Notes
This was it - the Eiger race! Ellie, Anders, James, and I headed out to Grindelwald together for this amazing weekend. Ellie, James, and I did the 51k race, while Anders braved the 101k. It was my first ever trail race, so I went into it with minimal expectations, and was really pleased with the result. I did especially well on the climbs over the first half of the course, sticking with the first chase pack for much of the first serious climb and staying firmly around the top 10 up to the midway point of the race - and the highest elevation point of the course. Then I had a harder time with the downhill, and dropped a few more places as we descended. But I still finished up in 18th place overall, which was great for this first try at something so new! It was also just one of the most absolutely stunning places I've been to in Switzerland, which made for an even more incredible backdrop for the whole thing.
I was also really pleased with how well my body held up under all this. I was obviously spent at the end, but at no point felt like I was dying or crashing. The legs were exhausted, but aerobically I felt remarkably okay. I ate and drank a lot throughout, which I'm sure was key. (I was also surprised to have lost a lot of time on the leaders at the aid stations - I was careful to refill my reservoir, get snacks, etc at every station, but they often just flew through! Something to think about for next time, and see if I can better optimize for this.)
An exciting debut - with a great team - for this event, and excited to try out more in the future!