It’s been four years now since I started to run on a regular basis. Running has done a lot for me and I have done a lot of running, covering about 10’000 miles (16’000 km)n in the interim.

After seven marathons it’s changed the way I feel, eat, sleep and organise my every day. And it has also brought in contact with my limits, which is generally a good thing but when it is achieved by pain, running starts to lose its allure. For me the limit was set by inflamed achilles tendons, also called Achilles Tendinitis. Doctors claim that it is caused by overtraining and partly I agree, blaming my over ambition. I had to slow down my pace and cut down on my mileage, ice-massage my Achilles tendons and tread them with incense ointment. Thus I could continue but the inflammation would never really leave.

I consulted a specialist who suggested treating my tendons with injections of steer blood followed by intense physiotherapy. While I could see the value in strengthening my feet and trunk by therapy, I was suspicious about the injections. You might have been able to life with the fact that they cost a fortune. But since it turned out that they were only targeting the inflammation, I was sure I could go on without them. I was sure that the inflammation would return as soon as I got off the syringe and back to my running routine. Thus I consulted a physiotherapist, Wolfgang Schriebl that is, who gave me a brimful of valuable advice, taught me some simple (but crushingly hard) exercises and made me aware of the importance of warming up properly before a run. After a few months I saw him again and he was very content with my progress. As a matter of fact, his verdict only confirmed the situation at my heels. It had improved tremendously. I was almost free from pain and whenever my tendons got inflamed after a hard running week, the inflammation tended to retreat much more quickly, mostly after one single rest day.

But there was still a limit set by my tendons. They reacted very sensitively to speed work. Whenever I approached 3:30 min per kilometer in tempo runs they started to scream out loud again. Then, one sunny spring day in May after the Boston Marathon, I instinctively took off my Asics DS Trainer (a shoe with arch support and thus not really supportive of the foot arch) and jogged for five minutes barefoot on the soccer field at the Rosenhain USI track. It was a funny sensation. The running actually felt good and bad at the same time. It was as if my feet were screaming out “Yes, thank you, that’s what we like!” but at the same time they seemed to be struggling to come to terms with the lack of cushioning of the high technology running shoes they were used to.
Not only did I enjoy the authentic feeling of the dewy grass on my feet, it also seemed as if my legs appreciated the barefoot cool down a lot. I had the impression that I recovered better and faster afterwards. But what stuck deepest was the fact, that despite the lack of cushioning at the heel, my achilles also felt better afterwards. I decided to throw in a barefoot run after each tempo run whenever possible. A habit developed, 5 to 15 minutes barefoot a week, which was not much, but enough to make a significant difference for me, my feet and achilles tendons.

Then Jean-Pierre set up his families tends in Austria for another summer holiday. At that time I had throttled my running to about 70 ks a week, mainly because of the heat, relaxing from the post Boston Marathon overtraining which I had afflicted on myself once again out of over ambition. Now I was looking for a way back and increasing my mileage slowly and steadily also with an eye to the Römerlauf which I wanted to run together with JP. Crossing the Seggauberg with a hard 500 m climb and a 100 m elevation, the Römerlauf is not an easy run.

I was curious about how JP would fare, especially on the second half with the demanding uphill and downhill sections in his rear view mirror. There JP revealed a stunning running talent, of which, it appears, he was the most surprised. Running, then, became our favorite topic whenever we met. He pointed out Born To Run, a book he was immersing about why we run.

It tells the far out story about a race in the wild, remote and hot canyons of Mexico between the best American ultra-runners and a hidden tribe of Mexican super-athletes. Interwoven is a strong case for running the natural way, barefoot or with minimalist shoes, dropping the gauntlet on the high technology running shoe industry by blaming all those running injuries on their artificial products. It’s a very passionate claim bordering to the desperate. But with my running and injury experiences, it somehow rang a bell – a growingly louder one. It also provided an explanation of why my tendons had improved in the last couple of months. While I had been aware of that fact, I found it difficult to locate the cause for it. Was it the strengthening exercises, the incense ointment or the barefoot cool down? The discussions with JP slowly revealed that my barefoot routine might have contributed more than I had originally expected. Now, after having dived deeper into the ocean of barefoot running, I can clearly see and fully appreciate now the benefits of barefoot running for my achilles ailments and they are huge.

