ROCHDALE Harriers took Austria by storm when they competed in the Tour de Tirol.
The annual event involves three races in three days – a 10km, a full mountain marathon, and a half marathon.
Five Harriers tackled the mountain marathon, with one in the 10km and half marathon. Anna Blomfield and Paul Leary jointly represented Rochdale as a mixed team across the three races.
The first race was the Alpbachtaler Zehner, an evening 10km set high up in the pretty Tirolean town of Reith im Alpbachtal.
Paul Leary ran excellently to set a new personal best time of 39 mins 19 secs on the undulating course.
Next up was the Kaisermarathon. This was no ordinary marathon. The course stretched the usual 26.2 miles, but in a cruel twist the alpine course included two mountain ascents and a finish line at 6,000ft.
Before the start, the seven British competitors received words of encouragement from Lizzy Hawker, former 100km world record holder. After a 25 minute delay waiting for the press helicopter the race started with an initial lap around Söll.
The first 13 miles were hilly, but not too difficult. By the end of the lap Blomfield was well ahead of the rest of the British contingent. Rochdale’s John Mayall and Middleton’s Ginny Willey were level, as were Rochdale’s Jenny Brown and Steve Leak just behind.
Just after the halfway mark the course took a steep climb up Hartkaiser mountain, with steps awkwardly breaking competitors’ normal stride length. By the time runners reached 4,500ft, the air had thinned, making breathing more difficult.
At the 5,300ft summit of Hartkaiser the course took an interesting turn through a mountain top restaurant. At this point Blomfield was still way ahead of the local contingent.
On the descent of the first mountain Leak’s legs started to give him some discomfort, but Mayall upped the pace and narrowed the gap on Blomfield to only five minutes, before the final steep climb up Hohe Salve.
As they approached 5,700ft in low, blinding sunlight, John Mayall caught up with Blomfield who was in some distress. They continued to about 5,900ft where the path appeared and Blomfield found a new strength. She kicked down and left Mayall behind, looking back only once as she approached the finish line.
She was delighted to finish first of the seven British runners in a tremendous time of 4 hours 56 mins 14 secs which justified her selection for the team. Mayall crossed the line 13 seconds later as first British male, although in sheer disbelief he had to ask the marshals if it really was the finish line.
Mayall said: "In preparation we did some very long, hilly training runs around the Lancashire moors, with thousands of feet of ascent. But no amount of training could have prepared us for the final climb up Hohe Salve. The gradient was about 1,000ft per mile, roughly five times as steep as Rooley Moor Road, and with no paths for much of it."
Next to finish was Middleton’s Ginny Willey in 5-01.10. Leak clocked 5-06.46, well within the target time of five and a half hours.
Rochdale’s Jenny Brown battled with Chris Hogg of Blackheath and Bromley, and with a track-like uphill sprint and an assassin’s smile she mercilessly left him behind to post 5-16.42.
Mayall added: "Before the race we were all pretty nervous. The altitude was a worry. At the end though we were on a high, literally. Anna was first Brit, beating all the men, while Jenny and Ginny both finished second overall in their under 30 and under 35 age categories.It was hard to believe that Jenny ran her first race only this year and was in Austria completing a mountain marathon at 6,000ft. That’s 2,400ft higher than Mount Snowdon."
The final race was the Kaiserwinkl half marathon. The course took in four scenic laps around Walchsee Lake. With temperatures in the mid-twenties, and about 2,400ft of climbing, Leary ran to an excellent time of 1-30.01, although he was disappointed to be some way off his personal best due to the conditions.
In the final reckoning the Rochdale team of Leary and Blomfield finished in sixth place overall prompting Mayall to conclude: "Before the Tour de Tirol none of the Austrians seemed to have heard of Rochdale. But we made our mark on the Tirol and put the town firmly on the map."
