SILVRETTA 3000 2021

©Sportograf

There is something special about this trail running community that is hard to put into words. Never mind your background and life outside of your running shoes, the sports brings people together.

After running the Silvretta 3000 for the first time in 2019 (Link to report: Click here), the tourism team of Ischgl has kindly invited a group of runners to the lovely mountain resort to participate in the 2021 edition.

Unlike the weather on Saturday and Sunday, upon arrival on Friday, the sun was shining. We were invited to stay in Hotel Sonne, which is not only a beautiful hotel, but a local institution and has been home to the likes of Helene Fischer and Elton John in the past.

In the evening, we were welcomed by the head of Ischgl tourism, Andi Steibl, as well as the superb team of Hotel Sonne. It was also the first time, when I met the other runners. We shared a lovely dinner and initial conversations about our latest runs and everything in between.

The next day, I woke up early to grab breakfast at 6:00, pick-up my bib number and prepare my gear. Around one hour later, I walked over to the starting line, where the race commenced at 8:00. It was pouring with rain, but the atmosphere was incredible.

While I had run the full marathon distance in 2019, this year I opted for the medium route, which measured around 30 kilometers and 1500 meteres of vertical gain. The route was pretty much the same as the hard route, except that when arriving at the Heidelberger hut, we took a right turn and climbed up Ritzenjoch.

Despite, carrying a light knee injury with me - as per always - I was feeling good and running well. Only a couple of weeks prior, I had run the 185 kilometers of Cami de Cavalls around Menorca and shortly after, I will be running from Munich to Zugspitze, thus I thought that it would be smart to not go all out.

I quickly found my pace and I settled in nicely into the race. It was pouring with rain and the visibility was pretty poor, so bad that at times little did I know where I was. The initial 15 kilometers went super well. I felt like I was flowing up the hill towards the top of Ritzenjoch, only to welcome the first cramp of the day.

So far - thank God - I had very little issues with cramps, blisters or any other running-related injury during a race, but this time, I got hit with full force. I had some previous trouble on my knee, which might have led to these issues. As I was climbing up the hill, first my left calf cramped, and then my left leg decided to block up completely. I was trying to stretch it out, but it was impossible. Eventually the cramp vanished. I ventured onwards. Then, my right leg decided to join the cramp party. Boy, this was painful! I am not sure what caused these issues – Maybe some lack of magnesium? In any case, I made it to the top and then run downhill.

I went full throttle, also to make up for the time that I had lost on the incline. Keeping my legs moving paid off for most of the time, but occasionally I would get caught up by some hefty cramps again. The downhill was technical and rocky. The cramps would suddenly hit, blocking both of my legs from moving, making me tumble and almost fall. I stopped. I tried to shake it out and message my legs with a little success, so that I could continue the course. Fortunately, the remaining kilometres of the course were flat and nice to run.

When standing on the sidelines, trying to recollect my body and mind, fellow runners continuously asked if I was okay and encouraged me to keep going. This is exactly what I meant, when speaking about that there is something special within the running world. With less than two kilometers to go, the sun decided to come out again, and I was on my way towards the finish line. 300, 200, 100 meters to go. After 3:49:52 hours, I crossed the finish line, placing 29th rank. I guess if I would not have had these issues, I could have easily entered the Top 15 with less than 3:30 hours.

In the end, no bad feelings, I was super happy and relieved, overcome by a proud feeling of completing the course. More so, soon after I found out that Hannes and Thomas had placed 1st and 2nd over the full distance, which gave us yet another reason to celebrate and share a beer in the evening.

After soaking up a few more minutes of the atmosphere in the finishers area, we returned to Hotel Sonne, where the post-run treatment was waiting. I made my way to the spa to spend some time relaxing in the sauna and whirlpool before dinner was served. Same as the night before, we were once again treated with a multi-course dinner consisting of an array of plant-based delights.

Despite the individual success of each one of us, above all, we also secured the 1st place in the team competition, bringing home the epic trophy of Silveretta 3000 to Hotel Sonne. Let‘s see what next year will bring, but I guess we are all set to defend the title, hopefully with no cramps along the way.

Many thanks to Andi Steibl, Alex Sailer and the team at Ischgl tourism for the invitation as well as to Sonja and Peter Zangerl, and the entire team of Hotel Sonne for hosting us in such an incredible way.