After finishing the book, Jean-Pierre handed it on to me and encouraged me to read on after I got stuck after 50 pages or so. I am grateful that he did. I enjoyed the book and gained a lot of valuable insights. I also realized that there’s a lot more possible than I had imagined before. Thus the book also provided inspirations and a new perspective.

Immediately, I began to check my running shoe stable, realizing that too many of my shoes had too much technology under the hood, which, from a technology perspective, was awe inspiring but from a feet health point of view was rather sobering. I also started to increase my barefoot sessions, realizing soon that it would take a long time to make long runs on hard surfaces like pavement or even tartan. Since there is an ever growing barefoot scene in America, shoe companies have started to jump the bandwagon, offering shoes with a barefoot feeling. There are quite a few to choose from, starting from Barefoot Ted’s Luna sandals to Vibram’s Five Fingers (VFF) and of course there is Nike with its Nike Free and a lot more.

After reading of a barefoot disciple who not only ran an ultra marathon in VFF but also winning it, I decided to give them a go. At first, I thought that my elephant feet might rule me out of the game, but then I realized that Vibram was kind enough to consider my size and make it possible to select the size by simply measuring the length of your feet. Failing to find a shop in Austria selling the VFF, I remembered a conversation with my friend Vinzenz who praised Amazon for having a solution to every shopping problem. Thus I tried a search on amazon.de and surprise, surprise, they had a choice of VFF on their website. I was looking for the running version of the VFF, the Bikila, and was lucky enough to grab the last shoe in my size. Three days later, early morning today, they were delivered right to my doorstep.

I couldn’t wait to try them on, dreading that they might not fit. When I pulled them out, I never thought that they could ever fit on my feet but after slowly and gradually inching forward with my toes, I was suddenly in there. After each toe was in the right pocket, I pulled up the head cup and nestled my heel into the VFF heel cup. Then I pulled the single strap closure across my instep and secured it. After wiggling my toes, I immediately felt at home in my VFF. I was caught by surprise. They did not only fit, they actually felt comfortable. I needed to test them. Now. Without putting off my VFF, I jumped out of my pajamas and into my running shorts and dashed out of the house for a 35 minutes morning jog.

I was excited. How would my feet react? Would they need time to adjust? Would I get blisters? Would the VFF rub the sides of my toes? None of it! With every stride the good feeling got better. The running felt great and with the VFF it even felt better. In Born to run the author claims that running barefoot changes your running style, shifting the impact of your stride from the heel to the middle and fore foot, thus resulting in quicker and shorter strides. I had noticed that when I was running barefoot and I could notice it again in my VFF. It was clear to see. I was running differently: more carefully, with smaller strides and lighter. What a difference to the sloshing in my Asics Evolution, which are heavy on the foot due to their stability and cushioning technology.

I ran across some gravel, up and down a hill, and after 25 minutes I had done the longest barefoot run (or more rather minimalist shoe run) in my life, feeling that I wanted to go on and on. I considered running up Roseggerweg for a longer foray into the woods but then checked my enthusiasm – I didn’t want to spoil that good feeling by overdoing the whole thing – and returned home. I felt great. My feet even felt better, like just having had a wonderful foot massage. My achilles tendons also responded approvingly. Now I was even more excited. These shoes really surprised me in the most positive manner.

When I went out for my 3 x 3’000 meter tempo runs (3:35 min/km) this afternoon, my legs were perfect. The morning run in my VFF had loosened them and I was ready for a tough session. After completing the tempos, which I ran in my Asics DS Trainer, I changed over to the VFF and cooled down running 4 more kilometers. My morning’s verdict still holds and here I am sitting looking forward to an early morning jog with them tomorrow!

