2024 Eiger 250
with Kirsty Hewitson
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Back
in January Kirsty messaged me and suggested the Eiger 250 as a pair and I
accepted. The entry was made and as preparations we did the Old County Tops as a
pair although we have run together a lot over the years and always support each
other on our various rounds. The OCT was good with Kirsty helping me through the
heat and this was to prove true again in Switzerland. We travelled on the Monday
15th July, with registration being Tuesday. It was a long day from Keswick to
Grindlewald and we were glad to get to the Airbnb at 5pm. We headed into town
and to a pizza restaurant where we had great pizzas (although CHF26 each!). We
both slept well that night which was good.
Next morning we packed and decided what to take in our
seven drop bags. It's quite a task working out what you might want and when. One
drop bag that follows you round is easier but we assumed it was because of
timings and logistics that we had seven instead. Registration was at 2pm so we
took our kit down at 2.30pm. There was no kit check and we weren't given a map
nor the glow stick that was on the kit list. Although the registration was very
quick - less than 15 minutes it felt odd that there was no checking of our kit.
It was also a shame that we didn't get a map as had I know I would have printed
something off or brought a map map as it was hard to imagine the route and the
checkpoints without. Having got seven red plastic bags each we headed back to
the room and spent the afternoon sorting kit into the bags. While this was going
on I noticed my right shin was getting swollen and red. I had bashed this on
Arrochar Alps three weeks earlier and then a couple of times more since then,
including when I pulled my bag off the baggage carousel at Zurich airport. It
was quite worrying so after we had dropped our drop bags off we went to the
pharmacy. The pharmacist wasn't that happy and said I should go to the hospital
in the morning if it hadn't gone down. She gave me some cream to put on it
overnight. We went back to the room where I cranked up the laptop and
transferred the gpx, which had just been emailed through, onto my handheld
Garmin
GSMAP 66sr Kirsty made tea and we compared legs and injuries with her
Achilles flaring up that day. As you can imagine we didn't sleep that well and
were glad when the alarm woke us at 6am and we could just get going.
The weather forecast had settled down into being dry and
hot. To be honest I would have preferred the rain as I just struggle in the
heat. It was
Inov8 t-shirt and
shorts weather of course. For shoes I had
chosen the new version of the
Inov8 Trailfly in a size 7 and they felt
comfy so I planned to set off in them. As a backup I had put a pair of the old
version in one of the drop bags. I was using the tried and tested
Inov8 Racepac 20 as although it was a
little big for what I needed, I just love the pockets and know I can access
everything and it's comfortable to wear for days on end.
Start at 8am to Checkpoint 1 at Stechelberg 23.2km +1640m
(+1335m) Not a Life Base 4.30 hours arrived 12.30. Left 12.45
We set off steady and it was a long uphill. It felt quite
warm and muggy however was overcast and the summit of Eigergletscher looked in
clag. We passed a ladies team all in pink and had a few words with them. The
field soon spread out and it was nice to go at our own pace. We headed into clag
and kept following the gpx and other runners. Reaching the summit, there was a
snow bank to cross and then we went around the base of the Ski lift. It was a
bit confusing as to which tracks to follow and between a few teams we figured it
out. We started to head down and then across a grassy plateau before turning to
head uphill again but not for long before we started the long descent down to
the valley and the checkpoint which was a tent. There were a number of runners
in the tent and we spotted alcohol free beer, coke, cakes, banana's, fruit and
bars. We both had a coke, filled up our bottles, collected some food and were on
our way. It felt hot in the valley and we knew it was going to be 28C that day.
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CP
1 to CP2 Kandersteg 34km +3360m (+2900m). Total 57km Life Base so we get our
first drop bag. 8.55 hours arrived 21.30. Left 22.30.
