Swiss ALPINE MARATHON 2010 DAVOS Gedanken von Tiffany

(all dark sentences were the sayings I held up on my supporter signs and N.N.S stands for Nerven Nährung Sack/ Nerve Nourishing Sack)

Lending a helping hand ...
(a supporters reflections)

With an open spirit there are no limits Kick starting our holidays was Chistophs wee run, the Swiss Alpine K78 Ultra Marathon. Well a marathon it wasn’t as that would only be 42,195 km and this was 78km J So there were a few more steps to take to completing this event as well as over coming +/- 2260m. The highest point is 2632m at Keschhütte – perhaps that has something to do with their terming it “more than a race”!

Carpe diem: Geniesse den Augenblick (Carpe diem: Enjoy the moment) At 4:20 am on the 31st of July we pulled ourselves out of bed to check if there were rain clouds building upon the horizon or as I had predicted we had a crystal clear sky. My prediction was the winner and the air held a crispness to it which would be appreciated later once the afternoon temperatures hit 18 degrees. Throwing on their jeans the guys Christoph and Markus went done to grab some breakfast while I showered, dressed and got the last odds and ends ready for the up and coming 19 hour odyssey. Then down for a quick breakie myself and to meet up with Gaby, who was to come around with me on my planned route to support the K42ers and the K78ers on their adventure.

You didn’t come to get it done! You came for the thrill of the ride The fun began for Christoph, Markus, Jutta, Stephan 1 and Stephan 2 J at 6am in the morning. Only Gunter was to venture out at 8am with the speedies! The others had decided a little bit more time up their sleeves wouldn’t hurt. The K42ers (Marathonies) were starting later at 11.30am from Bergün so only Gaby and I cheered our friends on as the daylight rose over the mountain tops. Like two kiddies with a bag of sweeties, we hopped around as the last count down began and as the start shot went off so too did our “rountine”! “Super, Geil, what a day for some fun, Yeeaaahhhhhh, Yaahhooooo, WOOOHHH,” If the guys running were not into it yet it didn’t matter because we sure were J

Now our “plan” was the 7:31 train to Filisur arriving 7:56 but due to my not realizing the train left not from Davos Dorf but Davos Platz we missed the connection by 2 minutes L Now we had a 3/4 of an hours wait. Gaby went exploring and visited a beautiful old Catholic church and I decided to wait on the platform with a coffee and double check all the timetables so not as to not“stuff up”again as we wouldn’t be able to recap time if I did.
But there is ALWAYS a reason for such happenings and ours was that we were able to see Stephen and Jutta running over the Viaduct near Wiesen (known as the greatest footbridge in the world) and therefore “do our thing” – screaming, filming and videoing their run.

Man Muss das Unmögliche versuchen, um das Mögliche zu erreichen (You need to try out the impossible so as to be able to achieve the possible) Upon arriving at Filisur (8:56 am) we began our routine of running like wild to get to our desired post before one of our group arrived. We set up the N.N.S bag and “saying sign”, laid medical supplies and suncream out ready and made sure our cameras were within “grabbing” reach. The waiting began but not for long as at 9:14 am Christoph and Stephen 2 came through. Christoph with “wheelies on” – here one minute and then gone the next while Stephen hang around for some “creaming”! Gaby gave him the “face treatment” with 50+ sun blocker which was to be his saving from a “hot burn”as all the others lived to feel … arrrhhhh J Then came Markus with a quick step including the arm raise! And tight on his heels Stephen 1 and Jutta literally “wrapped around” another. Like Siamese twins joined at the hip they came bouncing along the way in love with one another and the event they found themselves in. I loved experiencing this with them!!!!! They stopped for a choccie break ( … have a “kit kat”) as did Ursel whom “flowed” in several seconds behind them. She buried her hand into the N.N.S bag and munched away – I think she thought this was “smokeo time” - Australian term for coffee break J - as we had to remind her to keep “running”. Ha! Ha!

