Race Report - 2017 Zugspitz Ultratrail 100K

Valley descent.

The Zugspitz Ultratrail 100K would be my third mountain race in the span of 8 days during my most recent 14 day work trip to Europe that had me spending two weekends in Switzerland and Germany. I hadn't really known about this race, which happens to be the biggest trail race in Germany around the tallest mountain in Germany, until Bryan McClure, a fellow US runner currently living in Germany, told me about it. He had attempted it the year prior and it didn't take much effort for me to convince him to join me in running this race to take care of some unfinished business.

Race Report - 2017 Scenic Trail 54K

Alpenhorn players at the top of one of the early climbs, simply amazing!

A business trip to Europe had aligned in a way that I was able to sign up for a race just a three hour drive from my work in St. Gallen, in the quaint town of Tesserete in the south of Switzerland right near the border to Italy. I had registered for the Scenic Trail 54K, featuring +12,000 feet of vertical gain and part of a weekend of five trail races ranging from a Vertical K to 113K. The 54K course takes runners on a loop along the ridge line of the mountains surrounding the villages near lake Como and lake Lugano. Along the way, runners take on some serious climbs and are provided with some spectacular views.