Sleepless in Spain

Fotos: SCYENCE / Sebastian Samek

Marion Dziwnik’s reckoning with the Badlands ultra-endurance race

Badlands 2022 is over. The third edition of one of the toughest self-supported ultra-endurance races in the world ended today – this year with 785 kilometres and almost 15,000 metres of elevation gain to be completed across the south of Spain. In addition to the many metres in altitude, there was also the crossing of the only desert in Europe – alone, of course, and without support from third parties. Marion Dziwnik was the first woman to cross the finish line in 2021 after 79 hours and was at the start again this year. She had a bone or two to pick with this race. She brought us her exclusive race report directly from Spain and answered a few questions about her preparation and her bike.

Sleep-deprived cycling is too intense

Marion, you did it! How was it?

I arrived at 3:30 in the morning after 67 hours and 41 minutes – so about 12 hours faster than last year, absolutely great. It went so much better. I “only” came fifth among the women, but this year there was really tough competition. Overall, I finished in 27th place.

The first day started really well, I was in a good mood and the weather was much better than last year. This time it was a maximum of 25 degrees, last year it was sometimes around 40. On average, I was about 2 km/h faster and basically rode super efficiently, only taking short breaks and working my way up the field bit by bit. I rode close to Luisa (Luisa Werner) and Christiana (Christiana Tamburini) most of the time; Lael (Lael Wilcox, professional ultra-distance cyclist, Ed.) and Cyntia (Cyntia Frazier, Ed.) were steaming away in front at a fierce pace.

On the first day, I made it to Gor, kilometre 265. That’s the last stop before the Sierra de los Filabres, an unpopulated desert with nowhere to fill up on water. That’s why I decided to have a short sleep beforehand so I could go into this section fresh and motivated and my night ride would not be so long. It’s not a good idea to sleep in the Sierra – first there’s a 1000 m ascent and at 2000 m altitude in total, it’s incredibly cold at night. The plan was to sleep for two hours, but after just one hour, I was awake again and felt fit enough to continue.

The funny thing was that the routes I only saw in the dark last year I rode in the light this time and vice versa. That was cool because I knew it wouldn’t be too hard a night in terms of riding.

I arrived in Gérgal at noon. Christiana and Luisa were always hot on my heels, with only the two breakaways (Lael Wilcox and Cyntia Frazier, Ed.)  ahead of us. Shortly before the Desierto de Tabernas, at about half of the total distance, all three of us took a break. Last year I had my absolute low point in Tabernas. It was dark; I had just seen on the altitude profile that it was flat and set myself the goal of making it to the beach. I thought I’d just ride on through, but this stretch is really ugly, deep gravel sand which is partly unrideable, at least for me.

And that segment is also really long, it feels like 10 km. I was accordingly slow. At least this year I was prepared for it. I had hoped that I would manage better in daylight, but unfortunately, that wasn’t the case – it was really shitty once again and I swore a lot. But at least I knew what to expect and that I would get through somehow. On the evening of day two, I reached San José.

This time I had pretty much three stages that were about equally hard. My plan worked out very well, I always had about 20 hours of cycling time and the rest for sleep and breaks. In San José, I took the opportunity to look for a power outlet to recharge all my devices and treated myself to three hours of sleep that night, because I realised that the one hour from the previous night hadn’t been enough.

Nonetheless, I am a bit annoyed that I missed the other women’s train at the end. But I would probably have been completely destroyed by the last third at the latest and it wouldn’t have changed the overall results at all.

Straight after crossing the finish line I was initially pretty depressed though, as I had had to battle to keep myself from falling asleep right until the end and it was hell. My only thought for the last four hours was that I should never do it again and it was the stupidest idea of my life to ride Badlands again, it was that bad. That managed to keep a lid on my joy for a while.

Now we’re getting there, step by step, and my mood could really change in the next few days. Right now, though, I think that this sleep-deprived cycling is too intense and it could have been my last race where you have to cycle through the night as it really destroyed me. If you want to be right at the front in this kind of race you have to really bring your all, the standard has seriously increased for the women too. You have to cycle efficiently, consistently, at speed and you can’t even sleep, nowadays that’s just par for the course. If that’s the element I have to tighten up on, then I’m out. That’s my feeling right now.

The next day we got in touch with Marion again and asked if she still feels that way.

I’m happy with my effort, but in principle, I would rather be closer to the front in such a race … and I think, for me, the price is just too high.

