Day 7

The allotted time to collect the 300 km experience ended at 9:00 am on Thursday. And everyone made it ahead of time, we already know that, which is great. Actually, it hasn't happened in our four-year history that we've had to pull someone out of a race for missing the time limit. Most of the time, fate or judgment intervenes. The only one who still had the same amount of experience as before was Tomas Brabec. He made a special playpen for his heel blister crater and gave it so much love that he can't be mad. At the home almond tree we also discussed with the other Tomas (Lovas) the experienced and the upcoming one. TB wanted to head out at 7am, but when my alarm went off at that time, I pricked up my ear and didn't detect any sign of movement. I mentally thanked him for falling asleep. He finally got going around 8:30. In good spirits and enjoying the fact that every step meant unfamiliar terrain and unexpected experiences. And especially closer to the goal.

We threw TL on the train so he could follow his dear half, and we set off to move to Rožnov pod Radhoštěm for another 470 km CP. 2.5 hours by car, with occasional rain and disappearing snow. On foot for two to three days with everything that can happen. We heard from TB in Ovčárna, where he took a well-deserved break. He said the trip over the Jesenik ridges was pretty tough. Rough Jeseník lives up to its name and is even Sprosty in places. As TB writes - “Sometimes it's pissing, foggy, the snow is either not going or it's ice. I take off my skis and walk already. But I enjoy it very much.” And that's a very important mantra, because the weather doesn't seem to be quite preparing him for Lad's winter fairy tale. He's currently (10:30pm) descending down the Jeseníky, having missed two shelters, which is good because he can't completely dawdle. Let's hope he makes it as far as possible.

Well, what else? I guess we can thank our helpers for now, without whom we would not have been able to get the first two CPs done. Karel Francke, or my dad, traditionally took over his function at the CP in Maršov - to prepare the asylum in the Karolínka cabin and especially to cook the broth, which is improving year by year. And traditionally in Špindl and later in Maršov Lenka Zemínová took care of the needs of all participants. She also managed the role of a driver, which was especially appreciated by Hostea. We will probably see Lenka next year at the start as a participant. Our respectful thanks to both of them. And also thanks to Aunt Věra for not hesitating and arriving at the start to see the others and start the race.

Another and essential part of the JIBE family is the whole Vertone crew. They help us provide quality, light, saturation, comfort, outfits, a helping hand and much more. We appreciate their help, human touch and most importantly sharing the same idea of the picture of this business immensely.

What else do I need to do to meet the daily standard? For example, that this year's edition was playful in name. We had four Tomáš, three Lenka. And then the last names - Lovas, Nedas, Kadlas....it can't be a coincidence. And then we also involuntarily underwent some scientific research. You can probably imagine what it looks like at CP when the shoes leave the foot and the socks finally get room to fill. And that led us to an interesting conclusion - all racers' feet smell almost identical. Like musk, everyone has it identically, some strongly, some mildly, some almost pungently. But the feet... they were all equal. After prolonged application, I was able to discern little differences between the girls and the boys. The guys are slightly sourer, whereas the girls are sort of sweeter, which is proof that just JIBE girls are sweet and cool. But it still stinks whether it's sweet or sour.

So when you think of it like that sometimes, check in on how TB is doing and send him a thought.