This section was two big climbs and after flowing a long
river valley in the heat we were glad to reach the first climb of Sefinafurgga
and gett stuck in to reach the summit at 2600m. We talked to a men's teams about
the Tour de France as we'd heard them chatting about it. It was hot work
climbing and we were glad of the water troughs when we passed them. We spotted a
refuge (Rotstockhütten) and saw that runners were heading into it to fill up
with water and also buy food and drink. We decided to stop and get a coke. This
was a welcome break as although we were both eating well the extra calories and
cold drink was really welcome. We carried on and when we ran passed another
refuge we also stopped and got some hot water for our Expedition meals - we made
up two puddings and then carried them up the hill a little before finding a
lovely viewpoint where we both sat and ate them. A couple of Frenchman that we
had been passing back and forth came passed us and we exchanged chat yet again.
Once we'd had the proper food we felt so much better and headed up the climb of
Hoturli which was stunning and climbed up into some snow fields. Ropes has been
put on the snow and we followed them up and up reaching the pass gratefully. We
had caught Antonio and Antony just at the top where they were taking photos and
we all headed down together. It was good to have more eyes to find the path as
it zigzagged down and over the snow fields. Some runners had tried to descend
directly and that looked bad news. Antonio and Anthony disappeared into the
distance and were were happy to go at our own pace. Time went quickly and it was
soon time to put our head torches on. Heading down and down a long winding
valley and then around to our right the scenery was captivating and the
mountains stretched out in front of us. We passed the Lake Oeschinensee and I
tried to get some photos but it was too far below us for the colour and impact
to show up. Then into Kandersteg we ran along the roads.
The checkpoint we a bit busy and we spotted the runners
we had seen on the trail, Antonio and Antony, a group of three Australians, a
couple of Japanese and the French. I was getting quite sociable now as we were
always around the same runners. The food was a bit disappointing as the pasta
was just plain or with tomato sauce. Then there was no non alcoholic beer and
the other selection of food was mainly cakes. We ate some pasta and tended to
our feet and taped Kirsty's back. Sorting out the food we knew that the next
section was a long one again so we were heavily laden when we left. We did pick
up two more Expedition food meals and ate the rice puddings that I had packed at
the last minute! As we were leaving I spotted some boiled potatoes had appeared
so we collected some of those to take with us.
CP2 to CP 3 Jeizinen. 35km +2340m. Total 92km Life Base &
2nd drop bag. 8.50 hours arrived 7.15am Thursday morning. Left 8.15am
There was a long valley to do with a gentle gradient
which seemed to go on forever and we knew we had a big climb to do so we were
keen to get started on it. Eventually we turned right up a valley and started
the climb. Initially it was good going however as it turned to rocks and the
path was very indistinct. I was glad of the gps and that the race organisor had
marked the path. We climbed up and up weaving through the rocks until we
came to the snow fields. Crossing the snow fields steps had been cut into the
snow in a zigzag and we were especially pleased about this. The wind was getting
up and we put our waterproofs and gloves on. The path kept heading up and we
kept climbing. It was very exhilarating as we could tell we were in a huge basin
and there was big mountains all around us. On the plateau we followed the
markers and the gps and then spied a Refugio and couldn't believe our luck when
it was open and there was lady waiting for us. We weren't cold but the climb had
taken it's toll and we wanted to make up the Expedition food meals. However
inside this was a surprise checkpoint and there was everything we could ask for!
The Australians were there wrapped in blankets having had a sleep, there were a
couple of other runners also wrapped in blankets. We asked for non alcoholic
beer and they had that. We also asked for hot water and they kindly made the
meals up for us. I wanted a cup of tea and I was so happy when the lady produced
English tea and had some proper milk too. I think she thought I was a bit odd
when I questioned what sort of milk she had but I didn't want UHT or oat milk
etc. The tea was lovely. We ate the puddings and had some pasta. It was just
amazing and we were so happy that I think it surprised the other runners what
little things would make us so happy. I took a couple of photos. We knew it was
cold outside but the lady said we would descend soon so we didn't add anymore
layers.
