Jungfrau Marathon Race Regale

Written by Lauren

The Jungfrau Marathon is held on the first weekend of September in Interlaken, Switzerland. This tough mountain race is famous for its beautiful Alpine views and steep climbs. Many people consider it one of the most stunning and challenging marathons in the world. The race starts in Interlaken and takes runners through charming villages and past stunning waterfalls. It ends at Kleine Scheidegg, where participants can enjoy incredible views of the Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau peaks. It's an unforgettable experience for runners!

Injury Leading up to the Race

I had been through the ringer with orthopedists and physical therapy. Although my physio will say this was not out of the blue, it was, my knees suddenly were swollen all of the time and I couldn't walk up or down stairs, get on and off the toilet, or sleep without pain. Trying to run past 10 miles was killing me. I had to slow everything down so much that ultimately running was not fun anymore. The slower I went the more my body broke down in other places. I had MRIs and x-rays; but, each orthopedist said my knees looked fine and I just needed to stop exercising completely if I was in pain. They said that when I turned 60, maybe, just maybe, they would consider surgery if it was warranted. I spoke openly to them that I was suicidal without running and I worried about my safety. They replied, "soon it will hurt so much that you wont care about running that much and not feel that way."

My physical therapist looked at my x-ray and diagnosed me the same week my primary care doctor did - my knees were sitting laterally and not in the groove. My doctor was so outraged by the lack of care from multiple doctors in the area that he called an orthopedist friend and left a voicemail asking him to do a lateral release surgery on both of my knees. He said I needed an "in" and he was it. He told the orthopedist my mental health and running background; urging him to help. Until further follow up, I will continue physio and rebuild my medial knee muscles, hammys, quads, glutes, and, oh my, so much more!

Luckily, before leaving for Switzerland my primary gave me a cortisone shot and my physio taught me how to tape my knees for this issue. It was like I never had a problem to begin with!

(Highly recommend AR Physical Therapy - Adam and MaryKay).

The Costs Associated with the Race

Aside from purchasing your flight and hotel accommodations, the race entry fee was $209 CFH. We also bought insurance for $13 CFH in case of injury,  etc. With your entry, you are provided a code to get your free train passes to and from the airport to Interlaken. That cost reduction helped us a lot because our plan was to stay in Interlaken for the entire vacation. We would have needed train transportation to and from the hotel anyways.

What about swag?

Well, they provide a lot. Included in the $209 CFH were:

1. One large and one small weather proof zipper bags. These were to be used as drop bags for the finish line. 

2. The way to any runners heart - A giant milk chocolate bar - I mean giant! 

3. Upon completing the race you got the medal, race shirt, and some water bottles.*

4. Race photos were available for purchase.

5. The coolest thing was that had cameras set up throughout the course and they compiled your race into a downloadable video - free!

*The unique thing here was,  you didn't get your finisher shirt unless you finished.  You didn't pick it up at packet pick up. No finish,  no shirt.

The Start

To get to the start line I had to walk about 400 meters from my hotel, The Grand Beau Rivage, making it the easiest hotel to start logistics - ever. However, to actually get me there was another story. I went back and forth every second of the day before the race. I was beside myself with doubt. How would I climb a mountain when my training mileage was so low? Not one doctor believed in me. What if I had to stop, I was in another country and didn't know how I could get back to the hotel or Jared. I was so slow that I was worried I would check out mentally and not want to be out there that long. My OCD was in overdrive and I made the day very unpleasant for all.

In the end I knew what I was going to do. It is who I am. It is engrained in me. So, I decided I would just show up. I could do that and I would do just that. The race started at 8:30am and I woke up at 7am, ate the hotel breakfast, dressed, and walked to the start. The coral was organized by elite, 5hour finish, 5.5 hour finish, 6 hour finish, and 6.5hour finish pace blocks.

As we were waiting for the gun to start the race the infamous UTMB music, Vangelis's "Conquest of Paradise" played and it you really started to feel the feels with 4,000 friends. I started to feel like I had it in me to do this. I have had a strong base for years, I am always training and the strength training with MaryKay really added muscle to my legs.

