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?