Mindset
The Photo of a Banana
In 1992 Steve Jobs compared consultants to a photo of a banana. What that says about concepts versus delivery, AI prototypes, 22 years of running a company and a DNF.
Read more →Thoughts, Stories & Ideas
I became an entrepreneur to bring my ideas to life. Here I write about entrepreneurship, AI and my own projects. And I share stories from the trails and everyday life.
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Mindset
Rather run than post
Two European silver medallists describe climbing fences and worrying about the rent. One sentence from that article describes my reality rather precisely – just from a different starting point.
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Race Report
The Plan B I Wasn't Ready For
My 2026 Tor des Géants ended in Rhêmes-Notre-Dame: too many problems, a possible long hike, and the athlete in me who could not accept that Plan B.
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Mindset
Sunday, 10 a.m.: when my world becomes simple again
Tor des Géants 2026: a company reduced from eight people to three, 5:55 hours of sleep a night since March, and why I still look forward to Sunday at 10.
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Mindset
For Jakob. And for Michi. Why I support AHC Austria
Michi has been my friend and trail companion for years. His son Jakob is one in a million, and that is why AHC Austria now exists. Why this charity has a permanent place in my life.
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Press
Knife to a gunfight: my TOR330 documentary is online
BOA Technology has released the official film of my TOR des Géants 2025: almost ten minutes in the Aosta Valley, including the honest moments.
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Press
330 km, a plate of pasta and the question of whether I am an idiot
Running & Fitness 4/2025: an honest look back at the TOR des Géants, mistaken assumptions and a pasta war with Sange Sherpa.
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Speaking
BOA Summit 2025: the click that gets us ready
At BOA’s 25th anniversary athlete panel, we explored precision fit, performance and the mental significance of a familiar click.
Read more →Speaking
WNTV interview: 330 kilometres at the Tor des Géants — the story behind tenth place
A WNTV conversation about the TOR 2025: 78 hours, mental strategies and lessons from one of the world’s toughest ultras.
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Speaking
PTL autumn talk in Schwarzach: 300 kilometres as a team
Tom Wagner and I will share our PTL 2024 experience at the 13th Schwarzach autumn talk on 7 November 2025.
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Speaking
BOA Dialed In Summit: joining sporting greats in Düsseldorf
On 3 November 2025, I will join BOA’s Dialed In Summit to discuss how precision fit supports performance in sport and workwear.
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Speaking
Extreme sport is a mirror of life
Reflections from ORF Sportstammtisch: what ultratrail running has taught me about mental strength, mindfulness and balance.
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Press
Austria Trail Award 2025: nominated for Trail Runner of the Year
A nomination recognising a varied season: wins at GGUT and Hochkönigman, second in Snowdonia and tenth at the TOR des Géants.
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Speaking
A guest at the ORF Sportstammtisch: Extreme sport between fascination and controversy
ORF Sportstammtisch with Elena Roch: the psychology of extreme sport and balancing risk with personal fulfilment.
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Race Report
A knife and a lesson in humility: tenth at the Tor des Géants
Tenth at the TOR des Géants in 78:24:51: mental strength, adapting a strategy and lessons in leadership.
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Press
NÖN: 24,000 metres of climbing and a new test of my limits
NÖN reports on my 10th place at the 2025 Tor des Géants: 335 km, 24,000 metres of climbing and the story behind the numbers.
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Mindset
GGUT 2025: taking responsibility and improving crisis communication
My response to the controversy following Grossglockner Ultra-Trail 2025, and what athletes and organisers can learn from it.
Read more →Press
Media coverage: Extreme-weather victory at the Grossglockner Ultra-Trail makes headlines
GGUT 2025 in the media: only eight finishers from 1,500 starters, as national and international outlets report on my third victory.
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Race Report
Grossglockner Ultra-Trail 2025: a third victory in extreme conditions
My third Grossglockner Ultra-Trail victory: 110 kilometres through storms and cold in the toughest conditions the race has seen.
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Mindset
The pretzel
After my fourth Hochkönigman win, I went straight back to meetings and deadlines. Then my seven-year-old daughter showed me what I had rushed past.
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Race Report
Ultra Trail Snowdonia by UTMB: second in Wales in extreme terrain
Second at Snowdonia by UTMB 2025: 100 miles in North Wales and a reminder that 100 miles never get shorter.
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Speaking
A talk in Bad Erlach: 305 kilometres around Mont Blanc
A talk at Hacker Haus in Bad Erlach about the 2024 PTL: 305 kilometres, 25,000 metres of climbing and experiences at the limit around Mont Blanc.
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Speaking
Alpinmesse Innsbruck: An interview about trail running and sustainability
Alpinmesse 2023: sustainable trail running, protecting nature and why I ran 1,000 km to Copenhagen instead of flying.
