At 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, September 2, 2006 under bright sunshine and a cooling breeze, over 200 backpack clad runners (from 15 countries) sprinted off the starting line in the quaint ski town of Obesrstdorf, Germany nestled in the foothills of the Alps. Many competitors carried trekking poles to assist with the arduous rocky ascents and quad-pounding, steep descents that awaited them over the next 233 kilometers in the second annual TransAlpine Run. An eight-day stage race, requiring teams of two to stay together for a magnificent running journey across the Alps from north to south, the visually stunning course gains 14 meters as it traverses through Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, before ending in Latsch, Italy. I ran three days.
Hoofing out of town, to begin the first stage, 28 km (1496 meters vertical gain) the clump of racers thinned as the asphalt became dirt and the trail turned up. My teammate Fredrik Ölmqvist, a mountain runner from Sweden, and I got of to a spunky start, leading mixed division through the first feed zone. We were team Salomon Trail Runners. Staff-supported aid stations peppered the course, so racers needed only to carry limited fluid and snacks. For safety reasons teammates needed to stay within 100-feet of each other teams were required to carry a rain jacket, long-sleeved top and first aid supplies.
Leaving the feed station, the fast-moving forest trail turned into treacherous rocky ridgelines. My New York City training could not compare to the mountain-savvy local racers Team Salomon, Barbara and Stephan Tassani-Prell, husband and wife from Bavaria, Germany. The huffed and puffed passed us like Billy Goats on caffeine. We followed the yellow, plastic tape and yellow spray-painted dots course markings to the jutted snowy peak, where the footing got as slippery as olive oil. We kept moving at a quick clip, taking inspiration from the pastel-colored mountainside and peaceful river valley below that were eye candy for the soul … you can read more about this adventure in my article for Go Outside magazine (October, 2006 issue – to be posted soon!)
Wow, what an adventure! To hone your climbing skills just join our MMT training runs starting in January. They're not on the web site yet but I've been assured there will be at least three weekend run of 25-30 miles On the Massanutten range in preparation for the MMT 100 in the Spring. http://www.vhtrc.org/news.htm
Posted by: John Nelson, Ashburn, VA | November 18, 2006 at 06:28 AM