The 3rd annual SALOMON ZUGSPITZ ULTRATRAIL 2013 proves beyond any doubt that trail-running is flourishing – no matter the distance! A total of 1500 racers chomped at the bit on Saturday morning to set off on one of the three set courses that skirt the formidable Zugspitz massif in the Northern Alps.

 

Numbers were nearly equally distributed across the 100km, 69km and the novel 36 km track, which goes to show that trail running has diversified to the point to suit an increasing range of racing interests. What may seem to be alarming numbers in terms of potential crowding on the trail, ended up being no issue whatsoever. Three different starting venues spaced well apart along the loop track around the “Zugspitze” and a wide range of athletic ambition amongst the participants led to the posse of racers to spread out nicely with most racers enjoying a "peace" of their own.

 

Weather and the trails varied in character throughout the morning but still held up beautifully in their own ways. The same can be said about the leading racers on each of the three courses, all of which set punishing speeds. However, racers of the ULTRATRAIL and SUPERTRAIL distances had only gone half-way by the time the vanguard of runners in the short and swift BASETRAIL reached the finish line in the resort community of Grainau.

 

New Basetrail distance completes SALOMON ZUGSPITZ ULTRATRAIL hat trick

 

In the end, it was Stephan Hugenschmidt (GER) who claimed fame as having broken trail on the inaugural BASETRAIL course between the mountain towns of Mittenwald and Grainau. The 26-year-old hooved the distance of 35,9 km and a total climb of 1,892 m to boot in breath-taking 3:20.21,1 hours – well ahead of anyone else. The happy victor of the first-ever BASETRAIL was elated to have committed to the shorter of the three courses: “It was a good choice as it proved to be the perfect distance to check what condition I'm in for the upcoming SALOMON 4 TRAILS. All in all it was a crazy race, incredibly fast on the first, rather flat section. I decided to attack on the ascent to the Laengenfelder which indeed allowed me to get away. Still, the long climb up to the Alpspitzbahn was extremely hard...”

 

Fabian Schnekenburger (GER) was runner-up to the victor but ended up trailing him by a total of nine minutes. “I ended up fighting cramps just before the final summit. At the outset of the climb I was still able to see leading Stephan Hugenschmidt but trying to close the gap would have been a futile effort, I just couldn't give it any more than I did. The final downhill from the Alpspitzbahn seemed technically very demanding. As such, I'm very happy about running to second place”.

 

Third on the BASETRAIL podium was yet another German, Florian Stelzle. He gasped about the high level of racing: ”I don't think I've ever experienced such a fast-paced race. At Reintal Canyon half-way through the race I decided to give 'er and indeed managed to run to third place.”

 

Victor of the Master Men category (ages 40 – 49) was Stephan Tassani-Prell (GER), a veteran of Team Salomon Deutschland and a constant to be reckoned with at national and international trail-running competitions. First to cross the finish line, the victor was still unhappy with his race: “Actually I wanted to be a full 15 minutes faster than what I ended up with. I had serious issues with cramps on the climbs. However, I still managed to enjoy one section in particular – the Jaegersteig!”

 

The fastest Woman on the BASETRAIL course, Anja Maurer (GER), passed the finish line at a blistering pace and called it a day after only 4:27.59,7 hours on the trail. The regular tarmack racer found the climb up the Laengefelder to be very challenging. “I didn't have any problems on the first, rather flat trail section. Yet, climbing to the Alpspitzbahn was really tough work and seemingly endless. I had a quick Coke at the food stop for a boost but still had to walk the last little while to the summit station of the funicular. I looked at my watch constantly hoping for [the climb] to come to an end. Ascents like that one I can't train for adequately where I'm from in Stuttgart.” Hard to believe, as the 28-year-old winner waited 15 minutes for the next female competitor, Ellen Clemens (GER, 4:42.58,3), who in turn had much quite a lead on her closest pursuer. 

 

Mostly new faces on the SUPERTRAIL podium – history rarely repeats itself

 

Word has traveled far and the 2013 SALOMON ZUGSPITZ ULTRATRAIL has attracted a whole new bunch of excellent runners from a total of 38 nations. The SUPERTRAIL distance drew many new talents and in the end it was Thomas Geisenberger (GER) who claimed overall victory and the Men's title on the 68.8 km distance. The 37-year-old member of Berglaufteam Hagloefs covered that distance plus a cumulative vertical climb of 3,120 meters well ahead of the competition in just 7:07.06,6 hours, today's fastest time. Being born and raised in the foothills of the Northern Alps, it may not come as a total surprise for this mountain man to set the winning time, but Geisenberger still seemed astonished about his stellar performance. “This was anything but a walk in the park. I've never run more than 52k in one stretch and trained much on a road cycle in preparation for this race. For that reason it was a tantalizing experience to see how my body would react on the last 30 kilometers of the race. Just to be on the safe side, I made sure to reduce my speed on the descent to the finish. I didn't have any problems on the climbs, after all I'm from the Allgaeu where you get used to those sorts of climbs. Now I just hope to recuperate in time before the SALOMON 4 TRAILS.”

 

Jan Zemanik of Team Salomon Suunto Czech Republic had decided to participate in the 2013 SALOMON ZUGSPITZ ULTRATRAILS with little previous mountain experience but still managed to prove himself worthy among the topnotch leading posse on the SUPERTRAIL distance. While trailing the winner by 17 minutes, he still pulled it off to reach the finish in second place and was obviously incredulous about his ranking. “I can't believe it – this was my first international trail race ever. So far I've competed solely in the Czech Republic where we don't have climbs like today's. Right now I feel kaputt, tired and totally done for”.

