SwissAlpine Marathon K78 ultra 2012 - race recap

Okay, where to start? Another SwissAlpine Marathon K78 (my second). Another 50 miler (80-ish K). Again a ton of meters / feet elevation gain. Another amazing day. Is it even legal to have this much fun?

So, where to start... The day before? There we go.

Friday, July 27th 2012

After Facebook stalking each other for two years straight - Niels and I finally ran into each other! Halle-bleepin-lujah! Not only is he incredibly nice, he's also an amazing ultra runner. Super speedy and extremely well trained. And great fun to be around! Plus, we share a love for brightly colored running gear. Ha!

Saturday, July 28th 2012 - 6:45 AM

After finally running into Niels, I can't seem to get rid of him. ;) Bonus, I also got to meet one of my other Facebook stalking projects: Gabi! And in case you were wondering why Niels ran a kick-ass PR of 8 hours 18 minutes at the SwissAlpine K78 50 miler - this is why. ;)

Oh, and don't let Gabi's skirt fool you - she is freakishly fast. Like 9 hours fast. Whoopa!

Saturday, July 28th 2012 - 7 AM

Mom dropped me off at the start line and now it was time to tackle this beast! Spotted Laetitia right before the start and we crossed that start line together (it was her first 50 miler / 80K - she kicked some mountain butt!). Boy, was I looking forward to this thing! :)  The first 6-ish K of the race are a loop the the town of Davos, Switzerland. Great way to 'run into' running buds. Chatted with Allan for a while, then surprised Janina and Peter, spotted Ruud and then decided to stalk Femi. Ha!

Lengmatta (8-ish K / 5 miles)

After the loop through Davos we headed for Frauenkirch / Lengmatta. That's Femi right behind me (yes, I was still stalking him). Right after this photo was taken, I was spotted by Sarah. She did great at the 30K race!

After Lengmatta, we headed for Glaris (10-ish K / 6 miles) and started to climb up to Spina. Absolutely love the cow bells up at Spina. So cool! After crossing Spina we ran through the forest - lovely trails. Right after we crossed Monstein. That's where Matthias spotted me. Thanks for saying 'Hi', Matthias! We chatted the miles till the Zügenschlucht (16-ish K / 10 miles) away. :) Unfortunately, Matthias had some nasty knee issues, and made a wise call finishing at the 30K mark. He's a total rock star for going to the finish line in Davos after that, and waiting for the K78 runners in the rain!

That's Matthias on the right. In case you were confused by the compression shorts I'm wearing. ;)

Zügenschlucht - Filisur (16-ish K - 30K / 10 miles - 19-ish miles) 

I still think the Zügenschlucht is one of the most amazing places out there. So gorgeous and such an experience to run through. Could not get that 'is so beautiful out here' smile off of my face. This photo is taken just after leaving the Zügenschlucht and right before Wiesen. And yes, I am aware of the fact that I'm sporting a 'rabbit in the head lights' look. Get over it. ;)

Wiesen = the Wiesner Viadukt. :) I love staring down into this amazing gorge. And running the Wiesner Viadukt is 'kinda cool' (understatement). In my humble opinion. :) Oh, and apparently I had some thing for the sock monkey I was carrying around all day. Don't ask. Must have been the endorphins.

Okay, what's next? Some hilly trails. Fun hilly trails, though, on the way to Filisur (30K / 19 miles). And yes, there's the Sock Monkey again. 

Right before crossing Filisur, I found myself running next to Werner. Loved meeting you, Werner, and thanks for taking these photos. Even when I'm obviously having one of my non-Heidi Klum moments. Why did you have to tell me 'to look like I was running'? This is what you get. ;) Oh, and you should really try the K78 next year! :)

My 'Heidi Klum meets Usain Bolt' pose. Enough said.

Filisur - Bergün (30K - 40-ish K / 19 miles - 25 miles)

I'd reached Filisur after 3 hours and 9 minutes and continued my way to Bergün. It was at this point where I got the chance to run with Julie and her husband for a bit. Both of them are nice nice and the fact that they are battling this thing together - is pretty darn sweet. And that's a lot coming from a non-romantic nut. :)

Apparently there had been a land slide on the original route between Filisur and Bergün, so we had to follow this road to Bergün, instead of the planned trails. 

That's Julie in front of me (in the yellow top).

Bergün - Keschhütte (40-ish K - 53K / 25 miles - 32 miles)

Ah, Bergün. Where the rain kicked in. Woo-hoo. And the thunder storms. Brilliant. This thing for my Sock Monkey was still very much present. Embarrassing - at least. Reached Bergün at 4 hours and 9 minutes into the race.

