The trail "officially" starts at Kattevennen, but as it is a circular route I decided to start at the nearest point to home, so I began at 6:00 in Opoeteren, the furthest north point. The sun hadn't risen, and it's already over 20 c, it was making to be a warm day!
Less than a km in and I come to a point where the GPS tells me to go one way, but there is clearly no path anymore and the route markings go a different way, I was hoping this wasn't a sign of things to come. Thankfully it was only a small diversion, and soon back on the path. The route is really well marked, but the gold-on-white signs are hard to read in the early morning darkness, especially in the forest.
After a few km a break under the trees before going over the sand dunes and a wonderful sunrise comes over the hill. Sadly this first part is mostly west bound, so the sun is behind me.
At around 23 km I reached the Klaverberg, the first decent climb from where I started, and the first sight of the industrial heritage that made up a big part of this area. The "hill" is actually the spoil-heap from the old mines. A good set of steps to climb to the top, and a decent view, before descending down to the old mine buildings.
At this point I was already thinking that my initial idea of running fully unsupported was going to have to be abandoned. It was too warm already, and the amount of fluid I had with me wouldn't be enough. Public water taps are hard to find in Belgium, so the only options would be shops / cafes. Self-supported would have to do... The cafe at the old mine buildings was closed, not surprising as it was before 9 AM still, but a few km further along I passed a tennis club that was just gearing up for a tournament that day, which meant an open cafe, so a quick bottle of coke, refill of the water bottles, and I was on my way again - According to their thermometer it was 28 c already, and going to stay like that all day!
From there until the Kattevennen and the "start" was mostly uneventful forest trails, apart from coming too close for my comfort to 2 large wild boar. At the Kattevennen there is a planetarium that looks fun, though I did pass on climbing the Bliksemtrap (Lightning Stairs).
Around 43 km I was passing a campsite, and made use of the open cafe for more cola and water. 50/50 cola to water is a great sports drink! Shortly after the rain came, and while it was some relief, it didn't really cool down, just made things humid and mean less photos as I didn't want to risk my phone. 54km, and the halfway point, happened to be another campsite, with a cafe, and while refilling the water bottles I also treated myself to a, albeit non-alcoholic, Leffe beer.
The route to Terhills is pretty easy going, a nice mix of heathland and forest, nothing technical, mostly runnable. But I know the peaks at terhills, and I knew what was to come, so one last cafe stop at 82 km to prepare. Terhills is another of the old mine sites, and the spoil heaps make for some very steep climbs. They might not be that long, but you know about them, especially on tired legs and for someone who lives in a very flat place. That said, cracking views once you get up!
In my mind after Terhills it was easy running back to the start, little did I know the route was closed due to construction of a new cycle bridge over the road. Unfortunately they hadn't left a good way around, but being the weekend, and no workers around, I found a path with just a small amount of climbing needed. I do fully appreciate the effort and investment into new "snel" bike paths going on in Belgium, it's nice to see. Just wish they hadn't closed the existing path in the process...
That last obstacle cleared, and it was on to the finish. Some mental maths and a sub-13 hour time was possible, so pushing the last few kms and managed to get back in 12 Hrs 52 minutes, pretty pleased all told...