Hart auf Hart

A strange controlled form of self-inflicted harm

We are living in a soft world. Everything is comfortable. We are covered in convenience. Everything is low-threshold.

• We built elevators into three-story houses

• At airports, we have escalators on flat ground

• We have the most ridiculous sprockets (and an electric drive) on our ultra-lightweight bikes

• We have our groceries delivered to our doors, instead of strolling over to the farmer’s market

• We buy back-friendly office chairs instead of standing up and going for a walk every hour

• We stay in touch with our loved ones through social media instead of meeting them in person

• We rather swallow pills than eat balanced and healthy

• We buy bigger hard drives instead of deleting files we don’t need anymore

• We buy bigger cupboards instead of getting rid of things we don’t need anymore

Yes, some of this involves me, too. Fortunately, there is one realm of life that exalts hardness and discomfort: Running.

(Hart auf Hart - Flat racers on flat asphalt)

Run to feel myself

More than ever before, I am running to feel myself.

I want to feel my muscles twitch in different parts of my body at different times. Synchronized like an orchestra.

I want to feel the impact of my foot hitting the asphalt. Sometimes flat, sometimes a bit twisted. But, always certain, it will catch me.

I want to feel the repercussion of the impact up my ankle, knee, and hip. A shockwave jolting through my body, awakening my spirits.

I want to sense my whole body after a long and hard run. Battered, but not broken.

It’s a paradoxical pleasure of physical strain. A complex dance with discomfort, where the desire to feel alive borders on a strange controlled form of self-inflicted harm. This is how running feels for me right now, and I am enjoying it a lot.

My physiotherapist takes a different standpoint. She hoped that my long-running injury would have incited me to be softer to myself. To listen more to my body and its needs. And to enjoy and appreciate running without pain and maybe with even without discomfort.

It could be the smartest approach is – as so often – somewhere in the middle.

Tools

I am doing 85% of my training in an Adidas Adios 7. Not “Pro”. Not “Evo”. The last basic flat racer Adidas have left in their range. It is my 3rd pair already. On the last one, I ran 800+ km before it completely fell to pieces. The one I am having in use right now, already has 600+ km. I got it for €80 at a sale, and it makes all my running dreams come true: Hard as a board, super direct and the most natural ground feel. I love this shoe.

What’s your current favorite running shoe?

Hart of Hart

(Just like Western States, the last few hundred meters of the Kandel Marathon are run on a tartan track)

The last marathon I ran, was the Kandel Bienwald Marathon in 2022. It was a (tempo) workout during my Western States 100 preparation. In the start block, I was the only runner without carbon-plated super shoes. I wore my beloved Adidas Boston 7, the last edition of this shoe that turned out great, before they f*cked it up more and more. A nice allrounder without much thrill. Just a basic running shoe for short and long, fast and slow. Pretty similar to the Adios 7 mentioned above, maybe a tiny bit more comfortable.

As expected, after 30 km, my legs really started to hurt. But it was the good pain. The pain that signifies a price for running fast and far. A fair deal.

Big weeks

With that being said, I am in the final weeks of my preparation for the Valencia marathon. Volumes are high, workouts are tough, the ground is hard, light is scarce, the weather is ugly, and I love every single kilometer of running to pieces.

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Everything not running

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