Salomon 4 Trails
Top athletes taking part in the SALOMON 4 TRAILS
Press Release / 01.07.2015
Only one more week to go until the SALOMON 4 TRAILS will go into the next round, and as appropriate for the anniversary, several top runners will be among the participants on the 4 stages around the national park Berchtesgaden. In the men’s category, last year’s winner Dimitris Theodorakakos will be among the runners again. In the women’s category last year’s runner up is striving for first place this time. However, not only the athletes are anxiously looking forward to the event. Philipp Reiter, the course designer, is also very excited to welcome the about 500 participants in Berchtesgaden.
True to the motto “save the best for last“, last year’s winner Dimitris Theodorakakos registered only one week before the start of the SALOMON 4 TRAILS on July 8, 2015. The 36 year old Greek (Team SALOMON) would now love to defend his title which he had to fight for so fiercely – but all the more important for him is “to go to the limit and to enjoy the breathtaking trails”. Together with the Greek, two other strong athletes from the SALOMON team will take part – Lukas Soergel from Franconia (Germany) and Thomas Wagner from Austria. Soergel is only 19 years old and promised “to really shake a leg at his highlight of the year”. Wagner reached places 11 and 12 in 2013 and 2014, but he may be expected to achieve a better result this year.
In the women’s category, last year’s runner up Tina Fischl plans to “attack once more and to stir up the field right in the front” in order to show her sweet winner’s smile on July 11 in Maria Alm, Austria, just as she did at her superior victory at the Basetrail XL of the SALOMON ZUGSPITZ ULTRATRAIL.
However, her competitors should not be underestimated: also the French Caroline Freslon-Bette, the Russian Zhanna Vokueva who finished in third place last year and several German athletes as Cäcilia Schreyer, Carmen Otto, Anne Gerlach or Yvonne Lehnert can be expected to fight about the podium positions.
Theodorakos, Fischl and Wagner (participating for the third time) are only a few examples of many runners who come back to the SALOMON 4 TRAILS year after year. One name stands for many runners who have been part of the SALOMON 4 TRAILS right from its beginning in 2011 - Oliver Fischer. And he will come back again this year for the fifth time. Back in 2011, when Fischer stood at the starting line in Garmisch-Partenkirchen for the first time, these 4 days were “a nice supplement” to the GORE-TEX® TRANSALPINE-RUN which took place 6 weeks later. But by now, the SALOMON 4 TRAILS have developed into a stand-alone event with its own dynamic and character. “You are absolutely on your own for 4 days, there is nobody to motivate you and you are completely alone with your pain” - this is how the 50 year old explains this uniqueness. It is this specialty of the multi-stage race that pushes him again and again: “If you want to master four marathons in the mountains, you need to be perfectly prepared”.
Not only the runners but also the course designer Philip Reiter is perfectly prepared. The 23 year old will be on the trail on all 4 days and will cheer for, motivate and advise the participants. “We have only a few more days to go until the SALOMON 4 TRAILS will start for the fifth time, the marking of the course has almost been completed and I am looking forward to welcoming you in Berchtesgaden soon” says Reiter: “After we had to change the course due to a small bird which could have easily been trampled by 500 pairs of trail running shoes, we are now more than happy to be able to present to you the “best of” trails and to enjoy 4 days of excellent trail running together with all of you. With this in mind: Let the games and the adventure begin!”
Facts on the SALOMON 4 TRAILS 2015
Date: July 8 to 11, 2015
5 stage locations, 4 days, 2 countries
6 categories: Men, Women, Master Men / Master Women (over 40 years), Senior Master Men / Senior Master Women (over 50 years)
Single & team rankings (minimum 3)
About 500 participants from almost 30 nations
Info at: www.4-trails.com and on facebook at www.facebook.com/pages/Salomon-4trails/169977133028889
