Jungfrau Marathon 2012

September 16, 2012

Jungfrau Marathon 2012

Best. Marathon. Ever.

Have you ever heard about something and decided that it's been a lifelong dream or goal? I'm sure most ultrarunners have and I did for the first time when I heard about the Jungfrau marathon. I hadn't gone full idiot yet, but the temptation to join the dumb side was strong. Worst part is that there was no idiot trying to convince me to do this. Apparently, I’m idiot enough to do this on my own.

A marathon that included 1700 meters of elevation gain seemed nearly impossible to me. At least training was fun. 20-30 km mountain runs in places like Davos, Zermatt, St. Moritz, and Madesimo sure made for a fun and memorable summer. I also went to TDF at “La Plannche de Belles Filles” and hiking in Austria at Muttersberg, so Jungfrau seemed natural. Plateau of beautiful women, mothers mountain, and young woman.

I spent the weekend with my friend, Mischa, at his family home in Grindelwald. In the morning, I packed a few small sandwiches and took the train alone to Interlaken. The small tourist town was packed with hundreds of runners and onlookers. I'm sure there were a lot of Chinese tourists that were caught completely unaware that a race would be held the week they took their vacation of a lifetime. OTOH, we all got to witness a celebration of Swiss culture, with costumed musicians, Alpin horns, flag throwers, large plaster cows and more.

The race winds through the city of Interlaken and then up Lauterbrunnen valley. This has to be one of the most beautiful places one could imagine. Steep cliffs lined the green valley, cut by a glacier melt river. Towering waterfalls appeared one after another, with snow capped mountains and glaciers setting the backdrop behind them. I half expected to see flying unicorns. The first half of the run is relatively flat. I passed the 20km mark in just under 2 hours, even accounting for the time I paused at a friendly streetside bar that offered refreshments to runners. I asked for a beer and heartily enjoyed it.

My calf cramped hard just before the big climb up to Wengen. It couldn't have happened at a worse time. The climb is steeper than anything I could imagine. The rest of the run was a selection of walking, slowly jogging, and stopping at the many massage stations.

Swiss race bibs have your names in big letters. The crowds cheer every runner by name. German does not have a silent-e, so I was called Duke - eh, but close enough.

My calf loosened up by the time we reached the single track trail near the end of the race. Now under the Jungfrau glacier, I was able to quickly climb the last couple of miles. The quiet beauty of the mountain was occasionally interrupted by the sound of cracking and falling ice on the glacier. I was able to run the final descent to the finish at the foot of the Eiger, nearly knocking over a runner kneeling to propose to his girlfriend. I suppose that was his girlfriend, hopefully not a stranger. Running 6 and a half hours can do that do a brain. I can't wait to come back.