Winter Times

After a long 27-hours trip I finally arrived in Switzerland. Getting off the plane in a snow storm gave me a little idea of what will be ahead the next 3 weeks training wise. The first 3 days I simply tried not to freeze to death and stayed warm and mostly inside.

After spending a few days with friends in the French part of Switzerland I drove across the country to my home town St. Gallen. Driving on snow-covered road was a bit like driving on sand... I took my time and visited some friends on the way but arrived save 'home'.

The next day I was ready for a run, and I went with my dad his gym where I clocked up a few hours on the treadmill. My dad kept up for a while but at 84, I was impressed that he kept the speed up at almost same level as myself. I just hope I will be in same shape in another 35 years... After two days in the gym I was ready for an outdoor run, but after 70 minutes I had to turn home. Zero degrees and a biting wind was no fun.

I will give it another try tomorrow as the weather improved somehow, not temperature wise but at least the blue sky seems inviting enough.

Next week will be cross training high-altitude stuff -- skiing at 2000m+ above sea level has to be counted, no?

I hope everyone had a wonderful Xmas, and I wish you all save training and great races for 2012!

Coastrek Training Part 1

Team Run 4 Vision meet for the first time today on the steps of the Opera House for a great run along the coast of the Eastern Suburbs all the way to Coogee Beach. It was a brilliant morning, not too hot, but blue sky and sunshine. I am sure it was a good move to run this section as we got lost a few times of course and had to backtrack to find the right way. The view along the tracks over the harbor and city is stunning, and once we turned South from Watson's Bay we had the ocean on one and the harbor on the other side of us. A nice cool breeze made the last few km more comfortable, and we managed to take cover in a cafe in Coogee just before the nasty cold wind and rain started.

This was a first for Kate, having never run more then 21km in one go, she lead us to the beach in Coogee and after 31km and 3.5 hours still had a smile on her face. Well done, Kate. I think we just found us another ultra runner here...

Next stop Xmas and New Year. Going easy on the champagne and salmon and keeping up the running should make the trick to start 2012 in top shape and ready for the count down to 2 March, Palm Beach to Coogee Beach. Team Run 4 Vision is ready.

Team Run4Vision

Great news today - we are a complete team. Found our 2nd female runner for the Coastrek 2012 and just have to wait for Kate to get back from her Europe trip to have our first team meeting. First 2 weeks November training looks good - done regularly 65km the last couple of weeks and will hit 80 this week. Can't wait to get to some new training ground in Inner West and North West Sydney and also start training on the actual trek.

Coastrek 2012

Still looking for the 4th runner but the rest of team 'Run 4 Vision' is already in full training. Kate ran the Lucerne 1/2 Marathon yesterday and Denis and I are covering lot's of kilometers already. At the moment I do about 65 km a week with some long back to back runs on the weekend.
I also started the fundraising and you can now find our fundraising pages here. Thank you for supporting our efforts.
Happy Feet

13 October - World Sight Day

Today the world is marking World Sight Day and The Fred Hollows Foundation joins individuals and organisations worldwide. Fred Hollows dedicated his life to working to restore sight to needlessly blind people, and The Foundation in his name is carry on his work.

I urge you to do your bit to help make Fred's vision of eliminating avoidable blindness a reality. Please share the fact below with family, friends and workmates – overcoming avoidable blindness is up to all of us.

• 3 out of 4 people who are blind don't need to be
• 90% of avoidable blindness occurs in developing countries
• 50% of avoidable blindness is due to cataract, a condition which can be overcome with a simple operation costing as little as $25

Thank you for helping making a difference we all can see!

