UHltra: Mozart 100 Ultra, Salzburg, Austria (63k, 2000m D+)

After the Ultra Blue Island, I had tendon issues for several weeks and consulted a orthopedist who couldn't find anything wrong with me other than the known fallen arches, flat/kink foot and the idea of running more than 20km non-stop. By now, I had set my eyes on qualifying for the CCC in 2020 as I felt like I hadn't hit peak suffering yet, and needed 3 more ITRA points to enter the lottery. Thus, the Mozart 100 Ultra in Salzburg looked like an ideal opportunity given the proximity to Munich, the flat race profile (2000m of climb) and short distance (64km) for 3 ITRA points. The Mozart 100 race starts in Salzburg's downtown Kapitelplatz, then leads to Fuschl am See (the eponymous Fuschlsee), and around the lake and over the Nockstein back to Salzburg.

On what turned out to be the hottest day of 2019, a crowd of 230 runners assembled in the center of the beautiful old town at a late 7am. The course went flat on paved roads for about 7km, and then started a 5km climb to the first aid station at the exit of the Glasenbachklamm. I guess I was over-pacing it a bit in the beginning, finishing the first 12km and 300m of climb in 1h flat. After picking up a banana at the well stocked aid station, marveling about my good progress and talking to a runner who remarked that "the duck shits at the end", the climb continued for 100 more meters of altitude, at which point my HR spiked at 190bpm according to my Fenix 5 (it may have been picking up my cadence rather than my bpm here, though). On the first downhill on a broad forest road, a fellow runner (whom I found out to have been running pretty fast road marathons exclusively before) already lost his footing and crashed hard, but could continue with only moderate blood loss.

After about 12km of constant ups and downs, often on nice trails, we passed the second aid station at a sports ground in Lebach (I can highly recommend the toilets here), and soon after started to catch glimpses of the Fuschlsee and the mountains which had to be traversed by the runners of the 108km race. By now, it was starting to get pretty hot, but I felt like I was managing the temperatures fairly well. I felt compelled to keep up with a fairly fast group of runners and reached the halfway point both in terms of distance and altitude in 3h where my girlfriend was waiting with encouraging words.

Things went a bit South from here. I tried drinking Red Bull Cola but did not feel quite up to the task, and filled my bottled with the local brand of isotonic sports drink which, after the first sip, tasted like a surefire way to lose my lunch. At 10am, the heat was fully on, and making it back around the other side of the lake and back up to Lebach felt pretty hard. I was feeling pretty queasy and was happy when the climb started because this gave me an excuse to not run anymore. In other words, the duck was beginning to take a shit.

After Lebach, the thoughest part of the race started in the form of a prolonged climb up to the Nockstein. I again met the runner who took a dive early in the race and who by now was hiking and complaining about getting lost once and this race being nothing like a road marathon (agreed!). Despite encountering an ad-hoc water aid station of some local children (highly appreciated!) I managed to run out of water before reaching the aid station at km 52. Except for the lack of water and bad blisters on one foot which I unsuccessfully tried to treat at the aid station, I was feeling fairly OK and started to pass plenty of runners from my own and other distances on the way to the top.

I took the downhill from the Nockstein fairly fast as it was the first real trail downhill of the day, and overtook some runners I had already seen at Fuschl am See and who had apparently managed their race better at least until this point. After reaching Salzburg, the last challenge in the form of the Kapuzinerberg awaited us - about 200m of steep climbing which does not look like much on the overall course profile, but is rather nasty after 60km and with temperatures above 30°C. Despite a water station at the foot of the hill, I managed to again run out of water on the last 3km as I only took half a bottle of isotonic drink (to which I had got used fairly well by now) and frequently needed a sip to propel me forward for another 50m. After this last obstacle, the way was clear through the pedestrian area of Salzburg to the finish line where I photobombed the finisher photo of a half marathon runner with a final mad dash.

I finished the race in 7:22h, placing a surprising 22nd overall as it seems that others were struggling with the heat more than I did. While two thirds of the Mozart 100 Ultra are very run-able, I may have underestimated the course a bit and probably could have done a bit better with better pacing in the beginning and more constant second half. However, it was a great race with very friendly volunteers, plenty of spectators to cheer one on and a beautiful pre-alpine landscape. Another highlight was that the winner of the 2019 UTMB, Pau Capell, was competing as well in the long distance race that day. Corona permitting, I will be coming back in 2020 to participate in the 108km race to see what it's like to climb the mountains I had only admired from a distance and suffer the consequences (spoiler: Corona did not permit it).