Three women and five men from the Mila team battled the intense heat and the even steeper gradients. Donato Tropiano was the fastest and only Mila to finish under the hour mark. Doris Lüchinger was back down in the valley very quickly: she had won a tandem paragliding flight.
by Felix Benz
In intense heat, 75 women and 296 men tackled the 8.8-kilometer course from Grabs up to the Gamperney ski hut, 1,000 meters higher. The 30 degrees Celsius made the course, with gradients of up to 40 percent, particularly strenuous, at least for most of them. Record times were out of the question. Claudia Landolt from Uzwil won the women’s race in 54:03 minutes. Timo Zeiler from Germany took the day’s victory in the men’s race with a time of 44:17 minutes. He relegated the considered unbeatable Jonathan Wyatt to second place. This year, a particularly strong German team participated, as the race counted as their qualification for the European Mountain Running Championships.
Satisfied Mila Team
There have been more Milas at the start of the Gamperney mountain run, but what the eight showed is more than just an honorable mention. Donato led the way. He made the transition from flat to uphill in a relatively short time brilliantly. He was the fastest and only Mila to stay well under the hour mark. In his age category, he just missed the podium, coming fourth. Rolf also got a bib and, as always, paced himself up the mountain, satisfied with his performance considering the difficult conditions. The same goes for Andreas, Ramon, and Felix. They are all clearly ranked in the top half of the list. And the three Mila ladies also passed the performance test on the toughest mountain run there is. Edith was the first to arrive for a well-deserved tea break, followed shortly after by Doris and Irene. In the team rankings, the Mila team achieved third place.
Doris flies down.
Three special prizes were drawn among those who registered early: Instead of having to walk back down to the valley, the lucky ones were flown down in a tandem paraglider. Doris was treated to this special experience. It was a wonderful feeling, she said after landing. And everyone believes her.
(Photos mostly by Helmut and Waldi)
Glücklich, wer hier angelangt ist....
Schnell und locker: Donato
Rolf in alter Frische
Auch Andreas trotzte der Hitze
Vorbereitung auf den LGT für Felix
Edith inmitten starken Männern
Doris freut sich bereits auf ihren Rückflug
Irene ist Stammläuferin am Gamperney: Wer hier hinauf kommt, kommt überall ins Ziel!
Helmut und Horst waren ohne Startnummer, dafür mit Hund unterwegs
Auch die Zunge von Horsts Vierbeiner hängt ganz schön weit raus ...
Die drei schnellsten Milas am Gamperney 09: Donato, Rolf und Andreas
Die schnellsten Männer: Hier gabs schon eine Überraschung: Seriensieger Jonathan Wyatt hinter Timo Zeiler
Doris mit ihrem feschen Flugtrainer
bereit für den Rückflug
runter kommen sie immer ....
und Doris auch ganz sicher!