Happy feet

New challenge - 100 km for 100 blind people

This week I signed-up our team 'Run 4 Vision' for the Coastrek 2012.
A team of four (Kate, Denis, myself and a yet to be found fourth person) will run the 100 km from Palm Beach to Coogee Beach on the 2nd March 2012. In the lead-up we will raise money for The Fred Hollows Foundation and help needlessly blind people see again. Today I went out with Denis on our first training run. My first since the Marathon with Ben last month. Felt a bit sluggish and after 20km and 2 hours in the pouring rain we called it a day. A good start of what is going to be a long 5 months of fundraising and training. Poor Kate is currently traveling in Europe and yet to realise what is going to hit hear when she comes back. Good news is that she has signed up for a 1/2 marathon in Switzerland end of this month, so she will be fit and ready for our training regime, when coming back in November. Support us here --> Thank you for your much needed support
Happy feet
Markus

Done! All for Fred

We only had 10 weeks all together but we, or better Ben, did it! He fullfilled his dream of finishing a Marathon in a brilliant time of 4.56hrs!

It was a hell of a day - hot, hot, hot and runners along the way dropped like flies as the heat radiating off the tarmac almost melted our shoes. Ben kept his head high, swearing his way through and plugged along all the way to the Opera House finish. The heat was overpowering and only constant cooling down with water and drinking regular got us there.

I can't repeat Ben's comments made on the last 3 km, but a constant reminder that we did this all for Fred and helping other people to see again kept him going almost in tears to the finish. He was able to walk the few meters to the 1st aid tent and then collapsed in need of cooling down.

Lots of ice all over him did the trick and 30 min later he was all smiles knowing that he proofed many people wrong - people who did not give him a chance to finish a marathon. Having to go through life without the advantage of seeing is a constant struggle, a struggle we only can imagine.

Training for a marathon and running the race is not an easy task for anybody but for Ben it was constant, constant struggle and fighting. He showed not only me but to all the people who saw him fighting his way to the finish, that if you dream, if you believe and if you keep going - great things can come through. Ben is my everyday hero today!
Happy Feet

Week 2

We certainly cracked some good km's the last two weeks, averaging above 60km now and Ben's form is improving with every session. The gym is helping and so is his cross 'training' of blind cricket and 'goal ball' - a ball game played at the next Paralympic games in London 2012 and Ben has this dream of making the Australian selection by next year.....
First things first....we have another 2 busy weeks of training ahead of us to make sure we get as ready as we can get for Sunday, 18th Sept.
Ben and I also decided to support The Fred Hollows Foundation with our run and started a fundraising website - please help us to raise needed fund for the needlessly blind people in the world
Happy feet
Markus

Week 1 - post City 2 Surf

I gave Ben a day to recover from his C2S run but Tuesday morning we were out there again doing our rounds in Centennial Park. We also got cards for the SFS gym which is very close from Ben's home, so he will be able to go on a bike or stepper during the day and build up his strength and endurance. This weekend we covered some sections of the Marathon Route and covered each day 18 km in 2 hours. I must have pushed Ben a bit too far today as he was completely exhausted at the end of it. But we both know that the hard work and suffering now will pay off in 4 weeks time and make the long 42 km a lot easier.
Next week will be a though one - training everyday with a big weekend ahead.
Happy Feet

City 2 Surf 2011 - done!

Well, first test passed with flying colors! I can not remember a C2S were it rained prior the start. Ben and I managed to get to the start and kept as dry as possible wearing some old clothes and a rubbish bag over it. After meeting up with the other Achilles members prior the start preparing our shirts with the appropriate signs we managed to get ourselves into a pretty good starting position about 200m ahead of the other 'green' runners. With the 2nd gun at 8.10am we were able to start running down Williams Street straight away as the 'red' group already has disappeared in the Edgecliff Tunnel and the thousands of 'green' runners were behind us only slowly overtaking us half way down William Street. This was perfect start for us. The other smart decision was to carry our own water bottles so we never had to stop at the drinking tables and kept running non-stop from the city to the beach. A big thanks to Rael, who re-filled Ben's bottles from times to times! So Ben and I managed to get to Bondi in a stellar 86min. An improvement for Ben from last years time of over 1 min per km! Great job! So now it is back to gym and training runs to get ready for the big one - Sydney Marathon! It is Ben's dream to finish the real thing and helping raising needed funds for The Fred Hollows Foundation. I am confident that with some extra efforts in the next couple of weeks we will finish at the Opera House on Sunday, 18th September. Happy Feet and Congratulations to all C2F finisher!

