Given the late decision to participate and a tendency to save on accommodation, we only got a B&B about a 45min drive away from the starting line in Kals, which led to a few hours of additional driving as bibs had to be collected at the finish in Kaprun. Due to an early 5am start, we got up at 3am to complete pre-race chores and get to Kals in time for the race briefing at 4.30am. Here, I learned that due to predicted thunderstorms in the afternoon the race had been shortened to 48k and 2000m of climb, and was on the exact same course as the Kalser Tauern trail event starting at 6am. I took it surprisingly well (i.e. I was fairly relieved), other runners who I assume were banking on getting the full amount of ITRA points or just liked suffer fests were rather vocal with their displeasure, though. We learned later that on the same day during a different race a few valleys on a runner had been struck dead by lightning, making the organizers' decision not only prudent but potentially live-saving.
The runners took off at 5am and were cheered on by a Kenyan marathon running team doing a training camp in Kals who were probably amazed by the general lack of speed and overabundance of gear. As I had packed for a longer distance, I carried dead weight in the form of surplus food and water and hiking poles which I ended up not using. During the first 2h ascent up to the Kalser Tauern at 2500m, I was always looking over my shoulder, expecting the fastest runners of the original 48km course to fly by, or even the leaders of the 110km event which had started the previous evening to catch up to us.
The scenery in general and particularly at Rudolfshütte was unbelievably beautiful due to the (for now) great weather conditions, the alpine landscape and a distinct feeling of lightheadedness owing to the altitude and exertion. The aid station was well stacked with all kinds of food and friendly volunteers.
Shortly after leaving Rudolfshütte and on the downhill to the Tauernmoossee I was passed by greased lightning in the form of the leaders of the 6am race. While apparently taking it easy on the climbs, these guys just did not give a damn about safety or footing on the downhills, and were running what looked like 15km/h on the flats despite overgrown and rocky trails.
After Tauernmoossee began the final climb of the day up to the Kapruner Törl. By now, the 5am and 6am races were thorougly mixed and we conga-lined up a steep and rocky trail to the highest point of the race at 2600m. Some runners were taking pretty risky off-trail moves to pass slower ones, at one point launching a debris avalanche, fortunately at a spot without switchbacks. Here I remembered why I prefer smaller and less crowded races.
Reaching the Kapruner Törl, we were greeted with the view of runners making their way down a snowfield in various states of imbalance. Here, I also had my 0.5s of internet fame as I appeared in the official race video in a blink-and-you-miss-it fashion. Tackling this part myself I found that braking with my knee on half frozen snow has about the same effect as using bodyparts to brake on gravel. I encountered my favorite bit of the entire race in the form a short chute formed by runner bottoms which allowed one to sled comfortably for some 20m.
The trail now continued down the Kaprun reservoirs, becoming fairly flat and runnable towards the end, and allowing one to steal glances back at the glorious mountains one was leaving behind. The race briefing also mentioned lots of snow from a long winter and swollen rivers, but the crossings were still all manageable without getting wet feet.
At the reservoir aid station I had a short runner's high / why do all these people need to be here moment as the reservoir is also a popular tourist attraction which led to plenty of spectators. As my watch had gone into freeze mode hours ago and was only updating its screen every 30min or so, I asked a volunteer "where am I" which probably came across as more confused than I felt at the moment. I successfully treated a slight nausea with Cola and pretzels before starting the final 14km, which were 50% downhill. In bad weather conditions the paths were described as treacherous, but as the weather had not yet turned bad it was mostly moderately difficult hiking trails.
Bombing down the trails I managed to catch quite a few runners who had passed me during the last extended aid station break, so at least on this downhill I was punching above my weight for once. I briefly chatted with a runner who was also doing the 48km after dropping out of the 75km distance the year before, which made me consider the race shortening even more as serendipity. The last 7km were flat terrain and full of death marching stragglers from the shorter distance races. Not knowing for how long I had been running due to my malfunctioning watch I had been taking it fairly easy for 20km, so I missed the 7h mark by 5 minutes, finishing 53th overall, and arriving just minutes before the winner of the 110km distance.
We had to stay in Kaprun for 2 more hours as simultaneously a road bike race was taking place for which the town had been fully cordoned off by the police, and even following cars with local license plates did not reveal an escape route. Overall, the Großglockner Kalser Tauern trail was a very well organized event with very friendly volunteers in a beautiful landscape. Given the altitude and mountaineous terrain, it was harder than expected and running 48km instead of 75km with only half the climb felt like a lucky escape at the time.
Official race video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YfnOzvtHU8M
Official website: https://www.ultratrail.at/
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