The Willpower ♥ Rodgau Love Story

Human Bonds At Rodgau's Iconic 50k Ultramarathon

Usually something exceptional has happened, when you receive a special edition Das Z Letter like this one. In this case, I want to quickly share my feelings of bliss and gratitude created by a truly iconic race my friends and I participated in, last Saturday: The Rodgau 50k Ultramarathon.

Last weekend is one to be remembered, probably forever. Not just because I finally achieved a long-desired running goal of mine – I’m going to write a separate Das Z Letter about that soon – but because I was reminded of the real reason why running is the best sport in the world: Human bonds.

Let me take you on a quick journey to an acre in the middle of nowhere.

Rodgau what?

The 50k ultramarathon of the RLT Rodgau running club is a local running event taking place, since 2000 each year by the end of January in Rodgau, near Frankfurt am Main. Germany.

The racecourse is a flat 5-kilometer loop, mainly on dirt roads, in a rural area in the middle of nowhere. Despite sometimes difficult weather conditions, usually well below zero degrees Celsius, between 400 and 900 starters show up every year.

The race is made possible by over 100 volunteers, who lovingly look after the participants. Their heartfelt service includes a professional time tracking, a well equipped aid station you pass on every loop, a race moderator, an impressive sound system in the middle of the forest blasting classic rock at a deafening volume, and homemade cake and sandwiches after the race.

Despite the warm hospitality and local feel, it’s an officially measured and DUV (German ultrarunning association) registered race. A really fast one, in fact, which attracts not only recreational runners, but also the elite. The female course record stands at 3:32:41 (Tinka Uphoff, 2016) and 2:56:18 (Benedikt Hoffmann, 2018).

That’s it for the hard facts. The true beauty of the race, however, lies beyond the facts and numbers.

What’s so special about Rodgau?

In 2020, I wrote the following lines, after returning from Rodgau.

“The pressure is on. We are encouraged to partake and share new adventures every day. Further, faster, higher is the maxim, and it slowly overshadows why we actually started running in the first place. Sometimes a seemingly unspectacular race in the midst of winter around an acre and through a small piece of woodland revives the true spirit of this sport. Thank you, Rodgau.”

I won't waste too many words on this here. Instead, I suggest that you join the race next year and find out yourself. Don’t forget to say ‘hi’. We’ll surely be there again.

The Willpower ♥ Rodgau Love Story

The first contact between the Rodgau Ultramarathon and Willpower was in 2016, when Willpower Athlete Sascha – in his absolute prime – stuck with the course record holder Tinka Uphoff and her pacer for as long as he could. It was the early days of Willpower, and I could not believe how anyone could run so fast.

(Rodgau 2016, Willpower Athlete Sascha chasing Tinka Uphoff. At least for a while)

I ran Rodgau for the first time in 2018, together with Lisa, who finished in third place. In fact, I only ran 35 of the 50 kilometers race distance as a training run. Something not so uncommon in Rodgau. Your time is tracked, and you get an official result, even if you don’t go the full distance.

(Rodgau 2018, somewhere in the woods – Photo by Norbert Wilhelmi)

Lisa and I immediately and totally fell in love with the race, and brought our friends, the following year.

(Rodgau 2019, “The Crew is Me, The Crew is You” – Photo by Nils Laengner)

Since then, Rodgau has become an (un)official Willpower race, and we keep on coming back in ever greater numbers.

(Rodgau 2020, meeting old friends and making new ones – Photo by Stephan Wieser)

Like so many other races, Covid-19 also affected Rodgau. The race got completely cancelled in 2021 and moved to a summer edition in 2022, which we ignored because Rodgau = winter. Rodgau experienced a glorious comeback by the Willpower Athletes and their lovely friends in 2023, though.

(Rodgau 2023, seconds before the start – Photo by David Rott)

And here we are, the 2024 edition of the Rodgau Ultramarathon just took place last Saturday and once again brought forward everything that makes this race so special. An unagitated local race vibe that leaves room for what really matters: Humans connection with humans.

(Rodgau 2024, crew shot at our private aid station)

Everything not Running

Occasionally, everything in my life is about running. Like last weekend. Thus, I’m going to skip the ‘Everything not Running’ column today ♥