The plan at the moment - I would run at a very conservative pace and never look at my watch until I got to  Lauterbrunnen Valley which was the half marathon point. I latched onto two different women to keep in my sights and then I was off. I did things I never do - I was conservative, I didn't look at my watch, I stopped at every aid station (even took something new on race day - "Iso" or "electrolytes"), and I slowed on the mini hills instead of keeping my pace. I was just there to finish and I knew I had really, really hard climbs coming up.

The Course

The unique challenge of this marathon is that it combines half road and hiking paths with the other half on steep mountain trails. This mix caused a lot of confusion about what shoes to wear. To find the best option, I asked locals on running boards what they used for racing. They suggested road shoes unless it rained. To be extra careful, I looked at photos from past marathons to check what other runners wore on their feet. This research helped me prepare for the race better.

For the average marathoner, you can race the first 16.5 miles easily and then switch to hiking or jogging up a steep hill that climbs 6,047 feet. I thought about starting with carbon-plated shoes for the flat part and then changing to trail shoes for the tough climb. However, I learned from locals that it's better not to switch shoes during the race. In the end, I chose ASIC Edges, which are carbon-plated, designed to perform well on the road, and only had a touch of grip on the bottoms - I was taking a chance.

Through 8k the terrain is flat and paved. At 10k you meet your first hill and begin to have a few hiking trails. The term hiking trail is equivalent to the our canal way terrain (dusty, small pebbly pathways). I found it totally doable in my ASIC Edge. I train on the canal paths with them a lot. The half marathon marker is in Lauterbrunnen Valley where you see waterfalls streaming down on the left and right of you.

Mile 17 you being climbing. It lasts about 3.1 miles and is an incline of roughly 22% grade. It is a wall you slam against after being able to run freely paced. Runners must reach the top of Wengen at 30.7k by the cut off time of 4 hours and 25 minutes.

The start of the mountain climbing portion is at 38.5k (Wixi). Runners have to be past this point by 5 hrs 50 mins. Once you reach this mountain climbing portion, there is an overspill plan. In order to prevent a runner bottleneck, an overspill section of exactly equal distance to the original course is opened at 38.9k if necessary. Runners will be directed on to one or the other section of the course. The people directed me to the right of this overspill but I watched multiple locals go under the rope they were holding and veer to the left, so I followed. I started to wonder if I made a mistake as my carbon plated shoes slipped and slid for 800 meter son the muddy grassy knolls before it turned to all rocks (I asked Jared what way he took being at the head of the race and he said he went left).

During the long duration of the mountain climb you pass alpine horns, bagpipes, gorgeous mountain peaks, spectators with their own aid stations of generous offerings of apricots, candies, etc. It was really fun to be a part of.

For the finish, the runners are welcomed on Eigergletscher at 7,611 feet above sea level, at the foot of the Eiger and Mönch on an epic red carpet!

My Race

As I said, I was conservative, I didn't look at my watch, and I stopped at every aid station. I made it to Lauterbrunnen and was super relaxed. Goal one, done. On the fly I adjusted to add new goals - just make it to miles 14, 16, 18, and 20. Once you are at 20, the rest will take care of itself. You are going to be climbing 35%, it will suck and it will be slow, but I can hike - I knew that.

The only other time I looked at my watch was when I was wondering where the hell was mile 14. I looked and I was at mile 15.75 - that was a good sign. LOL. Not realizing I reached our first big climb, I was running up and everyone was yelling my name. I was feeling really proud and then promptly realized that it was the start to the climb I was waiting for and I was being cheered on because I was the only one running - haha. I calmed my ass down and began to hike/jog.

I told Jared I would turn my cellphone on at four hours to make sure he was ok and tell him I was too. I literally have never even carried a phone with me on a run let alone sent a text DURING a race. What a strange day of firsts. I was just past hiking up Wengen and Jared said he came in 1st American, 17th place. He was super proud I was past Wengen and moving much faster than planned. I told him I was good, I didn't know any times, and I would see him in a few hours. I was on track to be under six hours at the time. That did not pan out. On the last 10k of the mountain limb it was a line of people doing one small step at a time, zero urgency other than to survive - myself included. You would literally fall backwards if you stood up straight. I remained hands on knees or hands on hips at all times.

