Austria turns it on for running champs
The last kilometre of the vertical race at the World Mountain Running Championship in Innsbruck, Austria, is something that Queenstown runner Sarah Douglas will forever cherish.
The 38-year-old four-time New Zealand national mountain running champion completed the brutal 7.1km climb, which rises 1020m in elevation, in 1hr 0min 46secs, placing 70th in the women's race.
Douglas was managing a calf strain throughout the race but it was the atmosphere, rather than the result, which made it one to remember.
"It absolutely blew my mind, oh my God," she says. "People were lined up on each side, so close, leaning in and talking to us all, cheering us on.
"Then there's the view from the finish line. In terms of courses and atmosphere, the vertical is probably the best race I've ever been part of. It was magical."
Sarah Douglas crosses the line in Austria. Photo: Shaun Cantwell
That atmosphere was also present in downtown Innsbruck for the 15km Classic Mountain Race and other events in the burgeoning sport. Douglas competed but while her calf had held up through the vertical, she scored a DNF in the Classic.
"The calf actually felt good in the warm up and I was pretty positive on the start line. I thought it was going to be all good, but it was the change in the gradient, going from uphill to downhill, rather than the consistent climb.
"It's one of those things. It's never a nice feeling but sometimes you have to go with the smart decision and think about how much worse you're making the injury, go with your head and not your heart."
New Zealand sent a 19-strong team to the Championships, held from Wednesday to Saturday last week.
Queenstown Athletics club member Douglas, who lined up for the fifth World Champs, having placed 44th in the vertical in the 2022 Champs in Thailand last year and then won the fourth National Championship at Mount Maunganui in March, was captain of the women's team.
"It was a real honour," she says. "It's been super easy because everyone is giving their best and stoked to be here.
"A lot goes into something like this, not just the athletes and training but also the team, getting people to the aid stations, which can be a few hours up into the mountains, so everyone pulls together."
She says the performance of Caitlin Fielder, who finished 12th in the Short Course, was one of the highlights, along with the debut of Maia Flint, 19, who finished four seconds ahead of Douglas in the vertical, placing 68th as the fastest kiwi.
"It's great to see young runners coming through and loving the sport. It's starting to become a really popular sport for runners."
Douglas spent a month in Europe before the races, running in the Italian Dolomites with her "awesome" coach, six-time world mountain running champion and Olympian, Jonathan Wyatt.
She returns to Queenstown this week with no fixed race plans.
"I'll go home, rest up and try to sort my calf out and figure out why it is getting so tight and causing issues. The Championships were the pinnacle of my planning, so I'll talk with my coach and we'll make a plan for the rest of the year."
