Transviamala

Last Sunday we ran the beautiful Transviamala race. It’s 19km long, starts in the mountain town Thusis and ends in the tiny village Donat with 200 inhabitants.

For the first time, the runners did not start in one big block – instead, each runner started 2 seconds after the next. This was a great idea, as it spread out the runners and there were no bottlenecks along the trail.

Transviamala von Thusis nach Donat
Transviamala von Thusis nach Donat, Alphafoto

From Thusis, the running trail leads through the amazing Viamala valley. Six times this race has been voted by runners as the most beautiful race in Switzerland. Every single time I run this race, I am in awe of the dramatic scenery. Unfortunately, this time the weather wasn’t as sunny, but at least it didn’t rain.

Transviamala 2017
Transviamala 2017

 

950 metres of climbing uphill and 620 metres descending downhill. There are not that many spectators along the way, but where they are, they put their heart and soul into cheering on the runners.

Transviamala 2017
Transviamala 2017

I lost count of how many bridges we crossed and how many quaint little mountain villages we passed.

Transviamala von Thusis nach Donat
Transviamala von Thusis nach Donat, Alphafoto

Once we arrived in Thusis, we could shower in the school’s gym and then dig into the “pizokel”, a delicious local dish.

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This year we were in a tent, but in the past few years we could always sit outside in the sun. Below a picture from a previous year.

Transviamala2014_104

This was the last race of 2017!

The next one will be the fun 5k Turkey Trot in Naples, Florida!

Cheers, everyone! Keep on running!