Day 2

Yesterday we went from front to back. Today I'm going to do it the other way around and follow up on Friday's lace at 11:30. The remaining four arrived in Spindleruv Mlyn in a great time, with a genuine smile and a determination to continue after the rest. We had originally scared the competitors that the new CP would be outdoors, and it turned out to be absolutely luxurious, and thanks to the willingness of my friends and their mates we had the whole tennis hall at our disposal, which was a great bonus to rest before heading up the ridge again. Thanks to the snow conditions and the gracious night on the ridges, everyone was under cover by 2am, allowing even us to close our eyes for two hours. By around 5am things were starting to rustle and gradually everyone set off to meet new adventures. The Harrachov group also set out first thing in the morning for white fog views. And during the night it was interesting to watch those who had set out on the night march as they gradually settled into shelters, shelters and haylofts.

He finally went to Ivana Honza Gotwald, who tried to close his eyes for a moment, but got so full of caffeine that he had no choice but to continue, which took its toll. Nor Tomas Kadlas He didn't exaggerate about sleeping, but I don't have much info from him because he's sleeping right now, so I'm not gonna lie. Well, she's a classic overnight brawler. Vilma, winner of last year's 300 km. Those of you who watched last year's race will remember Vilma's colourful account of beautiful hallucinations of faces rising out of the dirt, so apparently she's going for the experience again. However, by 8am the whole starting field was already in motion.

Unfortunately, around noon I uttered the sentence that it was great that no one had given up yet this year, and I fucked up. Tomas Martin has been battling knee pain since yesterday. He set off from Harrachov in the evening, but after a few kilometres he had to return. Today he fought bravely, he suppressed the pain as much as he could, but he couldn't suppress it. So his journey ends in Špindlerův Mlýn and that's not bad at all, on the contrary, we are happy for his performance and that he stood at the start. The leg injury also took over Lenka Sobotka. And yesterday she didn't make a peep at CP and kept everything to herself. In the end, it was impossible to continue and now she wants to at least take the shortest way to Trutnov, where she has secured her accommodation in advance, and then outside the race to come to greet us here in Maršov nad Metují. And the last one, with whom we had to say goodbye against everyone's will, is Kuba Zamazal. He had a journey to Havířov ahead of him, so he went quietly. But a week before the start he had the flu and in the harsh hills of the Giant Mountains he had trouble breathing. His decision is very wise, because we have only one health and JIBE will be there. So he dragged his sledge like Tomas to Spindle. Congratulations to everyone for their determination and great atmosphere.

The weather deteriorated during the day. Those who went to the ridges for the night did well against the weather. It got noticeably cooler and the humidity is high mainly due to the fog, so -5C during the day doesn't sound terrible, but with 95% humidity you get it everywhere. It's also blown out, so moving around on the ridges and pretty much everywhere has hurt a bit more than yesterday. And that's exactly it, the forecast promised temperatures down to -3 °C and lo and behold, right here in Maršov we have almost -10 °C and it's blowing. Never trust anyone over ten and be prepared for anything.

Before noon he arrived in Maršov Honza Kopka. He said he enjoys it. He stayed for two hours and moved on. It's true, he didn't have a very effective checpoint, but as he said himself, digging out of a cozy log cabin like this is quite a feat. Honza passes the mandatory checkpoints and sort of follows the route. He'd like to get as far as Havířov. Two hours after him the first skier arrived, Honza Gotwald. He was tired, the night without sleep was noticeable, but he still looked much better than last year when his wife had to take him away after his winning performance. He fell asleep for two hours and can't sleep again. He wanted to go on an overnight march, but wisely decided to wait and was going to leave around 3am. He's going to be in the morning. Gustav, arrived with a smile, at a great pace. We chased him off to sleep, but he wouldn't work. That's just a racer's head and adrenaline. And when they combine, it takes a long time for the body to succumb to sleep. He'll give it another chance, though. That Tomas Kadlas, who ran a short distance after Honza Gotwald, I think the adrenaline's worn off, because from the sounds of it, he's sleeping like a dead man. The skiers praise the route this year, because somehow, give or take, it was possible to ski all the way here. For example, the legendary team Polička is a golden ship in the composition of Martin Mazal and Vit Pucalek they were riding, in their words, 95 % on skis. Although when I saw their slide it looked like they had driven through mammoth shit, but driving through plowed fields was the reason this special sauce was required. The boys were joined by Vilma and, according to the virtual dot on the screen, kept in constant visual contact with them. To the disappointment of many fans, she came off pretty cool without any deeper dives into psychotropic states, but all days are not yet over. Vilma is faster here than last time and gives a wonderful performance.

And we know from virtual communication that Michal Polák is feeling well, which is very good, and he is going to go to Trutnov and kill the bum there. In Trutnov they have found a place to stay (according to the map, maybe in a church or at the town office 🙂 they are sleeping Jirka Nedas and Lenka Látová. She was a bit forced to stop because she broke her stick during the descent. I hope she'll be all right. Radka Prošková she came down from Rýchory as an experienced downhill racer and that will be enough for today. Martin Šilhán apparently moved his back after the fall and near Tomáš Brabec they'll pull as hard as they can, and when they can't, they'll fall. In Martin's case, only the bus stop is an option, tradition must be followed. (Edit 23:50 - text message from Martin - „Yesterday's back treatment with beer didn't work, today I'll try vodka....“ Sent from the bus stop)

And I know as much about the others as you do. Every ten minutes I refresh the page and they move and then sometimes they don't move and I guess they'll put their heads down on the way and continue early in the morning towards Marsh. Well, the grand finale is Gavan Hennigan. A very nice guy with a very interesting history, who went to have a little fun before his trip to Alaska. He's flying there in a week, and he's got another 1,000 miles of Alaskan wilderness ahead of him. In 2024, he was the winner of the walking category. So I hope the 150 miles in the JIBE will be the perfect final preparation for him to win, because here he is the winner in his category.

Behind Gavan, at a breakneck pace and still smiling. Lenka Fryčová in the pedestrian category, but on the 300 km route, making her the first pedestrian on this route. We expect her on the CP any minute. When I look further at the virtual dot, the last person moving apart from Lenka is Martin Šilhán, I guess he can't find the right bus stop.Simon Brázda sent us a nice message that he finally got a romantic bivouac under the gazebo next to the dugout. Those of you who know this fortified concrete line know that there is a special atmosphere hanging around each trench, so it must be a bit of a rough romance. Petr Horsák went off the track a bit, but from a close examination of the route I guess that he has acquaintances at the little house where he is, or they weren't, but now they are acquaintances and he is probably sleeping with them. We'll find out tomorrow.

And before midnight strikes, Tomáš Kadlas sets off on a night march, amazed at himself for even enjoying the outdoors. It's gotten significantly darker. Martin and Vitek have a wake-up call at 2 a.m. And even Honza Gotwald wants to leave at 3 a.m. And that Honza who is already far behind Náchod should slow down, because otherwise he will have to wait a long time in a pub with a lot of beers before we can finish 🙂