The Transalpine Run-Day Two
IT is the end of Day Two of the Transalpine Run and neither Jody nor I have a single blister between us. This is good news, given that there is still around 150 miles of running to do across the craggy rims of the Tirol. So the Compeed remains stashed below the cockpit and the anti-chaff cream only slightly tested, on a day which saw temperatures hit 30 degrees.
Luckily the organisers had been extremely generous with the electrolyte drinks at each of the three checkpoints, as well as the cake, the cause of Jody’s woes.
Not so good was the stress fracture incurred by Jody’s running pole, which could be the result of his recently acquired cake habit, something he claims has resulted in him actually putting on weight, despite running 50km yesterday and 35 km today on a very tough alpine stage. Or it could just be the sheer number of muddy, as well as rocky descents, requiring constant hand to foot co-ordination.
The second stage started in the rain in St Johann and led the runners gently to the foot of a savage climb up forest paths, past at least three little chapels, which called on believers to dig deep for some extra faith. As the leading three teams, representing Germany, Spain, and England, skipped off like mountain goats, the main body of the field were forced to queue at the start of the forest incline.
Some runners were tripping over each others’ heels on the single track trails which created bottlenecks in places and required via ferrata support at other vertiginous parts. The speed of progress led to some anxious moments for us and many others, at the first checkpoint in particular, as the cut-off time, was no where near as generous as the previous day.
We played running ping pong with two Brazilian girls Leticia and Adrianna, who were dressed entirely in pink, and who we soon learnt to hear from about 200 yards away. We ran with a fitness instructor Neil Rhodes from Somerset, who was running his seventh Transalpine and who had regaled us with stories of trans-jungle races at breakfast the previous morning. He had lost his partner the previous day, to torn ligaments and was now running with a former US intelligence officer. By the end, Neil had commandeered his own private army, who crossed the line together, extremely happy to see another day.
I survived a scare coming down from the high mountain pass Brennende Palvern towards the town of Going, when I jarred my ankle but after icing it at one of the checkpoints, it didn’t cause me any further trouble. I cannot afford to get injured here, as I am being sponsored to raise money for Torbay Hospital’s Prostate Cancer appeal. So concentration on the rocky descents, is imperative.
The third stage looks more daunting than today, being longer (about 46.5km) and steeper (two climbs of 1,700m and 2,000m). If we are still standing after stage three, we will both be feeling a lot more confident about finishing this.