Lessons from running at Trail of the Kings at Lake Toba by UTMB

Every race begins long before the starting gun fires. It begins with a plan — a carefully constructed framework that serves not as an absolute mandate, but as a living document that breathes and adapts with the unpredictable nature of endurance racing.

Photo by Laurentiu Morariu on Unsplash

My recent experience at the Lake Toba UTMB race crystallized a fundamental truth that many runners learn the hard way: having a race plan isn’t about rigid adherence to times and splits, but about creating a thoughtful skeleton system that can flex and adapt when reality inevitably diverges from expectation.

The Philosophy of Planning

I entered Lake Toba with a refuel card meticulously calculated for twelve hours and fifty minutes. It was detailed, considered, and represented weeks of preparation. My final time came in at thirteen hours and thirty minutes — forty minutes slower than projected.

Race Fuel Card

To some, this might represent failure. To me, it represents exactly why we plan in the first place: not to achieve perfection, but to have a baseline against which we can measure, analyze, and ultimately improve.

The purpose of a race plan extends far beyond the race itself. It creates a reference point, a documented snapshot of intentions that can be compared against actual performance.

Humans are notoriously unreliable witnesses to their own experiences. We tell ourselves we’ll remember the crucial details — the moment when energy flagged, the precise conditions that made a particular section challenging, the exact timing of nutritional intake. But we can’t even reliably recall what we ate for breakfast three days ago. Stop kidding yourself. Without written records, without detailed notes taken before, during, and after the race, there’s nothing concrete to reference for future improvement.

This is where the real value of planning reveals itself. My race plan showed me precisely where things went according to expectation and, more importantly, where they didn’t. Prior to checkpoint four, I was on track — actually slightly faster than projected. The plan was working. Then came the mountains, and everything changed.

When Plans Meet Reality

The race began at six in the morning, under the relatively cool conditions that characterize early Indonesian mornings. But by ten o’clock, the heat arrived with vengeance (surprise surprise), persisting until three in the afternoon. This wasn’t totally unexpected — it was in the plan. What the plan couldn’t account for was the specific nature of the terrain between checkpoints four and five.

The narrow track, recently cut through with fresh grass that made the ground treacherously slippery, wasn’t a real running path in any traditional sense. It was something bashed out specifically for this race, raw and unrefined.

In some sections, the incline proved so steep that without ropes for assistance, every step demanded careful calculation. The risk of injury loomed large, and an injury wouldn’t just affect me — it would create problems for the supporting crew as well.

This is where planning meets its most important test. The plan said I should maintain a certain pace. The reality said that maintaining that pace would risk injury on unstable, steep terrain in oppressive heat. The plan adapted. I slowed down. I stayed safe. The plan worked, even though the times didn’t match the card.

The Small Decisions That Echo

At checkpoint five, I made a decision that would haunt the remainder of my race. I forgot to get ice. The sky had clouded over, and I convinced myself it would be fine, perhaps even that rain was coming. I thought too much.

The cloud cover proved brief, and the heat remained relentless. The lesson crystallized immediately: don’t overthink at aid stations. Take what’s offered. If you don’t need it later, you can discard it. But trying to predict future conditions while already fatigued is a recipe for poor decision-making.

This single oversight encapsulates why we plan and why we record. Without documentation, I might vaguely recall being hot during the race. With notes, I have a specific, actionable lesson: always take ice at mountain checkpoints when temperatures are high, regardless of temporary cloud cover. This specificity transforms experience into improvement.

Beyond the Race: The Broader Adventure

Racing in Lake Toba demanded more than physical preparation — it required mental adaptation to a completely different context. The adventure began before the race itself, with challenges that tested patience and perspective in ways that long climbs and technical descents never could.

Booking what I thought was a straightforward private tour turned into an education in flexible expectations. The price displayed on the Price List Board in the Tour Agency read 950,000 rupiah. By the time negotiations concluded, it had climbed to 1.2 million rupiah.

Then, on the morning of departure, an additional 200,000 rupiah was requested. Whether this constituted a scam or simply the local business culture, these incremental “extras” leave a bitter taste for visitors.

For future runners contemplating this race, awareness of such practices becomes essential preparation — not because the amounts are prohibitive, but because unexpected costs compound stress when you’re already managing race logistics.

Traveling solo also meant absorbing all costs without the relief of sharing expenses. Hopefully, more organized group tour options will emerge as the race develops.

Infrastructure as Teacher

The journey to and around Lake Toba provided unexpected perspective. Small roads riddled with potholes created slow traffic and extended travel times far beyond what maps might suggest.

For someone from Singapore, where infrastructure challenges are addressed with remarkable speed and efficiency, this proved instructive rather than merely frustrating. It helped me understand how extraordinary my own country’s development has been, and how our ability to solve logistical problems rapidly has calibrated expectations that much of the world simply cannot meet.

This realization extends to race organization itself. The geographical challenge of having major hotels on one side of the lake and a large open space suitable for a race expo on the other creates inherent logistical friction.

If Lake Toba UTMB aspires to attract significant international participation, this fundamental organizational challenge will definitely need addressing.

Maintaining Focus Through Imperfection

Accommodation proved another exercise in managing expectations. The hotel quality fell short of what the price suggested it should deliver, but I continued staying because this trip was never about luxury or relaxation.

The mission was clear: experience, running, collecting UTMB running stones toward qualifying for the 2026 finals, and recording content for my YouTube channel.

The humble hotel’s swimming pool, reasonably clean and typically empty when I used it, served perfectly for drying my running vest and cap on the abundant deck chairs. Laundry service at 40,000 rupiah per kilogram kept logistics manageable. Should I have stayed at the Marianna Hotel instead? Perhaps. But maintaining focus on core objectives — racing and documenting — meant not dwelling on accommodation comfort.

This mindset of focused purpose carried through every challenge. Multiple times demanded stepping up, embracing adventure, remaining calm rather than succumbing to frustration or anger. Faith in the process, in the plan’s flexibility, in the decision to undertake this journey at all — this became its own kind of training.

The Verdict

Overall, Lake Toba delivered a solid adventure. The weather, while not as cooling as expected at elevation, remained manageable. The local people demonstrated consistent friendliness. Food proved safe — no stomach upsets or poisoning to derail training or recovery. The race organization functioned as well as could be reasonably expected given the geographical constraints and developing infrastructure.

Most importantly, I came away with data. Specific, documented, actionable insights about pacing on technical terrain, about decision-making at aid stations, about managing heat and equipment. Without a plan, I would have only vague impressions. With it, I have a foundation for improvement.

The plan called for twelve hours and fifty minutes. Reality delivered thirteen hours and thirty minutes. But the plan succeeded completely, because its real purpose was never about hitting a specific time. It was about creating a framework for learning, for adapting, for building toward future performances with wisdom earned through documented experience.

In that measure, Lake Toba was exactly what it needed to be: not perfect, but perfectly instructive.

[embed]

Here’s a documentary video about the Trail of the Kings race held in October 2025.