This post is continuation to the series about top running events where I have been as participant. Allgäu Panorama Marathon is a wonderful running event in the middle of the Alps, in Allgäu, Germany. The organisation relies on two heroes, Axel Reusch and Christian Feger. Naturally there are plenty of volunteers helping the organisation, but all in all the event is a great accomplishment. I cannot imagine what all kind of difficulties it has to transport drinks etc. to the mountains.
Before Allgäu Panorama Marathon 2013 I hadn’t run any marathon in the mountains so I wasn’t quite confident on how it would be; especially as I have almost all my life lived in regions without any mountains or hills. Allgäu was familiar place to me, as I had worked there one summer long years ago, when I still was young and agile, and ever since I have longed for getting back there at some point.
My preparation to the marathon was far from perfect, because I moved to a new apartment a few weeks before the run and this caused a lot of stress. However, I decided to save some cash and fetched a rental car so that we could drive all the way from the northern Germany to Allgäu. Obviously the German autobahns are great, but still it was a lot of driving to do on one day, about 800 km. In this context the details about my trip and stay in Allgäu do not matter, because I want to concentrate on describing the actual event.
You’ll probably never forget your first visit in the Alps. Especially when you are driving from the north you wonder when you’ll actually reach the mountains, and then suddenly it happens. It’s an indescribable feeling and you have to experience it by yourself. The city of Sonthofen with a population of about 21000 provides picturesque premises for the race. There are three different distances to choose from, a half marathon, a full marathon and an ultra marathon. Each race has enough of height meters to accomplish, e.g. during the marathon the runners have to do about 1400 meters uphill and about the same number of downhill. The current marathon route can be studied at http://www.allgaeu-panorama-marathon.de/content/strecken/marathon/.
The race starts at Allgäu outlet early in the morning (the ultra at 0600, the marathon at 0800 and the half marathon at 0915). I guess the schedule has been carefully considered, as on a warm day the heat in the mountains can be really hard to cope with. In 2013 the marathon day was a really hot one, which made the race even harder. The figure below shows the warm atmosphere at the start. It was really “gemütlich”, easy-going and I was really excited about the race.
About the first two kilometres of the race follow a relatively steady terrain, but after that the race really takes pace. 🙂 I have one piece of advice to all considering the race: do hill runs, and also some weight fitness training, if possible. I didn’t – for various reasons, and the race was really hard. I think one should always keep in mind the old saying that one should train in the same manner as the race will be. I surely agree with that one.
After the beginning the roads get smaller, the climb to the mountains gets more exhaustive. It is wise to spare some breath and take it easy in the exhaustive uphill phases. I made the mistake of not having enough drinks on me; I cannot wish more drinking points along the route, but I should have prepared myself better by having some extra water. Fortunately there are some mountain streams with clean and fresh water, and I honestly think they were essential for me to reach the finish. Naturally there are risks connected with those kind of sources of drinking water, but I was so thirsty that I didn’t mind too much.
The biggest climbs of the route are during the first half of the race after that the running should be easier, when you can put a higher pace on the downhill phases, if only you still have the power to do it. 🙂 I have hardly felt that bad on any marathon after the first 12 kilometres than I did in Allgäu, but on the other hand it was a relief to know that the rest of the route would be a bit easier to cope with.
Many things are different in Allgäu Panorama Marathon, when compared with conventional marathons on an even terrain, e.g. a first-timer easily makes a too optimistic estimation of the finish time, one also really should pay attention to the running style and concentrate on steady steps, preferably supported by enough strength training. All the way from the start until the finish I had the feeling to be part of something unique, the volunteers, the spectators cheering and providing their best support is something you can only dream of in most marathon events. The race organisation is incredible, I don’t know any other race where the race organisation greets every runner on the finish line with a shake of hand. I absolutely love that, and I surely want to run in Allgäu sometime in the future. My warmest recommendation to everyone considering Allgäu Panorama Marathon is: Just Do It!
What I absolutely recommend is to have a vacation in Allgäu after the race. Before the race it might be too exhausting and have an impact on the result. At least I can really have vacation only when the marathon already is gone.