Mom was waiting for me at Bergün - with a cheese sandwich, a bottle of coca cola (yeah, I can drink caffein during races :) - caffein detox rocks) and a fresh pair of shoes - slippery mountail trail specific shoes. :) After leaving Bergün and heading for Chänts the rain and thunder storms kicked in. Big time. Thank the running gods I'd decided to pack my Goretex jacket in my pack. Right after struggling with my pack and almost choking myself with my iPod cords putting on the jacket I heard my name. Femi! Yay! Someone to bore the heck out of on the way to the Keschhütte. I kept chatting away - I'm seriously surprised that he didn't kick me off that hill. I could not have blamed him. ;) Especially after I'd announced that 'I'd have to pee at some point'. 'Charming' has my name written all over it.

And yes, we were only running for this photo to be taken. After passing the camera guy we pretty much stopped in our tracks. ;)

The real climb to the Keschhütte starts at Chänts. Lucky for me they had proper toilets there (not that I mind doing my business in the woods - I don't mind at all - kind of worries me. ;)) - climbing with your bladder ready to burst, isn't my idea of fun. It was in these toilets that I noticed that I did not smell peachy. Sweat bunny galore. Enough said. Weird, since I normally smell like fresh rose buds. All day, every day. No kidding. ;)

What's next? Oh, that's right. The climb to the Keschhütte. Ouch. Let's just say that I have quite a lot of photos of this bit, since I was enjoying the view so much. It had nothing to do with me holding on for a sec to let my quads have a moment of rest. Okay?

Yep, I had brilliantly managed to tangled up my iPod cords with my camera. I'm gifted.

Ouchie and so amazingly beautiful at the same time.

A little after this point I spotted Femi again. We began noticing a lot of the K42-runners (marathon distance with a 11:30 AM start in Bergün) on the course. Since Femi and moi (and the other K78-runners around us) already had 53K / 32-ish miles in our legs, we weren't as fresh as the K42 runners. Not ideal on single trails - especially not when these K42 runners start pushing you to the side. And yes - some of them did ask to pass, so we could make way, but despite that - not fun. Especially since I (and several other runners) spotted and helped multiple runners (both K78 and K42) that fell off of the trail because of this. Not that any of us did mind helping others out, but someone could have gotten seriously injured. Dear race director of an amazing race (and that's what the SwissAlpine Marathon is), could you please sort this out for a next race? Start time, whatever. Nothing to complain about, but pretty please? :)

6 hours and 51 minutes into the race, I spotted the Keschhütte (53K / 32-ish miles). So glad! :) And so windy up there! :)

Keschhütte - Sertig (53K - 65K / 32-ish miles / 40-ish miles)

After Keschhütte (the weather got sunny) we were on our way to the Sertig Pass. Another climb. But a gorgeous one. First we had to climb to the Sertig Pass at 60-ish K, before we could start the descent to Sertig.

Boy, was I glad to reach the Sertig Pass. Again, very windy. But - wait for it - they had Coca Cola. Woo-hoo! For a girl that has detoxed from caffein and promised herself it is okay to drink caffein during races - this was like finding a box filled with gold. :) Plus, isn't this view amazing? :)

Yep, it's still a pile of rocks. :)

Hey! It's Femi! Looking fresh as a daisy!

And that's me. Displaying how I felt about the high alpine part of the race. Looking like a goof ball and not smelling like a daisy.

Sertig - Davos Platz (65-ish K - 79-ish K / 40-ish miles - 50-ish miles)

After the (partly steep) descent to Sertig I hoped Bram was waiting for me. He was in the K42 race and was sweet enough to wait for me at Sertig, to run the last bit together. Since I had been speaking either German or English for most of the day, speaking Dutch apparently sounded like Bulgarian. That is, according to Bram. And silly me was wondering why he kept telling me that I should eat something. Whoops

This photo pretty much captures that moment. Me playing around with Sock Monkey. Bram looking at me and obviously thinking 'What the F is going on with her? Why the heck did I wait for her?'.

Lucky for me, he did not ditch me on the way to Davos, so I had someone to sing to for the last 10 miles. Shocker - apparently I can't sing. Boo-freaking-hoo. Some people just don't appreciate a girl trying to entertain.