It has been a while

A few weeks of settling back in - finding a new job and a new home, I am now back in full swing running with Ben (my blind running partner) training hard for the Sydney Marathon. After last years 1/2 marathon and a successful 100km Oxfam Trail Walk, Ben is keen to go the full monty! For sure we both have some work to do, as both of us have been a bit slack the last 6 months and we have now just a bit over 6 weeks to get ready. We currently do our rounds in the Centennial Park on Tuesday and Thursday mornings between 7 and 8 plus have some longer runs on the weekend. Ben is also joining a gym so he can get on bike or treadmill and clock up some more miles. With the great weather we enjoy currently in Sydney we will of course spend as much time as possible outside along the beaches and coast.

First run back home

After 2 days and 1200km of drive from Brisbane I was ready to move my legs. It was not a big one - 7 odd km but was great to jog around the bay and enjoy the views, water, sunshine. Good to be back.
Just realised that only 80 days to go before the Sydney Marathon, so better get cracking. So, hopefully I find soon a home to live and then I can get set for regular training again. Plan is for Ben and me to start serious training next week to be as well prepared as possible to achieve Ben's dream to finish his first full marathon in September.
Happy feet

Coming home

I am looking forward to returning home to Sydney and start my regular training runs with my running buddy Ben again. It has been too long and Brisbane was not too good for me training or running wise...
After 7 months in Brisbane, where Uli and I never found really our feet or felt at home we are moving back. I know that Ben is already looking forward to it and to make sure we get out and about during the cooler winter months we made the commitment to run the Sydney Marathon in September and start fundraising for The Fred Hollows Foundation as soon as possible. Looking forward to catching up with all of you back in Sydney soon
Happy Feet

No training - no prize

After moving to Brisbane end of last year with the new job, flood and endless days of rain, it was hard to get regular training done. So as a result after 10 weeks I managed a dismal 200km or 20km a week. Pretty poor and the result was of course a shocking Twilight 1/2 marathon yesterday in Brisbane. Perfect conditions weather wise but miserable condition for me. Finished in my worst ever time of over 2 hours. I am just glad I did not have to guide anyone on this race as I probably would have been pulled along by a blind runner. So to get me on an even keel again the first thing I did last night is to sign up for the 50km Cook's Tour in May and the 100miles Glasshouse Mountains in September. That should get me back on track pretty soon. I will start running to and from work 2 - 3 times a week plus get the long runs in on the weekend. I hope by May I am back to my old form. Happy Feet

Running with 'new' eyes

I consider myself very luck to have had the possibility to address my vision problem and finally got rid of my glasses. I had Laser Lasik done 10 days ago and it feels like new chapter of life. Should have done this years ago....
I can't wait to start my training again and run without prescription glasses. Go for a run, finish at the beach (no option in Brisbane) and jump into the waves without the problem of where to go with my glasses was always a dream. Can't wait to get back to Sydney and do the beach run......
Uli and I settling in fine in Brisbane, which finally puts on a much better face with blue sky, sunshine and a cooling breeze most of the days. I am allowed to kick start my training next week again and my first goal is the Brisbane Twilight Run in March.
That 1/2 marathon will give me a good indication where I stand and than we can plan the year for some major adventures.
Gold Coast Marathon, Simpson Desert, Glasshouse Mountains, Brisbane Oxfam and much more is on my wish list.
I will try to continue my work with visually impaired runners here in Brisbane and have started to get in touch with Vision Australia and Guide Dog.
Happy Feet
Markus

Still alive

Sorry, has been a while - Happy New Year save training and accident free running to everyone in 2011.

Since we moved to Brisbane my running was very sporadic as the continuous rain was not encouraging to go out and run.



The recent flooding made it even harder to go out there, so will kick start my training later in the month and in the meantime try to help cleaning-up where I am needed and can help.

Save running and happy feet everyone