Out
here in the scenic countryside in the vicinity of Sibbesse, a small village
near Hildesheim and some 50 Km south of Hannover, the first male and the first
female runner achieved new course records. It took Giselher Schneider 18:48
hours to complete 100 miles on the tough course, which is breathtakingly
brilliant and going to be unbeaten for a long time. Simone Stegmaier set a new
ladies’ record in 28:17 hours. A record number of brave runners started and a record number of
participants finished the STUNT. Both the dedicated runners and the helpful
staff members made the weekend an unforgettable experience. Although the race started in torrential rain 22 runners and 2 huskies
were eager to take on the challenge of 100 miles on grassy trails and gravel
roads through deep woods and wide valleys in the beautiful countryside. After 2
hours into the race, heaven was gracious and the rain stopped. Moderate
temperatures in the low 70s (day) and low 60s (night), and a partly cloudy sky
made it easier for everyone to cope with the efforts. When the rain came back
on Sunday morning to test the resilience of the runners none did overly
complain, even though some may have muttered a few curses. As an unfamiliar sight on ultra-running courses larger groups of runners
huddled together for the first 30-40 km. It was maybe due to the bad weather
that they tried to give themselves a little more encouragement. But the
competition and the course took its toll and the groups split up progressively.
For the rest of the race most of the runners had to deal on their own with both
the challenges of nature and their inner demos. Running well ahead of the pack from the early moments the experienced
Giselher Schneider was steadily increasing his advance. He performed ultra
running at its best; by running with consistent and sustainable pace for the
whole race, pausing only for a minute or two at each aid station, he set the
basis for the new record. His positive spirit remained unshaken even when he
had to deal with some sort of crisis in the early evening hours. Having
overcome that he stayed focused and navigated safely on the unfamiliar course during
the night hours and apparently effortlessly he took on the last long climbs. He
did great and finished in 18:48 hrs, which is more than 3 hours faster than the
old record. What a stunt! Who dares to beat that record? Simone Stegmaier of Berlin, the new female record holder, delighted
everyone with her strong Berlin accent, her contagious wit, and great sense of
humor. It
was everyone’s cheerful spirit that astonished staff members and spectators
alike. Despite heavy rain, slippery trails thickly traversed by roots, densely
overgrown paths, and ruts filled with water every participant seemed
nonetheless to be all smile. Of course, sometimes their humor may have been a
little sarcastically toned, especially when one of the English-speaking runners
called a steep rutted climb “devil-made”. But even when their muscles got sore
and unavoidable blisters occurred most of the folks looked on the bright side
and strived forward with great persistence. Quite astonishingly, not even the
runners who dropped out were really disappointed; they said they had enjoyed a
beautiful run and were eager to give it another try next year. So
let’s hope for another scenic run in July 2008. We’ll keep you posted on that.
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