「跨越阿爾卑斯山競賽 - 無怨隊」的全程記錄圖片及文稿.

To share this sent from a friend of mine. – Fred Huang 與你分享這檔由朋友傳來的「跨越阿爾卑斯山競賽 - 無怨隊」的全程記錄圖片及文稿. 有興趣的考慮明年參賽, 沒興趣的看看風景也不鐠 ! 前言: 我的英國友人Peter Collins年約50出頭, 是某誇國大企業CFO也是一個馬拉松健將, 跑遍全世界各知名的馬拉松大賽, 本周末他飛來紐約,為下周的紐約馬拉松大賽作賽前準備, 我邀請他來我家作客聊天. 言談中, 與我分享了他2010參加8天跨越阿爾卑斯山挑戰賽的經驗並傳過來他製作的全程實錄的blog. 就因為難得看到如此詳盡的報導, 值得推薦給有興趣登山挑戰體能的朋友參考. 這競賽是兩人一組, 無怨隊(Team no whining)是英法聯軍(Peter and Ralf), 競走路??跨德,瑞,義三國, 每日均由驛站A翻山越嶺至驛站B, 不僅距離長且高差大(詳見每日路程圖表), 若沒有堅決毅力及體力是不能克其功的. 不過,跋涉辛苦的補償代價是欣賞沿途明?的風景. 此競賽允許親友組啦啦隊在驛鎮補給打氣並幫忙整裝換具, 你可以從照片中看到參賽者與家屬在驛站歡慶達陣的鏡頭. 後記： 據我所知, 參賽資格審核嚴格, 要求賽前體能訓練達標才準入列. 這Peter老兄全身上下肌肉結實, 心率37/min, 走路健步如飛, 是令我羨慕的偶像. 同學中曾參加鐵人三項競賽的或五項全能賽的, 大概可以去試試身手, 為國增光. Otherwise it would not be too bad to be just the 啦啦隊之一員, 共襄盛舉! ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Peter Collins Subject: Race Across the Alps - Team No Whining To: sochu.chen@gmail.com Cc: Peter Collins Hi Sochu and Chingyih, As promised, I have attached a series of links to the photo albums for the stage race across the Alps. I can't believe it's four years since Ralf and I completed the event as the memories are still so vivid. Underneath each link is a summary of what you can expect to see and read in each album and I start off with a message that was posted to our friends and family who followed the event. I do hope you and your husband enjoy them. Regards Peter GORE-TEX TransAlpine Run 2010 Thank you once again to everyone who sent us words of encouragement before and during this little adventure of ours. It was fun reading your comments and comforting to know that we had a large and vocal community to answer to should we crash and burn! As promised, and by way of a giving something back, I have uploaded pictures from each stage along with a narrative that tries to make sense of our experience. Our aim is to put you in the muddy shoes of 'Team No Whining' and provide a sense of what each stage entailed. You will experience the highs, the lows, the near misses and the not so near misses, and of course the elation and exhaustion - plenty of the latter from yours truly. Look at the stages in any order you like but I suggest you start with the 'Preparation and Registration' album, that will give you a good feel for what is to come. Thanks again. Peter Collins & Ralf Gehrke, Team No Whining. GORE-TEXR TransAlpine-Run 2010 - DAY 0, Preparation and Registration 'Too late to turn back now' So what is the GORE-TEXR TransAlpine-Run? In simple terms it is a 305 km staged running race across the Alps. 2010 is the sixth iteration of the race and our second start, having successfully competed in 2009. The race organisers promised the most challenging course devised to date. To quote the press blurb: 'The result is an unbelievably diverse and extremely tough route with very long distances asking participants to give their all.' Start in the German Alps, finish in the Italian Dolomites, traverse three countries, run 305 km and both climb and descend 13.5 km. Team No Whining have the experience of last year's race but will that be enough? If nothing else we get something to write home about. Team No Whining is Ralf Gehrke (GER) and Peter Collins (GBR). GORE-TEXR TransAlpine-Run 2010 - DAY 1, 'It's a Long Way to Tipperary' DAY 1. A gentle introduction? Depends on your definition of gentle. We will run thirty six kilometers to St Ulrich, Austria and cross the border from Germany. A sixteen hundred meter climb stands in our the way. Three Hundred and Five kilometers? It is a long way to Tipperary. GORE-TEXR TransAlpine-Run 2010 - DAY 2, 'Oh Bugger' DAY 2. Take a look at the course profile. The caption for today children is, 'Oh Bugger'. GORE-TEXR TransAlpine-Run 2010 - DAY 3, 'Hahnenkamm Hell' DAY 3. There is only one caption for this stage and it is 'Hahnenkamm Hell'. GORE-TEXR TransAlpine-Run 2010 - DAY 4, '..kitchen sink included' DAY 4. I remember this one. A tough road run followed by pretty scenic climb followed by a tricky technical climb, a white out at the top of the mountain and a wild dash down to meet a cut-off time. In addition, a hypothermia victim and rock falls make this a day we will not forget in a hurry. Day 4 has everything. The caption for today is '..kitchen sink included'. GORE-TEXR TransAlpine-Run 2010 - DAY 5, "Play It Again, Sam" DAY 5. Another stage that begins with great scenery and a gentle climb and morphs into a steep snow monster with big jaws. Not dissimilar to Stage 4 when you come to think about it. The caption for today is, "Play It Again, Sam" to misquote that famous line. GORE-TEXR TransAlpine-Run 2010 - DAY 6, 'The Big Finger' DAY 6. This time I do look at the course profile and the nature of the route is obvious. We name it 'The Big Finger'. So that is the caption for today. The description proves eerily accurate but do not discount the half-marathon road run beforehand. It will have something to say. GORE-TEXR TransAlpine-Run 2010 - DAY 7, 'The Big V' DAY 7. The 'finger' of Day Six is swiftly followed by the 'V' sign of Day 7. This will become one of the most difficult days in my forty six years and I say that without exaggeration. I promise Ralf to leave nothing in the tanks and we fully explore what that means. GORE-TEXR TransAlpine-Run 2010 - DAY 8 (8th and final stage), 'The End of The Yellow Brick Road' DAY 8. So this is it. Two hundred and seventy kilometers in the bank and thirty five to go. The caption for today? I don't know really, I just remember going through the day in a bit of a daze. A race like this will do that to you. Plenty of smiles I recall. Let's call this day,'The End of The Yellow Brick Road'.