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At the beginning of March, ultra athlete and street dance pioneer Joel Juht made Estonian endurance sports history by completing one of the toughest ultramarathons in the world, the Montane Lapland Arctic Ultra, which took place in northern Sweden. He became the first Estonian to complete a 500-kilometer polar marathon.
Text: Virgo Agan
Photos: private collection
When I took part in the same race in northern Canada in 2019, the temperature fluctuated by essentially ten degrees and the entire course was rock hard. There was no need to deal with wet feet. Now the competition took place for the first time in northern Sweden, where the situation has become fantastic due to climate warming – the humidity percentage has increased and cold bites come more easily. The temperature swing was insane. The coldest was 28 degrees, and in the meantime the temperature rose to six degrees.
At first it was minus degrees, then wet snow started to fall. I had to put on a raincoat. However, if you move too fast, moisture starts to collect down there and your clothes get wet. Getting that moisture out is difficult. We had to choose the right pace. There was a lot of adapting to circumstances and changing plans. Moving a heavy sled in soft snow was an ordeal in itself.
Mandatory equipment included an expedition jacket, a sleeping bag that works up to 50 degrees below zero, a tent or a bivy bag (a mini tent that goes around a sleeping bag, ed.), waterproof matches, a gas cylinder and a heater to cook with, a liter pot, a cup, a bowl, a spoon, food for each day and emergency food supply for an additional 48 hours. It is mandatory to carry three liters of water. In addition, snowshoes, snowshoes, a hand saw, a fire starter, a whistle, a small knife, two headlamps with batteries, various layers of clothing, a bunch of gloves and socks, sled repair tools, first aid supplies, petroleum jelly, glasses, hats, face masks, toilet paper, garbage bags, a drink bottle, additional rope.
Mandatory equipment included an expedition jacket, a sleeping bag that works up to 50 degrees below zero, a tent or a bivy bag (a mini tent that goes around a sleeping bag, ed.), waterproof matches, a gas cylinder and a heater to cook with, a liter pot, a cup, a bowl, a spoon, food for each day and emergency food supply for an additional 48 hours. It is mandatory to carry three liters of water. In addition, snowshoes, snowshoes, a hand saw, a fire starter, a whistle, a small knife, two headlamps with batteries, various layers of clothing, a bunch of gloves and socks, sled repair tools, first aid supplies, petroleum jelly, glasses, hats, face masks, toilet paper, garbage bags, a drink bottle, additional rope.
You have to manage yourself on the track. There is no outside help. Only the local sleigh men, who in the meantime ask if everything is fine. However, there were checkpoints on the track. The first one was at the 85th kilometer at the top of the hill. There they were given hot water and a portion to eat. The organizers immediately check the well-being of all competitors there. They look at your hands, feet, tongue. It depends on whether they let you continue to compete or not. If they still see that your legs are already in bad shape or you are tired, that’s it. The fatigue that occurs in such conditions is so brutal that people completely lose their heads. For example, this year one competitor put 20 kilometers off the track, another 7, and someone just went in circles. The trail was nicely marked, but things like this happen due to fatigue. After all, the competition was held for the first time in this location and we were like guinea pigs. No one knew exactly how long it would take to complete such a trail. Therefore, there was no time limit. If the competition had been with a time limit, the number of finishers would have been much lower.
How much sleep did you get on average in one night?
Two hours was such an ordinary taxi. For the first time in my life, I felt my internal clock. Even though I thought I could sleep longer today, after two hours my body thought it was time to move. I thought to myself, what’s the point, I just came here, but I trusted my body and I delivered according to it. This was a very big discovery for me.
At first, I thought a lot about whether I was doing everything right. Am I eating enough, am I dressed right, am I getting enough sleep, etc. In normal life, you are used to living according to a very specific rhythm, but this experience was something completely different. Fortunately, the mood was good and the body tolerated the long days well. In light of the failure of 2019, there was a strong desire to prove to myself that I can do better. I knew it would have been another blow to my partner if I had broken up. I struggled with all these feelings because I have spent a lot of time preparing that I could have spent with my family. These thoughts were difficult at times, but I overcame them.
110 kilometers before the last checkpoint, I saw that the weather was getting out of hand. I put on merino wool pants, but there was a lot of elastin inside, which does not allow the skin to breathe. The temperature dropped and my ass got wet. Then it got warm outside and I needed to dry these pants. It was plus six degrees outside and I put on shorts. Since the snow was wet and I was wearing snowshoes, otherwise my outer pants would have also gotten wet because the snowshoes throw up the melted snow. Then I would have had two pairs of wet pants for the evening. However, it got very cold at night and I was in the middle of the Kuramus lake. The lake ice reflected the cold very well and I really thought my ass was going to fall off right there – it was so cold! I pushed the socks between the layers and tried to get warm. I rubbed my hands together and moved on. It got warm for a while, but then it got cold again. Fortunately, I reached one of the hunters’ huts, immediately made a fire, lit candles in the house and made myself comfortable. I slept there for two hours, got my pants dry and moved on.
True (laughs). As I reached the top of a hill, I saw a headlamp below. I knew it was the Swiss Hugo who left me earlier at one of the checkpoints. I pulled the straps off the sled, jumped on the sled myself and hurtled down the hill. The momentum was so fast that I had to put the headlamp on the maximum. The whole descent was about 800-900 meters. Hugo also said that a crazy Estonian (laughs). From there we found a common rhythm and finally finished together.
The emotion was still nice, but the most important feeling was that I did it. If we take away the medal and all the attention, the biggest achievement is still that I didn’t give up. I trained myself to be in this routine and I was enriched by an invaluable experience. No one can take these experiences and knowledge away from me, I can only share them with others.
I worked out six days a week. Running, gym, swimming in open water, solo winter hikes on the RMK hiking trail, etc. The main thing was that we did it in cooperation with the coach. We made a plan and built both endurance and strength. Strength training is A and O when training for such challenges. I took a few weeks of rest between training cycles.
You know, weird story, but I’m not completely recovered yet. One day I thought I’d go for a little run. Afterwards, the legs were still quite rubbery underneath. Around seven o’clock in the evening, I still feel very tired
Naturally, this recovery has been pretty gruesome. The body is in the rhythm of a marathon. It took me twelve days to get my sleep pattern back in place. For example, on the first day of the marathon, I ran 85 kilometers, then slept for two hours, and then immediately ran 85 kilometers to the end. The number of hours of sleep was very little.
On the morning of the 12th day, I went to infusion therapy, where I was given vitamins through a vein. There was also a heavy dose of magnesium added, and when I got the poor thing, I thought I was going to fall asleep right there in that chair. That night I was able to sleep properly for the first time.
In general, I have tried to be in light movement. Walks, cycling and definitely swimming. All such things that don’t burden you too much, but you can’t really pull the plug either. Pain is something that just has to be endured. To this day, the spirit is completely empty.
Let it remain a secret for now, but there are already thoughts for 2023.