 

Third place deservedly went to Philipp Zewe (GER), who was rewarded with the remaining podium position for his daring downhill on the final descent into Grainau. “This was killer! The course was super hard and it was a close call right to the end. After all, I finished with a final lead of just 1.5 minutes on the fourthplacing racer. Now I'm really worn-out”.

 

As a twist of fate, fourth-ranking Steffen Walk still ended up securing a podium position and the top one at it – in the Master Men category. The 41-year-old German was thrilled about his stalwart performance. “I'm just over the moon! While I had heard through the grapevine that I was in fourth place overall, I still had no idea that I was leading the Master Men category. It all panned out today, conditions were prime, temperatures and the course perfect – as a trail runner you can't ask for more than that, can you?”

 

The new champion is the old champion not only in the Women category but also among the Master Women! Simone Philipp (GER) claimed a jubilant victory after 9:25.46,8 hours of punishment on the trail. That time roughly falls in line with her performance last year and underpins her prowess on the trail. The 43- year-old clearly dominated the field as of the second half of the course and ended up with an insuperable lead of 17 minutes. Simone Philipp started the race off on a streak of bad luck. “I'm so happy to have won, especially because I've been in a bit of a turmoil lately. I totally forgot to register ahead of the race and luckily managed to do so last-minute at 8 pm yesterday. Then today I managed to loose my [transponder] chip at 30 km into the race but luckily managed to find it right away! Halfway up the Laengenfelder climb I caved in, which was before I finally twisted my ankle on the final descent. Whatever, all's well that ends well!”

 

Second to land a position on the women's podium was Anna Kotschergina (RUS), while Anne Gerlach (GER) took third place.

 

Saving the best for last – Philipp Reiter victor of Ultratrail distance

 

After two consecutive victories on the Supertrail, Philipp Reiter (GER, Team Salomon Deutschland) decided it was finally time to go all the way. He signed up for the 100km-Ultratrail course and not in vain! Philipp Reiter handily secured a third victory in Grainau proving once and for all that he is truly a world-class trail runner. Any 23-year-old would have lots of time left to develop his or her talent further, but Philipp Reiter already seems to have all he needs to conquer – the physique and the mind. His time of 11:11.31,8 hours earned him thunderous applause as he ran into the finish area seemingly unspent. Reiter's lead on his closest competitor, Vajin Armstrong (NZ), was no less than 17 minutes, a clear dictum on where he is at in his young career. Yet, the jubilant victor was more than glad to call it a day shortly after 6 pm. Before heading off for a much-deserved rest break, he shared: “Of course I'm really happy that after two victorious Supertrail races, I was able to claim the Ultratrail distance as well. I've never run such a long race and the Ultra felt incredibly long with so many ups and downs. If I was asked tonight if I'd do it again, I wouldn't opt for the Ultra. It's insanely long. Still, my race went surprisingly well. Sometime along the way, I found out that my lead was just six minutes. That's not particularly much! And for that reason I risked to go fullthrottle until the finish”.

 

No racer had to endure a longer trip or travel through more time zones to get to the 2013 SALOMON ZUGSPITZ ULTRATRAIL than Kiwi Vajin Armstrong. That investment of time and effort was rewarded though as the 33-year-old came in second place on his first jaunt to the 'Old World'. His satisfaction was palpable after so many hours of having to fend off the friendly but unrelenting competition. At some point, he even noticed that he was gaining on victor Philipp, but on the last climb “just didn't have enough strength left. At that point I fell back again. Overall, I'm just amazed by the natural environment here in the Northern Alps”.

 

Third to claim a podium position was runner-up Matthias Dippacher (GER), a veteran racer who started the day on a bit of a sour note, only to be all-the-more excited about the outcome. “I felt poorly right from the outset of the race. When the sun then started pouring through the clouds I even experienced circulatory problems. At some point, I even asked Search & Rescue personnel to for water. That was the day's low. From then on I recovered though. The second half of the course went really well. Since I ran without GPS or pulse monitor, I had a poor idea on where I was in the fog up high. All the better that it worked out for third place, especially because the international competition was way strong!” The international competition seemed less severe in the other three ranked male categories, all of which were ultimately dominated by German racers. Rudi Döhnert ruled among the Master Men, Friedrich Schmidthaler won first place in the Senior Master Men category and Friedrich Michler led the 16 Grand Master Men (60+ years of age) who had signed on to the Ultratrail distance. Defending champion Ildeko Wermescher of Hungary proved once more to run in a class of her own among the Women. Her performance of covering the 100 kilometers in just 13:45.01,7 hours was exceeded Philipp Reiter's by barely twoand- one-half hours – truly a formidable pace to write home about. “I had a lot of fun racing today and was able to bite off 4 minutes of my previous winning time. In the end, only 22 men finished ahead of me. I didn't notice any competition of my own and, as such , just ran my pace. It wasn't until I arrived at the finish that I heard about my lead over the others. I didn't experience any problems while running”.

 

Laetitia Pibis of France, hardly a slouch herself, faced more difficult times along the way and arrived in second place 75 minutes after the winning time. Dreama Lehman (USA) came in third, elated about finishing with a podium position. All results can be found here: http://en.zugspitz-ultratrail.com/RACE/RESULTS.aspx