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Press
Kleine Zeitung: Florian Grasel at the Mountain and Trail Running World Championships
Kleine Zeitung reports on my start at the 2023 Mountain and Trail Running World Championships in Innsbruck: 45 km through the Tyrolean Alps.
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Press
Trail Magazin Podcast: Live from the World Championships in Innsbruck
Trail Magazin World Championships special: live from Innsbruck, discussing the 2023 championships and looking ahead to the Vertical race.
Read more →Press
Helden der Freizeit: An interview with Austria's most successful ultra trail runner
Helden der Freizeit traces my journey from a failed 5 km run to ultra trail running: a story of transformation and discipline.
Read more →Speaking
Innsbruck Podcast: How do you become an ultra trail runner?
On the Innsbruck Lebenslauf podcast, I share my path from non-athlete to international ultra trail runner, and why big goals do not require perfect starting conditions.
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Press
SportWoche Podcast: Trailbeard talks about ultra experiences
On the SportWoche podcast, I explain how failing to run 5 km as a young entrepreneur led to an international ultra trail career and #lifeworktrailbalance.
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Speaking
Sportgipfel Tirol 2023: what can management learn from elite sport?
At the fifth Sportgipfel Tirol in St. Anton, I joined business leaders and elite athletes to discuss leadership for Puls24 4GameChangers.
Read more →Press
sportaktiv: An interview with ultra trail runner Florian Grasel
Ahead of the Eiger250, sportaktiv profiles my 15–20 weekly training hours, intuitive training, BOA partnership and #lifeworktrailbalance philosophy.
Read more →Speaking
Laufend Entdecken Podcast: Ultra trail adventures and #lifeworktrailbalance
On the Austrian Laufend Entdecken podcast, I discuss my ultra trail adventures, balancing sport, family and business, and what drives me.
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Race Report
Fastest Known Time, unsupported: the second attempt
Learning from my first attempt at the Berliner Höhenweg FKT, and discovering how much body and mind must align.
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Race Report
Berliner High Trail – Fake It Till You Make It?
I usually consider myself well prepared, yet my first FKT attempt on the Berliner Höhenweg taught me a different lesson.
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Press
Fascination UTMB: A Conversation with Florian Grasel
Trailrunner Florian Grasel explains why the UTMB defines him, how he balances family life with training, and what ambitions he sets for 2021 and decade ahead.
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Press
Unternehmerweb: My story as an IT entrepreneur in a crisis
Unternehmerweb profiles my journey as the founder of Smarter Business Solutions: 15 years of IT entrepreneurship, COVID-19 and my decision to forgo short-time work support and state aid.
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Mindset
Humour is laughing despite the crisis
Fear for your livelihood is a bad adviser. Even in a crisis it matters to keep your sense of humour and not to stop laughing.
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Mindset
Using the crisis for change
Instead of choosing standstill and decline, how can we act proactively and use the crisis for change?
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Trailrunning Szene interviews Florian Grasel about the UTMB
Trailrunning Szene recently invited me to a Trail Talk about the UTMB. You can read the full interview in the magazine.
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Mindset
Fit at work: why the squat has a long history with me
How healthy is our posture at work? Can an hour of jogging compensate for a ten-hour day at a desk?
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Mindset
How running and family fit together #microadventuresforkids
I have been talking about #lifeworktrailbalance for a while. But how do running and family actually fit together?
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Mindset
Bad publicity in trail running or business? No, thank you!
‘Bad publicity is better than no publicity.’ Sorry, I do not believe that, in trail running or business.
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Race Report
Sometimes you win, sometimes you learn
In September, I spoke to managers from an international consultancy in Berchtesgaden about sport, entrepreneurship and a growth mindset.
Read more →Press
WNTV 2019: My first TV interview about ultra trail running
In my first WNTV television interview in 2019, I discuss my passion for ultra trail running, the UTMB and what it means to push your limits.
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Speaking
European Trail Running Symposium Pitztal: Running at the limit
At the fifth European Trail Running Symposium in Pitztal, I discuss the balance between peak physical performance and psychological dependence, and the origins of #lifeworktrailbalance.
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Mindset
Driven by making sense
I want to motivate and inspire, as I did when I ran from Vienna to Copenhagen with my father accompanying me in a campervan.
Read more →Mindset
Taking personal responsibility
They claimed the rescue operation had been excessive: two rescuers would have sufficed instead of three teams of five.
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Mindset
Live fully, die empty
Few things are as tragic as death, yet many sayings and clichés make it sound trivial.
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Mindset
STOP the negative thought spiral
A social media poll surprised me: readers wanted to hear about me as a person, as well as a trail runner.
