LukeCunliffe.com

TransAlpine Run 2005

This journal was transcribed from a report 'phoned in by satellite. Connections were not always good and messages got garbled, so this may not be up to my usual standard. Originally posted on EventRate.

Introduction by Luke Cunliffe and Neil Price

The Gore-Tex Transalpine Run 2005 is the first multi-day trail running event in the history of Alpine endeavor. The race runs from September 4th to September 11th - 7 days of trail running with daily stages of up to 42km and 2387m ascent. In total the runners, in teams of two, will force themselves over 224km while ascending 10,542 metres, just over the height of Everest. We begin in Oberstdorf, a beautiful Bavarian town set in the shadow of the mountains and make our way through the Austrian and Swiss Alps before finishing exhausted and inspired in Latsch, Italy, 7 days later.

Food, energy drinks and water are provided along the route, as well as breakfast and dinner in the pretty Alpine towns and villages in which we stay overnight. Equipment is also kept to a minimum - a large bag is provided by Gore to transport everything you will need for each stage, enabling runners to carry minimal kit as they run. This, and the fact that there are 14,000 Euros to be shared among the fastest teams should ensure that this will be a fast and fun race.

Prologue Day by Luke Cunliffe and Neil Price

Neil Price and Luke Cunliffe running for "Men's Fitness" Magazine.

A fantastic start to what will surely be a demanding race. A gentle 5km warm-up along the river and through trees to allow competitors to get into their stride and spread out a little before the first hills. Today is a just a little taster - 18.5km with 665 metres to climb. This a welcome change from the usual experience of being thrown into a difficult ascent as soon as the race begins. The trail is well marked and in good condition and there is plenty to enjoy whilst running. Glacial rivers rush along side you, pine forests provide cover from the hot sun in a cloudless sky. Paragliders sail over you, looking for thermals to carry them onward and upward - no such luck for the 98 teams of two who will have to rely on muscle and willpower as the race progresses.

We finish today's stage a very contented pair. We have worked hard enough to feel satisfied but we still have plenty of energy to enjoy an ice cream and a beer in town in the afternoon before today's results are announced and a video of today's efforts is shown.

This certainly appears to be a very civilised stage race. With luck, we will finish each day in time to enjoy the delights of the towns and villages we visit. Tomorrow's stage is longer: 37km with 1500 meters ascent. I hope we will have enough energy for beer and sightseeing tomorrow....

Stages 1 and 2

Running with Neil Price (aka Mountain-Whippet) is a taxing experience for an old duffer like me. He's 10 years younger and at least 12 kilos lighter (about 2 stone in old money) so it doesn't surprise me that he's darting up the mountains like some mini-greyhound on steroids, but it's not easy I can tell you.

Today we went out fairly strong and seemed to be doing well against most teams - I was pleased that yesterday we had finished in the top third of all teams and was keen to maintain our ranking and maybe even improve a little if possible.

After 5km of gentle ascent we began the real climb in earnest which would take us up narrow, winding rocky trails for about 6 km to the summit of Madelejoch, the highest summit of the day and the border between Germany and Austria. I pushed as hard as I felt was reasonable under the circumstances - we have 5 more days to go with most totalling more than 35km so I didn't want to cane it too hard. That said, I worked up a healthy sweat and was breathing so hard I was unable to speak except to mutter the occasional 'Help me God, please don't ever let me do such a damn silly race again.' My quads and calfs were burning most of the morning ' I wouldn't have minded except that frequently other competitors skipped past me almost playfully, clearly excited by tortured muscles and dehydration. Weird lot these Alpinistes, I kept thinking to myself. Most of them seem pleasant enough in the camp, but when you see them on the mountains you realise quickly they are not completely human- more half runner, half mountain goat. And these 'goat-runners' live for this sport. Neil and I had trained extremely hard for this race, Neil for 6 days and me for 3 weeks in some of London's most hilly parks like Clapham Common, which was originally carefully landscaped using a spirit level. The goat-runners all live in the Alps and presumably think nothing of banging out regular 20k training runs several times a week in their local back garden, sorry mountain.

