Early season, different distance, same context – showing up and seeing where things stand. For Vlad Jegan, Chianti wasn’t just about the effort, but about fitting a race into a life that recently changed – balancing training, coaching at TrailRunning Academy, and being a new father. A clean effort that builds confidence for what’s next.
Chianti CUT, 75km, 3100m+.
10 questions. His raw answers. no polishing.
1. Q: When did it get dark for you? Your lowest point
A: Things were pretty smooth the first half of the race. I was on plan B in the first CP (6min behind plan A) but managed to get back on plan A until the second CP at San Polo. Somewhere between km42 and km45 I had my first low, right before I forced in a SIS Nootropics which went pretty unfortunate for me this time (never happened in training). I paused calorie intake for almost 1h to get both my soul and my heart rate back.
2. Q: Where did you lie to yourself that you’re “fine” but you weren’t?
A: After the last CP i felt pretty confident that I was on plan A and could pull it off after-all. It wasn’t realistic, I wasn’t moving smoothly anymore and the continuous ups and downs got my mindset pretty off track.
3. Q: What almost broke you?
A: The amount of climbing on the second half. Wasn’t expecting sections of though technical terrain, neither long uphills. It had both.
4. Q: What saved you in that moment?
A: The fact that it had to be done. On plan or behind it. Pushed it calories and hoped for the best. Had energy but not knowing what to expect from the route makes things pretty challenging. This is why recesses are needed.
5. Q: What part of the race would people never see on Social Media?
A: The part where i had blood in my shoes after hitting some rocks on the technical descents.
6. Q: What actually worked (nutrition, pacing, gear)?
A: Nutrition was pretty good, managed to get in around 80-90g carbs/h, pacing was actually a bit off due to the underestimate of the route. But not that far. I was actually able to finish just a couple of minutes behind plan B but pretty far from plan C.
Having poles was a good call considering my fitness level.
7. Q: What completely didn’t?
A: Almost everything worked just fine. Except for the caffeine gels. They just didn’t settle this time.
8. Q: Was this more mental or physical?
A: I guess for me was tougher mentally due to the fact that I wasn’t expecting for it to be so
demanding.
The race is really runnable but it is not easy and will take everything from you.
9. Q: One thing you’d change if you ran it again next day?
A: I would definitely force caffeine gels. But with 100mg not 200mg of caffeine.
I would eat more and carry less equipment (mandatory carrying of 2 headlamps for this race is bullshit, excuse my toscan italian)
10. Q: What’s the hard truth about running 75K+ that people don’t want to hear?
A: It will hurt and it will take everything from you. It’s not just a walk in park. Expect lows, expect highs. Expect the unexpected, plan for contingency.
BONUS Q: How wrecked are you right now, honestly?
A: 7/10 I’ve seen worse but also better days.
Muscles are sore, some cuts on the toes and ankles, nothing serious. I except full recovery in up to 5 days.
