support me, I will fall to the ground. … 3, 2, 1 … Suddenly, noise returns; I’m immersed in a world that is spinning fast, and I feel disoriented for a few seconds before my body responds powerfully and launches off. Now it is as light as a feather and able to move forward at great speed, nimbly avoiding the other runners in front of me until I take the lead.
The race develops as I had imagined it. At the outset, I accelerate for a couple of miles to break up the group so that no unknown competitor can set a gentle pace only to surprise me later, and also so that I can show off my own strength. I want to make it clear to the other runners that I am at my best and that today’s race will beextremely tough. The first challenge is a sudden incline in a forest between tree roots and dark earth that takes us to 5,000 feet above sea level within very few miles.
A group immediately breaks away, and six of us are out in front. There is no unknown there; we are all among the favorites. I have already competed against two of these runners and hope they won’t surprise me in any way. Helmut is now heading the group, and he has us all trailing breathlessly behind him. He is a tall Tyrolean runner with a very individual style whose strengths are ascents and long distances, though he is a man who loses ground to runners with more technique, such as myself, on short downhill runs. Robert is one of the best Czech runners, well trained as an athlete, a stately, well-balanced man who likes to take huge strides. He is a very dangerous runner in short races and over the flat. In fact, when we reach a flatter area on this first incline, he takes the lead in huge, explosive strides and rekindles the group. However, he always pays the consequences in longer races. I have never competed against the other three runners who make up the front group, but thanks to descriptions given by runners who have, I would say that I know them perfectly. The American is very strong in 5K races, is almost unstoppable on the flat, and for the moment seems to climb with great facility. Bruno is a young Italian runner, two years older than myself, who comes from cross-country, but he has always been outstanding in mountain races and achieved great results in short races and on steep courses. I don’t think he will have any problems climbing, and being Italian, he will certainly run downhill like an arrow. The last runner in the group is Swiss with Portuguese roots: César has always been outstanding in races in Switzerland, and he has been in excellent form over recent months. He has recorded excellent times and wonraces ahead of runners as renowned as Tarcis. He is a good runner on any terrain, but prefers the flat and slopes that aren’t so steep.
I feel good. It’s a fast pace uphill, but I feel comfortable. Helmut has given way to Robert and César, who keep taking turns to fragment the small group in the lead, a tactic that soon bears fruit, as the American and Helmut start paying for the effort they have made over the first miles.
We reach the food stop at the top of the ascent, and I don’t stop even for a breath but just grab a glass that a boy is balancing on his hand. I try to drink as I run, but what with the speed, jolts, and my fast breathing, I only manage a small gulp. The rest splashes onto my face and T-shirt. When we start on the flat, the pace settles down and we are four in the lead: Robert, Bruno, César, and myself. We’ve been running for over an hour, and I take a gel to give me the energy necessary to maintain that fast pace. I feel it slip down my throat, enter my body, and start distributing its sugar. However, simultaneously, I feel a lump in my stomach and want to vomit. My strength evaporates, and I feel queasy.
I am allergic to wasp stings, as I had discovered one day when I was stung by a wasp while cycling up the Passo dello Stelvio in the Dolomites. I couldn’t remember ever being affected by a wasp sting. However,
The race develops as I had imagined it. At the outset, I accelerate for a couple of miles to break up the group so that no unknown competitor can set a gentle pace only to surprise me later, and also so that I can show off my own strength. I want to make it clear to the other runners that I am at my best and that today’s race will beextremely tough. The first challenge is a sudden incline in a forest between tree roots and dark earth that takes us to 5,000 feet above sea level within very few miles.
A group immediately breaks away, and six of us are out in front. There is no unknown there; we are all among the favorites. I have already competed against two of these runners and hope they won’t surprise me in any way. Helmut is now heading the group, and he has us all trailing breathlessly behind him. He is a tall Tyrolean runner with a very individual style whose strengths are ascents and long distances, though he is a man who loses ground to runners with more technique, such as myself, on short downhill runs. Robert is one of the best Czech runners, well trained as an athlete, a stately, well-balanced man who likes to take huge strides. He is a very dangerous runner in short races and over the flat. In fact, when we reach a flatter area on this first incline, he takes the lead in huge, explosive strides and rekindles the group. However, he always pays the consequences in longer races. I have never competed against the other three runners who make up the front group, but thanks to descriptions given by runners who have, I would say that I know them perfectly. The American is very strong in 5K races, is almost unstoppable on the flat, and for the moment seems to climb with great facility. Bruno is a young Italian runner, two years older than myself, who comes from cross-country, but he has always been outstanding in mountain races and achieved great results in short races and on steep courses. I don’t think he will have any problems climbing, and being Italian, he will certainly run downhill like an arrow. The last runner in the group is Swiss with Portuguese roots: César has always been outstanding in races in Switzerland, and he has been in excellent form over recent months. He has recorded excellent times and wonraces ahead of runners as renowned as Tarcis. He is a good runner on any terrain, but prefers the flat and slopes that aren’t so steep.
I feel good. It’s a fast pace uphill, but I feel comfortable. Helmut has given way to Robert and César, who keep taking turns to fragment the small group in the lead, a tactic that soon bears fruit, as the American and Helmut start paying for the effort they have made over the first miles.
We reach the food stop at the top of the ascent, and I don’t stop even for a breath but just grab a glass that a boy is balancing on his hand. I try to drink as I run, but what with the speed, jolts, and my fast breathing, I only manage a small gulp. The rest splashes onto my face and T-shirt. When we start on the flat, the pace settles down and we are four in the lead: Robert, Bruno, César, and myself. We’ve been running for over an hour, and I take a gel to give me the energy necessary to maintain that fast pace. I feel it slip down my throat, enter my body, and start distributing its sugar. However, simultaneously, I feel a lump in my stomach and want to vomit. My strength evaporates, and I feel queasy.
I am allergic to wasp stings, as I had discovered one day when I was stung by a wasp while cycling up the Passo dello Stelvio in the Dolomites. I couldn’t remember ever being affected by a wasp sting. However,
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