Marcialonga – 70 km of impressive Swedish stubbornness
After the record time of 5 hours and 8 minutes in the Marcialonga tracks, Peter's ski tips smashed the finish line. Two Marcialonga races and eight Vasalopp - Peter Andersson seems to know what it takes regarding long races. We asked him what to think about.
That it was a starting field marked by the pandemic was noticed.
”It was just over 3,100 to start instead of normally over 5,000”, says Peter Andersson, owner of Ptec Inredningar. He goes on saying that he never left last year, precisely because of the pandemic, but this year he waited the longest to cancel. And it was a lucky shot – off he went.
”Yes, we were a wonderful, but decimated, gang that went to Italy. In addition to the atmosphere that is when you share experiences of this kind, there was also a fantastically beautiful winter landscape awaiting.”
Private photo. Beautiful views of the valley with the Dolomites in the background. The place for the race is Val di Fiemme and Val di Fassa, more precisely the race starts in Moena and 70 km later you reach the finish line in Cavalese.
How much do you need to train for a long run?
”It is of course individual, but to cope with long runs I would say that the more kilometers on snow you have, the better. I myself managed to get 30 kilometers in total before Marcialonga.”
What do you think is the most difficult mental challenge?
”I don't know if I am struggling with any real mental challenge. It's more routine nowadays, after eight Vasaloppet races and a previous Marcialonga race. For me, the challenge is rather to conserve the energy. Maricalonga starts with 20 kilometers uphill and I went out pretty hard to get better tracks (and more people behind me). I don't know if I consumed a little more energy than necessary there because in the finish I was really tired. More tired than I expected. Maybe my energy got lost in that last uphill because I poured a little too much in the beginning, I don't know. It could also depend on the weather, because it was a bit tricky this year. At the start it was minus degrees but at the finish it was +10 °C. I usually never sweat, but this time the sweat completely ran.”
Private photo. Just after finish. Tired and worn out, but happy.
How do you prepare for Marcialonga?
”I can only speak for myself. I prepare with a regular hotel breakfast, so no weirdness at all. You must of course make sure to provide yourself with drinks and energy bars along the way. Water, energy drinks and soft drinks are available. Towards the end we also got coffee.”
Are there ski vaxing teams on site or how to solve ski vaxing?
”At the hotel in Bellamonte where we stayed, there were special areas in the hotel. We took advantage of these and vaxed the skis ourselves. When approaching the finish line, there is one last rather steep uphill. There I chose to put on some extra glue, something that was offered by the ski vaxing teams along the track.
You compete with yourself, you say, and got 30 minutes better time this year than the last time you ran. How do you keep track of time?
”Yes, I even ask my self some times. I'm one of few who doesn't use a watch that keeps track of heart rate, respiration, number of kilometers driven and so on. I'm just trying to get flow in the race and hope that's enough.”
You are good! We have checked the statistics from the race and you ended up in place 1,172 of the total 3,101 participants. That means you had almost 2,000 skiers behind you! In your age group (Men 50/59 years) you ended up in place 286 out of 792. Impressive!
”Thank you very much. Yes, I'm happy with the race except I got a little too tired at the end.”
Finally – will you run more Marcialonga races?
”Absolutely! If I only get the opportunity, this was not the last time. It's a wonderful experience, both the community, nature, the challenge – yes, EVERYTHING! We also ended up with a few days of really nice downhill as well, so it couldn't be better actually.
Private photo. Maybe this picture should be censored? The drink has nothing to do with serious sports, but for some unfathomable reason, the can ended up in Peter's hand after finish.
Facts about Marcialonga
Marcialonga is an Italian long distance race of 70 km. The idea of an Italian long-distance race arose when two Italians ran the iconic 90 km long Vasaloppet in 1969. We should try something like this in Italy? Said and done. In 1971, the starting shot was fired for Marcialonga, which in Italian means 'Long March'. To date, 49 Marcialonga races have taken place. The 49th took place on January 30, 2022.
Photo credit Marcialonga
Year 2022 male Marcialonga winner, the Russian Ermil Vokuev, with the time of 02:51:58
Year 2022 female Maricalonga winner, the Swede Ida Dahl, with the time of 03:15:16