Salomon 4 Trails
Finishing is a Victory
News Release / 25.07.2014
The 4th SALOMON 4 TRAILS by all accounts had what it takes to rank among Europe's top-notch multi-stage trail-running races. World-class athletes, challenging trails, breath-taking mountain scenery and a laudable event organisation made for a stellar event week. Not even the unsettled weather which held everything from drizzle to downpour and sun to snow was able to spoil what turned out a hugely successful race. The 4th SALOMON 4 TRAILS will leave all that participated with an indelible imprint of what trail-running in the Alps can be about.
The overall victory by Dimitrios Theodorakakos of Greece ahead of Spaniard Iker Karrera underlined that the SALOMON 4 TRAILS has the stuff to attract the world elite and ranks among the top class of European trail-running events by now. Nuria Picas of Spain was the outstanding athlete in the Women's category living up to her international repute. Two trail newbies caused big waves on the trails between Germany and Switzerland and demonstrated remarkable talent. Tina Fischl (GER) ran to second place among the Women while Mirco Berner (GER) took third among the men.
Yet, the 2014 SALOMON 4 TRAILS wasn't just good for drama at the front end. Emotions, toil and exhaustion were shared by the entire field of racers and particularly towards the very rear where dismal weather conditions had a much pronounced effects on the racers. Their objectives may have differed from one another but everyone there certainly had one thing in common – by all means sticking with it and avoiding the chagrin of failing the time limit and thereby having to drop out! A fear which would have been unwarranted given that every arrival at the finish was being celebrated by spectators and race official - no matter their time or race status.
Johanna and Vesa of Finland, Christian of Denmark, Ariel of Israel, Travis from Texas or Erika from Northcentral Germany were among the last arrivals on most days. With trail monitors already cleaning up the trail behind them, they endured weather and fatigue longer than any other racers. They had at least two things in common: (a) they call pretty flat places home, and (b) they celebrated every arrival at the finish line within the time limit as a personal victory. Their defiant struggle usually translated into seven to nine hours on the trail and a lot less time left in the day for recuperation – at least compared to anyone else. For bystanders their enthusiasm was inspiring but still difficult to grasp.
Why on earth would anyone submit to so much suffering? Yet, this question didn't even register for Vesa from Finland. Late afternoon, he would arrive at the finish line - as usual many hours after the leaders, visibly in pain. Still, the 47-year-old would burst out with enthusiasm: “Tomorrow morning is another day and I'll keep going. I'm going to be back in shape...but, man, the downhills are pretty tough”.
His sizable group of Finnish supporters had a big hand in keeping him going for as long as he did as they lent a helping hand whenever needed during his time off the trail. But all their TLC seemed to last only until Landeck, where Vesa ultimately had to call it quits with roughly fifty other racers. The gap he left at the tail end filled right away as more joints and tendons flared up towards the rear of the field and the battle against the time limit was taken over by others.
Gel Even-Zahav, Ariel Isenberg, Irit Shoshov and Arthur Schulz sought strength in numbers to deal with the overwhelming fatigue. Neither of them had had ample opportunity to train adequately back home. Arthur tried his best on mining tailings nearby his home while the Israeli trio ran in the hills near Jerusalem. For Ariel the biggest threat, however, was never physiological in nature but psychological. “You run primarily with your head”. Being able to share the pain seemed to make it all a tad bit easier. When all else failed, the racers in the rear at least had found like-minded friends for life.
As a rule, the very rear of the field forms a tight-knit peer group just like the handful of leaders over the course of a multi-stage race. Oshrit David who celebrated his 40th birthday on Stage Three reaped one of the benefits of belonging to the former. After passing the finish line – barely within the time limit – his posse erupted in birthday songs – an experience he's unlikely to forget for some time.
Yet, despite all fun and games there the concerns at the rear of the field over dropping out were all too real. Arthur Schulz reassured himself again and again: “I used to be a miner and know how to fight my way through when I get into a tight spot. I'm gonna make it”. As part of his plan of action he stayed focused on the moment and avoided thinking too much about the upcoming stages. A strategy that worked for him – Arthur Schulz ended up being an official Finisher in the 2014 SALOMON 4 TRAILS and he says that “trail-running has changed [his] life, and [his] attitude towards challenges”.
Others had role models whose performance inspired them to keep on running. Walter Horz was one to whom many looked up through the race. The 68-year-old kept up an easy but steady pace through each of the four stages. For the second-oldest participant of originally 425 racers who started in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, the race held an unexpected appeal: “It has to be fun, I'm not into torturing myself”. Wise words by a man who has participated in each of the four SALOMON 4 TRAILS events.
Despite all his experience, Horz still gets nervous during each start. He calls it “a bout of irrational, momentary insanity”. After that he tunes back to normality, which translates for him into running his own pace and “being just a little more cautious on the downhills these days”. In any case, it's hard to stop Walter Horz. Not only is he still refusing to retire from his profession, he already plans on participating the 5th SALOMON 4 TRAILS in 2015.
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