Published in The Road To Gluringen·Aug 22, 2021Race DayI wake up and check my watch. It’s 4:03. I go to the bathroom, lie back down, but realize that I am awake, rested and excited. The alarm was set for 4:30 anyway so I decide to just get up and start the day a little earlier. It’s dark, it’s…Trailrunning7 min read
Published in The Road To Gluringen·Aug 9, 2021Less than a weekI’ve shifted my sleeping schedule. The race kicks off at 6:30 so for this week I’m getting up at 5. It’s one of the final steps of preparation. In the past 4 months I’ve spent more time on sports than at any other point in my life. In May and…Ultrarunning2 min read
Published in The Road To Gluringen·Jul 9, 2021An Appenzell AdventureOn Saturday, exactly 6 weeks before the Swiss Alps 100 race, I went for what I now recognize as my first real trail run. I slept poorly the night before. It was partly the Italian fans celebrating their victory in the quarter finals with honking and wild cheering and partly…Running5 min read
Published in The Road To Gluringen·Mar 27, 2021A long break and a fresh startBack in my first post I was wondering whether “maybe I’ll just ramp up distances carefully without too much effort until I’m ready and it won’t be as grueling as so many stories about ultra running make it out to be.” That worked pretty well all the way to the…Running3 min read
Published in The Road To Gluringen·Nov 21, 2020Hill-fatiguedRunning uphill is hard. I’ve heard talk from and about elite ultra-runners that “float” up the mountains, but for me it’s far from effortless and it takes away some of the ease and joy. It requires a very different mindset. It requires you to be ok with walking, when it…Running2 min read
Published in The Road To Gluringen·Oct 25, 2020PatienceI still have not reached the half-marathon distance. I was so excited when my quarantine was over and I went back out to run. But it turns out doing nothing for a week is a little too much rest. Instead of feeling strong and fast, I felt slow and tired…Running3 min read
Published in The Road To Gluringen·Oct 11, 2020Exploring New TerritoryToday is Sunday and I had planned to finish my four months training cycle with a half-marathon. Alas, Dorela and I were in close contact with a friend last Saturday who since then tested positive for Covid-19. Although we’re feeling fine and the Swiss authorities have yet to contact us…Running4 min read
Published in The Road To Gluringen·Sep 27, 2020It Really Is FunTwo days ago Dorela and I had dinner with a couple of friends. We were talking about exercise and running and I kept saying that it’s important to keep the purpose of exercising in mind. They finally asked: “So why do you run?” “Because I really enjoy it”, I said…Running4 min read
Published in The Road To Gluringen·Sep 13, 2020The Sunday RunThis morning I got up at 7:30, had a quick and light breakfast of overnight oats, banana, chia seeds, soy milk and oat-yoghurt, drank an espresso and was out the door by 8:20. …Ultrarunning2 min read
Published in The Road To Gluringen·Sep 12, 2020Getting StartedI signed up. The goal post is set: 50k with 2800m of elevation gain at the Swiss Alps 100 on August 14, 2021. I first got excited about a “running project” when Eliud Kipchoge broke the 2 hour mark for a marathon in October 2019. I thought that the equivalent…Running2 min read
