Patience, Birdwatching and Ultratrailrunning

"Endurance is nobler than strength, and patience than beauty."
 -John Ruskin

The other evening a dark grey morph of Pacific Reef Heron looking for supper caught my attention on a lonely beach in Phuket island. It patiently waited for an opportunity to catch supper. Maybe this seabird has a lesson for us mountain-ultra-trailrunners to learn?

Judging after my first half of 2015, my year of ultra trail running surely didn't look great. I had fallen in the first downhill in Transgrancanaria, causing injuries which later lead to a dreadful DNF. My legs were really not working properly while training all spring. Then I got lost way too many times in Ecotrail Oslo. Finally I chose to quit Lavaredo Ultra Trail relatively close to the finish when a short thunderstorm forced me inside a tent. Things were definitely not looking too bright at that point.

But I still had the other half of the year. The glass is always half full, right? I changed my training toward steep hill repeats. I also raced short'n'steep Zugspitz Trailrun Challenge and even managed to climb the highest peak after the race. Then I finished Swiss Irontrail 201km, my longest and hardest race ever with 11,440 meters of climbing. This was followed by another success in Ultra Trail Collserola. All of these races were awesome new trailrunning experiences in their own unique way.

So I wish everyone happiness and patience for 2016. This will certainly be my New Year's resolution, as my main goal will be Swiss Irontrail T201 again. And who knows what else.