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Silas Winkelmann

@paindurance

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🇩🇪Germany
Ultra Endurance Athlete
Active since 2019
Living gently - Racing hard

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55,4k / ~1600m+
Went for a spontaneous run after work to see what I can comfortably do after having to be away from training for a few weeks. Had had a good leg session three days prior that I was still feeling more than I should have, but it was a fun run nonetheless.

Was aiming for more than the 55, but there are still events coming up for the season, so now is not the time to get wrecked. by @paindurance

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7 days ago

Trying something different:
Had the chance to crew this year's #taubertal100 yesterday and in a way return to my very first long distance (100k+) ultramarathon of 2022. Time flies by, and so do the seasons, so I figured it's time to finally give back to the sport as a little side project.

My preferred spot of course is on the course, and I am looking forward to give this 100km race another go next October to see what I can still do on the road after focusing on trail races for the past 4 years.

#ultramarathon
#runningevent
#100kmultramarathon taken in Wertheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany by @paindurance

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14 days ago

Allow me to introduce my latest trinity of chaos:

Likely my dumbest start, worst strategy and luckiest finish... Z101 #mayerhofenultraks of '26.

Two days before the race I got sick and eventually spent most of the day and night in the bathroom because my gut was having serious trouble. "A great omen; what could go wrong?!" I thought, and off to Austria I went. "It'll surely stop by the time I get to the starting line." It didn't.

There were some flashbacks to my sick day at #innsbruckalpinetrailrunfestival of 2023: My worst finished race yet, including me sh*tting my pants for hours straight.

Now in '26 of course I am a little more mature than back then, so... anyway, fast forward, the gun goes off and I start running.

"This isn't smart." is a thought that really shouldn't ever shake you once you step into any competitive sports. This time around however, it rang too loud to ignore. The check engine light was definitely on, but I had decided to rev it anyways.

My body didn't like it at all, there was absolutely no amount of liquid that could replace what I had lost the days prior to the race and it showed in a constant feeling of dehydration and overall weakness.

I did everything I could to stay in the game. In that scenario, ensuring adequate liquid intake while avoiding hyponatremia is a serious piece of work, and eventually I got an acceptable grip on it.

The race is notoriously technical and the first half showed a glimpse of what was to come. I reached the 50k in just under 10h, which was part of my completely misplaced strategy of believing I could go stronger in the second half -but not in this race.

Second half was something I had never encountered before in that magnitude that made my intention virtually impossible: Giant boulder fields galore! The descent from #schoenbichlerhorn was just a taste of all the grueling terrain that would follow, and there was more with every step: More climbing than running.

I finished 29th overall, with about a third of the field making it to the finish.

tl;dr: Sucked hard; will come back.

#ultramarathon
#ultratrail by @paindurance

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a month ago

In Austria for the Z101 #mayrhofenultraks looking for somewhat of a comeback in the 100km distance category, traditionally my weakest trade... That's not exactly what happened, though. In other words: I messed this one up bad -More on that coming soon.

#ultramarathon
#trailrunning
#ultratrail by @paindurance

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a month ago

Conclusion of #kat100 :

Reaching the summit of #wildseeloder before nightfall was my priority and I began sucking some extra juice out of my legs -that part worked out as intended.

After 150km and about 8600m of elevation, I was feeling alright, but the exhaustion was starting to take toll.

This stretch of the course had a special place in my memory from my last attempt in 2024 and I wanted as much of it done as long there was any daylight. Navigating the technical, treacherous and dangerous boulder fields at night would have been incredibly difficult and I knew it could take me hours if I had to, so I put my foot down once again to avoid that scenario.

In the downhill it was quickly getting dark, I was hallucinating and losing track of the trail on multiple occasions, having to go back. I soon caught up with the now "new" front pack. Seeing their headlamps ahead, I figured I was in for a good battle towards the end...

That didn't come. No one was breaking away, no one wanted to blow up this late into the event, and I acted as our trio's pacemaker in the final 5k instead, making 100% sure that no one would catch up with us.

Finishing a 100mi trail is different from other distance categories. It's not quite a jolly moment, much more one of disbelief it's over. It always takes my mind and body a few days to step out of a game it has adapted to as if it were to never end... And then suddenly, it does.

