“Pain, extreme pain …”

Markus Kröll is 34, he’s one of the best mountain runners in Europe, and at the 19th Red Bull Dolomitenmann event in and around Lienz on 9 September, he’ll be attempting to lead Team Red Bull to victory - that would be an improvement by one place over last year, and Kröll’s seventh victory. The Austrian can look forward to 1,700 vertical meters spread out over twelve kilometers, and his teammates are paraglider Wendelin Ortner, canoeist Harald Hudetz and mountain biker Roland Stauder.

2,441 meters above sea level … are you ready yet for the run up to the Kühboden-Törl?

Absolutely, I feel really strong right now - I’m in the right kind of shape. The past few competitions I was in went really well: together with the team, I won the Outdoor Trophy in Vorarlberg, and we were also successful recently at the Tauern Adventure Race in Styria.

What do you think of spontaneously when you hear the word “Dolomitenmann”?

Pain, extreme pain. And partying, a huge spectacle. When the Dolomitenmann rolls around, all of Lienz starts partying. It’s really a huge spectacle.

Extreme pain - how do you define that?

It’s hard to put it into words. The Dolomites are the most extreme, steepest mountains I’ve ever conquered. No course is anywhere near as brutal as the one at the Dolomitenmann.

The Dolomitenmann pits mountain runners against twelve kilometers and a vertical rise of over 1,700 meters - sounds like a most un-relaxing Saturday…

Three kilometers of the course are flat, so the climb is concentrated on the other nine kilometers. After the halfway-point you’re in extreme pain, but by the last 15 minutes before the finish line you’re no longer feeling anything - you’re more or less running in a trance. If someone were to shove you even lightly, you’d fall right over. You’re just a complete blank.

Why would anyone do this to himself?

For me, mountain running is like a drug. If I’m not allowed to torture myself, I get impossible to live with. Mountain running is torture for any extreme athlete, but it’s really motivating when you see how others are suffering even more than you are. If you’re in good shape, if you feel good, then mountain running is a lot of fun - you truly play with your opponents. That’s what you train for.

What actually runs through your mind during a competition like that?

All kinds of stuff. If it’s going badly, I think of my family, of my girlfriend Iris and my daughter Elena; but I think of them when I feel good, too. I also think pretty often about my deceased cousin Richard - he was a competitive alpine skier, and he repeatedly drove forward my career as a runner.

What do you expect from the race?

The beginning of the race will include a lot of tactical sparring, with the real serious business being saved for shortly before the finish line. Last year, the last 500 meters turned the results completely upside down.

Your time last year on the over twelve kilometer course was just around 1 hour and 28 minutes. What kind of time do you think you’ll be able to manage this year?

That completely depends on how the race takes shape. Time isn’t important. The important thing is to cross the finish line first, if possible.