The Ex-Socs spent a great weekend in Amsterdam and played a tough and fast match against Ben & Rich’s team, the name of which is escaping me at the moment. We agreed to arrange for a return match. And here we have arrived in the present, in the near past, to be accurate. Last weekend saw 21 guys from Amsterdam check out Gabersdorf and surrounding, facing once again the Ex-Socs for a international cap at the Pappelstadium in Gabersdorf.

Their visit opened fittingly with a visit to the Bundesliga match SK PUNTIGAMER STURM GRAZ – RED BULL SALZBURG, on a hot Thursday afternoon. The atmosphere in the stadium was tremendous, the match was ok, the beer flowed. One of our Dutch friends couldn’t cool down enough which eventually forced him to shed his clothes and explore the field with only his socks remaining. He made it into the newspaper and was spared a stay at the police station.

Next day, after a Wiener Schnitzl at Neuhold’s, we visited my brother Stefan and were introduced to his wine and newly built wine cellar. Then we cruised along the Weinstraße, went up Kreuzbergwarte, a great look-out, and once again had the doubtful pleasure of finding ourselves in the eye of a terrible South Styrian thunderstorm.

The shock was quickly forgotten when we arrived at the estate of the Polz winery and embarked on a food and drink feast that lasted for four hours. As was the case the night before, this was only a warm up for our Dutch friends, who, again guided by local insider Hellfried, hit the Leibnitz “Club” scene, not one of the best preparations for an international cap but one which in similar fashion proved to spark surprising performances by some Ex-Socs back in 2007.

On Saturday we were again greeted by grand summer weather with temperatures around 25 °C, just right for an afternoon match. The Ex-Socs’ team only displayed a fraction of the players who conquered the Dutch team on their own grounds in a dramatic penalty shoot out in 2007 but was strong enough to face their challenge again. Before the match the teams stood to their respective anthems and served an entertaining match to an almost sold out house.


The Dutch started with fierce forechecking which paid off immediately resulting in a 0-1 lead after 10 minutes. The Ex-Socs managed a quick equalizer only to see another great move from the Dutch which was superbly finished with a precise cross and a great header. A bad challenge in the Dutch penalty area led to a penalty which, cooly converted, marked the turning point in the match. With their strengths declining, the Dutch team found it harder and harder to exercise their technical skills. Thus the second half saw two more Ex-Socs goals with half a dozen wasted chances.

But the result was never supposed to be important. The two teams had played a great match with no injuries in which they celebrated Ben’s last match for his team as he was stepping down as captain in order to fully focus on his tennis career. Watch out for a new contender at Wimbledon next year. This was one more reason to enjoy the day and celebrate the visit of our friends. With Puntigamer beer in hand we watched the first team of Gabersdorf lose their match against Maria Lankowitz. The after match celebrations culminated in great singing at the karaoke disco with a breathtaking performance of Opus’ Live is life by our Dutch friends, the indisputable highlight of the evening. Erwin reopened the Schirmbar which offered harder beats and disco grooves for those still able to shake their bodies. The night continued at Nite Flight and ended with daylight upon those crawling out of the taxis.


For everyone involved, I think, this was a memorable and rewarding weekend. Althoug on both sides energy and enthusiasm is fading, we hope that we can go out once more and face each other on the soccer field – maybe 2010 again in Amsterdam. Thanks to our friends from Holland for coming and giving us all a great time!

Thanks to Ben for organising everything on the Dutch end of the line.

Kudos go out to Berni who organised the match with the national anthems and the live band and karaoke singing.

Pictures from the weekend on Flickr
More match pictures taken by Karl Ritter
Karaoke pics here – also taken by Karl Ritter

Being the second fastest marathon team in Austria is quite an achievement, all the more as we took part at the championships for the first time. Everyone was surprised and nobody knew that our team even existed in the first place. I took the medals and certificates for the three heros. Considering how difficult the preparation turned out especially for Vinz and Christian and adding the fact that Jörg hadn’t been able to train more than 50 to 70 ks per week, this result is even more surprising and goes to show how much potential these superb runners have.
On the way back, Erwin phoned me, informing that on the official Pentek results page, we were only ranked third. I thought that this might be a mistake by Pentek since I had the certificates in my hands and I didn’t give it further thoughts. Today, however, I contacted the Austrian Athletics Association where it was confirmed that the organizers had made a mistake. Thus we were ranked back to 3rd position. Now, we have to return our silver medals which will be exchanged for bronze ones. Of course, we were a bit disappointed but 3rd place is still a great achievement, one which injects our undertaking with new energy and motivation. Our next common goal will be the Austrian Championships 2010. Before that we are pursuing individual goals, which will see me and Jörg attempting the Berlin marathon on 20 September 2009.