Before the race, I had envisioned a total time around 38 hours to be acceptable, and ended up cutting almost 10 hours off it. I was worried about my ranking for a short bit: Although I had finished 17th, I was ranked 19th, a byproduct of the race being interrupted earlier due to safety hazards and the other two gentlemen reaching the shelter a little earlier than I had. I am not bitter about it as they earned it well, and I will get the opportunity to strike hard again, soon enough.

Next race: 🇦🇹⛰️Mayrhofen Ultraks, 100km

#ultratrail
#100mile
#ultramarathon by @paindurance

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2 months ago

The next day after 125km at #kat100 : Having gone through an intense night, I had taken a minute of time at Kitzbühel aid station to change socks and assess the progress so far. Until then, I had been running in soaking wet gear and socks for 94km, a consequence of me going straight past the first dropbag -risky, costly on the mechanics, but fast. My ranking and splits that night liked it, my feet didn't. I was now entering the critical phase of the race that I had thoroughly planned for, however that plan was now compromised.

I had done this move previously at the 100 mi of #zugspitzultratrail, but the KAT100 was the much wetter and the more technical race and so I had wrecked my feet much more than I had anticipated. This meant that I would have to suffer more in the technical stretches, and I was all in for it. I knew my initial strategy wouldn't work, but my legs still had the torque and so I decided to pick up some speed in the climb to make up for the issues that were going to follow.

#ultratrail
#trailrunning
#100mile by @paindurance

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2 months ago

Chasing (a little too) hard after the front pack in the first third of this years #KAT100 100-mile race. The race had to be interrupted due to thunderstorms shortly after. About 2 hours later, I had broken well away from the main field during the downhills and the long and lonely grinding phase through the Austrian Alps started.

#ultramarathon
#ultratrail
#trailrunning
#100mile by @paindurance

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2 months ago

Remembering my first ever alpine 100k race in 2023: The Swiss Alps 100! Here: Scouting the course.

#swissalps100
#ultramarathon
#100k
#memories
#trailrunning

Kit Prep: I had absolutely no idea what I was doing in terms of racing alpine and my fueling was... Interesting to say the least -but...

Eventually, I beat the odds that day and night -A lot has happened since then, and there's yet a lot more to come. I plan on going back to Swiss Alps, as it joined my now long list of "Unsettled Business" races. Remember: You're never quite ready. See you at the Finish Line! by @paindurance

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2 months ago

Keeping cool at #night52

With less than three weeks to go until racing 100 Miles at #kat100 once again, I got a bit of road racing in on Saturday. Not my day, but at least I managed to get my weak race "saved" by a somewhat strong finish on the final 15km.

#ultramarathon
#running
#endurance by @paindurance

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3 months ago

Running against my gut and feeling like an engine out of coolant at last Saturday's local 50k trailrun.

Currently, I am working some B-tier races leading up to 100 Miles at #kat100 in order to set the record straight: I can't rest on my 2024 performance there, and it's gonna be hard work, so I take every minute of preparation I can get.

Lesson of the Day: "Don't fear the puke!"
I suffered serious GI-issues early into the second half and gave away a lot of time by trying to postpone the moment of unloading the bloat. As the dam broke, I felt somewhat reset and could go back to actually racing again, but it was too little, too late.

Future SOP: Pit stop, barf, then attack again! No reason not to do on a short distance what has worked perfectly on a 100k.

Overall Ranking: 28th / 78

#heuchelbergtrail
#ultramarathon
#ultratrail
#endurancetraining by @paindurance

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3 months ago

Back to testing my alpine mojo at the 50k #tschirgantskyrun last Saturday. Also my first time doing a short distance on an alpine trail as a contrast to my 72k run at #hochkönig the weekend before. This is all just the warm-up to an intense season, but I am slowly getting where I am supposed to be.

Ranking: 22nd / 105 starters (m)
#ultramarathon
#enduranceathlete
#austria by @paindurance

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4 months ago

There must have been something in those gels...

#running #ultramarathon #endurance #racepics #heuchelbergtrail #trailrunning by @paindurance

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a year ago