Trail running is not the most important thing: first teeth instead of Eiger101

171 kilometres and 10,300 metres of elevation gain: the two defining figures of the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc (UTMB), held this year from 31 August to 2 September. Florian Grasel is Austria’s most prominent representative at this huge event. Here, the Lower Austrian reflects on his sport and his life.

At the finish of the 2017 UTMB.

Last year, I finished 26th at the UTMB in 23:42:45, achieving my goal of finishing within a day. When I studied the 2019 start list on the final registration day, many stars had not yet entered. I was ranked 25th and thought: try again, perhaps a top-10 or top-15 place is possible. Seven months later, after many late entries from the sport’s stars were accepted, I would be happy to repeat last year’s result. Every organiser can do as they wish, of course. But when your decision rests solely on the new goal of “top 15”, it is hard to swallow 20 leading runners entering late when that is officially not permitted. Still, it is what it is.

It will not be easier than last year. I am the father of seven-month-old twins, and my life has changed. Until the end of last year, I ran in every free moment, training 25–30 hours a week and accumulating 300,000 metres of climbing in 2017 alone. Now I focus my training more deliberately, doing about 10–15 hours a week, and have stopped studying numbers and chasing benchmarks. Last year’s elevation total is out of reach in 2018. That is fine: my family must not suffer for my sport.

Even so, I am very pleased with this season. Victory at Hochkönigman was followed by Mozart100, where I finished three minutes ahead of Britain’s Damian Hall, 12th at the previous year’s UTMB. No two ultra trail races are comparable, so it proves little, but it gives me some confidence. With a heavy heart, I have to cancel Eiger101 this weekend at short notice. I cannot leave my wife with a day of travel, two days of competition and another day travelling home while our children are getting their first teeth. Instead of running along the Eiger North Face, my local 100-metre hill in Lower Austria will have to do.

Before the UTMB, only Kilian Jornet’s Tromsø Skyrace remains on our family holiday programme. It will be our first flight with the twins, followed by a campervan road trip through Norway. Will that count as a holiday? Is quality training preferable to sheer quantity? Does Life-Work-Trail Balance still work when the family doubles in size? Will my wife want to have her say, and do I even want to hear it? The coming months will tell.