Finishing ninth at the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc is only four months and a few days behind me, and even though I live very much in the here and now I am still incredibly proud of that achievement. I can run the UTMB, finish it in under 24 hours and land in the Top 10. I have proven it several times – and yes, that makes me proud.
Last year I promised myself that I would not toe the line at the UTMB again. Without question it is a beautiful race and taking part is an extraordinary experience. The UTMB is my “race of a lifetime”. Yet with all the emotions tied to it you cannot forget that the “Olympic Games of trail running” are a 171 km ordeal with 10,000 metres of elevation gain – the most painful event I know. The UTMB pushes me to my physical and mental limits, and beyond.
(c) Philipp Reiter – UTMB Notre Dame de la Gorge
So why should I get back to the start line and measure myself against the world’s best again now that I have already shown I belong there? Shouldn’t you bow out when it is at its most beautiful and focus on projects that have their own appeal and exclusivity but are harder to compare? I am thinking of point-to-point runs across countries or continents or climbing the same mountain fifty times in a row – just to prove to myself what humans are capable of enduring. The idea is tempting because the lack of comparability and direct competition would make things much easier. When I tell people at a bar that I ran a marathon in under three hours, the admiration is fairly measured. If I could report that I ran from Baden to Vienna every day for a month, the recognition would probably be much greater.
I could also – although I am not as pretty as others – become an influencer in the real and virtual world, swap training time for product tests, photo shoots and self-marketing. In terms of social media reach and my bank account that would probably pay off more than my trail running success.
Be that as it may. To quote Britney Spears: “Oops, I did it again!”
… and are therefore an elite runner!
I want to explain why I am returning to the UTMB by talking about my company Smarter Business Solutions. I founded it in 2004 with little experience, no financial backing and a good deal of naivety, because after six months in a large IT consultancy I simply felt that I could do it BETTER. Everything – how we work with customers and colleagues, how we handle technology and innovation. Delivering ever better SharePoint solutions has been the company’s focus since day one, and my team and I work hard every day to prove it. This year is our fifteenth season of showing our passion – being smarter and acting smarter!
So when I line up for my fifth UTMB at the end of August it will not be because I can do it, but because I feel the passion and know that I can do it BETTER!
The first days of 2019 have already picked up considerable momentum. I am looking forward to the professional and sporting challenges ahead and to balancing them with my #lifeworktrailbalance credo.
Oh, and by the way: the start list for this year’s UTMB will be published on 10 January at 10:00. I would love to see as many Austrians on it as possible!