I knew it after 3 ks: this was going to be a tough race. Whenever on such occasions my feet aren’t running by themselves, I know that it is going to be a hard and long, long way to the finish line. I hadn’t felt well all through the week before the marathon and never really managed to translate my planned marathon speed into one of my training runs before the event. Thus, I didn’t have high expectations for the run but little did I know how difficult it was going to be.
I had planned for a speed of 4:00 min/km but too soon I realized that this was just a dream. Still the first half marathon went quite well with 1:25:39 hrs (4:04 min/km) but with the temperatures rising, my speed declined very soon into the second half, clocking in at about 4:10 after 23 ks and deteriorating to 4:15 at 25 ks. With 17 ks still to run, my stomach started to churn and I had to stop and seek the bushes: diarrhea. It was terrible and a very difficult situation. My feet started to cramp and I found it very hard to gather speed again. It turned out, however, that it was a good decision to stop and get the bad stuff out of my body. At least, I could keep up my former speed and thus I continued, still struggling, though, along. Every kilometer seemed to be too long and the heat didn’t make things better. It was a tough run, a real struggle, and all I was running for was to see the finish line. Little did I care about the time anymore, just trying hard to set one foot in front of the other, doing my best to get enough fluid into my body, hoping that it would keep it.
Thus I was approaching the finish, getting slower with every kilometer. As the finish line was only 900 meters away, the worst thing happened that can happen to a marathon runner: my left thigh started to cramp and wouldn’t let go. I had to stop and could only walk. After 200 meters, my muscle, fortunately, relaxed again, giving green lights for me to continue along. With what seemed my last energy, I crossed the finish line in somewhat disappointing 2:56:46 hrs on position 51 overall.
It was a tough race, one of the toughest I had ever run, and disappointment soon gave way to a special kind of satisfaction about how I had continued the race despite all the problems and fall backs, still managing to finish with an acceptable time. It is easy to run with good legs on a bright day, but it is a completely different affair to run 42.195 ks when your feet are bad with the sun burning down on your tattered body.
And still the day had its happy ending: my friends from our team, Jörg, Vinzenz and Christian ran great races and thus our team, Running Team Stefflhof Adventures became 3rd in the team marathon. Congratulations, guys, that is just incredible: 3rd best marathon team in Austria.

Counting down the days to my 5th marathon in Salzburg on May 3, I was able to throw in an excellent training session with the guys from our Running Team. Christian had arranged an 8 am Sunday morning meeting for a crisp come together, which should serve as a last proper training before the marathon. With a personal marathon best of 2:26 hrs, Jörg is not only our best runner, he also boasts a certificate as endurance trainer. Naturally, he led us through this training with his expertise and experience. We started out with a slow warm up jog, followed by extensive stretching. Then we practiced our running skills with specific exercises in order to train coordination and flexibility. Thus we warmed up properly, getting ready for some fast tempo runs.

We started out with running one after another at about 3:50 – 3:55 min/km. The last in the row, then, had to overtake the rest with a fast tempo run. Each one had to follow suit after the former runner had reached the front of the row. We completed 5 rounds thus training speed and tempo variation.
In the very last part of preparing for a marathon, the focus is laid upon short fast distances in order to fresh up one’s legs and to prevent the body from switching to stand-by while giving it the chance to relax and gather strength. Another excellent run in this training session was supposed to adapt the body to the planned marathon speed. We had to run 600 meters, increasing the speed after every 200 meters: we started out with a speed of about 3:50 – 4:00 min/km, speeding up to 3:45 min/km after 200 m, and finished with a 3:30 – 3:35 min/km tempo run on the last 200 m. After three repeats, we called it a day and finished our training session with a slow and relaxing cool-down jog after 90 minutes. This was an excellent and very valuable training. Thanks to Jörg for his expertise.

