Tartu XC Ski Marathon

Even though I grew up in Estonia, I was in Tallinn by the Baltic Sea which received less snow than the south of the country. Coincidentally the years when I wanted to ski I never really got the opportunity and never really did what I'd actually call proper skiing. By age thirteen I moved away so I missed out. I did learn a little in my early twenties during a Christmas holiday and skied 80km during that time, but it was very slow going and such hard work.

Tartu Marathon is a 63km classic xc ski event. This is an event that's so deep in Estonian roots. Almost every old timer you speak to will say they've participated in this race back in the day and since the largest participating years in the 80s over 10,000 people would take part. These numbers might not mean that much when looking at running marathon events, but consider a ski marathon where you're in groomed tracks shoulder to shoulder with skis sticking out front and back, it becomes a whole different thing. Also the population of Estonia at that time was around 1.5 million so it truly has always been a popular event.

Tartu Marathon in 1981

Training - 5 weeks out

Since it takes some time to work on both technique and fitness for this to have anything but a very rough day out, it's not really possible to just have a typical two week holiday and complete this race. So thanks to COVID and my opportunity to work from home, my company allowed me to go and work from Estonia for the winter. This meant I could actually prepare properly, as long as there is snow. This is something which has been a big issue in the recent years and you never know whether there will actually be enough of it. Equally this year, with COVID cases massively on the rise during the winter it wasn't certain until the final week whether the event could still go ahead, so I all I could do was get training and hope.

I could have started slightly earlier but I didn't get my skis on until five weeks before the event, which is pushing it to be honest with my total lack of technique and experience in skiing. I bought a pair online from a Spanish website for quite cheap and was eager to have a go. First session was, less than promising. I skied from my uncle's apartment to a school with a small lit up skiing route outside it to do some laps and back again. I fell over four times. I felt like walking would be faster occasionally. Skiing is supposed to be faster than running, if you know what you're doing. I skied 7.9km in 1hr 9min. That's 8:44min/k. The following day I tried again, this time at a bigger route near that same school which has 4.3km laps and groomed tracks. This is where I have previously had a go ten years ago, and the route has minor but steep climbs and drops also. 10.43km from the two laps and a little extra at an average of 7min/k. Still so slow but at least it was better and I only fell over once, but I didn't understand how my movement was so slow when I have new skis and my general fitness was great. I mean, just the other week I was whacking out casual half marathons before starting work in the morning, on snow. It was of course -18C outside so that's something to consider I guess. Feet were freezing.

Local 4.3km ski track at Härma

I was doing a few laps maybe twice a week in the mornings before work and the good thing was that I was rapidly improving every session. 6:14min/k avg. and one fall, 5:19min/k avg. and first session without any falls and the following weekend, just a week into it I smashed out five laps at the track for a 21.4km session averaging 4:57min/k. Holy hell, now we're moving! That gave me huge hope, but this was affected strongly due to the temperature rising above zero so my skis were so much faster and also I fell over eight times! One was a really hard fall which really bruised my knee and tore a small hole in my leggings.

In terms of recovery, I was going to the sauna 2-3 times a week with my uncle and enjoying some beers. And a little bit of swimming during one of the sauna days. Progress hindered after the initial week however. I gave it a week rest since my knee was pretty sore from the fall I had. The first session back I went and had a go on a section of the actual marathon route with the skis waxed for the first time. 13.6k @5:36k/min pace. It seemed that the pace had stalled around that and it was disappointing that waxing the skis wasn't helping me out, I was hoping for an invisible boost here. Also I wasn't really doing any real mileage, just very short sessions so that was starting to play on my mind. The following week did not go well. Lots of snow came down which was great, but this was happening every day so the tracks were not getting groomed. My ability to skate ski was terrible so I wasn't really fond of practising that. It takes a lot more balance and technique than classic style. I had two morning sessions that week and it was pure agony. I had planned to get longer sessions in before work but the skis were not sliding at all and it was such hard work I really wasn't enjoying it. I was back to averaging 7min/k.