A couple of hours later we completed our ordeal, both suffering with hammered quads and other sore bits. Neither of us have blisters yet but it must surely only be a matter of time.

Notable moments of the day include seeing the immense damage caused by the recent Alpine floods, which include paths and trails that have been all but washed away and other trails which have been covered completely by landslides.

At the finish I was relieved to see other runners hobbling around sporting ice-packs to cover sprained joints and seeing a number of people covered in blood where they have fallen and been cut by rocks. Cruel maybe, but it was a morale-booster for me to recognise that others had experienced similarly treacherous parts of the route and suffered too.

Tomorrow is Neil's 30th Birthday I have got a surprise lined up for him too we race to St Anton tomorrow so I think a night out on the town would be fun it should also slow down the Whippet for Thursday!

Stages 3 and 4

This should be two reports but it was my team-mates 30th birthday yesterday so time for serious journalism about racing had to be forfeited.

Yesterday's stage was a brutal 36.5 km with more ascent then I would usually contemplate in an airoplane let alone on foot. The terrain was a real mix all day. Some of the trails were superb with excellent tracks althoguh some of the course comprised dangerously narrow paths roughly hacked into the sides of sheer cliffs on mountains. We saw one racer being led along the one of these paths by his tem-mate and one of the race marshals as he was clearly terrified of falling. Some of the route took us through the kinds of dangerous rocky trails which result in rocks being dislodged and plummeting down the mountainside towards other runners further down. You have to keep your wits about you on this race and I've never been so aware of rockfall on any other race I've done. That said, racers are quick to warn each other and help each other whenever possible.

On some of the trails there are steel cables bolted onto the rock walls in order to help people climb up without falling. This all makes for a very exciting race where anything can happen.

We had two massive mountains to climb and the most ascent of the week (since the organisers were forced to change the route following the recent Alpine flooding).

The last part of Stage 3 was a 7 km run down much of the ski routes into St Anton, our destination. It was quad burning stuff but Whippet and i descended in good order and finished in reasonable nick. Already several teams were experiencing injuries and teams were retiring all around us. It just left us to celebrate another stage finish....oh yes, and Neil's birthday.

Stage 4

Originally this stage would have been 21 km but owing to the floods they had to change a few stages so this one was to be 36.5 km instead. Fortunately only one large mountain lay in wait. We would ascend 1400 metres over 13.3 km, with much of the ascent being in the last few kms. The day started out well enoguh although it took me an hour nad a half for my legs to warm up enough for me to stop hating mountain races.

The climb was steep and involved us traversing a snow field followed by a steep ascent to the summit. The final part of the ascent was up a rock gulley which meant Whippet and i having to scramble up steep rock faces. A few stones and rocks got dislodged while Neil was climbing so he sensibly called a warning to me - however, belnig only a few feet above me the warnings came too late for me to be showered with cascading stones and rocks. Hmmm, maybe i shouldn't follow this close I thought.

The upper portion of this section was martialled by mountain guides with ropes, always a good sign when things get tricky.

Having overcome this part we began the steep descent across treacherous loose rocks for several hundred metres until we reached a reasonable track where we could resume a decent pace. In fact we began running this section and began overtakin teams that we hadn't seen all week so we knew we were going well. For another 12 km or so we belted down the mountain, the last part of this being in good road and track.

We then had what we thought would be a relative tiddler of am ountain, a 550 metre climb over 3 km. However when we got to this part the route was far harder than we thought. Grassy paths and trails zig-zagged all the way up the steep mountain. We couldn't see the summit unti lwe were almost on it so it was hard for us to stay speedy all the way up without knowing how far we would have to go. In addition, we have become only too aware this week that Neil and i are at different levels of fitness. Neil is very speedy up and down hills, I am quite speedy down....but not up.

Our descent of the last 8 km to St Anton (today's route was a circular one) was at a good pace - we ran everything that was runnable and even disobeyed my cardinal rule of never running up hill.

We finally reached the finish line in good spirits but with exhaustd legs.

Tomorrow's stage will be 5.4km with 900 metres of ascent. This is supposed tp be rest day for people's ankles and knees..... but for those of us who struggle with uphill running this will be a very tough stage, even if it is a short one.

