The 100km Relay Project: Part II – Hundested to Copenhagen

This is Part II of how to keep it running and pass time during a global pandemic, with a new and grueling relay project from Hundested to Copenhagen – organised and executed by Nicklas and Simon from the SAYSKY office, together with good friends Alex and Lucas.

You might recall that we took on a similar challenge in the Summer of 2020, by relay running it from Møns Klint to Copenhagen (130km – 5 runners).

Fast forward to May 2021 and we’re back with a new team, new route, new strategy and absolutely no clue about how it was going to impact the result and overall experience. One thing was sure though – it was going to hurt, but we’d be in it together and hopefully have loads of fun along the way.

Check out the video, pictures, and full coverage just below the quick stats.

The Quick Stats:
Runners: 4
Cars: 1
Date: May 8, 2021
Start: Hundested
Finish: Copenhagen
Distance: 106,72km
Moving time: 6:52:40
Average pace: 3:52/km
Elevation: 396m
Calories: 10.689

Runners:
Alex Abrahamsen (@mrabrahamsen)
Lucas Kristensen (@lugioh)
Nicklas Fenger (@nicklasfenger)
Simon Caspersen (@simoncaspersen)

See the full Strava workout here.

THE 100K RELAY PROJECT

On the back of a positive relay experience from last year, we wanted to mix it up with a new route and new strategy, with more emphasis on speed, shorter intervals, and easier transitions along the way.

The format was still the same. One person running all the time, while the rest of the team was being transported by car to the next transition point, where the team GPS watch would be passed on as a relay baton.

We opted for a very scenic route along the coast from Hundested to Copenhagen, with a goal of keeping the average team pace sub 4:00/km. Would this be possible? Honestly, we had no clue, and the strategy wasn’t really decided before driving up north, very early in the morning…

HOW IT WENT DOWN

We met up at 6.00 am in the morning, strategising in the car, amped for the race and 7.00 am start, but also still somewhat just waking up, from a night of little sleep. Simply because you’re excited. No official time or distance to beat. It’s just you vs. you. Over and over again. And somehow this is more than enough to get you pumped and ready to go.

Everyone had their own average pace goals, which hopefully would combine into the sub 4:00/km team goal, by the time we’d reach Copenhagen.

After debating back and forth, we ended up with a 3km-lap-per-person strategy, to keep momentum and speed throughout the day. Ultimately, resulting in 9x3km per person. Which proved to be just as brutal as it sounded.

THE RESULT

Copenhagen was reached some seven hours later with an average pace of 3:52/km. It’d been a long, but beautiful trip, with crisp and favourable weather conditions. The strategy worked. But it was also super stressful. Breaks were short and had to be spent carefully balancing the needs for eating, drinking, changing gear, massaging sore muscles, and getting ready to go again – while also taking turns driving and navigating to the next transition point.

In conclusion – a super dope race experience together with some of your best running buddies. Topped off with a well-deserved finish line round of beers and afternoon nap.

SO WHY EVEN DO THIS?

This is probably the question we were asked the most, when preparing the project and sharing our thoughts with fellow friends and runners. The short answer is quite simple – for the challenge. For the fun of it. For the team. And for the battle against yourself.

However, the more elaborate answer would say that it’s about comradery, leaving the comfort zone, and getting to spend a full day running, while covering longer distances and exploring new places you’ve never run before – something otherwise reserved for hardened ultra-runners.

Plus, we hope to inspire others to join us at some point in the future, where we’d love to organise it more officially as a SAYSKY race.

We’ll keep you posted.