Running 2019...

2,339 kilometers (1,453 miles) … it is :

5'847 stadium laps (and a half),

almost 55 marathons (and a half), in 52 weeks …

194.90 km/month (121.1 miles)

200 runs

11.7km and 1h03 per run, on average

210 hours, which make 8.77 days, or 8 days and nights, 18 hours, and 27 minutes sneakers on feet

Average speed 5'24/km – 11.1km/h

Positive elevation : almost 30,000m…

286,459 calories burned (approximately, and according to Garmin, a calculation which I do not trust at all, but which can be fun), which represents: 572 chocolate bars (500cal/100g), or approximately 57.3 kg, or 716 liters of beer (40cal per dl), that is 1,432 half liter cans of blonde beer (promised Mum, I drank a few hundred less … I hope), or 358kg of pasta, that is almost 1,790 plates of tomato spaghetti, without cheese (80 / 100g), or 160 per 200g plate of cooked pasta…

2’339km, this is equivalent to running, for example :

From my home in Kingissep, Russia (just past the Estonia-Russia border, almost in Saint Petersburg): 2,332km

From Bordeaux to Vilnius, Lithuania: 2,385km

From Miami Beach to New Haven, Connecticut, between NYC and Boston, 2,310km

From Houston, Texas, on the Gulf of Mexico to Pembina, North Dakota, on the Canadian border, that’s all of the USA, from south to north: 2,317km
From Aarhus in the north of Denmark to Lecce, in the south of Italy: 2,331 km

From Seville, southern Spain, to Rome, 2,336km, via Valencia, Barcelona, ​​Marseille, Nice, all cities where we have urban routes that you can download for free …

I was lucky enough to run in 10 different countries: Switzerland, Denmark, Netherlands, USA, France, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Spain, Great Britain …

I started (and finished) 8 rather eclectic races, including : a marathon, a 20km, an obstacle race in the mud, a 213km relay race around Europe’s largest lake, and a trail in the snow and mud …

A magnificent year … Magic …

For example :

– There was preparation for the Rotterdam Marathon, so that I ran in winter too, with in particular, as a long run, the 2 magnificent Lausanne-Lac urbirun tours in perfect conditions, and a last 29km long run, in the night and the storm, with the brother… but what better than having to face a marathon preparation to motivate yourself to go out for a run, right?.. Harsh times, hard race, perfect conditions, sub 3:30 goal not achieved, but a personnal best in 3:39, for my 5th marathon

– There were 2 runs in Copenhagen, to validate the urbirun tour there : one was a runner’s hell, under a sleet rain frozen in a wind to knock out The Little Mermaid, and another run under a nice sun, my love biking behind me with the go-pro, more than enough to come to terms with these magnificent city… You can read all of this on the blog too, and you can even watch it on my new Youtube channel here.

There was a week of vacation in Miami, right after the Rotterdam Marathon… where I should have recovered a little, but impossible not to run there… there is also a short report on the blog and a short film…

There was a weekend in Paris, a morning running solo for pictures, in all the emblematic places, and another to validate our 4th urbirun tour in the City of Lights, tour that you can find here.

There was the weekend with friends in Amsterdam, with the friends who play the photographer running with you, rather than dropping their hangovers in the bed… isn’t that cool? … soon on the blog too (yes I know, it dates a little, and I was not very diligent, sorry)…

There was the first urbirun route on “Airbnb Experience”, to discover Montreux and its surroundings with me…

There was this beautiful morning in the hills and discovering the castles of Sion…

There was a magical trip to Peru and Bolivia, which allowed me to run along the Pacific as well as over 3000m… and there it is hard, even if the Uyuni Salar, or the foothills of the Atacama Desert are very flat…

There was summer, the pre- or post-aperitif barbecue runs, and this morning run, after the night on the boat, to discover the shores of Lake Geneva around Thonon …

There was this day when you are the weird person who runs almost 20km and more than 1000m elevation to go for a barbecue at friends’ house…

There was a second brief stay in Miami, to run under the clouds of Hurricane Dorian, to confirm that we now have our small “home” under the palm trees and near the ocean… (which you can by the way rent… send me an email and we talk about it …)

There was the discovery of Basel, the banks of the Rhine River, and good sausages.

There was Mud-Day, an obstacle race, more than muddy, where I discovered that my body was heavy, very heavy, and that I could have aches in other parts than my legs after a race …

There was the amazing adventure of team running, the Runmate, 213km all around Lake Geneva, in relay, non-stop. Thank you Captain Christelle for taking us on this idea … A great experience. Read the story here, and or watch the short clip there… 

There were the runs on the stony volcanoes of the Fuerteventura Island, desert, rough, tortured …

There were the London runs, during a sunny weekend, 2 long runs with friends, a lot of km to discover London, but still more pints than km…

There was a third stay in Miami, the runs on the beach at sunrise which I cannot get tired of, the first nights in this other “home” …

There was my first trail, the Castles Trail in Sion, Switzerland, a magnificent race, but very harsh conditions, all in snow and mud, 24km and 1100m of elevation, and where I probably made a podium in the category “over 48 years old, 4:40 of sleep, and hangover”, but it does not exist …

And now… I’m looking forward to another year of running (2020 will be the 13th, hoping it won’t bring me bad luck) …

One thing is certain, I will sweat, grumble, force myself, curse, get bored, enrage, explore, enjoy, sing, cry, drag myself, fly, get my legs and eyes full pf joy and pleasure, as my heart and soul…

I will run in the cold, in the snow, in the rain, in the wind, in the sun, in the mist, at night, in the rising sun …

I will run across the plain, in the forest, in the mountains, on beaches, along rivers, by the lakes, by the sea and by the ocean, in small villages, in big cities …

I’m going to run, period.

Happy 2020 to everyone !!