A participant's report from the Davos trail running camp, July 2021

It is the second Corona spring, and once again practically every running event has been cancelled or postponed. It is not only the sporting challenge of a race that I miss, but also meeting athletes from other parts of the country. I hope to find both at the trail camp in Davos, and a short break from everyday life comes more than welcome too.

With the programme starting on Friday at 09:30, travelling there on the same day is possible, and I am really looking forward to setting off early once again with a packed sports bag, full carbohydrate stores and a touch of uncertainty.

Once we arrive in Davos, a short round of introductions is followed by the Postauto up to Sertig, where we start today's tour. Within a few minutes it is already clear: the early start and the journey to Davos were more than worth it. The sun lights up the snow-covered peaks around us, bright flowers line the path, and when a few marmots poke their curious little heads up too, I feel like I have stepped straight into a Graubünden Tourism holiday brochure. I would not have been surprised if a couple of ibex had shown up next and had a laugh at the trail runners from the lowlands. It quickly becomes clear that Jasmin and Guy also work perfectly together as trainers, keeping an eye on the whole group, so that despite the differences in fitness, quite literally nobody gets left behind. The short stops, where we get technical tips or explanations about the Swiss Alpine course, also bring the group back together again and again and give everyone a chance to catch their breath. On the less technical stretches there is also plenty of interesting conversation with my new running companions, and so the 26km with 1200 metres of climbing pass in no time. My hopes for the trail camp are already fulfilled on this first day, and at the finish of today's stage I find myself wondering, on the spot, "can I sign up for next year already?" But first I treat my legs to a cool dip in the mountain stream, before the Postauto takes us back to Davos, where we round off the day with dinner together.

Saturday is all about the Vertical Davos, organised by Jasmin and Guy for the first time this year. The race means covering 1000m of climbing over 5km up to the summit of the Jakobshorn. Since my legs make it very clear when I get up that the Uetliberg is no match for Friday's mountains, I decide not to take part in the race itself and instead take on the course without a race number. And it has a real sting in its tail. What starts as a gently rising forest track soon turns into a singletrack, and towards the end the route climbs steeply over scree, where hands come into play too. The relief is huge when I reach the finish by the mountain railway, how the winner managed it in 52 minutes remains a mystery to me. After a short rest, refuelled, we get the choice of taking the gondola down into the valley or adding on another twelve kilometres or so under Jasmin and Guy's guidance. Asking my slightly battered muscles to handle another 1000m of descent does not seem entirely sensible, but with running like this and guidance like this I cannot bring myself to be sensible. And once again it is worth it. I have to keep reminding myself to pull my gaze away from the magnificent view and back onto the narrow path leading down, where we run a rolling route back to the hotel. There is still enough time to recover in the sauna or with a nap before we strengthen and stretch various muscles under Jasmin's guidance in an athletic training session. Afterwards we get the chance to ask her and Guy questions about racing and training. Over dinner that follows, at a cosy restaurant in Davos, Jasmin patiently answers more questions in her likeable way and lets us in on stories from her life as an athlete, and so another lovely day, full of shared laughter, comes to an end.

Our route for Sunday is adjusted for the snow on the Scalettapass and starts right from the hotel towards Dürrboden, with the option of covering the first kilometres by bus. Today clouds cover the sun, but that takes nothing away from the beauty of the Dischmatal, quite the opposite: the almost mystical mood fascinates me, and if I were out here alone I would barely get anywhere for all the photo stops. Once we reach Dürrboden, there is the choice of starting recovery straight away in the restaurant, or running on a bit further up the pass with Jasmin, so once again everyone gets what they came for. I take the chance for a few last kilometres in this beautiful area, and no sooner are we back at the restaurant than the first raindrops fall: Jasmin and Guy planned the weather perfectly too.

The bus brings us back to the hotel, where a late check-out lets us shower, which the other passengers on the Rhaetian Railway are surely grateful for too.

Then it is already time to say goodbye, which is not easy for me. In just three days we have grown into a great little community, running just brings people together like that. But the running world is famously small, so I say "see you again" and, above all, "thank you".

By Franziska Greuter