We have received a race report from Kim, who again this year ran the stage race called Etape Bornholm. Etape Bornholm is a five day event where you in total run a marathon distance. The surface changes from day to day; Day 1: Hasle with a 10 km race in forrest and on asphalt roads. Day 2: The beach race on Dueodde a short 5,8 km race but starting on the beach and moving up in the dunes. Day 3: A run in the forrest called Almindingen, it is a 7,8 km run going up and down in the pretty surroundings. Day 4: The „mountain run” in the Norther part of Bornholm called Hammeren. it is a run of 8,5 km but just on the last km it goes up with 75 meter to the finish at the lighthouse. Here the last few hundred meters reminds you about Tour de France with plenty of people helping you the last part. Day 5: a 10 km race in the city of Rønne followed by a visit to the forrest and ending with almost one round on the athletic stadion.

The story from Kim:

The weather showed its mild side all week, which was close to optimal for what you can expect on the sunshine island in week 30. On Monday, it went full throttle from the start and I split at 26:09. Out on the headland there was a bit of headwind and speed dropped, making it hard to keep the momentum up even though there was some shelter in the forest. But 53:52 is absolutely acceptable and the best time in Hasle since 2019.

On Tuesday at Dueodde, the beach was narrow and the sand was compact after the high tide of the previous days. Again, it went full speed from the start without major problems until I hit the dunes where there was a human traffic jam and many were walking. I ran quite a bit in the heather off-track to keep my speed up a bit and constantly feared stepping on a viper. On the dune just before the finish, I got my 1-2 seconds of TV time for the year. 34:05 is also acceptable, and again the best time since 2019.

Wednesday in the forest of Almindingen, and then it became an ordinary day again. The hills apparently get a bit harder as the number of summers on the account approaches 50. 44:20 is not the worst time I’ve achieved, but I just struggled a bit on the hills and had hoped for more after the relatively good results of the previous days.

Thursday on Hammeren, I got back to my old tactic of small steps uphill and just letting my legs run freely with long strides downhill, and the time at the base of the final hill is indeed quite decent, but unfortunately, it only ends when you reach the lighthouse, and before that, the engine had exploded and I had to walk some of the grassy stretch up to the finish. 52:03 is not catastrophic, but I would have liked it to have been a couple of minutes faster, and it definitely would have helped if I had my old uncle Jesper chasing me from behind as last year.

Friday it was supposed to get the final shot, and the goal was to beat Monday’s time, which I’ve done almost every time I’ve participated. The time at 5 km says 25:10, and then I hit Nordskoven, and it gets harder to keep the pace, and the small hills felt like mountains, but around 7-8 km I still manage to kick into a final sprint (according to the calculation: at 6 min/km you won’t make it) and hold it all the way to the finish. 52:34, mission accomplished.

Total time 3h:56m:57s, which is the first time since 2019 that I’ve gone under 4 hours overall.

All in all, the week has been a huge success, showing that a little constructive preparation can do wonders, and I hope to ride the wave into future family/club events.

From Bornholm Runners we congratulate Kim with the good result and we will try to see if there is an interest for making the Etape Bornholm 2027 as a larger team event