Kirsty had asked whether the paths were better than the
side we climbed up and the lady had said yes they were much better. However as
we descended the paths were still pretty rough and rocky. And also very steep.
It's all relative I suppose! We descended down and it started to get light. We
were on a big plateau with grassy banks and mountains all around us. I took a
few photos but the affect doesn't really come out that well. It was great that
it was light though. We had a small climb up Stafel to do and then it was a long
long descent into Jeizinen.
The Checkpoint was in the open in the street. There were
tables and chairs around it and then the sleeping was a barn / house to the
lower side and food and drink was provided by a house on the higher side. Our
bags were brought to us and we started the process of figuring out what we
wanted. A change of socks and more talc for me. The food option was potatoes
with melted cheese and a few gherkins and onions on the side. We both opted for
a plate of that. The next section was a long one to the next Life Base at Belalp
with an interim checkpoint at Finnen. We now knew what was provided at the
interim checkpoints and we estimated we would be at Belalp at 10pm that night so
we packed a lot of food, not knowing what we could find along the way. Wer made
up the Expedition food meals with hot water and then set off with them. We loved
the potatoes and cheese and had two plates! Antonio and Antony arrived as we
were leaving. They had slept somewhere. And a couple of Ladies teams also who
had slept at the Refugio. The Australians also arrived as we left.
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CP3
to CP4 Finnen 27km +1650m. Total 118km Interim checkpoint. 6.50 hours Arrived
15.00 Thursday afternoon. Left 15.30.
After Finnen we dropped to 645m (the lowest we would be
on the whole race) and then began the long traverse above Steg, Raron,
Ausserberg and Eggerberg. One ladies teams passed us which was fine as we had no
idea where we were and it was too early to be racing. It was very hot and I was
struggling to move at all in the heat. The route wasn't inspiring and I remember
seeing this on the videos I had watched. A lot of good paths, above a valley
which was all trainlines, towns and factories. I tucked in behind Kirsty and we
just plodded along, wishing that we could drop to a town and find a cold drink.
We did find a couple of water troughs and so filled our bottles gratefully. We
stopped in the shade to eat the Expedition food meals - to date we hadn't had a
Chocolate one - both of us had randomly put different ones in each drop bag and
then it was a bit of lucky dip. There were only three flavours and so far we'd
only had the Apple and the Mixed Berries. My feet had also started to become
sore and I wasn't sure what was going on. Whether it was heat rash or blisters
on the bottom of my foot pads. I think my feet were moving around too much but I
wasn't sure.
About 1pm we came across a restaurant, the ladies team
were just leaving and we were desperate for proper food so we stopped. Kirsty
asked about omelets and the chef said she could make them so we ordered two with
chips and a cold drink each. Kirsty took a photo of me looking happy with my
coke. The other ladies team arrived and sat with us. They ordered too and then
we chatted away. Fanny Lannoy was French and had done the race in 2022
(the first one) with her partner who was entered as a Men's team this year. Her
partner was Andrea Vlaskova who was Swiss. Fanny said the route in 2022 was the
best route but this year there was a lot of storm damage and we were doing more
lower level stuff. She was very chatty and funny. Their team name was
TrailManics WomenPower which we thought was excellent. Kirsty hadn't had much
inspiration when she entered us and we didn't realise that our Team name would
be so highlighted either so our team was just From the North/Keswick AC! Our
omlette arrived and we tucked in. It didn't taste much of eggs to me but I was
hungry and thought it was just me. After a while the waitresses and owner moved
away and Kirsty turned to me and said "It's not an omlette" then I realised that
it was a pancake, folded over with some cheese in the middle and it was a soggy
one at that. The chips were nice but a huge plateful. We offered some to the
ladies but they had icecream and didn't want chips. As we were getting ready to
leave Antonio and Antony came along and so we explained about the omlettes and
offered them and the chips to them. They gratefully received them and were
tucking in as we left.
