Our first Long Run of 2023 was a big success, with great food, wonderful weather, and awesome company!
Although seasonal illness took out our fearless run leader (we missed you Andi!) and several others, five runners met up early on Saturday morning in the S3 for the ride south to Werfen. Arriving at 8:30, we began the day with a warm-up jog into town before starting the relatively steep hike up through the woods.
Up until the Dielalm, the left over winter snow was no where to be seen, but soon after that the trail ran parallel to, and sometimes straight up the piste. Thankfully the snow there, while still spread widely, was solid enough to grip with our trail shoes. Poles were a big help though, and a couple of us even put on chains to reduce some of the sliding.
After almost exactly 2 hours, we had covered the 8 km and 1100m of elevation just in time for the clouds to part. We arrived at the Ostpreußenhütte right on time for a beautiful view of the Hochkönig.
Drinks and snacks at the hut followed, and with our new energy reserves, we then took off downhill. Running downhill in the snow was a new challenge for some, but everyone experimented with running/sliding down the hill at various speeds and had a great time at it! Once the snowy slopes gave way to trails and fields, we continued on enjoying the sunshine and finished again right on time to meet the next S3 and head home.