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7th GORE-TEX Transalpine-Run Off to a Fresh Start on Sept. 3rd

Press Release / 25.08.2011

With less than two weeks to the start on 3rd Sept. 2011, racers registered in the 7th GORE-TEX Transalpine-Run can be expected to experience some level of excitement - if not anxiety - by now. The race has been sold out for a while and a highly motivated field of two-person teams will embark on one of the most spectacular trail running events in the global race circuit. Breaking with routine, this year’s eight-day-long race showcases three new, consecutive stages before resorting back to tried and tested trails over the High Divide and to the finish line in Italy.

Right off the start, the first stage leading out of Oberstdorf, Germany, has seen a complete overhaul. Rather than following the beaten track of previous years, the new course takes aim for Hirschegg, Austria this time around. The cumulative vertical gain of 1.806 m over a distance of 27.20 km should provide the right warm-up for the ensuing seven stages, each of which is a tough challenge by itself.

Race director Wolfgang Pohl is clearly exulted: „The 2011 edition of the GORE-TEX Transalpine-Run, racks up a distance of 273 km and 15,436 m of cumulative ascent and arguably will be the most challenging course along the Western route from Oberstdorf, Germany, to Latsch, Italy, to date�.
While tried and tested stages between the Austrian resort Galtür and the finish line in Italy’s Val Venosta, remain unmodified from previous events; racers will face new and formidable challenges early on in the week on all but new, choice trails.

Pohl, CEO of Vivalpin, the agency in charge of race routing since Day One in the event’s history, would know: “The 2nd stage is likely the hardest we’ve come up with in all these years – packing no less than 53 km and 2,481 m of ascent. The 3rd stage shouldn’t come any easier, though, testing many racers’ limits over a whopping distance of 43 km and a vertical gain of 2,672m. The scenery should make up for the hardships, though, as the ‘Wormser High Trail’ ranks as one of the most beautiful trails in this central part of the Alps�.

However, racers can’t expect much of a respite on the 4th or 7th race days either with 35 and 40 km of trail running, respectively. The latter stage sports the scenic but infamous Rappenscharte - a mountain saddle reaching 3,012 m in elevation, with a precipitous boulder field on one side and a screaming scree slope on the other.

The week’s only reprieve – if only on account of somewhat lesser climbs - may be the 5th day Scuol hill sprint (6.19 km, 936 m vertical), the 6th stage through mystical Uina Canyon, and the ultimate 8th stage to the finish line.

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