You have to muddle your way up the steep, partly stony path and then this: traffic jams! In the middle of the bridge, on the way to cool refreshment! As the midfield of the half-marathon at the world cultural heritage run puffs up the hill, a line forms through the archway of altenburg castle, just like at the supermarket checkout counter.
That doesn’t stop the public from making a racket: pot lids clattering, people cheering on their colleagues, friends, acquaintances who dare to run the 21 kilometers across the city. And in the background a brass band plays, while the cold drink greedily goes down the drain and the plastic cup with a good taste to the floor of the castle courtyard.
But the motivation of the athletes is unmistakable: when spectators see their “spezl”, they want to be a part of it discover, then there’s applause and cheers. And the runners at least have a big grin on their faces, despite all the exertion.
For the column has already covered five kilometers when it arrives at this bamberg landmark. “You should not tackle the course from a standing position”, finds peter wendel. Four times he has already mastered the half marathon distance. What makes the right training for him? “At least twice a week half a year before, about thirteen kilometers per lap.” then one would be prepared for the quite hugelige tour.
The first ascent after the start is particularly twitchy: “if you go in too fast, you’ll have problems with your pulse at the top. He just stays on top”, describes wendel, who has already lived in the cathedral city for 30 years.
And this time, sitting out to watch and take it easy. For the hagen family, watching the race at the altenburg is a nice activity: “the atmosphere here is good and it’s a surprise every time to see who’s running”, finds claudia hagen, who is on the lookout for her acquaintances.
The couple already has experience with the world heritage run and has already helped a lot. Now with the kids, there’s more time to join in the fun. “That’s quite an achievement, if you can keep up the 21 kilometers”, she thinks. Andreas neundorfer, who lives in the mountain area, thinks that the difficult mountain stages cast their shadows a long time in advance: “especially as a non-runner, you really notice how everything prepares for the challenge weeks in advance and jogs over the hill.”