Training as a team is especially valuable. Not only is it easier to get your feet moving faster than usual, but it is also a great opportunity to exchange ideas and experiences.

The Salzburg marathon will be especially interesting for I have been training according to a completely new plan and I am set to improve my marathon best from last year’s 2:53 hrs in Linz. Let’s see whether it works out.

Here are some photos from Christian, Jörg, Vinzenz, Robert and me.

Check out this site for more information about my Salzburg marathon preparation next week.

Sylvia has just launched her website: cranium.at

However hard those three weeks might have been, I am more than happy that we chose India as our honeymoon destination. It was more than a holiday. It was one of those rare times where I was subjected to so many new experiences so that I found it hard to archive them in my system; coupled with many situations where India forced me to leave my comfort zone and learn to cope with new, unknown experiences and sides of my character. I like to call India my most profound and essential personal development seminar.
It’s never been a laid-back, smooth, nice affair. Those fleeting moments you forget so soon, anyway. It’s been more of a tour de force which has left its imprint indelibly burnt into my soul. Even those hectic 14 days could not conjur away India’s looming presence which I had to face time and again and which I had to deal with in order to reconcile those experiences with my attitude ever since our return. In addition, the many memories are proof enough for this holiday’s lasting impact.

Traveling India has taught me many lessons – mostly about myself. But I have also grasped a glimpse of the current state of humanity and its relationship to and dependency of mother earth. Those insights once again elucidated the need for a fundamental paradigma shift regarding the way we lead our lives. Thus, I can see the current world events in a positive light. In the midst of the current confusion, chaos and fear, an opportunity might arise for a different approach to almost everything which we have taken for granted, natural and self-evident but which after all is nothing more than a big, self-created, comfortable illusion which is based on short values and a win-lose paradigm. The current world events suggest that human mankind might be lead into a situation where it may have no other choice but to give up old systems, ways of thinking, habits and see themselves in a completely different light or else be eradicate.

Thank you, India, for such an overpowering experience. Thank you, too, Sylvia, for accompanying me on this wild, hard, bumpy journey and being there for me to calm me whenever I couldn’t cope with the chaos and confusion. It’s been a real test for our relationship but one which we have passed well, so I think, one, which has drawn us even closer together. Thank you, India, for that as well.

Find all the photos from our trip here in my Flickr photo album

It was a magic day – for all of us: happy people, smiling faces, laughter and excitement wherever you looked. It was a day of love, merry-making, of making new acquaintances, trying new languages; it was a perfect blend of the old and the young, of friends and relatives, a day of reconcilement.

The atmosphere of the day, the mood of our guests, all was a perfect reflection of our commitment, of saying “yes” to what we consider a very special and very precious relationship. I think, one cannot imagine or wish for such a wedding. From the beginning, we wanted a wedding that was as informal and as natural as possible.

Looking back, we are still surprised by the fact how smoothly and naturally the different moments interconnected, constituting a plot of love and joy, a comedy, some might say, not even Shakespear could have conceived. Still this special day was infused by a similar magic and enchantment that is so characteristic of Shakespeare’s green world.

The many positive and warm responses, some even enthusiastic, are perfect proof for us that this was not only a very special day in Sylvia’s and my life. And after all, this is how our wedding was always meant to be.

June 21 started early. I got up at 5.15 a.m. Looking out of the window of my bedroom in the Winzherhaus overlooking the rolling winehills with the bright sun rising into a clear blue sky, I already knew that this was to become a special day. I jumped into my runners and led John on a 12 ks run through the beautiful countryside of the South Styrian wine region. As we were rolling along, the sun was starting to come up over the wine hills, reaching for his highest position in the northern hemisphere, ready to provide the perfect scenery for this special day.

