Please note that by lack of information, this event has been archived.

Traunsee Bergmarathon

4 (1 Review)

Edition 31

Gmunden, Austria
06 Jul, 2019 (Sat)

Trail running

32 km, 38 km, 70 km

Races offered by this event

Halb-Bergmarathon Gmunden - Ebensee

06 Jul, 2019 (Sat) - 05:00
Trail running
32 km
2700 m of elevation gain
Solo
On site
Trail
Extreme
Mountain range

Traunsee Bergmarathon

06 Jul, 2019 (Sat)
Trail running
70 km
4500 m of elevation gain
Solo
On site
Trail
Extreme
Mountain range

Halb-Bergmarathon Ebensee - Gmunden

06 Jul, 2019 (Sat)
Trail running
38 km
1850 m of elevation gain
Solo
On site
Trail
Extreme
Mountain range

Reviews

4
1 Review
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1
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Ulrich Walter
Country flag of DE
Jul 2009
70 km

"Rund um den Traunsee" - that sounds like a smooth walk around a lovely lake on a sunny Sunday afternoon. Then you read the facts: 70 kilometers and 4500 meters of difference in altitude. In the first moment I said: "That is crazy - nobody can do that!". And the second thought was: "Okay, if so many runners can finish there, you will be able to do it also." This was in 2008, and on July 4 in 2009 I started in Gmunden early in the morning. There is a time slot of two hours between three and five o'clock in the morning where you may start. Your starting and finishing times are taken individually. As I hate running in the dark I decided to start at 4:45 h. After passing Grünberg hill you already get to the beginning of the "Naturfreundesteig". It is a via ferrate which you usually never should go without climbing equipment. However, I only had my running shoes and clothing. I already had finished some different alpine marathons, but at this point of the course I was really surprised to be faced with such a difficult and dangerous obstacle. As all the other runners before me obviously also passed this part of the marathon I quickly decided to try my luck and began to step up ladders and to swing from one memorial cross to the other. It showed that in the past a lot of climbers have been too careless on this path. After reaching the peak the trail did not really improve. Now I had to run down (and up again) narrow, steep and extremely slippery pathes, wet from the rain in the preceding days. I actually thought of giving up at the first possibility. Unfortunately there was no possibility before Ebensee at km 32. I reached this point after eight hours and five minutes of struggling against bad running conditions. What a low average pace! When taking a break anyhow I decided that I should go on - because all the others also did. And the next uphill passage actually was more comfortable than all the pathes before. Of course you should like to step up skiing routes in order not be bored to death at this point of the run. The following downhill section once more was extremely slippery. In my eyes it was much more uncomfortable and dangerous than the Strongman in Weeze I finished a few weeks before. After a lot of falls and nearby-falls I reached the station in Kreh after twelve hours. I asked the people in Kreh if they have seen a lot of injured runners. They said: "No, no, you cannot say so. Only every third runner was bleeding a little bit." Great! The remaining 24 kilometers should only lead over some lesser hills, the people at Kreh said. Actually already in the next uphill section I had to step up steeply 300 meters of altitude. I was beginning to ask myself if I could make it back to Gmunden before the finish line would close. Fortunately from now on I really could procede quicker. It "only" took one hour for the six kilometers to the next refreshment station. Then a section of paved roads began, and the following 11 kilometers took 90 minutes. Now there were left only seven kilometers. This was the time to consume my caffeinated gel which I had carried with me all the time, and its effect made the rest of the course to the easiest part of the whole lap. I really love this stuff! In the end I reached the finish after more than 15 hours. In order to give a base for comparisons: I finished my two Iron Men in 13 and 14 hours, and I finished the 100 km in Leipzig in 10:48 h and the Swiss Alpine in 9:35 h. From my point of view the Traunsee was "a little bit" harder.

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