Stage 5

Owing to the crippling flooding in this region in recent weeks this stage was completelly re-designed to be a hill-sprint, two words which fill me with dread, especially when combined with a hyphen.

We had taken a two hour bus drive from St Anton across the border into Scuol in Switzerland early in the morning and with the hill-sprint scheduled for a 4pm Tour de France style start (last team goes first with each team being set off 30 seconds apart) we had much of the day in Scuol to prepare.

The stage was a mere 5.35 km long but climbed 935 metres (about 2700 feet) and was hyped up as being an extreme stage. Throughout my life i have maintained a policy of not running up hills except in the unlikely event that I'm being chased by savage animals. i had every intention of keeping to this policy, although I didn't fancy being overtaken either so I knew I would have to make an effort to cover the ground as quickly as possible. I also knew Neil would expect me to pull out all the stops. He had concerned me earlier in the day by spending a small fortune on a pair of walking poles to assist him in the uphill climbs. I had stupidly left mine in the UK and was regretting it now.

The stage started well enough with Neil and I making a spirited attempt at running uphill and settling into an easy rhythm. We had expected this stage to last approximately 1 and a half hours but found we were making good time. The course took us through the cobbled streets of Scuol before leading us up through rough tracks and trails in the forest and across mountain meadows. The steep paths were quad-busting and agony on my already aching calfs. I later heard that when runners looked up to enjoy the scenery they saw beautiful Alpine valleys and mountain tops. Throughout the entire route all I noticed was my hands pushing down on my legs to assist them and my feet just below. I don't think I was aware of much else for the 67 minutes it took us to reach the summit ( a cable car station)

The nightly pasta party which followed took place in the restaurant usually only open for skiers during the ski season. After that we were allowed to return to the Transalpine Camp in a school gym in Scuol. Stage 6, the penultimate one is tomorrow and will be 39.5 km and promises to be a good one for Whippet Neil and I as there is only one 1400 metre mountain to climb and much downhill to run.

Stage 6

This stage would take us through 38.5km of tough Alpine trail, but with thankfully only 1 mountain to climb - once up at the summit we would stay high and cover about 5 km before descending 13 km to the finish in Mals. The route would also take us across the border from Switzerland to Italy, the fourth country in our Alpine tour. The forecast was not good - apparently we should expect rain and occasional thunderstorms. In addition, we were told that the start would be delayed until 9.00 am (most are at 8.00 am) so that we would miss the hunters. The hunting season is in full swing and the organisers were clearly concerned to keep the hazards of the route to a minimum. I guess it wouldn't look good for a first edition of a race to number among its casualties not just ankle sprains and sore legs but gunshot wounds as well.

Neil and i started well with a strong 7km gentle downhill through gentle forest tracks which suited us both well - we were able to pass a number of teams, most of whom seem to have only one downhill gear and sevral uphill ones (the opposite of me). By the time we began our 13km ascent of the main monster mountain we were feeling strong and made a reasonable effort up the hill. As usual Whippet boy had to wait for me a few times. Once at the summit Neil and I began running again and found we easily overtook many teams again, most seeming surprised to see us running so well. And our descent of the mountain was equally strong. Unfortunately the weather was foggy at the top - we had been assured of breathtaking Alpine views but we saw very little and had to pay attention to the trail to ensure we didn't get lost.

We belted down the mountain at an invigorating pace and again found ourselves overtaking several teams - some of these teams we had not encountered in any other preceding stage so we knew we were on for a good time. The trail varied from grassy forest tracks to steep tracks across meadows to gravel paths and then finally we arrived on a road. For the last 7-8 km we would race along this road overtaking a few teams and holding off a couple of teams who tried to chase us. We held thzem off to the finish and were delighted with a time of 4.53 for 39.5km across Alpine trails and including one 1400 metre mountain.

Today was our best day by far and gave us a great high for the day.

Tomorrow will be the final stage, Stage 7 and is a 40 km route, without too much altitude gain or descent.

And then it will all be over - in a funny way I'll regret that - just when it looks like I may be finally getting my mountain legs!