I must admit that investment banking and training for ultra-marathons are not the most ideal symbiosis of two passions. However, since both activities give me a lot of joy and pleasure, it is about making the best out of the given situation and combining the two as good as I can.
Read MoreWith four months to go, I am entering the final weeks of preparation for the highlight of my yet so young running career. Ultra-Trail Du Mont Blanc has been the reason for why I have relentlessly been collecting miles week over week. Now, at the end of August, three years after I had witnessed the start of the 2015 edition, I get to run this epic trail myself.
Read MoreIt was the first race since my battle with the Swiss alps at the Eiger Ultra-Trail last July and I had not been running much since December - I had travelled to Australia and I started my new job in Frankfurt. So, when I was waiting at the starting line, just outside the Commerzbank Arena, I was not entirely sure what to expect. Naturally, I always set out to beat my previous personal best, but this time, my goal was to just run and to see where I stand with my training and my fitness.
Read MoreAccording to the people at Brooks, I am not a runner. I am a self-defined runner. Only people that run in a run in a competitive and professional sense can call themselves a runner, says Jim Weber the company's CEO. Around 28 million American run regularly but do not race. They run for personal reasons.
Read MoreTwo years ago, I had witnessed the start of the Ultra-Trail Du Mont Blanc. I left Chamonix with the goal to run the epic race in 2018. It became my dream and I turned the journey towards it into my personal ascend of Mount Everest. A few weeks ago, I signed up and I read about the opportunity to support a charitable organisation, as part of the admission and registration process. While running more often than not is an individual sport, I like to add a social team element to my sport. I want to use my undertakings as an outlet to mobilize people and to open their eyes for important issues.
Read MoreOne week ago, at this year's New York City Marathon, Shalane Flanagan did what no American woman has done in 40 years: she won. The four-time Olympian beat the three-time NYC winner Mary Keitany to win the 2017 New York City Marathon in an astonishing 2:26:53 hours. Her victory came after a seven year-long road of frustrations and disappointments over the past decade, yet she knew she had to persevere, remain patient and keep working hard, in order to get her first major win.
Read MoreBy monitoring key aspects of your running and fitness progress, you get a better look at your current performance level and what you need to do to keep up the good work or continue improving. The core level of your physiology is being reflected by your heart beats. Your heart is mirroring what you do and how your body is doing.
Read MoreIt only takes a few days to get out of shape. When you stop running for just a week, your maximal aerobic capacity (max. VO2), one of the key running dynamics and physiological measurements, starts to decrease. Two to three weeks without training, and you will add a minute or more to your 5K time. More so, the stroke volume, which is the amount of blood pumped per heartbeat can drop by 10 percent and your muscles' aerobic enzymes may fall by 25 percent.
Read MoreI had run for less than 30 minutes and covered a distance of under five kilometres, when I realized that today was going to be a tough day. In fact, the last weeks leading up to this day have not been as smooth as I had hoped them to be. It took me longer than expected to fully recover from Marathon Des Sables and shortly after I was back in training I picked up an injury on my left foot.
Read MoreWe are a few hours away from the start of this year’s Eiger Ultra-Trail. It is one of the most epic races in the calendar and passes along the infamous Eiger Nordwand. The trail measures 101 kilometres and holds over 6700 positive meters of altitude in hand. Whilst Marathon Des Sables was a challenge in its own way, the Eiger Ultra-Trail will be the most demanding race I will have competed in to date. It is a stunning course that guides us through the Swiss Alps and along some of the most beautiful trails in Europe.
Read MoreThe initial purpose of my blog was to document and share my journey to the Ultra-Trail Du Mont Blanc in 2018. However, as I started to accumulate running kilometres, I came to realise the increased interest by family and friends. I was particularly fascinated and very thankful by the number of people that had followed my recent Marathon Des Sables undertaking.
Read MoreJust over a month ago I was on my way through the Moroccan Sahara. Marathon Des Sables has been a truly breathtaking experience. It has been a week filled with running through the dunes during the day, sleeping in a bivouac and watching the sun rise in the morning, and set at night. I crossed paths with a number of interesting people, as much as I came to discover new sides within myself. Not only did I assemble almost 250 kilometres over six days of running, but I was able to collect memories for a lifetime. Below you can find a selection of some of those moments in time.
Read More"Living easy, living free, season ticket on a one-way ride, asking nothing, leave me be, taking everything in my stride, don't need reason, don't need rhyme, ain't nothing I would rather do, going down, party time, my friends are gonna be there too, I'm on the highway to hell." Those are the opening lyrics of ACDC's infamous song and the final words every competitor hears before they start each stage of Marathon Des Sables (MDS).
Read MoreWe have come to the point, where it is only a matter of hours until I will embark on the most challenging ultra marathon I will have faced up until today. On Sunday, 9th April around 9:00 am the over 250 kilometer long adventure will commence. The organizers of Marathon Des Sables (MDS) have implemented a GPS service, which tracks and traces every step that my fellow runners and I are going to take. So, if you are curious to see where I am from Sunday onwards, you can check the official Marathon Des Sables website.
Read MoreAt this time next week, I will have completed the first three stages of Marathon Des Sables and run over 100 kilometres through fine desert sand. The thought of such leaves me speechless, as it is getting serious.
Read MoreBefore I am diving into the details of my equipment, food, as well as training regime, I should explain what Marathon Des Sables (MDS) actually is. The ones that have followed my blog over the last few months will have read about it on multiple occasions, some may have even heard about it before, whilst others have absolute no clue what is going on here.
Read MoreWhilst I am sitting here and writing this post, I am watching athletes running, walking and trotting towards the finish line. Though, I wish this post was called “Barcelona Marathon” and I was able to tell you about my experience of running through the Catalan capital, I suppose you can gather from the title that such is not the case. Instead, I shall describe the feeling of saying “no” to running the Barcelona Marathon.
Read MoreExactly one month from today, on Friday, the 7th April, I will be driving into the desert joined by 1295 fellow runners. I am a little lost for words, as I am looking back at my journey, and how time seems to have flown by. It all started off in Madrid in December 2015. If I am not mistaken, it was a Saturday night that I had spent at home, when I came across a couple of YouTube videos about Marathon Des Sables on YouTube. I have heard about MDS, as it is commonly known, before, but I was far away from thinking that I would ever be participating in this event. Whilst being one of the most unique stops on the Ultra-Trail World Tour, it is also known as one of the toughest courses of the tour. Running and completing MDS would not only offer some incredible experience and memories, but also grants six points towards the Ultra-Trail Du Mont Blanc qualification. I was fascinated by the visuals that I was watching and the reports, which I was reading. I signed up.
Read MoreOne week ago I was running through the streets of Barcelona. In precisely two months I would be boarding my returning flight after I will have put over 250 kilometres of running through the desert behind me. Time really does seem to fly be these day. Last weekend I was in Sevilla, in order to run the Marathon. Though, I have been talking enough about hours storming past us, this post would not be complete without mentioning a specific article that I came across around this time last year.
Read MoreIn less than two months I would be well on my way running, walking and trotting through the Moroccan desert, as Marathon Des Sables is less than two months away. However, before I had to run 21 kilometres through the streets of Barcelona, as well as complete the Sevilla Marathon, which is awaiting me this weekend.
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