Ok, so about a week after we get back from the states, I have to run a marathon in Zermatt, Switzerland. I'll keep the boring details to a minimum and stick to pictures and the experience.
To start off, I ran in this marathon not so much out a burning desire to run this particular marathon, or any marathon in general. I ran my first one several years ago, and decided to never do one again. I was effectively strongarmed into this race as I was volunteered by J to run with someone who was running their first marathon and needed a running buddy. The irony is that I was clear that I would train with him but not run in the race. Several weeks after training, I was asked to run the race with him and I had no real reason to say "no" because I was already in shape for it and had nothing else of importance going on. Thus, the saga began.
Once we got back from the states and picked up our dog, our dog Etsy developed some odd infection on her back foot. Fortunately, we caught it early enough and she responded to meds well enough that we were able to bring her along to the race. This was the first of many quirks throughout the trip.
Poor Etsy in her cone of shame. Fortunately, after this day, she didn't need it anymore.
Getting there was definitely different. It was a 6 hour trip from where we live, with the German border being at about the halfway point. We were nervous because we had to go through a tollway, only to find out that because we were from Germany going to Switzerland, there was no toll to worry about. It was odd to come across a tollway that was supposed to be ignored. It didn't make much sense to me.
Once in Switzerland, we got to go through a mountain on a rail-ferry for cars. It was pricier than I would have preferred, $25 per car minimum, but it cut travel time by about an hour and made for a totally different experience.
One of the many pretty views on our way there.
Yeah, the roads through the Alps involve a LOT of switchbacks.
Loaded up on the rail-ferry through the mountain. J was none too excited about this, but I was!
I wanted to pick up my marathon items at the start point first because I wanted to get logistics and paperwork sorted out before and not on the day of the marathon. It was a good idea because we were able to get a day-pass train ticket for J (mine was included as part of the race package) and they gave J several options for being at the right place at the right time for pictures and cheering on runners.
LOTS of cool mountainside waterfalls. All of them from the snow melting off of the mountain tops.
All locked and loaded for the race the next day!
Getting to the hotel was also a different experience. The hotel was set up by the guy I was running with, so I figured if we all started at the same place that things would be easier in the long run. We followed our GPS Navigator to the hotel address, only to find ourselves smacking into a gate that was next to a large car garage and was only passable with a plastic card. We went into the garage and talked to the cashier and were informed that it was a "no car town." I had vaguely read about this in prepping for the marathon, but I didn't realize that the hotel we were going to was in one of these towns. This made logistics to the start on race day annoying in that it was a 40min drive from the town to the start line, and it took roughly 30min just to walk from the hotel to our car.
Saas-Fee
Hey! We saw some of these in Norway!
How do you like my hair in the wind. We both wondered if I was going bald when we saw this picture.
Getting into Saas-Fee was also an experience. We parked our car in the garage and were driven to the hotel by a bellhop of the hotel in an electric car. We found out that we were staying in a slightly upscale hotel, which was odd because it felt like a standard hotel. Saas-Fee is totally a ski resort town. Space was at a premium, but it was clear that the town was "off-season" because of the lack of people roaming town. It was a charming place with all of the older looking buildings around, and everything had a "tight" feel to it because the town was built on a slope smack in the middle of the Alps with very few straight roads of any kind. We met up with the other people who were joining us and had dinner and went to bed in prep for the marathon.
Before going to dinner, we realized that needed an early checkout. Knowing how rigid things functioned in Germany, we thought it best to ask the desk if an early checkout could be accomodated. We were very glad we asked because it ended up being that no early checkout could be done in the morning. We had to settle the bill and coordinate checkout right away at that moment. We were lucky to have asked otherwise we debatably would have been unable to all get to the marathon at the start gun otherwise.
Language was another thing that made Switzerland unique. Almost everyone spoke three languages. Throughout the race, we heard German, Italian, French, and English everywhere. It actually created an atmosphere that seemed very friendly. However, most long-distance races are filled with very friendly people.
There were three of us racing and three spectating in our group with three dogs. R, B, and I were running, all three of us from Minnesota. J, R's wife Ja, and Ja's friend K spectated with the three dogs, Etsy, Mabel, and Stella. B and I made it to the start line well in advance and thus got a good parking spot and plenty of relaxing prep time before the race. About 15 minutes before the start of the race, R was able to make it to the starting line and join up with us. The gals and dogs made it about 5 minutes before start time. Talk about cutting it close!
Alpenhorns got the racers started off right!
B and me, all geared up, waiting for the rest of the posse to arrive. J showed up first, and started taking pictures right away.
He made it!
Don't mind me. Just some pre-race jitters.
The elite runners got a 5 minute head start. We're waiting with everyone else for the floodgates to open.
