2023 would be Billy and I’s second go at the marathon distance of Swiss Peaks (45km – somehow all European off road marathons are longer than 42km!) 2022 saw us run through thunderstorms and slip and slide through endless mud so we felt Switzerland deserved another chance. It would also be Brian Dempster’s 50th birthday on the day of the race and since he had planned to do a run to celebrate it was kind of a no brainier.
Conditions could not have been more different. My garmin clocked the average temperature at 27 degrees with a maximum of 32. We were glad we had come out early to acclimatise, although thankfully the initial chilly conditions we flew out to in Chamonix continued to improve as we headed to Zermatt and finally to Bouveret. We were emailed 2 days before the race and advised that we had to carry the mandatory “heatwave” kit – 2 litres of water, sun glasses and sunscreen.
We were bussed to our race start in Morgins, a pretty alpine village which had been the start of John and Graham’s final leg of their 360 adventure. We all started to feel our age as we took our places at the start amongst a field of very youthful looking Swiss and French runners.
Billy and I were here to enjoy a day in the mountains as a finale to our holiday while Brian set off at speed after putting in the miles repeatedly running up and down Shetland’s hillocks. The training paid off as he claimed 2nd V50! Sometime later Billy and I made it to the marina in Bouveret on the shores of Lake Geneva having made use of the numerous cow troughs to cool down along the way – Billy going one step further by sitting down in one!
The heat made it a tough day out but there was support along the way from the locals with their rallying cries of Bravo and Courage, while those at the aid stations filled endless water bottles and cups of coke to get us through. And at the end John, Graham and Nicola were there to welcome us home with a celebratory beer.
You don’t need to be an elite runner to run in the Alps, there are races for all abilities. And I am sure if you are looking for recommendations Graham Nash will be happy to point you in the right direction.
Dorothy Elliott