100 Day to Red Bull X-Alps Start

News Release / 28.03.2013

The countdown has begun! There are just 100 days until 32 athletes from 21 countries set off on the world's toughest adventure race. The starting gun for the 2013 Red Bull X-Alps will fire in Salzburg on July 7th, ending months of preparation by some of the world’s top adventure athletes. The eagerly awaited 2013 race looks set to be tougher than ever – race organizers have picked a gruelling route, which at 1,031km as the crow flies, is almost 200km longer than the 2011 edition.

Athletes have been training around the world in rain, snow and sun, preparing for every aspect of this unique race. At the top of all athletes' agenda is the need to build endurance and mental stamina. Thomas de Dorlodot (BEL) and Ferdinand van Schelven (NED) focused on this by completing an epic 850km Red Bull X-Alps style hike and fly across the New Zealand Alps that took them 28 days.

They were not the only athletes to migrate south in search of a challenging adventure. Babu Sunuwar (NEP) and Mike Küng (AUT2) both headed to the high altitudes of Kilimanjaro, Africa's highest mountain. Sunuwar gained a permit and successfully flew from the summit, becoming the first Nepalese pilot to do so. Paul Guschlbauer (AUT1) also trained in East Africa, working on his running preformance in Iten, the famous "Home of Champions", which has produced dozens of Kenya's legendary long-distance runners. But there were many athletes who embraced the winter conditions — Lars Budack (GER2), was among those to run mountain marathons in the snow and sub-zero temperatures of Europe.

Other athletes meanwhile recruited some unlikely training partners. Honza Rejmanek (USA1), took to carrying his four-year-old son on his back during training runs! And Red Bull X-Alps legend Toma Coconea (ROM) — who's competed in every edition so far — roped in unsuspecting tourists in the Himalayas into his training plan. “I run uphill to the take-off, then fly through the valley, terrifying the tandem customers,” he said.

Whatever path athletes have so far taken, in 100 days all will be revealed as they line up for the adventure of their lives!

For more athlete updates, check out the news page on our website, www.redbullxalps.com