Hey,
I have crossed the Alps by foot and I’m still alive! It was an unforgettable week in many ways, both physically and mentally. It is not an exaggeration to state that the event is something unique – to get into a bubble for a week, in a way separated from the “normal” world, and where only the running and getting through a day matters.
A few weeks after having finished the Transalpine Run week, I still find it hard to gather my thoughts. The physical exhaustion gets diminished day by day, and I am very happy to be able to sleep the night through again. Due to the tiredness, the feelings and the general mood have changed rapidly from one extreme to another. On my first working day after the Transalpine Run I had some disappointing moments, which felt really hard, honestly said I wanted to burst into tears, which I would not normally do in a corresponding situation. Now that I’m reflecting on the situation it feels evident, why I felt that strongly. The race for sure is a demanding one. But let’s have a look at how the week turned out to be.
The first leg of the Transalpine Run 2025 was set to begin in Lech in Vorarlberg, Austria. I got the advice that it would be wise to travel to the Alps at least a day or two before the actual race so there will be some time for the acclimatisation. On the 4th of September I took a train to Zürich, Switzerland and from there we had arranged a common ride with a couple of friends that also wanted to take part at the race. In a rainy weather we arrived late in Lech am Arlberg, got our hotel rooms and had a good sleep.
On the 5th of September I turned 50 years and already a year ago I had had thoughts of, how nice it would be to have the Transalpine Run as personal birthday present, on this special day. I got surprised in the hotel by my running companions and by the hotel personnel who brought a small birthday cake with a candle on it. It surely was a nice surprise. After the breakfast we headed to the registration of Transalpine Run 2025, and got our event bags with a lot of stuff in them. It was pouring from the skies and I was feeling pretty insecure – especially, when we headed to Rüfikopf by the sail bahn. It had been snowing on the top of the mountain! What kind of conditions would we have to encounter during our week on the mountains? Fortunately the weather forecast was not that negative; at least on the first two days the weather should be fairly sunny and nice. We had a nice meal in the restaurant on the top of the mountain and traveled down to Lech in order to have a relaxing evening before the first grinding day on the trails.
The common evening event for the runners and the pasta party took place in a sports facility in Lech. It was very well crowded, like expected. We had a pasta meal to get some energy for the upcoming day, and got the nice race briefing from the race director Martin Hafenmair. The message for the first race day was comforting – there should not be any snow and bad weather expected. With this information I could sleep a bit better. However, I felt how the nervousness was there practically said all the time. I do not have a lot of experience of a race type like this – a multi-day race. Two years ago I participated at Run 2, which contains the first two legs of the Transalpine Run. To run on several days after each other is naturally a thing that I have trained for regularly – one simply cannot start on race like this without having the experience of working out on several days after each other.
The first morning of Transalpine Run began with a happy sunshine, and I felt relieved. We could at least start the week in nice conditions. We had a quick breakfast, most of the equipment had been prepared in the previous evening, basically one had to take care of the sources of energy, mix up the sports drink, prepare the gels etc. After that it was time to put on the running clothes and head to the start area. We also had to take care of our drop bags. The race organizers took care of our event bags with everything else in them, and transported them to the following hotel. This is a great service and really makes the life easier for a runner, who can concentrate on the essential duty – the running.
The first day of a multi-day race is obviously something special. Everyone is excited and full of anticipation; maybe with a bit of uncertainty as well. When the sounds of Highway to Hell by AC/DC filled up the air, I felt ready – ready to encounter almost anything the week had to provide. So off we went.
The route of the first day was still not one of the most difficult ones, as a major part of the route consisted of a long downhill section. On the other hand, even running downhill may turn out to be difficult. My strength training turned out to be beneficial, and I managed to tackle all the difficult sections. At some points one thought that the downhill section will not end ever.
After about 39 kilometers we reached Bludenz and were able to start with the recovery. The following day was not far away. We had a good meal and spent the evening in the hotel. When you have been running the whole day long – almost 40k on the mountains, you do not necessarily want to have any further activities. The leg two of Transalpine Run 2025 will be described in the following post. Until then, cheers!