Fatigue caught up with me so badly that I struggled to keep my eyes open

As far as tiredness goes it was okay – I had slept super well in the preceding weeks and believe I had built up a kind of sleep buffer – but it felt as though my body had not recuperated properly in the one hour. Everything hurt and I really felt it on the second day. And since I knew that the third stage would be really hard again, I had to go in as fit as possible.

Considerably more refreshed, I continued on to Almeria. However, a look at my mobile phone revealed bad news: three women had overtaken me during the night. Sophie Jail, who apparently hadn’t slept that night, and Christiana and Luisa, who had slept less. Christiana and Luisa were only a short distance ahead of me and after the first stop I had caught up with them and was the first on the climb up to Almeria. But Luisa quickly reappeared, as she clearly had very good legs that day.

We rode together for a while, but at some point, she took off and I had to stop myself from chasing her because I knew it was going to be really hard. I am an efficient rider and Luisa is a fast one, so I thought I might still catch her up, but unfortunately, I didn’t manage to.

I slumped quite a bit on the last day, fatigue caught up with me so badly that I struggled to keep my eyes open and just wanted to get through. I always had the goal of beating my time from last year and I already knew that I would easily do it.

The standard has seriously increased for the women

All in all, I am super happy with my result. I am pleased with how well everything went. More than anything, I didn’t want to make the mistakes I made last year. I had so many problems with finding a place to sleep, with eating and drinking, and I didn’t have any of that this time. I ate well, never once felt weak, always drank enough, always found a suitable place to sleep.

Nonetheless, I am a bit annoyed that I missed the other women’s train at the end. But I would probably have been completely destroyed by the last third at the latest and it wouldn’t have changed the overall results at all.

Straight after crossing the finish line I was initially pretty depressed though, as I had had to battle to keep myself from falling asleep right until the end and it was hell. My only thought for the last four hours was that I should never do it again and it was the stupidest idea of my life to ride Badlands again, it was that bad. That managed to keep a lid on my joy for a while.

Now we’re getting there, step by step, and my mood could really change in the next few days. Right now, though, I think that this sleep-deprived cycling is too intense and it could have been my last race where you have to cycle through the night as it really destroyed me. If you want to be right at the front in this kind of race you have to really bring your all, the standard has seriously increased for the women too. You have to cycle efficiently, consistently, at speed and you can’t even sleep, nowadays that’s just par for the course. If that’s the element I have to tighten up on, then I’m out. That’s my feeling right now.

The next day we got in touch with Marion again and asked if she still feels that way.

I’m happy with my effort, but in principle, I would rather be closer to the front in such a race … and I think, for me, the price is just too high.

There I slept on asphalt, which was good …

After your victory in 2021, why did you find yourself at the start line once again?

I made a few mistakes last year and thought to myself, “That can definitely be done better.” It was my first race where I had to cycle overnight and sleep outside. As a result, I had to learn a lot of things pretty much during the race. On the last day, for example, I was really inefficient. I had the finish line in mind and wanted to push through the last 50 kilometres without sleeping. But it’s all uphill, the terrain is very rough, you’re crazy slow and need at least five hours, if not longer, just for that last stretch. The race was super hard, also because I made so many mistakes. And that’s why I wanted to just give the race another shot, knowing what I’m letting myself in for. I did also want to be faster than last year, but not by cycling harder and pushing, rather by having become more efficient and making fewer mistakes.

What specific elements did you want to optimise this year then?

Last year I thought I would definitely sleep well in nature, far from civilisation, where I would have my peace and soft ground. In the end, that was not the case at all. I noticed that that doesn’t work for me, packed my sleeping stuff up and rode further until I found a few lonely houses. There I slept on asphalt, which was good because the ground was level and there was a bit of light for me to unpack and pack my things.

What else did you want to improve this year besides sleep?

Food. Last year I ate far too little, the heat made it impossible to eat enough. The only things that worked were gels and carb drinks, so I packed more this year. I do also eat something proper, but I burn 8,000–9,000 calories per day and at 40 degrees Celsius you don’t manage to get that much down. That would be nine pizzas! I have to carry a lot of my provisions with me as the first two thirds of the course are tactically interesting, there aren’t many aid stations. There are several key places where you should stock up. After Gor there is nothing for 120 kilometres.

Does that also mean you have to haul enormous quantities of water with you?

I take five litres with me, but there are water sources from time to time. In the 120 kilometres behind Gor, however, there aren’t, but then the altitude is above 1,000 metres and it isn’t as hot.

“As a result, I had thighs like Robert Förstemann, but the strudel withstood the trip and I was snacking on it 50 kilometres later.”