More pre-race jitters.
Can you spot me? J sure could.
...and we're off!
The race itself was very different for me. The scenery was very beautiful and there were a good number of runners from all over Europe speaking lots of different languages. I needed to use most of my racing tricks I learned throughout my entire life. The first half was relatively flat and I managed to piss off a German because I was talking too loud to R and B. I was just trying to keep things light and friendly, but apparently it was understood that the race was to be done in its entirety in silence only enjoying the scenery and the challenge of the event. B and I thought that quite strange, and also noticed very few runners with earbuds in and even fewer running in even small groups like we were. And I thought I could be intense.
The second half of the marathon was two-thirds uphill and one-third downhill. This caused me to separate from R and B and take about 10 minutes total of recharge. Once recharged, I surprised all three of us by catching up to them at the 24 mile mark. We met the gals and the dogs at the finish line. I do not exaggerate when I say that all of the uphill motion by all of the runners was walking. Fortunately, the finish was downhill, so it made for a pretty finish.
The ladies were waiting all waiting for us rather patiently at the finish line.
This was a map J found after the race at the top of the mountain at Gornergrat. It's actually a pretty good illustration of the second half of the race. Zermatt, the city at the bottom of the map, was the half-way point of the race.
J proceeded to take some great pictures of the scenery around the finish line.
Matterhorn, I presume. :)
The finish area before the runners arrive.
Etsy, 1/4 Saint Bernard, seemed to be quite at home in Alps. This was one of the calmest moments she had when she was there. Yep, that's a snowmelt creek behind her. Yep, that's snow only about 400 meters behind her.
Here are some photos taken by the race. Sadly, I had to pay for those, but they were some pretty good shots.
Yes, there were moments where I was walking as fast as people were jogging.
Yep, more walking during this race than I prefer to admit. I tried to remember to smile for all of the photographers.
A stock photo of that lake behind me two pictures above. It actually was a cool little random park on the mountainside.
This was somewhere within two miles of the finish line.
The three of us struggling to get up the last hill of the race.
Yep, still struggling.
Rapid-fire professional shots of me at the last 200 meters before the finish line.
Me crossing the finish line.
Me at the finish line. Needless to say, I was tired.
Back together after the finish line.
R enjoying the taste of his first marathon finish medal.
Here is the whole posse. One of the Minnesotans we met took this picture for us. From right to left: Etsy, J, Me, K, Ja, Stella, Mabel, R, and B.
K got a little jealous of some of the runners' "recovery ponchos." Someone abandoned one by the tracks, so she decided to get it for herself.
The view at the top was beautiful with a perfect view of the Matterhorn, one of the signature items of the race. The atmosphere at that altitude made the air thin, caused J to get a second degree sunburn on her nose (we were both peeling a bit several days later), and allowed us to enjoy an 80+ degree Fahrenheit day with pockets of snow all around us, some pockets over 1 foot deep! We also met several other Minnesotans at this race. I don't know what it is, but I feel like we bump into a lot of random Minnesotans in this part of Europe. Just flat out crazy and unexpected. After eating and rehydrating, we went to the top of the mountain we were on and gazed over the Alps, several glaciers, and the overall scenery.
Matterhorn, from Gornergrat.
I was reading about the several glaciers that were right on the other side of that ledge. There were at least 5 that I could remember.
Another view from Gornergrat. Again, it was easily 80 degrees Fahrenheit, and there was at least 1 foot of snow on the ground in some places and glaciers not too far away. It was very surreal.
Once we left, we realized that we were actually short on time to get to the next hotel. Enroute, we discovered that the town the hotel was in was another no-car town but this one was only accessible by train, making only 40min stops to check on late-comers. On the way there, J and I decided to simply head for home as we did not enjoy getting out of the last town very well with even only an electric car delay. We chose to stay at a hotel on the border in Germany, which actually worked out very well for us even though it was quite late for a weekend check-in.
We slept in late, only had about 2 hours of driving to get back home, and got to enjoy a pretty low key remainder of the day. The poor rest of the posse didn't get back until very late the day we got home, so they had less recharge time in the long run because of all of the added travel in between.
It was a race worth doing, but I would not voluntarily do it again unless someone asked me to as a running buddy. Marathons are a bit much for me. I prefer half-marathons. On the flip side, it inspired the gals to all try a race on their own. J is training for a 10k in Munich and I will be running with her in that. She already has a running buddy as well (no, it's not me). Ja and K are also training for a race and last I heard it was a half-marathon in October. I had forgotten how the friendly and infectious atmosphere of long-distances races could have such an effect on people.
Anyone wishing for further details, simply ask in the comments below. I could go on and on. I learned a lot of new things.
