Yesterday morning I woke up feeling no side effects from my little mountain run on Saturday, so I decided to go for a run. On my way home from the race on Saturday I noticed a sign advertising a folks wander day in Bruchsal, a town about 15 minutes north of where we life. I knew from walking this Volksmarch many years ago that it had some really nice hilly trails. My wife wanted to study for the class she is taking, so I received her blessing and headed out.
Volksmarches in Germany are quite popular and this one was no exception. For a couple dollars you can buy a start card which provides a basic liability insurance and the right to use the drink stands at the checkpoints along the way (free tea). The event is not timed, you can start anytime between 7 a.m. and 1 p.m., and the club sponsoring the Volksmarch offered a 5K, 10K and 20K route. I decided to run the 20K, well really there was nothing to decide :-)
As I ran out of town on the marked course I seemed to be the only one running, no great surprise, but there were dozens of Nordic Walkers with there poles pinging against the asphalt as they walked. After 5-6 minutes I started climbing the first hill out town, I was in no hurry and kept a steady pace. I was amazed that my quads felt so good despite the race the day before.
The mostly asphalt route wound up and down a series of rolling hills, past wine vineyards, fields and orchards – it was truly beautiful, especially with the fall colors in full display. I was having fun whizzing by dozens of walkers and Nordic walkers. The 10K and 20K route split around the 4-5K point, the majority of people turned left and took the 10K.
Typically the 20K route offers a slightly more aggressive route, and this Volksmarch was no different. It wasn’t long until I was climbing hills that reminded me of my mountain race the day before. But this is the reason why I was there, so I adjusted my pace and continued on.
I stopped at the first control point and had a cup of warm tea, which was very fitting considering the 10C/50F temperatures and strong wind. I chatted for a minute or two with the people manning the station, then headed out again. It was shortly after this that I passed a lone jogger who was huffing and puffing up a long hill. I said Hi as I overtook him, but he only could manage a grunt, so I figured he wasn’t in any shape for conversation and I kept going.
The asphalt trail continued on over hill and dale through some really pretty landscape, I do apologize that I didn’t have my camera with me, it really was beautiful. After about 90 minutes of running the path joined back with the 10K again and I started dodging walkers again. Soon after this was the second control point, and right after this the trail started heading downhill and back into the town of Bruchsal and the start. I shut my watch off at 1:49:17, which lead me to believe that the route was a little shorter than 20K/12.4M, it didn’t feel like I was running a 5:28/K (8:48/M) pace, especially over all those hills. In any case I took ran for another 6-7 minutes around the block to cool down.
All in all it was a very positive experience, I got some more hill training in, the new route was a welcome change and I didn’t have to worry about carrying my own drinks.
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