On the weekend I decided to visit a ski shop, since the local guy I'd been taking my skis to for waxing said my skis are basically trekking skis and aren't great for actual track skiing. They had a very rough middle part under the ski, which does look like it would slow you down. That would make sense why I was able to go pretty fast that one session when the snow was melting. I still had the grip to get me up the slopes but it wasn't slowing me down on the flats due to the iced over grooves. The shop confirmed it, you can go and ski the marathon with those but it will be bloody hard work. These skis are just for exploring anywhere and everywhere. Luckily they had some deals and a decent pair going which very conveniently suited my height so I bought those. After that I headed off to a different ski track with more elevation gain and steeper drops and climbs than my local one. One lap at Kekkose is 14km long. I was now just two weeks away from the marathon and so far I had done one 21km ski, and that was under special conditions so I desperately needed to get some miles under my belt. This course was much harder than my local one, but it was a hard challenging one and it was pretty important to get more experience of different courses before race day. I managed two laps around but I was very much struggling on that second lap. If I didn't have the marathon pushing me on I would have happily stopped after the first lap and that would have been that. I fell over too many times to count, but 27.2km @ 5:39min/k in the bag. Not as fast as I'd hope but I have to be realistic with my goals. Good to get the miles and experiencec. Finally have proper skis, but it was a hard course for me and a lot of distance so I'm glad I got that done.

Bridge crossing at Kekkose

Two weeks out

It got cold again. This damn weather was less than ideal in helping me prepare. I only went out twice in the week, including one morning when I did two of the local laps in -21 degrees. Just wanted to try how I can handle some extremes. I have poor circulation so my feet would become an issue, else I'd probably be alright. Feet do minimal movement on the skis so it's to their disadvantage for getting any blood down there. I kept the sessions short but pace was a little better, averaging around 4:45min/k. Not bad, not bad.

-21 degrees out

On the weekend I went back to Kekkose with a goal of two laps as absolute minimum, but three ideally. If I manage two, I'm a bit stuffed for the race because I'm obviously struggling with the distance and maybe doing the full distance was a mistake, but should I manage three laps then probably it's all good. I had a few gels in my pocket and every lap I'd do a quick pit stop at my car which was parked very close to the track. The day went really well. I took it at a steady pace and tried to go faster on the descents. Last lap got a bit hard but that was expected. All three laps went faster than the first lap from the previous week. Fell over seven times still but whatever, struggling to shake that. 41km in total averaging 5:13min/k, 50% more distance and quite a bit faster than last week. Very, very happy with that and feeling ready for the marathon. This was the last session before the race. Just recover, have a massage and be ready to go.

Race day

Looking at the weather forecast for the day, it wasn't as good as it could be. You don't want very cold, you also don't want above zero temperatures. It becomes very difficult to get up the slopes since the tracks become so slippery and the wax really needs to be on point. The forecast said it should be around 0 degrees at the start and it will be warming up in the day but not sure how much.

Elite and top group start

The starting corridors are split by people who have done the race before etc. so I was a few groups back. I got dressed, headed to the start and waited for the gun to send us off. It would be nice to complete the race without falling over but I know that will not happen. Just try not to do it in the start in the mass of people like some noob.