The trail continued to contour just above the railway
line and I remembered a section from the video when we crossed the railway
bridge next to the railway line so we knew it was the same route as in 2023. It
just seemed very tedious, noisy and hot. At one stage where the route was very
tricky and we nearly went wrong but managed to find the correct path we then
came across a man in a vehicle on the road. He offered us a coke each and said
he was the race director. That was such a lovely surprise for him to be on the
route greeting the runners. We carried on and eventually we started the climb up
to Finnen at 1450m It was quite shady and as we came into the village of Finnen
a couple of young boys with UTMB teeshirts spotted us and ran off in front of
us. We came round the corner and the muscian started his accordian up. The
supporters had made an arch for us to run through and it was all very lovely.
The checkpoints had been quite quiet affairs but this one was making up for it
all! There was a selection of drinks cooling in a water trough, with a tent
overhead. It was a lovely cool spot with some deckchairs to sit and lie in. We
both accepted a non alcoholic beer and gratefully sat down. Kirsty wanted a
quite lie down so tried to find a nice spot but the Medic kept thinking she
wasn't well and disturbing her. Antonio and Antony arrived and one of them had
had a fall so the Medic was then all attentive over him. They looked like they
were also going to sleep there and snuggled down with blankets on them. There
wasn't much food that tempted us so we headed off after 30 minutes keen to get
to Belalp and have a proper sleep.
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CP4
to CP5 Belalp 16km +1230m Total 135km Life Base and pizza promised. 4.50
hours. Arrived 20.00 Thursday night. Stopped for 3 hours stop, including 2
hours sleep. Left 23.00 Thursday night.
We descended down to 1170m and followed the valley for an
hour or so before heading up a long valley and the climb up to Belalp. This was
on a good path through the trees which was a blessing. We enjoyed climbing up
although it was steady and we were both tired. Antonio and Antony passed us
going strong and that gave us a boost to motor on and try to get to the
checkpoint before dark. The plateau was stunning and a lovely fresh breeze. We
headed across to Belalp and got a great welcome as we came through the doors. We
said we would stay three hours and have two hours sleep. We ordered pizzas
straight away and then went for showers and found somewhere to sleep in the
dorms. We both had a change of clothes, but no shoes for me. I had been wearing
two pairs of socks and had applied some Gurney goo to the sore spot which wasn't
a blister. I thought a change of shoes might help. It was annoying to be in pain
when descending but Kirsty seemed happy with a fast walk, jog because of her
knees.
The pizza's were amazing and I ate a lot of mine. Kirsty
ate half of hers and we packed the rest up to take with us. It was a great
checkpoint with food and drink as a buffet so you could collect what you wanted.
We headed up into the dorm to sleep and while we were there the checkpoint got
very busy so when I woke the dorm was full and I was glad we had arrived when we
did when it was quieter. Kirsty and I got up and packed to leave. It seemed
colder outside but not enough for more layers. The next section had been changed
and we thought it would take about 10 to 12 hours. We hadn't eaten all the food
we'd been carrying so took a bit less. We set off into the night.
CP5 Belalp to CP6 Bellwald 53km, +2450m. Total 184km.
Life Base. 14.30 hours. Arrived 13.30 Friday afternoon. Stopped for 59.23
minutes. Left 14.30pm
On the original profile the route then descended to 1600m
however we descended now to 750m and on some really horrendous overgrown rocky
paths. It was so slow going it was painful and we soon realised that this leg
was going to take a lot longer than we had estimated. It took us five hours to
drop down and then climb back to the original height of 1600m and then we had to
climb a lot more and descend to Bellwald. Food and drink was to be a problem. In
hindsight with getting the GPX and route changes on Tuesday we hadn't really
taken it all in. We had started eating all our bars overnight as they just
melted in the sun and heat so we thought we might as well do this but we were a
bit jaded of bars now. We reached the point of the original route and it was
getting light now. We climbed up a grassy, valley and saw the French ladies team
and the Taiwan team ahead. The route was fiddly again but the handheld found the
right way. We reached the ski slope summit of Reideralp and the French team were
sat looking tired. They said they hadn't been able to sleep at Belalp (they had
chosen a different dorm to us) and needed a coffee. We were all hoping that
something would be open at some point but with it being so early the lifts
weren't open yet. We passed them and carried on but as the sun rose we stopped
to dig out our emergency sun tan lotion as we hadn't expected to be in the sun
long on this leg. Amazingly the little tubes went a long way. We decided to make
up one of the puddings with cold water and see how it went. I carried it in my
rucksack as I knew it took longer to rehydrate with cold water.
