Rinjani 100: I Joined The 27K Race And Finished 4th! The Not Today Blog

I finished 4th in my first ever trail race! And with it, I found a new passion. Hiking is great but it’s slow. Trail running is a rush. It’s painful, it’s uplifting, it’s community, and also it’s my new thing. Thanks, Rinjani 100. Here’s what you did to me.

A Marvelous Trail

The Rinjani 100 is a UTMB-recognised trail race on the island of Lombok in Indonesia. Founded by ultramarathon runner Hendra Wijaya, the race entered its fourth edition this year.

There are five race categories, ranging from 27 kilometres and 1734 metres of elevation gain to 162 kilometres and 15,064 metres of elevation gain.

Gunung Rinjani, as it is called by the locals, is an active volcano famous for its view of the vast crater lake. From the summit, you can spot the Gili islands and see the giant shadow that the mountain casts on the ocean. Its volcanic soil offers both dense green forests and slippery sandy slopes.

Rinjani Is Calling And I Must Go

In mid-March, my friends Dorio, Kelvin, Simon and I sat in a restaurant in Jakarta discussing the tracking features of our Garmin watches.

Indonesia had just come out of two months with the highest recorded Covid cases ever.

One thing led to another and we decided to start the post-Covid period with a 16-week half marathon training programme. The goal was to run a half marathon in Indonesia at the end of the programme.

Due to the Covid situation, all road races were postponed until further notice. Yet, a few trail races were still to take place.

I came across these trail runs:

Rinjani 100, 27km, 1734m elevation gain, 9 hours cut-off time
Gede Pangrango Ultra, 21km, 675m elevation gain, 5 hours cut-off time
Mantra Summits Challenge, 21km, 1500m elevation gain, 7 hours cut-off time
Samosir Lake Toba Ultra, 25km, 9 hours cut-off time

Having never participated in a trail run before, numbers like elevation gain and cut-off time meant nothing to us. We decided according to the only thing we could assess. Which race had the best banner and logo?

Rinjani it is.

Spoiler: It was the right decision.

Arriving in Lombok

Simon, Dorio and I flew to Lombok on a Friday morning and spent the night in a quiet bungalow right on the volcanic sand beach of Tandjung.

We hired a driver for Saturday morning (Rp 600.000) to drop our luggage at our accommodation in Sembalun and drive us to the race venue. We had to collect our race pack, do a medical check (Rp 25.000), have our equipment inspected and attend the race briefing.

Sembalun is one of the two key gateways to Gunung Rinjani. It offers stunning views of the mountain range and the summit of this mighty volcano.

We stayed in bungalows near the Nusantara Hotel, the race venue of the Rinjani 100.

With the inspections out of the way, Simon, Dorio and I spent the rest of the day preparing food, packing race gear, stretching and carb loading.

Race Day – “I’m Nervous.”

Sunday, 4:00 am, get up. 5:00 am, scooter ride to the race venue. 6:00 am, the race start.

We started with the sunrise behind us and the mountain at its full height in front of us. The race started flat with a few climbs to the first waypoint.

We managed to get ahead of the pack right at the outset, which later turned out to be a smart idea. This way we didn’t have to overtake people later on the narrow paths of the race course.

At the first waypoint, we refilled our water bottles. From here, the daunting uphill climb began: Six kilometres with 1120 metres of elevation gain.

The next breather should be the highest point on the crater rim.

The Climb – “I’m Cramping Up!”

The higher we got, the greener the vegetation became and the denser the forest. The landscape was incredible.

I lost Simon and was by myself for the next 4.5 hours.

Soon I met participants of the longer runs on their descent from the mountain. They told me there were only 2 or 3 people from my race ahead of me.

I could hardly believe their words.

How the fuck did I manage to be in the top 5?

The trail got steeper and steeper. I could see the remaining climb on my Garmin watch and it didn’t seem to become less.

Three quarters into the climb up to the crater, my left quad began to cramp.

Damn.

The last 40 minutes to the top I spent jumping from leg to leg to prevent my leg from cramping.

And then there it was.

This surreal lake at 2600 metres. Suddenly all the pain was worth it.

As I finally reached the race’s halfway point, the medical staff gave me a painful leg massage to treat my quad.

The Downhill – “Shit This Is Dangerous! Don’t Stop Pushing.”

And off I was again on the way down.

Everyone I passed who was still on their way up confirmed that I was either in third or fourth place.

I had a chance to get on the podium!

I raced down with everything my body could give. The price I paid was about 450 almost sprained ankles haha. But my ankle wasn’t going to stop me now.

The way down was fast. It was like a rush. Every step counted. It was slippery and every move was an opportunity to trip and get hurt.

It took all my mental energy to stay present. “Come on Danny, pick up your fucking feet. Stop tripping over every rock and root.”

Be hard to catch.

We Did It

The last stretch was tough. After seven kilometres of descent, it was suddenly uphill again.

My legs were killing but I needed to keep pushing. Is there a chance to catch the person in 3^rd place?

Throughout the race, I ran the downhills and flat sections and paced the hills.

Meanwhile, I had left the national park and was back on the asphalt road. Two kilometres let’s fucking go.

From afar you could hear the Pirates of the Caribbean-type music blasting through the speakers. I turned the corner and saw the red carpet and the finish line.

Absolute elation.

An (Un-) Intentional Race Strategy

I came 4th in my very first trail race.

All three of us did amazing. Simon came in 7th and Dorio 12th.

I’m still trying to put my finger on what we did right.

My fuelling strategy must have been good. I also had a good day mentally.

I took a 90 kcal gel and a sodium tablet every half hour and “treated” myself to an energy bar at each checkpoint (they tasted like dirt). This gave me constant energy and prevented leg cramps until the last third of the summit.

Also, I was mentally prepared to endure any pain that would come my way, and I did.

I filmed a vlog during the race! Check out the video and subscribe to my channel for more adventures in the near future.

The Trail Running Community Is Amazing

What an absolute blast I had!

I was blown away by the experience that I started researching the top racers in each category. I followed them on Instagram.

The Rinjani 100 is a crazy (and somewhat dangerous) thing to do, I had to know what other adventures these people were embarking on.

If you don’t prioritise adventure, if you don’t prioritise newness, you get a calendar filled up with responsibilities and appointments. And then the years go by.
Jesse Itzler

I discovered that the Indonesian trail running community is amazing.

People comment on each other’s posts, congratulate each other on every achievement, post photos, and meet up for runs. It is powerful.

Why Not Today?

I couldn’t wait to do another race.

If you are looking for an adventure that challenges you physically, pushes you mentally and connects you with nature in a unique way, then sign up.

In a world of why bother, this could be your why not.

Why not today?

I Joined The 27K Race Of The Rinjani100 And It Was A Freaking Blast! Not Today Blog 52