and that this wasn't a training pass anymore but I also know that I was swearing a lot when I did make mistakes.

I had already been in some type of mini-sprint for the last 2km and through that little grassy part just behind the water tower. So once I did get up the last little hill to the finish area I kept at it and accelerated more even though no one was around me at all and no one was watching or cheering. I have to sprint into the finish line and fall over. If I don't the training pass would be a waste.

But to my surprise this took 4:25:05 which doesn't say so much until I compared to my old time and realized I crushed it by 26 minutes! What I thought of as a training pass was almost half an hour faster than my old time which, really was okay too. So this was good for 425th out of 584 which is still kind of low but was far from last.

Finally some improvement. On a 26er. Maybe my stupid old bike really was the problem? Or maybe this was a fluke?