
It was one of Patrick Kingston’s most daunting challenges to date when he took on the Krakonošov 100k
With 13,000ft of climbing to get through during the course of the 100 kilometre route, Patrick Kingston had a tough task ahead of him as he lined up for the Krakonošov Hundred. He’s certainly no stranger to the high mountains though, having completed the Nivolet-Revard 55km race in the French Alps which featured 2,860 metres of ascent. He’d also ran the CxM Sierra Blanca “Destroyer”, which was 42.2km, incorporating 2,800m of ascent.
A 100k ultra was certainly stepping it up a notch though so this was an event that was likely to take Patrick right to limit. There was also the factor that the race started at 8:30pm which meant he’d be running through the night. That would make it an even greater challenge.
The Krakonošov Hundred began with a huge climb that went on for the first four miles. There was certainly no sentiment of breaking the athletes in gently in this event. That incorporated close to 1,700ft of ascent. Reaching 10.35 miles in just under 1 hour 58 minutes, Patrick had now amassed 2,165ft of elevation. But there was still a very long way to go.
The tough climbs kept coming including one that took him to the highest point in the race at almost 5,000ft. The slopes didn’t relent but neither did Patrick and to his credit, he kept pushing through. His will and determination to make it to the end was admirable.
In a total of 16 hours 24 minutes and 24 seconds, Patrick arrived at the finish line, having covered a total of 66.24 miles. It was a huge run from Patrick and he’d finished in 51st place out of 216 runners who actually made it to the finish.
The drop out rate was quite high with 54 participants failing to complete the course which shows just how tough it was and how well Patrick did to get through it. Since the race was staged in Czechia, most of the field was made up of Czech athletes. Patrick was actually 4th fastest out of the non-Czech, non-Slovak runners though which was quite an achievement.
The winner of the race was Radek Brunner of SK Grandma who clocked a time of 11 hours 9 minutes and 30 seconds. Hana Vachova was first female and incredibly came second overall in 11 hours 16 minutes.
The experience of doing the race will no doubt be one that lives long in the memory for Patrick and the learnings he’ll take from it will be valuable for future mountain races that he may undertake.
Next up for Patrick it would be a race slightly more closer to home as he took to the start line for the Coombe Keynes 10k. That was the first race in the 2024 Purbeck Trail Series, which consists of five races. The best three results for reach runner then decide the final standings.
In last year’s Series, Stu Nicholas was narrowly edged out of top spot by City of Salisbury man Stuart Holloway. Stu was back again at the Coombe Keynes 10k though and was hoping he might be able to go one better this time round.
After that Patrick would be heading out to the French Alps for more mountainous frolics and whilst out there, he’d be taking part in the 27k Mini-Hard which featured 5,500ft of elevation. It’s certainly a good job that he enjoys testing himself on those high ascents.