Sierre-Zinal Prologue
Tourist or Runner?
The A-Race is on
Tomorrow I’ll be racing Sierre-Zinal. Yes, tomorrow (Saturday). After a fair to middling running year so far, due to a persistent injury, this event has been chosen by the running gods as my A-Race for 2023.
Although my main focus during the past months has been to fully recover from my injury, I feel well-prepared. Not particularly the “I’m about to explode!”-kind of prepared, but surely “Let’s bring it on”-like.
Just like training for Western States and my spring marathon preparation, I don’t have the feeling I worked really hard, but the data and body feeling speak for themselves. I am in a good shape.
Thanks to my coach Karim, those days of training myself to the brink of self-destruction are over, although I admit that I miss this feeling of complete exhaustion a bit. But hey, that’s what races are for. With that being said, I hope that I’ll be able to push myself in the hardest way possible, despite running smartly.
In this case, “running smartly” means:
Taking the first 1300 D+ climb as easy as possible
Fueling well (ideally ca. 300 kcal per hour)
Counterbalancing my liquid, salt, and carb intake
Not breaking my neck on the last downhill to Zinal
Sounds simple, but not easy. That’s how I like it, though.
Wait, Sierre-Zi-What?
If you have never heard of Sierre-Zinal before, here’s a little digest of what will be going on in 2023. Fortunately, I already described in flowery detail what and how this race is, in one of my previous Das Z Letters:
But there’s surely a lot more to say about this epic event. For example, that it is part of the Golden Trail Series, a kind of Champion’s League of Trail Running, organized by the sport’s biggest brand, Salomon. Each year, the comparatively high price money attracts the best of the best mountain athletes in the world. But even without being a part of the Golden Trail Series, Sierre-Zinal has always drawn the who is who of trail and road marathon running alike.
“What are the roadies doing here?”
Despite its dramatic last downhill, Sierre-Zinal is considered a traditional mountain run. A race type that has its origin in classic track & field athletics. Quite similar to cross country.
The final definition of “mountain running” remains disputed, though. While Germany, Switzerland, and Austria define this special race format as “uphill only”, Italy and Great Britain allow downhills to be included. What everyone agrees upon is the mountainous terrain, yet not as technical as a skyrace (another racing format of its own), and, unlike the British fell running, a well-marked route.
All clear? No? So what do you usually do when there’s confusion? Exactly. You establish an organization to define the rules. In this case, it is the World Mountain Running Association (WMRA).
9-times Sierre-Zinal winner and course record holder Kilian Jornet gets to the heart of it much more comprehensible:
“Sierre-Zinal is probably the most competitive race when it comes to trail running. (…) It’s the kind of terrain that doesn’t fit anyone. It’s too flat for the ones that come from the mountains, but it’s too steep for the ones that come from the road marathon. (…) It’s a race where very different worlds all meet together.” (From the film ‘NNormal presents: Sketching the Future with Kilian Jornet’)
The Year 2023
But let’s get back to Sierre-Zinal and the year 2023. The 50th anniversary edition, by the way. Even without the two currently injured serial-winners and course record holders Maude Mathys and Kilian Jornet, this year’s elite field is dense like a cheesecake.
With Nienke Brinkman, Judith Wyder, Allie McLaughlin and Philaries Kisang, who, in 2022, moved from 3rd place to 2nd after female winner Esther Chesang has been stripped of her title due to a positive doping test, Sierre-Zinal 2023 features the best mountain runners in the world. The line-up is upgraded even more by Germany’s Daniela Oemus, who almost unrivaled won the 2023 edition of Zegama-Aizkorri, an equally competitive race of the Golden Trail Series.
The men’s field also looks absolutely thrilling with 2016 winner Petro Mamu, Kenyan Patrick Kipngeno, who dominated the World Mountain and Trail Running Championships 2022 and 2023 and has the second highest UTMB-Index, just 5 points shy of Kilian Jornet and 4 points ahead of Remi Bonet, who is also going to race for the win on his home soil.