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On
we went, passing the Taiwan team sat on a bench lower down. There was a couple
of down's and up's through the ski resorts where people were checking out of
hotels now and so we hoped at 9am that things would start to open up. At last we
passed an open restuarant where the French team were sat. We went in and Kirsty
spotted Rosti on the menu. I wasn't too sure about it so we ordered one portion,
a couple of sandwiches to take with us. And cold drinks of course! It did feel
odd to be sat in a restaurant on a race but this was much needed. The Rosti and
drinks were lovely and we set off with big sandwiches in our packs, plus the
meals. We didn't go far before we had a sit down to eat the meals and do some
foot care again. I was hoping my shoes were in the next drop bag.
We set off and I'm not sure what made me check the gps,
maybe a couple of walkers on the path who looked up at us, but it was a good
thing as we had gone wrong. We headed back down and onto the big track again. I
looked at the gps and scrolled out. We could see Bellwald far across the valley
and lower down. Kirsty said "Couldn't we go direct?" but no there was a huge
valley and we had to go all the way in and out of it. We were up high though and
with a bit of a breeze the heat wasn't that bad. The views were great and we
were encouraged that at least we could see our destination. I took a photo but
it's a bit blurry. The next feature we came across was a massive long tunnel
through the mountain. It was lit up with the occasional light and had water
running down one side of it. It must have been 1km long and was called
Tallegrattunnel. It was lovely and cool and quite an experience. A couple of
mountain bikers came along passed us as we navigated our way trying to avoid the
water. Popping out we were on a high plateau which we crossed and then climbed
again to our right. The views across the mountains were stunning and we both
stopped to take photos. Then we reached the Viewpoint and could see right down
to the glacier. This was what we had come for. Lots of photos were taken of the
glacier and before the descent I stopped to add more socks to give me some
cushioning. We had thought that we would go alongside the glacier but we turned
right instead and headed down a grassy valley which reached a col and then
became a very steep, very rocky descent. There were a few walkers and families
and it was nice to be in company of sorts again. We reached a ridge that turned
right and the view left was fantastic. There was a bench so we took 5 minutes to
get stones out of our shoes and I managed to get most of the Apple Expedition
food down too. Downwards we continued over big slabs of rocks with various
"crossing" methods erected down them. Usually it was wooden steps but some metal
ones, all linked together quite cleverly. We ate our sandwiches which were
heaven and life seemed a lot better.
We just had one more obstacle to tackle and a few more
miles and hours before Bellwald but at least we were getting nearer. This
obstacle came in the form of the suspended bridge. I had seen a video and photos
of the bridge but didn't know where on the course it was. I was really hoping
that we would miss it out but no - there it was. And there were people on it. I
have found, in the past, that I hate these things. I have been over one in Wales
(when I discovered I hate them), one on the UTMR (twice but you have to walk and
it was more stable than this one) and now this one. I'm not scared of heights
but the whole moving substance under my feet I just don't like. Anyway - it had
to be done and so I set off, with Kirsty behind me. I was hanging onto both
sides and breathing deeply. As we approached a family Kirsty asked them to move
aside as of course we had to pass. I was glad when that was over. I then
focussed on the other side and began the long ascent back up to solid ground. It
seemed to be on a moving treadmill, with me not getting any nearer. But
eventually we made it and I had a short sit down to recover. After that we had
lots and lots of steep wooden and metal ladders to climb but these don't phase
me at all. And at last we reached the town of Bellwald and ran down the grassy
fields to the checkpoint inside a big hall.
