I learned about the Brixen Dolomites Ultra Trail from a Facebook post in which a fellow runner was looking for a team partner as his original choice had deserted him. The race, which can only be run as a team, goes through areas I’m somewhat familiar with from previous vacations, so I thought that it was the right opportunity for me and my brother for a very extended and long 18h hike, getting back to Brixen in time for the award ceremony. However, my brother took the easy way out by rupturing a ligament for the third time in two years three weeks ahead of the race, so now I was the one looking for a running blind date in ultra-runner Facebook groups. Fortunately, I quickly found a former Iron Man triathlete who had started venturing into ultrarunning a couple of years ago, completing iconic races such as the UTMB and Tor Des Geants. Thus, I thought that if anybody needed carrying or convincing to finish, it was going to be me.