And before I knew it (and right before the thunder storms kicked in again), I found myself a couple of hundred meters from the finish line. After 10 hours, 28 minutes and 41 seconds, 79-ish K / 50-ish miles and after 2,600 meters / 8,530 ft of elevation gain, I could not have been happier. I had a blast from start to finish. Felt great all the way through (such a gift). The kilometers / miles kept ticking away. And I nibbled an hour off of last year's time (although I feel that last year's race was a bit longer and had some extra elevation gain, but that's for the RD to decide).

How I love this race. Thanks, dear race director and race crew, for setting up such an amazing race. :)

All post finish photos below are courtesy of Wendy Widmer (my dearest Wendy :)).

Okay, I seem way to happy with that beer.

Apparently, I'm a giant. I don't even fit into this photo. What the heck.

Ran into Matthias at the finish line! Had such fun running with him at Monstein.

Wendy! The girls with the fancy kinesio taping on the knees. Won't be long till you see this look on the Paris' catwalks. Mark my words.

Swiss Alpine K78 revisited

What running a 50-miler in the Swiss Alps does to this girl:

Taken about an hour after finishing.

What running a 50-miler in the Swiss Alps also does to this girl:

The day after. :) And yes, that's a Snuggie.

The mind is a funny thing... - the 'Post-race blues' follow-up

...that, or I'm out of my freaking mind. Then again, I did seem to find the cure to the post-race blues along the way.

I've just registered for another 50-miler. Another one of those 'seems fun, let's click 'register'' kind of moments. The way my mind works... Did not receive the confirmation email, though, after I'd already paid for the entry (not even after stalking the race director and their FB-page about it...). The race? Well...

Eco-trail de Paris (as in Paris, France, in case you were wondering...) And yes, the whole 'the finishline is at the Eiffel Tower' thing, might have something to do with me registering for it...

And guess what? I could not be more excited about this! :) I'd already registered for a 50K on my birthday (February). The London Ultra in the UK. :) And yes, you're all invited. Just make sure to bring cupcakes. And lots of them. ;)

Plus, two upcoming marathons (planned) this Fall (Amsterdam and NYC, if and when everything goes according to plan...). And some Spring marathons I hope on registering for (Paris, Edinburgh (Scotland)). Swiss Alpine ultramarathon next summer? I sure hope so! The Courmayeur Champex Chamonix ultra? Dare I hope so? Would be a dream coming true. :)

Seems to be fighting off the post-race blues pretty well. ;)

Could this really be the cure for the post-race blues? Could it? :)

Post-race blues - Been there?

This Swiss Alpine ultramarathon two weeks ago was my A-race for this year. The one race that I really really wanted to do this year. The race that degraded every other race, marathon or not, to a 'training run. The race that made the Amsterdam Marathon this October and the NYC Marathon this November 'something fun to in the last few weeks of the year'. The race that made me drive everyone around me crazy. I could not stop talking about it.

And now it's mid-August. Two weeks have passed since the race. And the race, this experience, was everything I'd hoped it to be... and more.

So, here I am. A-race for the year - done. Some marathons to look forward to in the Fall. Plan on running those for fun. No PR attempts...nuh-oh. But still...I feel 'blah'. Post-race blues? I guess so. I've never had this before (that is, in the 18 months that I've been into running now). Last Saturday the blues had reached a point where I couldn't take myself out into the rain to run a lousy 6-miler (10K). Seriously. A 6-miler. Then again, I did a 13.5 miler (21.5K) the next day and loved every minute of it.

But still...I miss the pre Swiss Alpine ultramarathon excitement. The A-race jitters. A cure? I couldn't find one... No kidding, I googled it. ;)

Have you ever experienced a serious case of the post-race blues? Any cure for this one?

And even more Swiss Alpine Marathon ultra photos!

...and yes, I know I'm risking boring you to death here... Sorry about that. ;)

Post race, Wendy and moi stuffing myself with a protein bar...yum...

Post race. Sitting down seemed like a stupid call, but surprise surprise...I was able to get up...by myself. ;) And nope, Lordie isn't aiming for my protein bar...he's just staring at me. He'd literally been waiting for me since I'd left the house in the morning. Love. That. Dog. :)

Yep, I'm a freaking giant. I know. Get over it. Plus, check that rat's nest going on on my head... It took half a bottle of conditioner to untangle that mess. (Note to self: get haircut...).

Mom and moi. And Diddy. :) Mom did the 10K with her service dog Diddy (seizure alert dog). Why she's holding me? Well...I tried standing in one place for the photo...on that hill...but kept falling backwards...Oh yeah...