But if you really want to dig deep into the purpose and meaning of Sierre-Zinal for elite athletes, you should follow the story of Italian youngster Francesco Puppi. Despite shining bright in many other races, he keeps on returning to Sierre-Zinal to grow and to learn from the best in the world. He does that with great humbleness and most adamant consistency. Next to Daniele Oemus, he will be my main interest this year.
Touriste or Coureur?
One of the many idiosyncrasies of Sierre-Zinal is that you can participate in the race either as a “Coureur” (runner) or as a “Touriste” (tourist).
Tourists benefit from an early start (5:00 a.m.), wider time barriers and a mitigated first climb. They do get an official time, but won’t be classified or rated in the UTMB and ITRA indexes.
Runners, on the contrary, start at 11:00 a.m., do the steep climb up via Niouc, have more demanding time barriers and their results will affect their UTMB and ITRA scores.
The race officials suggest that you do not register as “runner”, if you believe you’ll need more than 4:30h to run the course. However, there is no verification of your performance level. It is up to every participant to decide from him-/herself how he/she wants to tackle Sierre-Zinal.
The true magic of this tailor-made registration system lies in the unique amalgamation of elite and recreational athletes during the race. While the pros can easily run Sierre-Zinal in under 3 hours, the “tourists” usually need between 5 and 8 hours. As a consequence, both fields get mixed up and become one wonderfully heterogeneous pack of runners. All with the same goal in mind, to make it from Sierre to Zinal in face of the almighty Cinq 4000.
No other scene illustrates this companionship better than Kilian Jornet’s course record-breaking final spurt in 2019. Despite hammering his last kilometer in under 3:00 min/km, he attentively dances around a father and his son uniting in front of him, just meters before the finish line. Look, how wonderful this sport can be:
Join me
Let’s get vulnerable. A part of me wants to handle races (especially A-races) privately and then rather discuss the outcome largely afterward. There’s just too much that can go wrong during an all-out race effort, and I typically have the urge to explain what has happened or even what is happening in real time.
On the other hand, it is an honor, if a bunch of people follow your private pleasure leisure activities so closely. The idea of someone sitting in front of a screen, hitting the reload button to find out when you reach the next aid station feels a bit strange, but also flattering. Then again, I’ve been this person dozens of times myself, attentively tracking friends and people I don’t even know personally.
Ultimately, I’ve been writing about my 2023 A-race so often now, that I cannot deter anyone from tracking me on those 31 km between Sierre and Zinal, anyway. With that being said, here’s a shortcut for you:
My bib number is 8163, and I start as a “Coureur” in the second wave at 11:05 a.m. (Saturday)
You should also watch the excellent live stream on the Golden Trail Series YouTube channel and Eurosport
And the DataSport live monitor tracks me passing each of the seven timing mats in real time
Ideally, this race becomes a big thrill for both of us. Let’s bring it on.
Everything not running
Big news from the coffee battlefield. Lisa and I got a drip coffee maker. To be more precise: A Mokkamaster KBG Select in Forest Green color. Look at her!
Just like with our Rocket Appertemento Espresso Machine, we pulled the magic trick of selling stuff we don’t need anymore on an online flea market, and used the money to buy something new and - for us - special. And special she is for sure.
But why get an old school drip coffee maker if you’ve got a high end portafilter espresso machine? Well, if you’re a true coffee lover, then all coffees are created equal. Ok, maybe not created equal but equally delicious. Drip coffee offers a complete new world of tastes and wonderful preparation & consumption rituals. It complements perfectly our familiar espresso habits and culture. Thus, it’s not a switch or transition, but rather an extension of our little coffee world.
So, welcome, Miss Mokkamaster!
Sprachnachricht
Diese Woche gibt es gleich zwei Sprachnachrichten. Beim Gegenhören der Aufnahme ist mir aufgefallen, dass ich ein enorm wichtiges Thema komplett vergessen hatte. Anstatt alles noch mal neu aufzunehmen (versuche ich generell zu vermeiden, One-Take 4 Life!), habe ich kurzerhand noch eine zweite Sprachnachricht hinterhergeschoben. Freut euch also auf Nummer #18 und Nummer #18.5.
Good luck and much fun tomorrow.
Have fun tomorrow! ✌🏻