Brit raiders head to TransAlp
Even the cows are hardy in Oberstdorf
The TransAlpine Run is no ordinary day at the office! As Tom Owens and Andy Symonds (men’s event) and Angela Mudge and Ben Bardsley (mixed event) get ready for the eight days of racing that will see them visiting Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Italy…
…their preparation has been extra special. The race starts from Oberstdorf in Germany this Saturday (5 Sept) at 10am and arrives at the finish point in Latsch, Italy the following weekend (12) and both pairs have a realistic chance of taking the honours in this most arduous of multi-day events.
Speaking to MST before heading out to the adventure that is about to unfold Tom and Andy gave us an exclusive insight into their preparation and hopes for the race:
Tom Owens
…the TransAlps has certainly come around rapidly. I’m just starting to realise that it will be kicking off in one weeks time and am getting pretty excited about it! I’ve never raced for eight consecutive days before so I’m slightly apprehensive about how the legs will cope with this – it will be a massive challenge !
I have trained with Andy regularly since our university days and we have competed together in mountain marathons, adventure races and the TransRockies 2008. So we are well matched, work together well and will have a good laugh. I think we can do very well so long as we don’t get carried away in the first couple of days – it will be important to take it pretty steady to start with. We’ll have a real edge as we’ll be supported by Andy Walling and Tim.
Owens - no stranger to European wins
Training has been going well and I’ve put together some big hill days over the last three weekends and the Dolomites training camp certainly built a good endurance base. I’ll probably jog (3rd place jog! –Ed) the Ochil 2000’s race this Saturday with Andy and then rest up and take it very easy prior to the race.
The event looks like a lot of fun and the course looks cracking – it will give me a chance to explore areas of the alps which I have never visited before….can’t wait
Andy Symonds
Well, that’s the last long training run under the belt today. Tom and I cruised round the Ochils 2000s race at a very relaxed pace – it was a good chance to catch up for a 3 hour chat, an ideal time to discuss the “plan” for the coming week and any remaining equipment and logistics stuff.
The rest of the week will consist of a handful of light jogs, perhaps a few gentle miles on the bike and more essentially plenty of sleep and plate filling carbo-packed meals. The most important thing will be to be feeling super fresh and full of energy by Thursday/Friday ready to hit the hill and run from Germany to Italy via Austria and Switzerland, starting in just six days time.
Andy Symonds
Really looking forward to it now. It’ll be great to get some fresh high mountain air and hopefully a bit more sun than we’ve had in the UK the last week or so. After a close fought second place in the Rockies last year we’d obviously love to go one better in the Alps in 2009, but with an eight-day race we’re both fully aware that anything can happen. People have a tendency to blow big time after consecutive days of intensive endurance racing like this and unfortunately injuries are often rife.
Last year a flared Achilles on the last day of the six-stage TransRockies made for a painful finish and at one point looked like it could have affected our overall placing. This time we’re prepared though – with our Physio Andy Walling to hand at the end of every stage we have a safe pair of hands to patch us up at the end of the day, should the legs fall to pieces, which is more than likely!
In the mixed race Angela Mudge and Ben Bardsley will be perfectly prepared. The two experienced internationals have many hundreds of thousands of miles of racing in their legs.
After a varied approach this year (Angela well prepared in Europe, Ben through a mixed domestic season of fell, triathlon and bike racing) you can be sure that they will both arrive in Germany ready for the challenge.
Angela in recent Euro action
Speaking about the race Angela said:
The TransAlp has been a big goal for me this year, and was initially a target of the women’s pair race, with Anna Frost. It was a great shame that Anna had to withdraw (knee injury – Ed), but of course it was the right decision for her. This race can only be tackled when in perfect physical condition.
However, I am excited about taking part in the mixed event with Ben. He has bags of experience of multi-day events – and we trust each other!
Ben Bardsley
Follow the guys’ Twitter updates on race progress here
