In order to prepare ourselves properly for the TAR – Chantal and I decided to start the Salomon 4Trails (6-9 July 2011). An event of four days running through the Alps; everyday a trail of appr. 40KMs and a lot of altitude difference (appr. 2500m). We were newbies in the mountains and it was our first stage race. Quite a challenge!
The trails would bring us from Garmisch-Partenkirchen in Germany to Samnaun in Switzerland: 5 host cities – 4 days – 3 countries => that sounds spectacular!
Of course we were a bit nervous – we had never ran in the mountains before. Had we trained properly, did we have the right stuff in our backpack, how to use our running-poles, do we run uphill or walk, should we wear our compression tubes => so many questions and no answers… But we knew we would have enough endurance to survive the stages and we knew these were essential kilometers in our preparation for the TAR; so we were ready to face the challenge!!
Day 1, 6th of July 2011
Garmisch-Partenkirchen (D) – Ehrwald (A)
37,8 horizontal KMs
2473 vertical meters
Wednesday we had to be present at 10:00AM for the first stage. Running a neutralized part out of town and then going up the mountain on a forest roadinto the Rein Valley and further on to the Garmischer Haus and the Laubhütte.. Within a few KMs the road was so steep that we couldn’t run anymore but had to walk.
Forest road became a hiking trail, a very narrow path meanders up to the Kreuzeck, always right beneath the Garmisch-Partenkirchen's landmark, the 2,600 meter high Alpspitze. But still we had to walk. What we didn’t know then that that would happen in almost every climb during every stage of the 4Trails. So we accepted to go up the mountain at a slow pace – moreover, everybody was walking, so not only the newbies were slow. At that point we still believed we could make an average of 8KMs per hour. We were convinced that we could run down…. But it turned out that we were really newbies in mountainrunning as the downhills were so steep that we had to hold us back with the poles otherwise we would roll down the hill. After the Kreuzeck, a very steep zig zag route brought us down to Hammersbach.
From there we went up to the German-Austrian border and further on to the lower terminus of the Zugspitz cable car, we passed the picturesque Eibsee and had to climb a total of 800 meters in elevation before descending down to the finish in Ehrwald. A total of six up and downs but also beautiful hiking paths and trails of the Zugspitz massif.
Hmm – was that only stage one? We were happy to see the finish in Ehrwald; it took us a little longer than we planned.
Day 2, 7th of July 2011
Ehrwald (A) – Imst (A)
43,2 horizontal KMs
2663 vertical meters
Our legs were hurting as we got out of our tent on day two. The start was an hour earlier than planned – bad weather was foreseen. This stage would bring us beautiful views on the mountain tops – two spectacular mountain crossings. The second one would be over a ridge. This was also the tricky part, because it was said that there would be a thunderstorm that afternoon. After again a neutralized start, we went uphill - walking. We traversed the rugged Mieminger Mountains via the Grünsteinscharte (2,263m) - a truly alpine setting and scenic highlight. Spectacular views as we literally stepped over a ridge to go down again. The ensuing, relentless descent (totaling 1,200 m) underscores the demands of trail running in the Alps and proves a true test of racers’ joints and brawns. 
The second part of today’s stage started off with a steep ascent to the alpine pastures of the Haiminger Alm. High above the Inn Valley, we continued up along the spine of Tschirgant Mountain with landmark views all around. A very demanding continuous descent over 1,400 m took us to Imst. The trail uses a short section of Tyrol’s renowned Eagle Trail, a long-distance hiking track spanning the entire length of the province.
Day 3, 8th of July 2011
Imst (A) – Landeck (A)
31,1 horizontal KMs
1854 vertical meters
Getting out of the tents was a bit harder this day – our legs were really hurting. Knowing this was a short day with only one mountain to conquer we pushed ourselves to the starting line. We started in the rain – but fortunately the temps were okay. As the weather was unstable the organization had decided to take an alternative route; only 500m longer and 20m more climbing. With this route we avoided to being exposed to the projected thunderstorm and lightnings. The alternative route was still really beautiful – the middle part we ran through the woods on a roller coaster. Yes, we could run that part! Although it was the shortest day, we were still quite tired at the finish line.
The day before we decided to arrange a hotel in Landeck. Two reasons – the tents would be wet and we had to admit, our bodies were sore…
Day 4, 9th of July 2011
Landeck (A) – Samnaun (CH)
45,3 horizontal KMs
2909 vertical meters
Our last day – the highlight of the week with more that 45KMs, almost 3000 meters of ascent and our highest point being the Ochsenscharte at 2,787m. After a good night sleep in a proper bed, we arrived at the starting line anxious. Finally the last day, but such a long day and so many meters to climb and our legs were hurting so much… We knew we could finish this stage, even if it meant we had to crawl to the finish line! We were blessed with good weather, no rain, sunny but also some clouds so it would be not too hot. Off we went again, out of town and up the mountain. Surviving was our modus – slowly warm up the muscles and fingers crossed that we could run downhill. As the day before we couldn’t take the stairs without moaning of pain… It is unbelievable what a body can endure – we could run (or should we say jog..) downhill. Again, the scenery was spectacular; first we went through a skiing area were tourists were hiking. The second part we only met cows and horses. From the last top we ran down in Switzerland, into Samnaun our final destination! We made it – running four days in a row 160KMs and almost 10,000 meters climbing. But hey, we have to admit..we underestimated this baby a little bit.. We didn’t know the climbs would be so steep, the descents so technically, the days so long and that our bodies would be so sore after day one. But not only we underestimated it, there were quite a few people who didn’t make it till the finish line. And as we learned from TAR-finishers, this first edition of the 4Trails was more challenging than the Transalpine Run. We were glad to hear that!!
Our hero of the week!!
And last but not least – a special thanks to Hanke. Because of her we made it through the four stages. She was always there at the right moment – with chocolate and coke, a good word, she put our tents up at the campings, booked a pension, put things in perspective, fed us with bananas in the morning, etc, etc. Because she arranged everything around the start and finish, we could focus on running/walking, eating and resting. Thanks a lot Hanke – you are our hero!!
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