Crossing Mountains - Transalpine is coming!

2 months ago I received an email in my inbox asking whether I wanted to partner with a German girl, Gine,  for the Transalpine race at the beginning of September. Gine is on the Salomon Germany team, and was looking for another girl to race with and somehow through the Salomon community our paths crossed and we found each other! 

Partnering with someone and sharing an 8 day race is daunting. Partnering with someone you don't know, well, this brought many considerations: Would we get along? Are we a similar speed? Do we share the same goals and attitude to being in the mountains? Through some honest Skype discussions we could establish some common ground, and in the end decided to go for it! That's how I have found myself on the edge of the German Alps, deep in Bavaria, sharing some wonderful new trails with Gine and dicovering that trail runners, and generally people who just like to get out, share the same positivity the world over.

The last week I have been visiting Gine so we could really get to know each other and to plan for our race, so where better than on a couple of 8 hour hike/run/climbs on the mountain trails! 

Zwiesel Crossing

Our first trip together - 2400m+ over 35km, and 8 hours of running, power hiking, climbing and scrambling. We started in the small town of Marzoll, running along the Saalach river, and then crossing over 4 peaks: Fuderheuberg, Hochstaufen (1771m), Zwiesel Mountain (1782), and Gamskogel - all part of the Chiemgauer Alps, and each summit marked with a 'gipfel,' a cross.

  

 

Gine on the first peak - Fuderheuberg, marked with a cross: 

  

 

Trail running often includes rock scrambling and climbing! 

 

Team mates: 

 

Gine on the summit of Hochstaufen: 

  

On the summit of Zwiesel Mountain, the box containing the summit book to record your name in: 

 

Gine descending onto lovely long ridge leading to Gamskogel: 

 

The cross on Gamskogel peak just visible at the edge of the ridge: 

Fairytale castles and storms in the mountains

The days spent in the mountains around Füssen (Germany) have been filled with intense summer sunshine, afternoon storms with hail, lightning and thunder, beers in the mountain huts, and the joy of standing on tall peaks looking out across endless green valleys! The numerous trails, easy access and signage have made for excellent training, while my campsite next to Banwaldsee has given ample time for relaxation, napping and reading!

Neuschwanstein Castle, the inspiration to Disney's fairytale castle:

MarienBruecke viewed from the Pollatschlucht:

Summer alpine flowers:

Geiselstein viewed from the Ahornreitweg: 

The start of my run up to Säuling, beautiful blue skies soon to change:

Half way up, the clouds moving in fast, promising thunder and lightning:

The 2038m summit of Säuling:

Dark storms thundering during an adrenaline-fuelled descent:

Playing in the German Alps

The last couple of months have been a hectic kaleidoscope of work in the hospital, establishing my business - Summit Sisters, and trying to fit in time for training, and with family and friends! I hardly had time to dwell on the fact that I had a trip to Europe booked.
I had initially planned to race the Ultra Trail Mont Blanc again, but an opportunity arose to partner with a Salomon German runner, Gine, in the TransAlpine race! The event has been on my bucket list for a while, but finding another girl to partner with, and finding the funds for the start fee made entry more difficult. I didn't hesitate when the chance presented itself! The race itself is also a completely new experience: 8 days of running through the Alps, starting in Germany and finishing in Italy, 250km of trails through 4 countries and about 15000m of elevation gain. Racing in a team is also a first for me, and I am looking forward to the shared experience of working together with a partner, of sharing the ups and downs, the challenges, and the emotions that are sure to come (sounds like a relationship!).

I decided to start my trip in the German Alps, an area I have never explored despite spending lots of time in the country. Bavaria is a culture and country unto itself, and what better area to train for big hills than in the shadow of the beautiful Neuschwanstein Castle and Tegelberg mountain.

The pictures are from my first trip up into the mountains - the trails literally starting as I step out of the campground I am based in. I did a loop, covering  the 1703m Schoenleitenschrofen, Tegelberg, and up to the 1880m Branderschrofen. On the run down back to camp I ran with a couple from the area. The woman, Monica, had already cycled 60km that day and shared her belief that 'sport keeps you young - not only the body, but also the mind.' Finishing our run together, sitting out in the fading summer sun, and enjoying a big Bavarian beer, I am feeling very young!

The long journey back at the Alpine Challenge 100km

1 week ago I ran my personal best distance-wise for almost a year. It wasn't my fastest time by a long shot, but given the terrain, the absolute remoteness and self-reliance expected, and where I was at with my body and on-going achilles niggle, I was stoked just to make it back to the finish line. Even better, I felt strong, happy, and as if I could've run a little further.

It's an old story. The one of injury. Every runner will experience it at some stage, whether it's a toenail that falls off, a scratch or scrape, or something more insidious like an ITB inflammation or the dreaded achilles tendonopathy. When injury happens to you as a runner though, the implications become personal. No longer are you able to enjoy what gave you the most pleasure, that sense of freedom not found elsewhere. I would also argue that it is hard for non-runners to understand the absense of running in one's life.

For the last 3 months I have been carefully managing this niggle. Some days are great and I can run carefree, other days a simple 40min run at an easy pace really aggravates the injury. There is no rhyme or reason, just management and celebration after every run. Luckily, hiking hills and downhill running didn't seem to cause any problems, and so this is where I have focused my efforts! Going into this race I was really nervous of my own capabilities: the longest training run I had completed was 34km, so 100km seemed like a very long distance all of a sudden!

The Alpine Challenge 100km was a race I really wanted to do. I really wanted to run in the Australian Alps, to run in our own unique Alpine landscape. And it was an amazing journey. For the first 50km I was mostly running with a few friends, enjoying the scenery and being careful with my achilles. For the second 50km I was alone, surrounded by true mountain weather - mist, rain, passing sunshine, and feeling stronger as I got closer to the finish.

The team (myself, Nick, my sister Thea, and my brother Werner) at the Tawonga Gap lookout before race day:

Race morning, 4:15am, with Matt Cooper, feeling pretty surreal in the dark:

Waiting at the start:

The Victorian Alps waking up, a beautiful morning for running (photo: Werner)

Arriving on the summit of Mt Bogong. 35km and 6 hours later.. (Photos: Werner):  

Quick check-in with my crew - here with my lovely sister Thea:

  

Heading off from the second checkpoint at Langford's Gap (at 63km). By now the weather had changed and it was cold and rainy (Photos: Werner):

Tawonga Hut at 78km -  I had a quick check-in with my crew before the final leg of the race (Photo: Werner):

Race presentation at Bogong Jacks (Photo: Werner)

With Matt Cooper (He set a new course record for the men in the 100km, and won outright in 12:31hr):

Arriving at the finish, with only a handful of people - the Alpine Search and Rescue representative, my crew, and Matt Cooper`s parents, I realised that in the end finishing your own personal journey is what matters. 

I`m ever grateful to my amazing support crew: my brother, sister, and sister`s boyfriend. Thanks also to Salomon and Suunto Australia - your support of the sport is incredible.