Crushing another Personal Best

Posted on March 7, 2025•By John Kraijenbrink•Column

I crushed my personal best on the 30 kilometres. And I have to admit I’m pretty proud of this one. My personal best was 2 hours, 57 minutes and 38 seconds. Today I clocked 2 hours, 35 minutes and 39 seconds. That’s 22 minutes faster.

What makes it even more incredible; I ran this on the back of a 38 kilometres trail run yesterday in Stavelot, in the Ardennes in Belgium. That was a five and a half hour run, with 1.350 metres of altitude. And that’s not all. Today’s run brings my weekly total to a hundred kilometres. A big week for me.

Chianti Ultra Trail

I had to have one. Two weeks from now I’m running the Chianti Ultra Trail; 73 kilometres, with 3.000 metres of elevation. This was my last prep week.

To be fair I had hoped to run at least 46 kilometres in Belgium, but I ran slower than expected. The legs were still a bit tired of last week’s back to back runs. Kind of the same as this time, but just a little less. A 32 kilometres trail run in Spa, Belgium, followed by a half marathon the day after. That half marathon was also a personal best. I ran 1 hour 45 minutes and 20 seconds. Four minutes faster than my old 1:49:22.

Two records in two weeks

Now I have to admit, both old personal records were trail runs. Well, the half marathon for sure. The 30 kilometres was an 80/20 trail/road run. Today it was 70 percent road and 30 percent gravel. But still; 22 minutes is a lot.

Today’s run means five minutes and 11 seconds per kilometre. Next month I hope to run a new personal best at the marathon in Rotterdam. My dream time is three hours and 44 minutes. For that I have to run 5:19 minutes/kilometre. Today’s run gives me hope.

Worn-out

Okay, I was pretty worn-out at the end of my run. I probably had another five good kilometres in my legs, but no twelve. At the same time, when I’m going to run the Rotterdam Marathon I will do it with fresh legs. Not after a 38 kilometre trail run the day before.

So yeah, things are looking good. But first Chianti. Let’s see how trashed I am after that race. Only if I survive Chianti I’m allowed to start dreaming of a new personal best in Rotterdam.

Keep on running.

John Kraijenbrink

Running Coach - Massage Therapist - Yoga Teacher - Journalist - Gear Tester. I run for the joy of running. Yet, I like to challenge myself to be the best version I can be. For me that means dedicating myself to a structured training plan. You can find me on the road, trails, on my gravel bike or in the swimming pool.