The Great Escape 2026

Returning to this years Great Escape in the Ardennes was something I was looking forward to with a mix of excitement and fear.

I knew I was in the need of an adventure and challenging my limits and comfort zone again.

On the other hand, between family, work and life was little time to prepare for the sheer size of this task.

This was my third Great Escape. One finish 3 years ago, where I was in the prime of my training. I finished an Ironman that year and spent a good deal of time committing to training plans. But with the birth of my daughter 2 years ago, priorities shifted.

And when I started at The Great Escape last year I needed to give up and DNF’d at the halfway point after 80km. Mentally and physically totally exhausted.

The past 12 months, still no structural training. However, I integrated training in my daily life. Always stairs, no escalators. Walking everywhere where reasonably possible. Always carrying either the baby in a backpack on the back or a backpack with a 8-12kg rucking steel plate.

And mental preparation. Manifesting that finish and burning it into my mind. Knowing how hard it will get during those 2 days and nights out there and that my mind will tell me to quit.

And then the day arrived. It was still hectic, packing all the gear for such a trip is not a simple task. I tried to work with checklists but ultimately ended up drawing from my experience of previous ultra hikes of the same distance.

I hardly forgot anything, besides my food and snacks for the first 40km. While I was a bit annoyed by it, I was still full from pasta dinner and when the race started at 8pm on Friday, I felt ready. Physically and mentally.

We were around 60 hikers. Growing in numbers over the years. And I knew most of them won’t see the finish line. They will give up and call it a day (or night). Broken physically but especially mentally from the constant ups and downs, 6000D+ gets into your head easily if you are not prepared to suffer and take them one climb at a time.

My own strategy is simple: Getting the first 100km out of the way. With as little damage to the body as possible. Feetcare is the number 1 priority. I am very sensitive to blisters. And while I learned to accept blister pain (the trick is to acknowledge there is a maximum pain, like a 10/10 pain cause by blisters. While it’s pretty fucking painful, it doesn’t get worse. And then it consumes less mental energy to accept that pain.) but even better is to prevent blisters in the first place.

And it begins a couple of weeks ahead of the hike. Putting special creams on your feet which reduce irritation and remove excess skin. Making the feet more resilient.

On top, 2 pair of socks. One liner toe sock and one wrightsock double layer sock. So essentially 3 layers to take away all the friction. Plus taping exposed toes on the outside, a bit of “body glide” or Vaseline between the toes and heel taping.

Sounds like a lot but for 40hrs in your shoes and almost 180.000 steps, it’s the minimum you want to do and the support I want to give my toes.

And not to forget shoes with a huge toebox. My feet swell and upsize my shoes about 2 numbers, making them a 45.5.

Well, so much about practicalities. Back. to getting the first 100km out of the way. I know very well how to pace myself. And my ego does not get. into the way. I literally am the last one crossing the start line. Knowing 90% of the other participants over pace themselves in the first 50km. And that’s exactly where I will start to collect and overtake them again.

It is less about the positions and overtaking others, but more about playing it smart. 160km is such a long distance that there is plenty of time. No need to rush in the beginning. On the contrary, I always try to ease into the race. Tuning into my body and mind, recognising any signals which may be important and preparing for what’s ahead.

The first night is always special. Slowly stripping away the comforts we are used to. No cosy home and sofa. No shower and scrolling on the phone. Just the darkness of the forests. Heightened senses and the sound of placing one foot in front of the other.

I promised myself one thing this year: to have fun. This is why I started ultra hiking in the first place. While it’s not fun to hike such an extreme distance. It’s fun to walk through and experience the process. Slowly stripping away the armour of everyday life. And getting to the core of oneself through physical and mental exhaustion and sleep deprivation.

This is not everyone’s kind of fun, but I love it. A process of renewal within 48hrs only.

There is so much more to write about this adventure, and eventually I will do so on my Substack. But now I need to get some sleep to go for a hike with my daughter tomorrow.

(And yes, I finished the hike. One of the 20 The Great Escape finishers. 40 others did not - remember, the overpacing. With a big smile and crazily sleep deprived as I only slept 15 minutes in those two nights. And walking my daughter to daycare on Monday morning, sharing the stories about the adventure with her)