Swiss Alpine Marathon 2011 - K78 race report

How to write a race report on a race that made you realize that this (ultrarunning, mountain races) is what you love to do? A race that got you into a Zen-like state of mind for the full 79.1 kilometers. A race that made you smile, laugh out loud like a weird bag lady and teary-eyed all at the same time.

A race report couldn't - not in a million years - do this race justice. Yes, this race is this special to me. I'll still try to give you some of this 'this is freaking amazing' feeling I had the privilege of experiencing during this race. I feel blessed. :)

This race? The Swiss Alpine Marathon K78. My aha-moment. Enough said. I'm hooked.

Where to start? Well...let's just pick the start line for that one. :)

Start

July 30th, 7 AM. Early. Had my gear ready the night before, so all I had left to do on race morning was: shower (a cold shower that is...apparently our boiler doesn't heat the water before 7 AM...oh joy), eat (I actually managed to eat a sandwich and not throw up because of the nerves), get dressed (easy peasy) and throw the old K-tape on. :)

At 6:15 AM Fred (good friend of my mom - came over to Switzerland to help out with the race and the dogs - all three of them. ;)) walked me to the start. Hit the portapotties (funny how you get used to the smell of those things...) and ran into Wendy and Bettina right after that. Yay! :) They were also in the K78 (79.1 km race), and their presence sure did help to calm my nerves at the start line. Chatted the time away at the start line.

7 AM: The Pirates of the Carribean soundtrack and Conguest of Paradise were blasting through the speakers. A helicopter made some serious noise. It was time to go. What the **** did I get myelf into?

And...there we go! Off to kick this trail's butt! No way it's going to kick ours. ;)

The course profile: that's 79.1K and a 2370 meters/7776 ft elevation gain - at least, that's what the Swiss Alpine website says...more on this later...

Davos - Mühle (start - 11K / start - 6.9 miles)
Wendy was sweet enough to stick with me for those first kms/miles. My mom and Fred were cheering us on at the 5K mark. Waved! Chatted the time away. The course took us through Davos for a first loop and then took us to the Lengmatta, heading for the Mühle and Spina.
Ran into Ricarda at the Lengmatta (love that the course takes you through this part of the Davos region!). Ricarda and I had already chatted a bit on Facebook before the race, but I loved meeting her in person! She's not only a superfast and talented runner, but has a great personality on top of that. And looks great in her racing gear! :)

Near the Mühle (11K mark) we ran into Janina. I'd never met Janina before, but she is so much fun to be around!

Wendy, moi, Janina - behind the camera: Ricarda. :) Can you tell we were enjoying ourselves? ;)

Mühle - Monstein (11K - 16.6K / 6.9 - 10.4 miles)

After the Mühle we headed for Monstein. First there was a short climb to Spina. Wendy - there is some sort of mountain goat blood running through her veins ;) - ran up that hill. Moi, not so much. Slogged up there, just like most of the runners. Tried to take it easy here. After all, there were another 68K waiting for me. :)

It wasn't too long till I reached Spina (and their cow bells! :)). Grabbed some water and ran into Janina again. We were running at the same pace, so ended up sticking together and chatting those miles to Monstein away. Monstein is such a lovely village. The views are amazing!

Janina and I running through Monstein. :) Salomon should send us free stuff for all the free publicity we are giving them. ;)

Monstein - Filisur (16.6K - 30.1K / 10.4 - 18.8 miles)

Downhill! Woohoo! :) Just when I tried to talk Janina into trying a running skirt and some arm sleeves, my phone rang. Mom, worried if I'd made the cut-off time for Monstein. At that point I had no idea where the heck I was. Monstein? Did we pass Monstein yet? Luckily Janina could reassure me on thise one. Pfieuwww..... And, look who's there: Ricarda! Yay! Now there's three colorful dressed runners running together!

After those lovely downhills we crossed the rail road and continued our way along this railroad. Loved that the passengers on the train were cheering us on! :) Apparently, Ricarda and her camera were just behind me...

On our way to the Zügenschlucht. Thanks, Ricarda, for photographing my butt. Several times. ;)

The course took us to the Zügenschlucht. How could I - coming to Davos every winter and summer vacay for 28 years now (plus, I even lived in Davos when I worked for the skischool there) - not have known about the Zügenschlucht? The scenery is absolutely breathtaking out there! Reminded me of parts of Yellowstone National Park.

Ricarda and I in the Zügenschlucht.

Janina and I running through the Zügenschlucht.