The food could have been more nourishing but we made the
best of the pasta, with some salty soup on top with some reasonable vegetables
too. We were heartened by the fact that the next section was 10km with 750m of
climb. We even checked this on the profile that was taped to the wall and I took
a photo of it as we didn't want to be caught out again by a "surprise distance
or climb". We scheduled in an hour and this was working quite well. Me and
Kirsty almost had a bit of race against each other in these checkpoints as we
both did different stuff quickly and took longer over others so it had become a
pretty often checking of how ready the other one was and the clock! I had a pair
of shoes here - an old style Size 7 TrailFlys and so I was pretty happy with
that. We also searched for more suntan lotion since we knew now that we would be
out a lot of Saturday as well and couldn't for the life of us remember where we
had put stuff in the dropbags that were left. I was also using Kirsty's Gurney
Goo and so we gathered that up as well and took it. So after an hour of eating,
repacking and sorting feet we were off. Antonio and Antony appeared from having
a sleep and would soon follow us out.
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CP6
Bellwald to CP 7 Munster. 14km (instead of 19km) +50m (instead of 750m). Total
198km Life Base 3.30 hours Arrived 18.00 Friday afternoon. Stopped 1 hour. Left
19.00 Friday evening.
It was blistering hot as we left the checkpoint but flat
and so we knew we had to run. Kirsty started encouraging me by doing a minute on
with a minute rest. It was a bit random as if I felt better I would keep
running. It was just the heat and my feet. Even though I had different shoes I
think the damage had been done and I could still feel burning, now under both
pads. My heat rash was spreading on the top of my feet and overall I wanted to
hide in the shade. But it was quite pleasant when we found shade and just
running along the river. I was a bit confused about where the 750m of ascent was
as the gps was really just showing that we followed the river. It's hard with
the scale though as when I zoom out it all becomes messy and then when you zoom
in you can't see where you're heading to. In the end we sat on a bench and
looked at the profile on the gps and figured out that there was no 750m climb.
We were just going to run along the valley bottom, by the river to Munster.
Although neither of us liked flat hot running this cheered us up considerably.
There were lots of farmers making hay and I was explaining to Kirsty that
haymaking is lovely when the sun is shining and it's all going well. But when
rain is forecast (which it was) then it's not fun at all. And you're dreading
hearing that crunching of metal on metal which means the baler is eating itself.
The farmers were rowing up and baling and whizzing about with tractors and
trailers, fetching it all in. Suddenly Kirsty said "Nicky I need to sleep". Err
Ok. Like where? She had chosen her spot in a cleared hayfield and just went and
lay down. She said "Give me 5 minutes". I sat there and watched the farmers and
thought it's all quite pleasant now. We're going to finish and then we don't
have to come back. Kirsty woke up and off we went. As you can imagine 3.30 hours
passed very quickly and we were soon running into Munster.
Food was potatoes with melted cheese (Raclette) - yummy.
Two portions. And I hobbled over to the Medics and they popped my blisters and
put some compeed on them. The French girls were there and just leaving and the
French guys came in who Kirsty had some right banter going with them. We were so
happy to be getting nearer the finish and going into another night when it would
be cooler. We had food and sorted food out - taking the Expedition puddings that
we hadn't eaten. And leaving the Chocolate chip ones. We also took a bag of
potatoes. We were finding that the bars were hard to get down and we were
surviving on Scottish Tablet, sweets and gels (for Kirsty). We had also both got
salted nuts that were going down well. The forecast was for rain that night and
we checked it and it said rain between 9pm and midnight so we packed the heavier
jackets. It was raining while we were in the checkpoint.
