Eight to nine hours. Karel Sabbe didn’t need any more sleep after successfully completing the grueling Barkley marathons. “Pride and contentment dominate,” says Sabbe. But the adventure has also demanded a lot from him. “My brain completely shut down.”
After a short night’s sleep – given the circumstances – Karel Sabbe took time out in Tennessee to look back on his adventure with VTM News. “I slept eight to nine hours. I’ve had many mixed feelings before, but now pride and satisfaction prevail after bringing it to a successful conclusion. My body is completely broken now – I have never felt so weak.”
The fact that Sabbe had to go all the way to reach the finish on time illustrates his story from the last run. “It was a big hallucination. My brain shut down from the sleep deprivation and physical exertion. I no longer knew who or what I was doing for, that it was a running race… Fortunately, after months of preparation, I knew what the track looked like. Being so close to the time limit gave me an adrenaline rush and brought me back to my senses. I experienced the departure consciously.”
For Sabbe it was his third and last participation in the Barkley Marathons. “I won’t do it again. The approach was to do everything again for it. The preparation is so intense: it puts a strain on your social life, you see your wife and child less… It’s nice that I can close the chapter by going out.”
Normally Sabbe was already on duty as a dentist on Sunday. “But thanks to a colleague who wants to take over, I don’t have to go back to work until Monday.”
Source : HLN