Jungfrau Marathon 2007
The marathon starts in Interlaken - between the lakes of Thun and Brienz - and at the foot of the Eiger, the Mönch and the Jungfrau (from left to right in the panorama).
The track is marked red. Starting in Interlaken, it passes:
Bönigen,
Wilderswil (10km),
Gsteigwiler,
Zweilütschinen,
Lauterbrunnen (20km),
Wengen (30km),
Wengernalp (38km),
Eigergletscher (42km)
and finishes at Kleine Scheidegg.
Profile of the marathon. The first half is relatively friendly, but the second half is a really nice challenge.
Red sections are sealed road, green is unsealed road and yellow is no road (mountain path).
The start being prepared. The guy is laying down the sensor mats that will record the runners passing by.
Very practical, wrist straps with time-tables.
First of all, Heleen gets her paperwork done.
Bag with start license (4122), chip, etc.
Do I have everything?
Heleen (left) and Marjanne (right).
A last check of the start.... from the right direction this time.... and then back home to get to bed early!!
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WHAT? We're leaving at 6:30am! My brain is refusing to remember what time the alarm went off that day...
It was so early, I forgot my camera! Not the one I took this photo with obviously, but my SLR. Luckily, I did not forget to take my backup camera for that day (Canon S2), so we're not completely without photos, but the quality of some shots is mediocre.
Sorry for that!
We catch the bus at 7:30 in Interlaken at the airport to get to the start.
Marjanne is not keen on early bird photos.
No way back: 42.195m with an 1823m climb!
The start is ready. As we are very early, the street is still empty.
Swiss folklore.
A last photo before we start of: Heleen, Marjanne and Pieter.
Believe it or not, this parachutist jumped from a helicopter to deliver the start gun! Either I was not the only one with brain problems that day or somebody wanted to show off.
Marjanne, thumbs up.
Mmhhh, who was this lady...??
About five seconds before the start....
Just after the start, Marjanne looks as fresh as a daisy!
Julia starts cheering up the runners; our task for the next 6.5 hours.
Sweeping up the last few runners is his task (runners have to finish within 6.5 hours for safety reasons, this guy kept track of the final time).
While the runners are enjoying the lovely weather and the scenery, the supporters are trying to cram themselves with the hundreds or thousands into the few tiny trains of the Jungfrau Bahn.
Finally we manage to get into a train, although I loose some companions. What's nice is that we can see the runners from the train.
I wish I was there instead of this train...
Along the river...
Close to Lauterbrunnen.
Regarding distance, Lauterbrunnen village is the middle: 21.1km. But it's only the start of the climb to Kleine Scheidegg!
From Lauterbrunnen at 795m, there are 1500m to climb.
Those people were NOISY!!!
(CLANGCLANGCLANGCLANGCLANG)
Pieter supports Marjanne with a personalized drink and energy gels. Anything else?
After Marjanne passed by, Julia and John are anxiously waiting for Heleen.
Pieter on the lookoout to make *the* photo of Heleen running the Jungfrau.
No need to be anxious, Heleen is in perfect shape!
John hands over a drink and takes a photo at the same time.
We cram ourselves into a railway carriage again for the next stop.
Runners leaving Lauterbrunnen.
The view is amazing, it's truly the most beautiful marathon in the world. You can see the runners at the right side of the photo passing the houses (behind the small truck).
Through the fields at 32.75km. In the background another train coming up.
Approximately 4500 runners are making their way up the mountain while about 10.000 supporters are trying to get there with a few small trains. And it's only single track!!
We get out of the train at Wengernalp at 38km (1858m).
From here, it's 30m downhill to Wixi (on the right) before the final 380m climb to the Eiger glacier at 2205m (in the background).
Julia does not stop cheering up the runners. They needed it!
Local farmers are playing the alphorn to encourage the runners.
The lady on the right with the yellow flag was from Schaffhausen, waiting for her son.
There is Marjanne!
4:20 "...it's going well, hot, traffic jams on certain sections, pain in the back, no major issues, ..."
While we rush back to the train, we spot the runners in the far distance on their way to the Eiger glacier.
