Jesper's welcome Party in Vancouver

On Saturday afternoon I was invited, to attend a pot-luck party at Sibylle Tinsel's home in N.Vancouver.
I arrived way too early as I had to factor in a run in unknown territory. The fact was that I found the place real easy and the hostess told me to relax as there was pleanty of food coming and that Jesper and his new running buddie Peter would be arriving a little late, as they had gone for a run on the trails in beautiful N.Vancouver. I think this was the first time the two, soon to be inseperable runners , had run together, so I'm guessing that they needed some time on the mountain....
They arrived, there were almost thirty men women and children there.
Most of the Ultra runners of note were there, Eian Jackson and Sibylle were the hosts, Ron Adams, Wendy Montgommery and her family, the who's who of Ultra runners basically. We all wanted to meet this great man. We were not dissapointed, they were the most approchable people I have met in a long while and I had a chance to speak at length with Jesper about training, running fuel's for World conditions lots of good stuff.I felt like I knew him.He told me that mainly he ate little during the run part of his days, chocolate throughout the day , chocolate chip cookies, cola! I guess you can get those items almost anywhere on this planet. When he finished running for the day he would eat a small bowl of pasta and get up twice in the night for more cola, I'm guessing he needs to keep up his caffiene and sugar. Makes perfect sence to me.
He was extereemly complimentary about all his guest "run directors" and had many fond memories of Phil Essam and the ozzy crew. He said on many occasion if it hadn't been for Phil, he would have perrished in the desert and been eaten by dingos!
He is really looking forward to crossing Canada, and I told him, that if he was in the Toronto area in September, he cold run with me in my first 100 miler in Hellen's "Haliburton Forest 100 miler".
I could see the gears turning in his head, then he said I think I will be past there by then....
Still who knows? I was very impressed by this young Dane to say the least.
I had to leave early as I still had an hour's jog to get back to Vancouver. Thankfully it was down hill all the way and I had so much to think about, the time flashed by in an instant.
The next day he and Peter were invited to run in a BIG 10K 37,000 runners . We will have to see how they did in the Sun Run 10K I ran it too but as a last minute entry I was held back by the wave start.(blocks of 10,000 runners set off at 10 minute intervals!) I was in the white block so I had to wait for the Elite's, the yellows and the greens to go off first. I hadn't started by the time the winners were finished!
After that race I jogged back to catch the bus for the ferry, back to Vancouver Island and then a 30K jog home. The end of a three day running W/E. I ran, in Jesper's homour, a Marathon and a bit three days running.('scuse the pun.)
What a sport.........

by Carlos Castillo