CP7 Munster to CP8 Grimselpass 15km +1340m Total 215km
Life Base. 4 hours Arrived 23.00 Friday night. Stopped 2 hours (one hour sleep).
Left 1am Saturday morning.
Leaving Munster we knew (and had checked) that we had
some more valley running to do and then yippee a 1300m climb up to the pass. The
rain clouds looked black and I felt sorry for the farmers. We debated on putting
waterproofs on and did so but not for long. It wasn't raining that hard and it
was still too hot in them. Along the valley we went and then headed upwards. We
stopped to eat the Expedition food puddings and then settled into the climb. It
felt good to be climbing and it was on good paths, through woods and not too
steep. It was getting colder as we climbed and we were glad of our waterproofs
and gloves. We hoped that we would get there soon and not have to add more
layers. We crossed over more snow fields and caught the French ladies team and
the Taiwan men which helped as it wasn't that easy to tell where we were
heading. Across a plateau and round a lake to the checkpoint which was actually
on a ski resort and had a road going passed it. In the door we tumbled to a warm
welcome by the checkpoint staff and other runners in there. It seemed very busy
but we found a table and got some food ordered. Spagetti bolognaise. Kirsty had
been asking about how long did I want to sleep. I offered an hour and she was
very grateful for that. So a two hour stop was agreed. The lovely man led us out
the door and up the steps to the bunkrooms and then he said he had reserved a 4
bedded room for us and he would try not to put anyone else in there. We were
over the moon! And not only that but it had an ensuite toilet and shower! I
quickly showered my legs and feet trying to keep them clean. And we tumbled into
the cool, clean beds. I set the alarm and off we went. Again I fell sleep
quickly - the trick was to think of the nice routes I was going to run with my
dogs when I get home. And I woke before the alarm. I lay there wanting to fidget
and get up but promises are promises. Kirsty stirred and I said "Are you awake?"
She replied Yes and so we started to make a move to get up. Neither of us wanted
to leave that lovely room and head out into the cold night. But finish we wanted
more so we chivvied ourselves out. Down in the dining room it was still busy but
with different runners. The Australians (Limitless - Matthew Murphy and Andrew
Pap) had arrived and the French ladies were leaving. I got a coffee bag made up
in one of my flasks and also the two Expedition puddings. Out we went into the
night - getting there now. Only one more checkpoint to do!
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CP8
Grimselpass to CP9 Geissholz 30km +450m Total 246km Life Base 6.45 hours Arrived
7.45am Saturday morning Stopped 30 minutes. Left 8.15am Saturday morning
The nice man at the checkpoint had said that when we
reached the road by the lake to run on the road as the trail was flooded and we
could see immediately as we left the station and started to descend that there
was a lot of water running all over the trail. It was hard to follow and not get
our feet wet but being able to tell where we were heading we straight lined it
across the rocks. We knew that this leg was basically following the road but
alongside the road, criss crossing from side to side all the way down losing
2000m in height. So the ascent we had to do was just little ups and downs and
then a climb at the end to the checkpoint. On reaching the road we saw lights
behind and the Australians caught us with their cameraman. They were cheery and
we were all looking forward to finishing. We did have about 12 hours to go
though! We stopped and ate the Expedition food puddings (still hadn't had a
chocolate one!) and carried on down. The road felt nice to be just able to trot
along and not have to navigate or pick our feet up. The moon was out and it was
quite spectacular looking over the lake and the dam. We crossed the dam and were
back on horrid knarly paths. This is going to be so slow we thought. We just
kept on going, following the path, in and out of valleys, crossed the road and
back again. In the dark it was hard to tell where we would go next and we
weren't near the road often. One time we were we saw two figures lay down and it
was the Taiwan men having a rest. We checked that they were ok and carried on.
As it got light we heard more traffic and the road got busier with fast cars and
motorbikes. We passed a hard of goats and their owners with the milking stools
tied to their waist - quite clever I thought. I'm not an overall fan of goats as
I had milked them when I was a teenager on our farm in Glossop. Although we then
adopted one called Giddy from our neighbours in Mirfield when they moved to
France and he was a right character. Down we went on the never ending paths.