At the 23K-ish mark we left the Zügenschlucht. Some stairs led us to a trail that took us through a forest near Wiesen. The smell of the pine trees... Loved. It. :) We left the forest at Wiesen, ran through the aid station there (these aid stations are so well organized!) and over the Wiesner Viadukt (25.5K mark). Since I hadn't pressed start on the Garmin (the 410 only has a 6-hour battery capacity, so pressing start would have been useless for this ultra), I had no idea whatsoever about my splits here.

Wiesner Viadukt at 25.5 K.

After the Wiesner Viadukt there was another hill to climb. Yay! :) Boy, do I love those trails! Then again, those uphills (15% incline) do slow you down...

Ricarda had started the race with an awful head/chest cold and it was getting worse on that uphill. I felt so sorry for her! She never - not one minute - complained about it: can you believe that? :)

The trail led us through another lovely forest. And, to another downhill, where Ricarda tricked a fellow runner into taking this photo! :)

Ricarda, moi, Janina. Were we in a race, or working on our modelling skills? What I'm trying to do with my legs/feet (besides showing off how huge my feet are) is beyond me...

Apparently Ricarda loves downhills at least as much as I do, so we continued that downhill together and headed for Filisur (30.1K mark - 18.8 miles). Reached Filisur after 3:13:06 hours. Not too bad considering my plan to start slow and considering the uphills. Not to mention all these photos we'd paused for... ;)

Ricarda and moi in Filisur - 30.1 K mark (18.8 miles).

Another photo taken at the Filisur mark. Yep, looking goofy as usual...

At that point, Ricarda's chest cold had gotten too bad to stay in the race. She made the wise decision to quit and wait for Bettina to keep her company till Bergün (the 40K mark). After all she has a little something called the Ultra Trail du Mont-Blanc coming up in just a few weeks (yep, she is that amazing!). Didn't keep me from feeling sorry for her, though! Plus, I loved spending time with her in the first 30K of the race. She (and Wendy and Janina) were such great company and sure made those miles fly by!

Filisur - Bergün (30.1K - 40.3K / 18.8 - 25.2 miles)

All by myself... :( Well, not for long. Ran into Wendy again just after leaving Filisur (Ring ring - phone again! Mom: 'You're still running!'. Sweet! :))! Chatted with Wendy a bit and then continued my way...into the woods to find a place to pee-pee. I've mastered the skills of 'superfast behind a log peeing' in the last couple of months (yep, I will send the Guinness Book of World Records an email about this), so I was in and out within minutes. Left my log and immediately ran into Janina again. All by myself? Nope, not so much. :)

The race directors had changed this year's course, so instead of staying on the road (without any uphills) we were shuffed into another forest (yay! :)) and up a hill/mountain/torture tool. Yep, nothing like a nice 15% incline uphill thingie in the middle of a race. :) Ran into a Dutch guy named Cor halfway up that climb and chatted the climb away. It wasn't too long till we saw Bergün in the distance. Woohoo! :) That 15% incline climb did slow me down, but then again...it had slowed down all of us out there. And the trails out there were gorgeous! The views...amazing!

Up next was another downhill that got is to Bergün. I knew Fred and Bram (he also came over to help out with the dogs during race day) and my dog Lordie would be waiting for me in Bergün, so I definitely had something to look forward to! :)

Bergün - 40.3K - 4:41:19 hours - can you tell those climbs had slowed me down? ;) I still felt great, though!

Just before leaving Bergün I spotted Fred, Bram and Lordie! Yay! :) Took 10 minutes there to eat a sandwich (peanutbutter and cheese - yum!), change into a dry shirt and to change my Asics for trail running shoes. Hugged Lordie, thanked the guys, grabbed a bottle of Coca Cola from Fred and started the slog up the hill that would take me to Chants.

Bergün - Keschhütte (40.3K - 52.9K / 25.2 - 33 miles)

Boy, that was the best Coca Cola ever. :)

Spotted Cor again on the way to Chants and we ran side by side for a couple of miles. Grabbed a sponge at one of the aid stations to get rid off some of the salty mess on my face. Yep, I'm disgusting like that. ;)

Wait! Is that a bright green top in front of me? Yay! Wendy again! :) She'd passed me in Bergün while I was changing shoes and I'd figured that I wouldn't see her again till the finish line. But, there she was! :) Not too long after that I reached Chants. This was where the serious uphills/high alpine trails were waiting for us. Woohoo! :) 810 meters elevation gain over 5.7 km. That's pretty steep. At least, for me it is. :) I was surprised to find that, even with 47K already 'in' my legs, I felt great on this climb, while - on last year's K42 (2010) - I felt awful. I guess all this 15% incline treadmill torture did pay off. :) Wendy passed me on the way up: she is incredible on those uphills! :)

