The Gore-Tex Trans-Alpine Run is an 8 day stage trail race in the Alps, beginning in Germany in Oberstdorf and making it’s way via via Austria into northern Italy. It’s punishing with 13,730 metres of vertical change and 293 km of distance. It is a 2 person team event.
Day 1: Well, Team Livin Adventure Super Sherpas took off like dog chasing a rabbit … Well half of the team did.. Sherpa 2… Simone was very strong.. She had to pull me a bit…there is that anxious energy we feel to go for it even though we haven’t even really started… In that impatience of my own or get by .. I had a nice wipeout..
We came 8th today running in to Lech in Austria… With out start in Oberstdorf Germany.. Many strong women teams…. Cannot believe… I cannot stop eating since I came in the finish….
My team member asleep beside me.. We are happy we are not in Camp like we were last night …( pic below).. I will take the luxury… To bed I go ..up at 530 to run down to the Transalpine BUFF outdoor Espresso bar and then soon off and running ( or shall I say climbing) on STAGE 2…. Until tomorrow!
Transalp Day 2 – Lech am Alberg – St. Anton am Alberg
Stage 2 – yeahhhhh still in Austria! From Lech to St Anton…25km with over 1900 meters climbed felt like a heck of a lot more.Was a grind.. Up up up…and slippery…Great technical course with some fun hands and feet climbing that I love …
On a fast wide open downhill I turned around for a second and fell on the same knee and hip as yesterday … Another wipe out!!!!! Ouch Crap! What the heck… That fueled Sherpa 1 and 2 ‘s fast finish with adrenaline ….yeah at a BnB .. No more Camp until last night! Whoohoooo..
Onto Day 3 … Supposedly most challenging .. I am feeling a strong day for Livin Adventure Sherpas.. Right Simone! Give it hell, babe!!!
TRANSALP DAY 3 – St. Anton –
“Run when you can, walk if you have to, crawl if you must; just never give up.”
― Dean Karnazes
STAGE 3 – ‘ Was this a WOWSER OF A DAY’ COMPLETE – 38km, almost 3000m of climbing! What a course.. With some snow high up over technical rock …lots of hooting and whoohooing from above!… I loved it! Second climb seemed it would never end but sooo cool…feel in a little more rhythm … Livin adventure rocked it strong and steady with some super fun flying downhills! We have maintained top 10 from women’s teams of 30. Today 7 hours 49 min…
We have over 20 Canadians here that are Rockin it! My friend Rene C. Unserwho is a top personal trainer and coach out west, and her husband Trent ( in photo below) are doing amazing… They have a big team of Canadians here who they have coached for the event…..we love our CHICAS from Madrid too … You are Livin up the course!
Ready to rock Stage 4 taking us to SCUOL, Switzerland
TRANSALP DAY 4 – Samnaun – Scuoal
Yeahhhhhhhh ahhhh I sit here in the Youth Hostel in SCUOL, SwitZ amongst the buzz of being halfway finished the Transalpine run … Most are snuggled in their beds but my bedtime is a little later…sleep is definitely not the best this week for most but for me shorter but solid is better than what I usually have..
STAGE 4 complete! Simone and i had an incredible day… Team Livin Adventure moved to 8th position. Our music blarring definitely helped..Full on sun, great course – 37km and 2000m up and oh what a beautiful 12km downhill to the end… We love the steep technical! What a rush! Uphills were created to experience the swoosh of coming down the other side!
Tomorrow is the REST DAY… Mountain Sprint ! The rest of the day… Either dancing or hanging out in the naked spa… Hmm
TRANSALP DAY 6 – Scuol – St. Valentin
Day 6 from SCUOL to Sankt Valentin! Now in Italy! i had a tough day today with belly cramping and had to do the Drugs..very slow and then picked it up on last bit…Many people had a tough day … we maintained top 10 at 9th place…Crazy with a km to go we spot 2 women’s teams ahead of us.. so we burned it .. but didnt catch them… ah well… could have been 7th…37km… 1600m climbed..brought us to the land of Gelato, good espresso and prosciutto!!! We even sat in the sun at the Goretex Beach for awhile at finish line…Simone and I both being Vegetarians are doing some crazy ‘ Eat Meat’ week and I think today we went a little overboard with the Proscuitto and smoked salami.. We had to settle our stomachs with a tough Schnapps after dinner…Watched our pictures of the day and Video of the day up at 2000m high with an outdoor screen, like a drive in movie… I feel wiped … I am going for the earliest time to bed yet at 1030… Up at 445… For a 7am start… Crazy course tomorrow… With some high technical Alpine stretches… Love that stuff…adios my friends…
BERGSPRINT SCUOL!!!
