The most original running trends
Running is popular, healthy and becoming increasingly creative – an overview of the latest running trends in Germany.
Obstacle racing is booming in Germany. The StrongmanRun, which is held on the grounds of the Nürburgring, set a world record in 2013 with just under 13,000 entrants. Runners in these obstacle races have to get over walls, crawls through mud or climb up ropes.
Runners who no longer consider the marathon a challenge can turn to trail running, which is also known as mountain or fell running. The distances are long and the routes frequently only head in one direction: uphill. One example is the Zugspitz Ultratrail, in which runners have to cover 100 kilometres and overcome an altitude difference of 5,420 metres.
Why go forward, when you can go backward? Or rather run backward. The idol of the small, but successful German reverse running scene is Achim Aretz. The 30-year-old long-distance specialist from Darmstadt holds three world records.
Tower running has become a German sport through the efforts of Thomas Dold, who has won the most important races in the staircases of the highest skyscrapers. The 29-year-old stair runner from the Black Forest took only 10:53 minutes to make his way up the 2,046 steps to the 91st floor of the Taipei Financial Center.
Color Runs are vibrant affairs. Participants are pelted with bags of paint on their way along the five-kilometre course. It is a colourful spectacle that actually only really begins behind the finishing line.
Underpants runs, which are also organized in several towns in Germany, could be literally described as exhibition events. Dressed only in underwear, participants run a specific distance and collect donations. Freezing for a good cause, as it were.
House running or Australian abseiling has less to do with running than with an adrenalin kick. Secured with special belts and ropes, participants run down the fronts of tall buildings.
The Wings for Life World Run on 4 May will be a unique running event in 2014. Runners, from beginners to professionals, will all set off at exactly the same time in 40 cities on all five continents. There is no finishing line. A so-called catcher car drives behind the field and when it overtakes a runner, he or she is out of the race. In Germany the race will start in Darmstadt at 12 noon. All entry fees will be donated to spinal cord research to help find a cure for paraplegia.
Leading International Trade Show for Fitness, Wellness & Health (FIBO) from 3 to 6 April 2014 in Cologne
www.fishermans-friend.de/strongmanrun