The thing about hiking is you get summit fever, no matter how much it hurts you have to summit. It's a gravitational force pulling you. Having to hike 35% incline straight up a Col to finish your last 10k of a marathon is bullshit. They can dress is it up with alpine horns, bagpipes, free massages (yes, many free massage areas), and the insane amount of amazing spectators cheering; but, it still sucks. I was hiking up a mountain in carbon-plated shoes in 78 degree weather with zero shade. The only thing I kept saying to myself was a quote from David Laney in Billy Yang's "Mont Blanc - CCC/UTMB video", "....Well, this is what is happening right now, this is the experience that I am in." It was what I was doing for the next 2 hours or more. There was no other choice than to be in the moment. I didn't wish to be done, I didn't look for the finish line - I just took one step at a time and was present.

So 10k of climbing took a long time, but that last 5k was the most suck ever. Men love to pass you, they have this urge to do it. They would pass and then stand to the side to catch their breath as you passed them again. It is a dance you do as a woman, the "let the man go and ditch them later" dance. Sally McRae's saying, "pass, gap, bury" comes in handy here. I asked out loud, not sure if anyone spoke English, "Is that the finish?" as I pointed to the top and I was told 1k to go. "Yeah, I don't know kilometers", I muttered. We turned the corner and there were slabs of rock to jump down. On any normal day this would be fine. Today, every single person accepted the hands of five 80 year old people to carry them off the slabs. Apparently, they were there for Jared too! He needed them, too. Some (men) were cramping so hard they would fall to the side and lay there. This happened to the man in front of me and the older locals picked me up to the side and carried me around him. A local turned to tell me there was 700 meters to go. I was panicking a little because my heart was pounding so loudly and I was really trying not to cry. I definitely was worked and I was getting really proud of myself, the combination was leading to tears.

I saw the red carpet finish line and I was searching the crowd for Jared. There he was videoing me coming up. The crowd was yelling, "sprint finish, sprint finish." They didn't know I was barely "hand on knees finishing." I crossed the line and collapsed into Jared's arms. I was so happy to finally let go and sob. As I started to I realized I barely could, my lungs were so tired I couldn't do anything but little sobs here and there. It hurt so much to breathe. I had them place the medal over my head and I let the little sobs keep coming.

From the finish line to the medals, to your finisher's shirt, to custom water bottles with ISO, to custom water bottle with water, to the pasta party, and gondola ride back down to the trains. That was the flow of the finish. I didn't eat any pasta and I only wanted some photos of me with the medal in front of the Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau peaks.

Afterthoughts

Hands down, 100% proud of this race. I was the 4th American woman to finish and I overcame SO much. The craziest thing was I was not the least bit sore after the effort. I thought I was done with this race; however, I need to go back. I held back so much worrying about my injury, not knowing what to expect, and lacking confidence in myself.

I need to go back and race the 16.5 miles, hike/jog Wengen, and hike the last 10k with some more punch. I can shave off so much time racing the first part and being confident in where I need to stop for aid. I did the math half heartedly and I think I would pull off 5.5 hours on this course. That's one hour and forty mins longer than my normal marathon; but it seems about right with the hiking.

European racing is such an amazing experience. Everyone is outside spectating and cheering. The community wants to be involved and praises those working hard. The course is just a regular day in the mountains for them. It was so exciting to hear people yelling my name all day long. I slapped kids hands, punched posterboards for power, and thoroughly enjoyed myself. Having to slow things down and be present allowed me to do things I would never do in a normal race situation. It was nice to have another experience. I wish I believed in myself to do more; however, taking a giant conservative step back, I got to interact with the crowd, look around and see the beauty, and even take three photos DURING the race (wild to me, haha).

The biggest lesson I learned was to trust myself. Even though my injury didn’t fully go away until six days before the race, I realized I let other people influence how I felt about myself. Instead of focusing on my own experiences and strengths from the last 16 years of running, I let their comments shape my thoughts. They see me as slightly broken now, but they don't know my journey or the challenges I’ve overcome. It’s important to remember my own story and believe in myself.

What's next? Hopefully reconnecting with my old coach, Juli Benson*, to get some quality lower mileage running over the winter combined with 3 days a week of strength training at AR Physical Therapy. It is time to get strong! It would be great if physical therapy fixed my knees before any surgery was necessary.

*Juli now coaches Nikki Hiltz and we are seeing if she can fit me in.