#rigiberglauf

The last big undertaking of the double marathon plus Gigathlon year 2013 was the Berlin marathon in September. Training was going alright (great, actually); the only downside was that I couldn't find proper preparatory races to do a few weeks before. Nothing like a half marathon four weeks out and a last 10k two weeks before the race!

Instead, the only race I did during the specific preparation for Berlin was Rigiberglauf six weeks out, a pretty brutal mountain race in central Switzerland. Rigi calls itself the "Queen of the Mountains" and boasts a view of fourteen (or so) lakes from its peak. The race itself is a rather small event with a course of a little more than 11 km and almost 1400 m elevation difference.

Looking at the course on a map is only telling half the truth:

The other half is told by the elevation profile.

Running uphill was never a strength of mine, quite the opposite. I guess there's just too much mass to move around! Nevertheless, I was excited for the race as I knew that the region is gorgeous, and who doesn't like well organized low key events?

Getting to the race was a matter of a relaxing train ride. Once arrived, I picked up my race kit and warmed up for a few minutes, before we assembled on the main town square of Arth for the start.

I don't think there was a single passage of the course that was flat, but at least the first two kilometres were on asphalt and not that steep. Some people ran off as if it were a sprint; I tried to play it smart and hold back as the trouble would come soon enough for me.

And it did! The race was a mix of trying not to stumble, hiding surprise when old men effortlessly ran past me and trying not to feel too stupid when people I've passed earlier passed me back while I struggled in the steepest parts.

Some passages were so steep that most people walked. I tried to always run, not because it was faster (it wasn't), just to keep my rhythm. I don't think it really worked, though.

I've "summitted" Rigi often with my family as a kid, so I was very familiar with the last few steps. However, the feeling of thighs burning like hell, snail pace despite full out effort and a speaker commenting on how hard it must be were all fresh experiences!

I managed to pass one last guy with a "sprint", making up for a (very small) part of the elder gentlemen who had passed me earlier on. To add insult to injury, my age group was called "Seniors I" – excuse me?

My time of around 90 minutes was good enough for the first 25% of my age group. A humbling 23 minutes behind the winner! The view from the top did compensate a little, though. I didn't take any pictures, so this oldie from 2009 will have to do:

And, because I didn't show up on any of the racing pictures, here is a patriotic Swiss flag: