Just nine days, 23 hours and 54 minutes after leaving the centre of Salzburg, Austria, Swiss athlete Christian Maurer stood on a blue float off the coast of Monaco and lifted his arms in triumph.
He was first to complete the 2009 Red Bull X-Alps, an adventure race where the only permitted forms of transport are hiking and flying with a paraglider. Measured over a straight line, the route is 818km but throw in difficult alpine passes, glaciers and inclement weather systems and the actual distance covered by Maurer was 1379km.
The 27-year-old Swiss athlete was one of 30 participants from 23 different nations that began the race on July 19, 2009. Negotiating seven mountain turnpoints in Austria, Germany, Italy, Switzerland and France before landing on the float in Monaco, the event is for experienced paragliders and hardened endurance athletes only.
Usual tactics involve hiking to high mountain take off positions and using thermals to stay aloft and paraglide long distances.
When unable to fly, they must carry their entire kit, which weighs up to 12kg. No motorised transport is allowed but they can have one supporter each to provide food, supplies and navigational advice.
Such a challenging race means the athletes are on the edge 24 hours a day, and that to make the extreme decisions necessary, the athletes use quality equipments to assist them.
Each competitor was provided with a Suunto Core, using the outdoor watches’ ABC functions throughout the event to measure altitude, barometric pressure and to make compass readings.
Maurer and his supporter, Thomas Theurillat, hiked over the huge 3600m high Monte Rosa glacier in Switzerland using their Cores to record altitude as they climbed. In such an environment, keeping tabs on changing weather is critical, and the duo were able to use the barometer feature to check on dropping air pressure signalling approaching storms.
While the race itself is tough enough, many athletes spend over a year training and preparing for the physical exertion required. Four athletes, Michael Gebert (GER), Aidan Toase (GBR), Honza Rejmanek (USA) and Christian Amon (AUT) received customised training programmes from Suunto Ambassador and coach Eddie Fletcher.
Fletcher regularly analysed the logfiles of the foursome and provided guidance and tips for six months leading up to the start.
The project was a success, with Rejmanek, Toase and Gebert finishing third, fourth and sixth respectively. Unluckily, Amon injured his ankle on just the second day and had to withdraw.
In the race’s closing stages, Rejmanek and Toase were engaged in a ruthless battle for third place. They regularly overtook eachother, but ultimately an excellent flight by the American saw him pull ahead of the fast running British athlete.
The training programmes’ were documented at http://suuntoatxalps.blogspot.com
Suunto Ambassador, Toma Coconea (ROM) was one of many athletes to be eliminated after flying into forbidden airspace near an airport.
Coconea, famously known as the Running Man, was in the top ten at around the halfway stage, relying on his unflappable endurance strength to keep him in within reach of the leaders when the rule infringement occurred.
The next Red Bull X-Alps takes place in 2011, check
www.redbullxalps.com for more information.
