If offered a last minute opportunity to travel historic trails leading through majestic mountain regions of Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Italy, would you take it?
Now what if you only had eight days, and were required to run?
‘”Yes” wasn’t Michael Fitzpatrick’s initial response when he was asked by a friend, Nadja Oberholzer, if he might be willing to take part in the Gore-Tex Transalpine-Run, a grueling eight-day, 277-kilometre mountain running race with climbs of up to 10,000 feet in a single day.
Oberholzer’s original running partner had to cancel, and in the last week before the race, Fitzpatrick was asked if he’d do it.
“I wasn’t sure if I was able to go and I’d sent the email to a bunch of mountain running friends,” says Fitzpatrick.
The Transalpine was something the 36-year-old, former Sicamous resident and Eagle River Secondary alumni had been planning to do next year. When not working with Parks Canada, the Canmore, Alta. resident keeps active by running, skiing and mountainbiking. He has also competed in a variety of athletic events including the Boston Marathon, and the Ironman competition in Penticton.
When none of his friends replied, Fitzpatrick answered the call.
“I talked to work on Wednesday, they gave me the go-ahead and Wednesday night I was flying out,” says Fitzpatrick, who was in Oberstdorf, Germany the following day to ready for the start of the race on Sept. 3. “It was definitely spur of the moment… I was a little nervous but knew I had plenty of training doing other races –I knew mentally I could do it.”
The days were broken into 30-km treks, except for day two which was 53-km. The trails ranged from well-worn to steep and rocky. It is, as the Transalpine organizers say, a challenge for body and soul… made for the most ambitious trail and triathlon runners, Nordic walkers as well as marathon and mountain runners.”
There were indeed challenging days for Fitzpatrick and Oberholzer. For him it was day six. On day six, while in Italy, Fitzpatrick began having breathing difficulties from the physical demands of the journey.
“At the end of the day, the last kilometre of that stage I could barely breathe,” says Fitzpatrick. “We were really pushing ourselves to finish, and I was gasping for air. I went to the doctor and the doctor said a few people were feeling that way. He gave me this awesome little pill and the next day was fine.”
Day eight was a bad one for Oberholzer, whose foot was acting up. Otherwise, Fitzpatrick says he was generally following her lead.
“The hills were alive with the sound of Fitzy screaming, “Nadja, wait up,” Fitzpatrick wrote on Facebook at the end of the day. “Stage 4 was a tough day for me, and Nadja ran like a champion. We think it was because she was running to her motherland of Switzerland. She kept me motivated with, ‘Isn’t Switzerland beautiful? Isn’t this amazing?’ My legs feel like cement. At the end we had a strong finish, running on amazing cobble stone streets. Paradise.”
The bad days were easily eclipsed by the good for the duo, one of three Canadian teams participating in the race (the other teams were from Kelowna and Victoria).
A highlight of the journey for Fitzpatrick involved running a breathtaking-trail between Switzerland and Italy carved into a mountainside.
“The history behind that trail – and that was day six – the Swiss guides carved that out of the cliff side so they could get to a bunch of their backcountry cabins, because they used to always have to go around to Italy and up, and so you know, the Swiss, obviously they want to go through Switzerland,” says Fitzpatrick with a laugh.
Day seven also proved to be outstanding. It involved a 10,000-ft climb accompanied part way by live music.
“There were three or four people that had hiked musical instruments to the top, so there was a French horn and a drum, so as we’re climbing, these people were playing music for us,” says Fitzpatrick. “When we got to 10,000 feet, there was one of the race organizers greeting us at the top because it was probably the toughest climb through the whole race.”
Organizers made sure racers were well-fed with aid stations along the way offering spectacular pastries, cheeses and other edibles that Fitzpatrick regrets not having taken advantage of as much as he would have liked as Oberholzer preferred carrying her own food.
“The food there was just unbelievable,” says Fitzpatrick. “That day five when we only did seven kilometres, we went and I just – because you know, you’re trying to take in as many calories as you can, so I was eating pastries, having huge meals. Having a beer every day was probably nice as well.”
Massages were also made available at the end of each day – a necessary perk.
The last day of the race, on Sept. 10, was a difficult downhill run into Latsch, Italy. Fitzpatrick and Oberholzer persevered and managed to come in 10th place in the mixed category – the result of impressive teamwork from a couple who hardly knew one-another. Out of the 324 teams participating, Oberholzer and Fitzpatrick were the 61st across the finish line.
Asked if he’s still considering the Transalpine for next year, Fitzpatrick said his sights are set on another mountain running event, the Trans-Rockies, which isn’t supposed to be as difficult as the Transalpine, but challenging nonetheless. He’s also considering a rigorous 330-km individual event in Italy.
If he does those runs, it’s certain that his mother, Lynn Fitzpatrick of Sicamous will be keeping track of her son, making sure he’s all right.
“Oh boy, I don’t like heights so he never took after me with that,” laughs Lynn, thrilled with her son having had the opportunity to be among those who have completed the Transalpine-Run.
Photos from the 2011 Transalpine-Run can be found at: http://planb-event.smugmug.com/Running/Transalpine-Run-2011/18836737_wjmdMh#