Marion Dziwnik

Did you plan this year differently because you had won the race before, or did you just want to optimise your own performance?

The latter. I didn’t know what the competition would be like and there were a few strong women at the start line again. Each of them had already won something this year. Lael Wilcox was there, the big shot of women’s ultracycling. I just wanted to measure myself by my own performance though and see how far I come.

When I think about last year and what a performance I turned in, I still think it was unreal. On three hours of sleep I can’t manage day-to-day life, 5,000 metres of elevation gain three days in a row is wild. I’m still in awe of my own effort. During the race last year I discovered a bit of my own superpower, particularly the adrenaline that pushed me when I knew I was in the lead.

All the women on the podium had already won races this year. You won the Orbit360 series for the second time a few weeks ago. How does this series compare to a multi-day race?

The big difference is that with Orbit360 you’re cycling in stages. But doing so you do learn how to cycle efficiently really well. The routes are so long that it is really important to optimise your breaks. I often ended up in the top five although I didn’t cycle super hard. At some Orbits I had a break time of less than five minutes and that’s what it comes down to with ultradistances.

With gravel racing there is also the psychological battle with the fact that you don’t necessarily advance as you’d wish. You don’t just have kilometres and elevation gain. There are moments where you can only move very slowly or have to hike somewhere, during which you have to stay positive nonetheless.

Did you plan the Orbits as painstakingly as the Badlands?

The last two years, yes. I looked at the map and the elevation profile and took note of where I can get food and drink. This year I didn’t do that though, as it never happens as you expect it to anyway. I’ve also developed a superpower for finding water, at least in Germany. Cemeteries, houses, barns – it’s ultra fast. Cycle up, fill your bottle and you’re back on the road in a flash. That worked well this year.

Did you plan your training with specific challenges in mind?

Last year I had a serious plan, in which I had incorporated the Orbits. During the week I had a triple block of FTP building and at the weekend an Orbit. I did that for three weeks and then a recovery week, it worked really well. This year that wasn’t possible as I was often travelling for work and as a result couldn’t train so systematically. I went jogging more often and planned the Orbits so I could do them wherever I was travelling for work. That worked better than expected, my FTP even improved a bit. Otherwise, I also recuperated unbelievably well because I simply have a lovely life at the moment. Although I trained less this year, I’m fitter, which is cool to see.

Did you focus solely on FTP during your training because you don’t need to sprint on such long tours anyway?

Exactly. In principle, you don’t even need to go on any long tours, I just do that for my head and for the mental training, for the lows on long rides. Physiologically, sitting on the bike for over five hours isn’t constructive, intervals make more of a difference.

The physical and mental preparation seems to have gone really well, how about the bike?

The bike is much lighter, it’s a carbon prototype of the new Votec VRX with carbon attachments. The gears stayed the same, the transmission is a mullet build with 40 teeth at the front and a 10–52 MTB cassette at the rear. It’s gold for all the elevation gain you have to pedal up. I find the new bike faster, either because I sit differently or because it’s lighter.

What tyres were you using? From the photos, it looks as though mountain bike tyres wouldn’t have been out of place.

I ride Continental Terra Trail in 40 millimetres, it’s a super tyre! Mountain bike tyres are not my style, I also once tested the Continental Terra Hardpack in 50 millimetres. I don’t feel comfortable with such fat tyres, I feel like I’m on a tractor. And the race has a lot of elevation gain, so it’s important to ride light. If it gets too mountain-bikey, I push the bike along anyway, I can’t ride deep sand even with 50-millimetre-wide tyres so 40 millimetres suit me fine.

What else about your equipment is particularly important to you?

My bag setup is lighter, last year I still had a big bivvy bag and a down jacket with me. I took them out and my pack lost a kilo. Now I sleep in an emergency bivouac with a silk sleeping bag on a camping mat. That’s how I could ride with the bags from the Apidura Racing series. I wear cargo bibs by Velocio, they’re really cool. On my last long tour before the race, I stopped at a bakery and stuffed a piece of strudel in. As a result, I had thighs like Robert Förstemann, but the strudel withstood the trip and I was snacking on it 50 kilometres later. I always have my phone in a pocket and that way can take photos during the journey super easily, no other pockets work so well for this. Particularly when riding gravel and there isn’t much time for pics as you need both hands on the bars sooner rather than later. I also wore a hydration vest by Apidura. I wear everything I have by Apidura anyway because the brand invited me and gifted me my starting place. You can fit two litres in it, but I have about another three on my bike. My tools are under the bottom bracket, but I have two bottles in the frame and two on the fork. 

Thanks for the talk