After a cool shower and a hearty breakfast, I was driving along with Simone and John, heading for Roman, to get the perfect styling. Simone took a turn herself, enjoying perfect Austrian hairstyling skills. On the way back, we picked up Sylvia’s bouquet.

At about noon time, the first guests began to arrive. Martha hadn’t turned her watch to summer time and was the first to arrive. Then came Christa and Michaela, getting busy with balloons in the garage. In the meantime Sylvia’s guests were arriving in Haydngasse: Ulla, her maid of honor, Anni, who was supposed to drive Sylvia to the vineyard, and Christa Strobl, who was in charge of the camera.

Anni did not surprise Sylvia but also me when she turned into the drive-way with her cool, black Audi cabriolet. Sylvia was just beautiful in her red dress. I couldn’t wait to get her out of the car.

From there we started to the stone terrace where the wedding ceremony, conducted by Franz Hierzer, mayor of Gabersdorf, was to take place.

Franz had prepared a long, entertaining speech, funny and contemplative at the same time.

Thus we were married: at one of the most beautiful places, with the sun trying to keep up with the smiles of our guests – and ourselves -,

accompanied by the delicate sound of Lothar’s accordion with Ulla and Jean-Pierre at our side.

Then more surprises were waiting for us. Ulla had prepared a white blanket with a red heart in it, which I had to cut out and carry Sylvia through. On the other side we were greeted by flowers, rice and red heart-shaped balloons. Almost every guest grapped one of them and let them – with a good wish – fly.

The heat was on and made us thirsty.

Willy Zach had just delivered tasty cannelloni and Stefan’s Summertime Ratsch was waiting for all the thirsty throats: a perfectly light wine for hot summer days like this one.

The agape, as it is called, was a merry coming together and time just began to fly. The wind was causing a little bit of havoc among the sun shades but was welcomed for bringing at least a bit of refreshment besides the wine.

When the sun apologized in order to take a rest behind the clouds, a big stretch limousine arrived to the surprise of everyone.

It was surprise present from Elfriede and Helmut which was to take us to Georgi-Schlössl. Now the time had come to say good bye to the vineyard and move on to the next stage.

Jean-Pierre, Ulla, Julian, Anna and Stefan joined us in the limousine as did a bottle of champagne. The Georgi-Schlössl is beautifully renovated castle, in which Eva-Maria, one of our guests grew up. It has a very nice backyard where the reception took place.

Champagne and wine was served and seamlessly the whole party continued where it had stopped in the vineyard.

Later on, it was time for the speeches, by Chris, Sylvia and a great and passionate one by Jean-Pierre, recited in perfect German. Thanks, JP for that!

The speeches were followed up by Sylvia throwing the bouquet which almost resulted in a fight among those still unmarried, eager to catch it.

After some elbowing and a sprint, Irena outrun Ulla and was the happy one to get it.
It is said that the one who catches the bouquet was to marry within a year. And it seems to be true – Sylvia caught Elisabeth’s bouquet back in 2007.

So let’s see what is going to happen with Irena and Martin. We are certainly prepared for another great wedding!

After all those drinks, it was time to have some food. And there was plenty of great food waiting for us. Willy Zach had come up with an outstanding cold dish buffet, reaching from meat, salad to mussels and shrimp. But this was only the start. The feast lasted for almost two hours.

Then the band started to play. As we didn’t want a traditional wedding band, Sylvia had focused upon choosing professional, skilled musicians that ran the gamut from Bukovina to pop music.

And what a band it was. Their music, you could hear, came from their heart and their skill and rhythm quickly enthralled our guests. Despite the humidity in the room, soon a lot of people were dancing, shaking, grooving. Thus the evening continued and with happy, dancing, talking, smiling, joyful people at its heart.

Again, we would like to thank all our guests for being there with us, for celebrating with us (some coming a long, long way to do so), for making this day such a wonderful, unforgettable day for us. Thank you so much for all those presents and good wishes. But most of all thank you for really being there with all your heart and soul!

Last not least, a big love and thank you goes out to our parents for their support before, during and after the wedding. Thanks Stefan for the wine and the vineyard!

Sylvia & Christoph