Mattias Bramstång

I decided long ago to try and run for three hours. Everything indicated that I had the speed and endurance to make it. The last few months of training had gone well, actually so satisfying that my secret goal was to run a little bit faster than three hours.

The competition is in the middle of the Brazilian winter, early one Sunday morning. Despite the season and the time of the day it was warm and bright even before starting. The hole distance is more or less right next to the sea, which is beautiful and interesting as it always happens things around.

I was running smooth and stable with a comfortable effort until the 24th kilometer (1:38:18) when I got cramp in one of my legs. It came suddenly, so fast that I had to jump three steps on the other leg while I was stopping. I had to stretch and then limp forward. The thoughts that went through my head was not fun, filled with disappointment and resignation. A moment later, at the 27th kilometer, I had found a pace (4:25 min/km) that I could hold, a balance between pain and function. I ran the rest of the race without comfort, instead, I carried a lot of concern. Finally, I finished with 2:59:35 and after I had stopped running I immediately began limping, anything else was not possible.