Now all were through it was back up the hill and onto the train for the next leg of the journey. Again due to the “hick-up” in the morning we once again experienced a great moment as our train slowly rolled out of the station and the incoming train drove up parallel to ours and the K42ers pulled down the window and called out at the same moment I said to Gaby “that must be Tammy, Biggis and the other K42ers train”. Screaming and laughing we made even the three old ladies in our carriage giggle like school girls at our enthusiasm.

Now we met up with Suzanne and Axel back in Davos. Together we got the line bus to Teufi then the schuttle bus to Dürrboden and then hiked up the mountain side to Scalettapass (2606m ü m) where we would be able to see both the K42ers and K78ers go over “the way”. In other words just a quick trott up the hill side (1hr 15mins for us or two hours for the normal walkers) to join the other “crazies” (volunteer helpers for the “wellness station” consisting of massage ladies, food consltants and active family and friends in the “stalls” J) on some “high oxgyen” altitude rocks.

Life isn` t about the number of breaths we take, but the moments that take our breath away! WHAT A BLAST!!!!! Never have I had so much fun supporting my Darls, friends and a bunch of strangers. I set up the N.N.S bag and sign and stood up on a rock over from the Doc, who was checking out the condition of each and every runner and pulled out my video camera to film each “hero” from our group. Handing out Bounties, Mars, Cherry gummi bears, Twixes, Kit kates and Kinder schokolade along with words of encourgment, I watched the faces light up in front of me as I “recognized” them by name – “John, Stephan, Maria, Hans, Jack, Margaret, Jutta, Roland, Yvonne, Claudia, Suzanne, Ursel, Stephen, Christoph, Phil, Tammy, Sabine …” There was a reason to calling out their names. The Doc said that when hearing their name the runner “clicked” out of his/her “haze” which they had been in during the climb and he was able to see if they were fit enough for the 18km alpine decent to the finish in Davos. I have never seen in a long time such passion of thanks shine out of so many eyes into mine when they heard their name along with a comment such as “marvellous achievement, cola around the corner, give yourself a well deserved massage before going on or just plain you are great!”

Each one of our team came up in various “Stages” of pain, hunger, exhuberance, exhaustion, happiness, joy, reflection, worry, frustration or climatic ecstasy (Yvonne! xxx J) I needed to see them as much as they needed us. Seeing them reach this point and knowing what lay behind them (from my own K42 and 3/4 K78 experieince) was for me as emotional as for them achieving it. With Biggi`s arrival we had all “on film” and we began our decent back to civilization. Literally catching the last schuttle bus then line bus, we arrived back in Davos at 6,50pm tired but happy. Back at the Youth hostel all 27 members of our running group sat down at an extended table to a four course meal, laughter and later on after showers and for some massages, red wine (I lost track of how many bottles were opened) and a lot of “story telling”of a day that was “more than a race”.

Is my glass 3/4 full or do I worry only about the 75% that takes care of itself? This was one of my thoughts as I drove in the train from Basel to Davos. Am I going to take care of what needs taking care of in Davos – the runners and their well being; helping them have the time of their lives while I get a kick out of their “highs” or am I going to feel shitty for what I can not have? For me it was really not even a choice. I only worry about the 25% I do not yet have in the glass. The golden dew dops that glow on the leaves of the pages of my experiences. These concern me. They place the finishing touches to the contents written down in my book of lifes experiences. These I create and collect myself through my thoughts, actions and re-actions. An Irish saying springs to mind: “Don``` t get angry over uneven streets, and pot holes. Just savour the journey”. The pathway of the Swiss Alpine Experience is both for runner and spectator worth savouring …again, again and again in memory, photos, film, words and at the race itself each year!

Tiffany “Koru”

Gruss von Tiffany & Christoph Wermuth und dem Jägerhaus-Team

aus dem schönen Egerten