Ahead of the Red Bull Dolomitenmann, mountain runner Markus Kröll describes the highs and lows of racing in the mountains of the Tyrol.
Red Bull Dolomitenmann (Dolomite Man) is a hard core relay race for runners, kayakers, paragliders and mountainbikers. The competition traditionally begins with a mass start in the centre of Lienz as the runners try to race the eight miles to the top of Kühbodentörl (cow ground’s gate), which is about a mile higher up the mountain.
After the starter’s pistol has fired, an incredible mêlée breaks out among the runners. I just try to keep calm and not bump into anyone. After about 20 minutes, when the pack reaches Brucksteig, a little bridge in the woods to the south east of Lienz, my head is already ringing from all the noise that the crowd are making with cheers, cowbells and hooters.
It’s also the first of three stops. After that, the torture really begins. From Brucksteig it’s straight up a rock slide. But by then the field has started to thin out a bit and the noise dies down, leaving a bit of calm around us. It’s like someone has turned off a heavy metal song, and suddenly I can listen to my breath and my heartbeat and relax.
Half an hour later, I start to feel my feet, but it’s still such a long way from the top that I don’t want to admit it to myself. I just go ahead, thinking "No problem, Markus, it’s going to be alright!" Many self-motivating mantras later along the serpentine path, the forest opens up giving way to the rocky surface of the mountain ledge.
My steps get shorter, everything hurts, sometimes I puke because I’m so exhausted. It starts to feel like I'm wearing earplugs. By that point I’m so weak that if someone pushed me slightly, I’d tumble over, which is pretty much what I do once I've passed the symbolic relay on to our team’s paraglider. After I've reached the finish line, I’m wasted. I’ll have trouble eating a meal at night – and there’s no way I could party, even if our team were to win the event.
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