A day later, after the opening ceremony on Tuesday in the Tyrolean capital, the runners first lace up their shoes for the short but extremely steep vertical race in Neustift im Stubaital. Mayr is also at the start here. This is followed by the 45 km long Trail Short competition on Thursday, the supreme discipline Trail Long (around 87 km) on Friday and finally the Mountain Classic on Saturday in Innsbruck.
In all four elite races there are World Championship medals for women and men, both individually and in teams. There is also a joint nation ranking. The local hopes for precious metal are once again resting on the Grande Dame of the mountain run. “Andrea Mayr has the best chances in the vertical and a medal could also be possible in the women’s team,” said the 60-year-old ex-world and European champion Helmut Schmuck. The trail runners could also make it onto the podium in the team ranking.
Start of the Trailrun World Championship
The Trailrun World Championships opened in Innsbruck on Tuesday. Until Saturday, runners from around 70 nations will compete in four competitions. The mountain runs and trail runs take place around Innsbruck and Neustift in the Stubaital.
Mayr avoids a declaration of war
When asked whether another medal would be possible, Mayr answered dryly: “It depends on how the race goes.” There is also the age factor. “Meanwhile, some of my competitors could be my children,” said the Upper Austrian.
Mayr travels to the home World Cup in Tyrol without an explicit goal. “Of course I don’t want to run to the finish line. Of course, my goal is to do well.” But in view of the much younger competition, it is “perhaps also a success if you don’t reach the top floor,” said the athlete, who works as a senior physician for orthopedic surgery at the Salzkammergut Clinic practiced in Gmunden.
program
Wednesday:
1 p.m.: Vertical race in Neustift in the Stubaital
Thursday:
9.00 a.m.: Trail Short: Innsbruck – Neustift
Freitag:
6:30 a.m.: Trail Long:
Neustift-Innsbruck
Saturday:
10.00 Uhr: Mountain Classic in Innsbruck
Mayr: “The steeper, the better”
The 56-time national champion with silver at the World Championships in Thailand last November showed that she is still more than competitive. In any case, Mayr likes the 7.1 km long vertical route over 1,020 meters in altitude up to the Elferhütte at 2,004 meters “very, very much. The first part is very, very steep,” she says. “The steeper, the better.” Their form also fits. The strongest competition awaits the 43-year-old from Switzerland, the USA and Uganda.
The fact that the title fights are taking place in Austria also motivates her a lot. “As soon as I knew that it was a home world championship, it was clear to me that I would start again this year,” explained Mayr. It is quite possible that it could be the last World Cup performance of the most successful mountain runner in the history of this sport. “Basically I think so, of course, but honestly I’ve been thinking that for at least ten years.”
End of career not planned yet
In any case, she had stopped planning, explained the woman from Gmunden, who was also a world champion in ski mountaineering. “Somehow I can’t imagine that it’s going to be very long. On the other hand, I can’t imagine that it’s over yet.” That’s why she prefers to suppress the potential farewell to high-performance sport. “I really don’t want to deal with it. If I now imagine that this is my last world championship or my last start, then I stand at the starting line and cry.”
There is no shortage of challenges in everyday life. In addition to her career as a doctor and daily training, Mayr has also been a foster mother for a few months. “I need a slightly longer day because sometimes I can’t get everything down or not in time.” But at the moment she can’t imagine a life without running, without running. “I still enjoy it quite a bit.”
Mayr is proud of her successes
The Upper Austrian does not want to overestimate her many successes, rather they lead her back to the topic of old age. “They mean I’ve been doing the sport for a really long time. And that I was successful for many years,” said Mayr, adding thoughtfully. “If I think about it for a while, then I can be quite proud of it.”
Challenges in World Cup organization
In the run-up to the World Cup, the sometimes wintry nature of the trail sections presented the World Cup organizers with a challenge. Due to the snowy spring there was a risk of avalanches in some places, which is why the trail long route between Neustift and Innsbruck was temporarily relocated from the north side to the snow-free southern flank at the weekend.
Information about the elite competitions:
Vertical: 7.1 km long race over 1,020 meters in altitude uphill with the finish at the Elferhütte at 2,004 m altitude
Trail Short: Over a distance of 45.2 km, you have to climb 3,132 meters up and 2,719 down.
Trail Long: The supreme discipline of trail runners over a distance of 86.9 km with more than 13,000 meters in altitude (6,500 uphill, 6,920 downhill)
Mountain Classic: Race over two laps of 7.5 km each and a total of 751 meters in altitude