Reaching Innerkirchen I knew we didn't have too much further to go and it
was just the climb up and down to the checkpoint. It was a relief to reach the
last checkpoint and drop bag. The Australians were there and said had we
seen the French ladies asleep off the trail. We hadn't but that perked us up as
we thought they were long gone. We decided to be a bit quicker and get out of
the checkpoint. It wasn't far to go to the finish and we wanted to be done
before the heat got up anyway. The food was a bit hard work being rice and peas
but we added some soup which helped. We were quickly sorting out our kit and
food for the next leg. And both of us had packed Chocolate chip Expedition food
pudding so that was that! We made them up to take with us. There were some small
bottles of coke and I took one to feed to Kirsty if she got tired! We headed off
on the last leg.
CP9 Geissholz to Finish Grindlewald 22km +1100m Total
268km +14880m 5.30 hours Arrived Saturday 13.43 Total 77.43 hours
From the checkpoint we had another valley to run along
with a river to our right and on good tracks and paths. We were looking forward
to the climb and hoped it would be in the shade. The Taiwan mens team caught us
and went passed us. We stopped to take photos and kept running and walking. The
climb was on good trails and initially through the trees. We stopped to eat the
meals and both of us were very pleasantly surprised that it wasn't too
chocolatey. We had only been avoiding the chocolate one as we were eating a lot
of sweets and thought that it might be sickly but it wasn't at all. As you can
tell the Expedition foods had become a bit of a highlight of the day! Kirsty
felt tired and I gave her the coke - that worked a treat and kept her awake to
the finish. On we climbed at a good pace and we could see the valley we were
heading up which didn't look too high. It was very busy with lots of walkers and
cyclists. And not too hot as there was a breeze. Reaching the col we cheered and
set off down. Kirsty went in front and I just gritted my teeth and went with
her. About halfway down we could see Grindlewald and then of course I looked at
the gps and we were taken off the trail and off to the left, contouring and
climbing yet again. It was getting a bit tedious now. We spotted the Taiwan team
up ahead and they spotted us so shot off again! Into Grindlewalk we ran. It was
heaving with tourists and we had the whole town to run through. It was great
though to know we had done it. Some people were clapping but a lot had no idea
why we were running. Passed the pizza restaurant and down to the Sports Centre.
Over the rampart and through the Finish! Yippee!!! Antonio and Antony were there
as well as Matt and Andy. It was great to hug everyone. Then we had a bit of a
interview we didn't really need and headed off to find a non alcoholic beer!!
After thoughts
Kirsty and I worked really well together and discussed
anything that we differed on or were having issues with like the pace, heat,
sleep, knees, food and feet. That's a massive positive and I'm so glad that I
was going this with Kirsty. From Thursday morning at Jeizinen to Munster on
Friday evening, with the exception of the climb above the glacier, we found the
route rather uninspiring, hot and fiddly. Looking at the map it's obvious that
you have to get from the south to the north along a long valley. I think for us
it's just that this valley is a row of towns, railway lines, industrial areas
and generally urbanised. Apparently the original route was able to divert off
into the mountains either side and we appreciate that the organisors had to
change the route because of the landslides etc. It was just a long time for us
and for that reason we just wanted it over. The mountainous sections were
incredible and the supporters were amazing. It was a lovely low key race and
organisation where registration takes 15 minutes and never were the checkpoints
crowded or the sleeping arrangements too busy. That was also what we loved about
the race. We're very happy to have finished 4th ladies and 30th team overall in
a time of 77.43 hours.
Results on Livetrail
https://livetrail.net/histo/eigerultratrail_2024/
Lots of photos showing the full journey from Kirsty's
house to Switzerland, round the Eiger 250 and back to the airport, then the last
one is at Mark!
Gallery - Eiger 250