GORE-TEX Footwear Transalpine Race
A Humbling Experience
Fredrik Ölmqvist (Salomon Trail Runners) / 07.09.2006
It’s a little bit chilly in the morning hours but the sky is clear so it will be a beautiful beginning to the 6th day. Today’s stage is 37 km and includes 1300 metres climbing to the Italian border. Compared with earlier stages it sounds quite easy. Me and Nicolas Wetzel (US) set off at a comfortable speed. Neither of us are “racing� anymore, we are just enjoying the experience and the rest of the race. When Stefani, my former team mate, withdrew I became unranked, but luckily the rules let me continue, as long as I team up with another runner. So my running across the Alps has become entirely recreational – and more enjoyable.
The 5th stage, Wednesday’s mountain sprint might have been a short run, but the heart had to work more than is advisable. I ran (read ‘walked’ the 6,19 km’s and +800 metres elevation) as fast as I could, but with a frightening heart rate. I passed the Italian runner Annemarie Gross a third of the way into the race, but she overtook me with only a kilometre to the finish.
I had to give my absolute max to follow Annemarie, who became the fastest woman in the sprint. Also her team are in the lead in the female category, about half an hour ahead of the German Nike-running team. As preparation Annemarie did the UTMB in Chamonix the weekend before this race – in 32 hrs!
The fastest time in the men’s category was 42 minutes, by a German national team runner . Me, I reached the finish line in 53 minutes, which gave me a 40th place in the overall ranking. After the stage we stayed at the mountain restaurant and had the daily “Pasta Party�, followed by a course briefing for next day, the daily slide show and daily video from the stage. A pleasant evening, spent in the high mountains.
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