0 - 23km

Start went alright, I was probably pushing harder than I should but I was feeling pretty good. Got into my rhythm and was slowly overtaking some people. The first 10km went by pretty well, I was averaging slightly under 5min/k and I was really enjoying being part of this race thinking, wow finally I am doing this. This is great. I'm feeling proud, I'm feeling patriotic. As an Estonian this is something you should do. I reached the first feeding/ mechanic point and decided to not stop. My skis had been alright for most but they did seem to struggle on uphills and I really had to push with my arms to get up slopes. But it hadn't been that bad. The queues seemed massive anyway so I didn't want to stop and I just passed by. This was definitely a mistake. So my knowledge on ski wax and different temperature conditions was absolutely minimal. When it comes to waxing your skis in above zero temperatures there are different more paste like waxes which get used to help provide grip. This grip helps you every single stride as you push on one leg to shoot the other one forward. This lack of grip becomes ever more apparent when going uphill and you realise your skis are simply starting to slide backwards. Even the 41km ski I did last week, it was fine in the -6 degree weather. You don't need to rewax your skis during unless you are racing for something. But I was learning that in these weather conditions, rewaxing needs to happen and I don't think the wax I had the sport shop put on for me the previous day was working well at all. Really annoyed at that, since the weather was exactly as expected. From maybe 12km onwards my skis started deteriorating fast and I was really struggling on every single uphill. The issue was, the first part of the race has majority of the hills as well. My pace slowed significantly and this just became a battle. The next check point wasn't until 23k. I was regretting not waiting in that queue for some minutes at the first checkpoint now, but I was so unaware I would have never know to do that in the first place. This 12km went by with so much difficulty that I knew if things don't improve I don't think I could finish this. I could also see many other people struggling pretty hard and getting frustrated, some yelling out loud at their skis. Glad to know it wasn't just me. I was just on two planks of wood, as one slides forward the other wants to slide backwards. At the 17km mark during a decent I also took my first fall. There goes the hope of a clean race. I made it to the 2nd checkpoint, averaging slower than 6min/k for the last 12km and pretty exhausted. There was a queue but this time I had zero care in the world. Take your time, take as long as you need. I went and had some soup also and waited my turn. Not sure how many minutes I waited, but the technicians swiftly added some glue looking substance on and said to wait some seconds for it to cool and wow, that worked. Skis were totally different, why couldn't I have this earlier? The amount of energy I've been wasting away for nothing. Time to get going, just hoping I've still got something in the tank. I still had to ascend straight after the checkpoint but straight away this thing was working. I was getting up that hill, my body was struggling but the skis were alright. As long as my body will keep going now, this train is moving. Maybe get a top up of this shit again and I might be alright.

23 - 45km

I was in such a worn out state from that initial effort that it was difficult to pick things up again. I felt better, a lot better than before but my body wasn't the same. I'd have a gel and drink some water at a stop but that freshness just wasn't there. It felt more of a grind, just a less painful grind than before. The distance was passing by but nothing of excitement. No real speed but I was quite consistently averaging around the 6min/k mark.

Feeling rough

Before the race I did have hopes of breaking 5 hours, that would have been the ultimate goal. This would require me to average 4:45min/k. But a more realistic goal I had in mind was to average 5min/k. Both of these were top end goals though and would be exceeding what I've managed during my training, finishing the race was of course the main thing. But I had strong belief I was capable. As I'm so competitive I also looked up the finish times from my friends who have completed the event in the past. My cousin Silver is pretty fast on the skis and some of his classmates I know. Silver's best was as good as 4hr02; his friends' times were also 3hr44, 4hr38 and 5:53. Those guys can ski but they've all participated numerous times and get to train every winter. I reached 45km in 4hr 30min so I had been averaging 6min/k. At this rate, that's a 6h 18 min finish time. I enjoy doing some mental maths in my head while running / cycling whatever to work out my speed or estimations and since it takes a bit of time to do that, it passes the time during the race and distracts your mind. Eugh, over six hours. I mean yeah I'm gonna finish, I'm feeling alright but what a poor time, not impressed.

45 - 63km

I finally got my second wind. I felt more powerful and was really gliding through the course way different than before. This is what it should have been like for much more of it probably had I not destroyed myself so early on. From 40km onwards every 5km I did faster than the previous. The profile from here was gently downhill so that helped as well. I also got the skis waxed for the second time to ensure good grip and ability to really push those strides. I was managing sub 4:42min/k during 50-60k stretch which I thought was pretty good after so many hours wrestling this course. I was overtaking people and feeling damn good. Really wish I'd felt this way sooner. I was pushing hard and had the sub 6 hour time in front of my eyes. Final updated goal for the day. That's the best I can do now. I reached 60km according to my watch in 5hr42. A 6min/k average from now should get me below the 6 hour mark so I should be good. I had been pushing it since 50k already but kicked it into final gear now until the finish line. Everything just felt amazing, my technique felt better, I felt fast and I was so ready to cross that finish line and get my medal. I'll finally be able to say that I've completed Tartu Marathon, as every Estonian should. I did the final few k in sub 4:30min/k and that was that. Final race time of 5:57:22 and 3rd brit. I had entered myself under GBR for this and was surprised to see ten finishers from the UK on the list during these COVID times. Most likely NATO soldiers stationed here.

Was a real tough day and there were some downers but it ended on a high note. I just wished I could have avoided that entire saga of sliding around in the beginning so I'd see what I'm actually capable of. Time to eat and celebrate and crack many beers open.

Finish line photo with the medal