Uhm, rain? Seriously? No worries, I'm Dutch, I can handle a bit of rain. More rain? Wind? What the bleep! By the time I got to the Keschhütte (was I glad to see the Keschhütte at 2,632 meters / 8,635 ft and after 7:26:13 hours!), I was soaking wet. And cold! Boy, was I glad that they were handing out ponchos up there! Grabbed one, and a coca cola and figured I might as well get this thing over with (I saw many runners spending going into the Keschhütte to get warmed up a bit). And off I was on my way to the Sertig Pass.

Keschhütte. Soaking. Wet.

What is that guy behind me doing? Seriously...

Keschhütte - Sertig (52.9K - 65.4K / 33 - 40.9 miles)

Muddy, muddy, muddy. My shoes and legs were covered in mud. Hehehe, loved it. :) At one point I tried to get my shoe out of the mud and almost lost it. Quick reminder to relace them. ;) This part of the course was rainy, cold and on high alpine trails. Slippery, rocky, steep. Focus! Loved running / speed walking through the streams and little lakes up there. :)

The group of runners (all wearing the orange ponchos) heading up the Sertig Pass (2,739 meters / 8,986 ft) seemed endless. Steep and muddy climb, but loved every minute of it. Loved that you could hear the marmots whistling! :)

Sertig Pass. Enough said. Boy, am I rocking that poncho. :)

At the Sertig Pass I knew the steep climbing part of the race was over, but little did I know what was up next.

Uhm, sorry?

Yep, that's just a pile of rocks. Slippery and muddy rocks. Watch your step! Took it slow: goal was to get down to Sertig village without any bumps or scratches. I literally saw too many runners falling here (bloody head wounds, open knees, you name it). I was fortunate to get down there without a scratch! :)

After the steep downhill, there was a little less steep downhill. Yay on running instead of speed walking again! :) I knew Fred, Bram and Lordie were waiting for me again - down that mountain in Sertig village. Kicked it into gear to hug Lordie! Not too long till I spotted Bram's red jacket. Took 5 minutes here to eat a sandwich, ditch the poncho and hug Lordie. Just 14K left. I couldn't believe I was still moving forward, and still feeling great. I still hadn't hit the wall. :)

Sertig - Davos (65.4K - 79.1K / 40.9 - 49.4 miles)

Home stretch! :) I loved this part of the route. Through a forest again. Beautiful scenery, amazing views, the chance to chat with fellow runners. Loved it!

There were so many people out there cheering us on. The support in Clavadel was great. It's amazing that all those spectating were out there just for us! Means the world when you're in that race! :)

All at once, the 75K sign. 75K and I was still running? :) I was having a blast! Just 4K left and I could hear the speakers at the finish line already!

With 1K to go the course led us out of the forest and to the stadium where the finish line was. Spotted Mom and her service dog (they did the K10 race of the Swiss Alpine Marathon) in the last meters, and with 200 meters to go I ran into the stadium. Even writing this makes me teary-eyed all over again. :)

I can't describe the feeling of finishing this race. Happy and sad at the same time. Happy to have been given the chance to participate and have such a great race (I literally felt great from start to finish), sad because it was over. The photos and the video below say it all:

Goofy face.

Goofy face times two.

Finish line video - try not to pay attention to the 'crying my eye balls out part' - I was glad Bram was there to give me some emotional support. ;) I'm glad his girlfriend was fine with him keeping me from making an even bigger fool out of myself. ;)

Finish time: 11:25:24

110/229 women (210 actually made it to the finish line)

And there I am. Writing this report and crying my eye balls out again. It's been such an amazing experience. Just getting the chance to do this, is incredible. I seriously feel blessed.

Huge thanks to the race directors for setting up such a great course and support team. The aid stations were amazing. The same goes for the people volunteering.

As for the change to this year's course (Sertig route): all the runners I chatted with about the race mentioned that their Garmins gave a distance way over 79.1K. Not just a couple of 100 meters, but several kilometers. Plus, the elevation gain must have been at least 2,600 meters / 8,530 ft. According to those Garmins and by checking a simple hiking map. Might be worth figuring this out for next year? ;)

Oh, and if this body lets me, and nothing else gets in the way, I'll see you next year Swiss Alpine Marathon K78, I'll see you next year. :)