OK a wild ‘Kick in the pants’ that Mountain Sprint was!!! 6.4km … Almost 1000m climbed….Teams were sent off every 15 sec depending on our ranking.. With the fastest leaving last…Man.. When you are so used to the long distance and steady tempo .. It’s hard to jump into that sprint gear…it bites but its good ..Sherpa 2 was very strong and she was pulling me along…we have maintained in top 10…I love the spirit of TRANSALPINE and all the brother and sisters we get to see everyday .. They definitely turn up the FUN knob for me..Below are some TAR family shots… Wow doing the Bergsprint really feels like a long day.. As I cannot nap like my Simony…so I sit here writing to you enjoying a special made Cappucino ( that was served with a spoon filled with CHOCOLATE) staring at a crystal clear sky, pretty cool peaks and athletes slurping back beers…Day 6 – STAGE 6 is upon us.. I am super excited and loving this although there are many grunts out on the course… The pushing of the limit in endurance, strength and stamina and hanging in with the ups and downs and smiling anyhow… the being in the moment with your body..step by step.. fully ALIVE is THE BEST GIFT EVER…
Transalp Day 7 – St. Valentin – Sulden, Italy
Wow I must say today was magic! Team Livin Adventure moved up to 6th place for todays brutally good stage…..Waking up feeling sick in stomach which got worse after breakie.. Well let’s just say the running turned it around… We took off setting a fantastic pace for a long flat and downhill section… We knew the massive climb to come but I just followed the legs and went for a ride… And sometimes it can be a wild ride….
Well today was the toughest stage for me and Simone for sure – but I still loved it…Pounding the legs for 21km … Then rolling beautiful trails, then the biggest non stop steep 1600m ascent – all I could focus on was the ground and every step… In a rhythm … Looking around a bit, heads down, silence and the occasional ‘ whoohoo’, some have music, some don’t, many find their rhythm using their poles, some do not ( I need my hands on my legs)… Everyone has their thing.. Some shovel down all the goods at the food station … Some fly by only using their Gels…( yuck!)
But whatever it is, the greatest energy comes from your mind … Your attitude – to accept and go with it – commit to the end, when things are rough, to celebrate and test your limits when things are good… To feel the power of a team of 2 – a partner who you may not speak to along the way.. Just winks here and there..
Just when you think ‘ I have nothing left.. This is never ending .. You come running with peak energy and aliveness through the finish line under the GORETEX Balloon…
We are overjoyed… I cannot keep the kisses off Simone’s face .. We both left everything out on the course and that is a gratifying feeling…Simone has no words as people ask her how was it..it is true in a way…no words to describe … One must do…
The spirit here is just incredible and hard to describe .. Must be here to feel it…this super cool connection trail runners have as we all have the bad and the good days this weeks.. Walked on the same course, climbed the same grade and covered the same distance .. Each with their own personal reason for being here..There is this peace inside, this grand satisfaction for completing yes another challenging day. For some, experiencing another level they never knew they could take themselves to.. Oh it’s a beautiful thing …
And so is Sebastian’s espresso at the BUFF ( Flat is Boring) outdoor coffee stand…
43km and 2300m of climbing
Complete!
Onto our last day…
Oh and stage 9 if our crazy dance party tomorrow night! Oh I love that Stage!
Until tomorrow …
TRANSALPINE RUN 2013 …. FINISHED!!!!!! Whooooooohooooooo!
Team Livin Adventure had to rock it out together all day for 8 days.. Through every emotion …not always easy… But I can’t think of a better person than My Simony!
We were strong the whole week and I found this to be the toughest Transalpine in the last 3 years but oh so stunning a course! Love this quote below…
“I run to breathe the fresh air. I run to explore. I run to escape the ordinary. I run…to savor the trip along the way. Life becomes a little more vibrant, a little more intense. I like that.”
― Dean Karnazes
I sit here in Segafredo back home in Inmsbruck now reminiscing of the whole week….my body starting to crash …and feeling that already missing TAR family… We rocked Stage 9 – the dance party last night! Oh yeah!
Here is a write up of our finish line…
With 3km to go into the finish of the TAR 2013 into Lastch, Italy…
Team Livin Adventure flew through the apple orchards with the finish line adrenaline pulling us fast … Interesting how there is nothing left in the body but there is ALWAYS when you dig deep ( that is a beautiful thing) and focus on that ONE THING… The culmination of all those 8 long days of taking our trained bodies out of what it is used to and into the extreme….Seeing the determination and will on each and every face out there, no matter if they finish in 4 hours or 8 hours … Is something huge to bring to the rest of our lives…at the finish line Simone gets on my shoulders, I waver a bit with done – in legs and stand up and run over the finish…minutes later we take in the Magic of a finish line …. The feel of satisfaction and look of joy and exhaustion mixed together …. Soooo cool… Don’t want to talk .. Just want to look… As Simone and I clank our Champagne glasses together we both look at each other as we do every year and say ‘ Not again next year… No way’
8 days, 4 countries, 261 km, almost 16,000m climbed… Ready for a bit of a rest ….
As I woke up at the Camp ( open Gym where everybody sleeps n the floor) having slept maybe 3 hours… I hear the rustling of bags, hustle bustle and some flatulence as people walk by … All I can say is I am always glad Simone and I choose our own accomodation. Simone slept outside under the stars as there is not a chance sleeping with all the snoring and sounds in a room with a few hundred people ….
To any of you trail runners out there feeling the itch for this Event.. Don’t think twice .. Enroll yourself .. Commit to something a little crazy… That’s where all the magic happens… Then come visit me in Innsbruck for a TAR training camp!!!! Yeeeheaaaaaaaa!
Thanks for all your energy, support and comments throughout the week!
You all absolutely ROCK!
If you enjoyed reading about this adventure and want to hike in the Alps visit: www.livinadventure.com