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Mindset
A Q&A with myself
Everyone has routines. What may sound boring or conventional at first also has its benefits.
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Mindset
Trail Running and Careers: Why Hard Effort Pays Off
Trail running shows that grit, repetition, and camaraderie make the finish line feel magical, lessons that also shape meaningful careers and resilient teams.
Read more →Mindset
The Art of Aging: growing older with dignity
Even when #lifeworktrailbalance works well, family, work and sport bring commitments. Sometimes we need to look further ahead.
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Mindset
Death is punishment enough
Just over a year ago, one of my closest friends, Werner Schoitsch, died in a tragic avalanche.
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Mindset
Trail running: a clean sport? And for how much longer?
In a sport where a 37-year-old can reach the top 10 without doping, how far have professional pressures and doping really arrived?
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Mindset
Act as if failure were impossible
Knowing your own strengths and expertise is one thing. Receiving encouragement and motivation from others is another.
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Mindset
#lifeworktrailunbalance: things cannot always run smoothly
Almost exactly eight years ago, I took part in the Fulda Challenge in Canada. A reunion reminded me of my priorities.
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Mindset
Working on Yourself – How Long Until You Become an Expert?
I believe my love of moving outdoors and my desire to improve are the two main driving forces behind this development.
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Mindset
On the journey then, at a milestone now
Sayings and words of wisdom become meaningful when we reflect on them and find our own interpretation.
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Mindset
Longing for praise
Praise and recognition as motivation, and their positive effect on company culture.
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Mindset
Mantras against all odds
Last year, my routines included a cold shower every day and repeating two goals to myself in the mirror.
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Mindset
Faster, higher, further — but smarter!
Performance shapes modern life, especially at the beginning of a new year. How far should we take it?
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Race Report
Off to the UTMB – Because I Can Do It Better
I can run the UTMB, finish it in under 24 hours and place in the Top 10.
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Press
Laola1.at: The “lowland Tyrolean” is Trail Runner of the Year again
The trail running community has voted Florian Grasel Trail Runner of the Year!
Read more →Press
T-Mobile Business Blog: lessons in family, sport and entrepreneurship
An interview with the T-Mobile Business Blog about trail running, family and running a small business.
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Mindset
You Only Give Up a Letter
“Great content, but too many mistakes – failed.” That verdict used to haunt my school essays.
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Press
ORF Radio Burgenland interview
A conversation on ORF Radio Burgenland’s “Mahlzeit Burgenland” about running, business, family and the things that drive me.
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Mindset
Mindfulness: balancing success and burnout
Mindfulness has become an enriching experience that helps me avoid burnout.
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Mindset
Make the most of your time
How I feel about wasting time, and why I try to spend it as meaningfully as possible.
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Mindset
Failure: Did not finish
At a Chamber of Commerce event in Wiener Neustadt, Damian Izdebski presented his book and discussed his ‘best mistakes’.
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Mindset
When babies change your perspective
As an entrepreneur, I was trapped in daily business and staying financially afloat. The birth of my twins changed everything.
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Mindset
Smarter Business: Start Running!
6 March 2010: I had reached the end. My company and its managing director were rapidly running out of money.
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Mindset
Smarter solutions for business, and for life
From the outside, the first years of Smarter Business Solutions looked very successful. For me they were deeply disappointing and full of hardship.
Read more →Mindset
#lifeworktrailbalance: Why this blog?
My name is Florian Grasel. I am an entrepreneur, problem-solver, father, ultra runner, writer and blogger. This is #lifeworktrailbalance.
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Race Report
Ninth at the UTMB: still unbelievable!
Some moments stay with you forever. A top-10 finish at the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc is one of them.
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Press
trailrunning-szene.at: An interview with Florian Grasel before the UTMB
Ahead of my memorable 2018 UTMB in Chamonix, I discuss the sub-24-hour goal, mental preparation and calculated risks with trailrunning-szene.at.
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Race Report
After Hamperokken, before the UTMB
Florian Grasel, Austria's most prominent UTMB representative, reflects on his sport and life.
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Race Report
A 111-metre hill versus 11,000 metres at Hardrock 100
My local training hill, the dream of Hardrock 100 and how far my limits have moved.
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Mindset
Trail running is not the most important thing: first teeth instead of Eiger101
When your children start teething, even one of the most beautiful trail races, Eiger101, has to wait. #lifeworktrailbalance
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Race Report
Plus or minus five
85 kilometres through the Portuguese heat: a simple counting rule helps me hold my own pace at the 2016 Trail World Championships. 18th in 9:25:32.
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Race Report
Will you marry me?
167 kilometres, 9,600 metres of climbing and 26 hours around Mont Blanc. My first UTMB ends in 37th place – and with a question for Julia.
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