Making people smile: Running the Zürich Marathon with an Alphorn

Race Date: April 26, 2009
Road Marathon ... and Smile Day
A new Swiss tunnel has opened this year and it goes right under one of my favorite local mountains for biking and running, the Üetliberg. As a part of the tunnel opening ceremony, this year's Zurich Marathon started with a little underground jaunt. Once I heard about this I thought, hey -- I've never ran a marathon that starts with nearly 10KM of tunnel running, so why not give it a go? I signed up several months ago and at Becky's urging finally did a couple long runs to prep for the race. I've been in ski mode since November and aside from the Ötzi race have only been maintenance running since my last ultra toward the end of summer. The couple of long training runs I did for the Zurich Marathon went just fine -- which made me happy because it took several months for my ligament tear from an October running injury to heal. I've done lots of road marathons and really favor trail races now, so I decided that instead of running Zurich for a fast time, I'd run it to entertain people -- with a singular mission: make as many people smile as possible.

I also wanted to pay tribute to the Swiss for having such a wonderful country and allowing me the privilege of living in it. So, in Jeff-land, this all translated into me running the marathon while carrying a 3-meter long alphorn -- and not just running with it -- but playing mini-concerts for people along the way.

To make things interesting, I decided also run from home to the race start and another hour back home after the race -- for a nice 60km+ day of running. I arrived at the race start happy to be warmed up after an hour of running and bumped into an English mate, Mike, who was running the marathon dressed as the Pink Panther. Mike and I were apparently the only people stepping outside the box into creative/wacky-land as everyone else looked the part of serious runner. It's fun to shake things up. On the way to the race start I found a hill to play on and started what would be an endless series of mini-concerts. Every time the alphorn was spotted, people smiled and cheered -- awesome, it's working.

I fired up the crowd with mini concerts at the tunnel entrance and exits, in the tunnel, and for 4 1/2 hours along the race course. Highlights included passing the various musicians performing for the marathon (there's a great common brotherhood that works quite well only on the connection of music), playing a bit for a quartet of alphorn players performing for the race, and seeing the great reactions of the young and old when I would stop to play for them.

As for running with such an instrument, while it looks super heavy, it weighs only 1kg (2.2 pounds), so the weight wasn't much of a problem. Although, a few hours in and I could definitely feel it! My biggest concern was that I didn't hit anyone!

By the way, I've had this wonderful instrument for a year now and have run, biked, and hiked with it all over Switzerland. A carbon fiber alphorn is a great idea and is custom-made by a very interesting and entertaining gentleman in western (French-Speaking) Switzerland, (Roger Zanetti).My good friend Kate showed up on a bike to cheer and motivate me on a later section of the race, prompting a great observation from another friend's parent (who didn't know me): "I saw some poor chap running with an alphorn while some girl on a bike yelled at him." Ah, perfect -- that's about it -- her "yelling" was very helpful though, because whenever the crowds thinned out I would lose an audience to bring to smiles and my energy would begin to fade.

I had lots of conversations in Swiss German throughout the race -- well, semi-conversations, especially after I learned all the standard questions and practiced my responses in my broken Swiss dialect. People were always quite a bit shocked that I was 1) not Swiss 2) an American, and 3) can actually play the alphorn. They always smiled when we talked and that rocked.

It was a real joy on the finishing straight -- I stopped and played for the large crowd and then crossed the finish line with the alphorn high in the air (a celebration of Switzerland and this great mountain musical instrument, not me). A volunteer at the finish asked me to play for her before she'd give me water -- which I did of course -- and then I walked to cool down playing for people along the lake. One woman was insistent on paying me -- after refusing several times, I finally accepted the money when her gent suggested that it was to buy me a beer. Playing alphorn for a post-race beer -- well, ok.

After enjoying some post-race time with my friends, I got back on my feet and ran another hour home -- with the alphorn on my shoulder the whole time -- getting waves, honks, and smiles from passerbys. Yes, smiles -- it was free to give them and I got such warmth back in return. What a brilliant day!

p.s. Thanks for the photos Howard Brundrett (2nd, 6th, and last from the top)!

Wrapping up a great year...

After an incredibly fun summer full of exploring all over Switzerland and northern Italy with visitors, it was time to take a break and have some "us" time, so on a beautiful weekend in October we took our first backpacking trip since we've been living in Europe.
The good thing about backpacking in Switzerland is you can pretty much guarantee you'll be alone once the sun starts going down, since the locals tend to not sleep outside (which I must admit is understandable since there are so many charming little hotels and guesthouses all around).
But to us nothing can beat having our little tent perched on the side of a hill with a gorgeous view and surrounded by nothing but nature. We enjoyed some wine-from-a-box (easier to carry in the backpack) in our REI Lexan wine glasses as we watched the moon rise over the mountain. Dinner was Raclette on our new candle-lit Swiss set. What a great evening in the backcountry!
Soon thereafter we travelled back to the U.S. for a visit - I (Buggie) went a little early and as luck would have it I got the chance to fit in a visit to our good Swiss friend there. Of course it was a very active visit including a cycling event through the horse country south of Gainesville. I brought the Alphorn from Switzerland and we used it to help cheer on other riders while taking a break...
I had no idea how beautiful the area near Gainesville is, especially with the moss hanging from the trees...and there actually were some hills there too - a nice surprise!
It was really great to see her and experience a small part of her new life there. We really miss you Martina! But we are happy that you are in such a good PhD program and look forward to your return to Switzerland when you're finished!

Next stop was the beautiful hills of north Georgia. I wonder if this is the first time a Swiss Alphorn has been heard here...
I always enjoy visiting my parents and their place in the mountains there. The house may be old and just has a few rooms, but it is very cozy. I think this sign says it all...
It was a very nice time together. That weekend, Gustav and I were lucky that a few friends could join us in the mountains for a bike ride...
Actually it was not just any bike ride -- It was the Fourth (almost-)Annual Gaptoberfest! That is: Biking in the Gaps + Oktoberfest in Helen = Great times with great friends :-)

After biking up and down a few of Georgia's famous hills (including our fave, Hawgpain!), we used up any breath we had leftover to share some of the sounds of the Swiss Alps with the Oktoberfest'ers...in the appropriate plaza no less...

It was a really fun time and I hope we can continue to keep the tradition of Gaptoberfest going on every year, as long as we all can continue to ride bikes (which will be forever as long as we can help it!).

Moving on... Every visit to the U.S. tends to include some shopping since you just can't get some "important" items in Switzerland (now you all know what to bring me next time you visit!):
We visited Sam's Club since Mom has a membership, and couldn't get over how huge the store is (you could fit about a thousand European stores in it). The aisles were wide, the selection was overwhelmingly vast... Even the playing cards were oversized!
So to keep the theme we did some post-shopping refreshing with some over-sized beverages :)
The next day was Halloween, which we couldn't wait to share with Gustav's sis and our neice and nephew. Plus it means getting dressed up and forcing strangers to give you candy - so much fun! (the Europeans don't know what they're missing)
As always we really enjoyed seeing everyone and getting to spend some time together. That includes our "furry child"- You'd never guess she is over 15 years old from this picture would you? Playing on the rocks by the river...
There just never seems to be enough time to do everything we want during our visits, but still we enjoyed the time that we did have with you all, and we're glad we can all stay in touch at least "virtually" when we're not in the same country.

Soon after we got back to Zurich, lots of "white stuff" started falling from the sky, and overnight it transformed the area into a winter wonderland... So our friend who is from northern Canada showed me the proper way to make a snowman (we didn't get quite so many chances to practice while growing up in TN!)...
Gustav and I decided at the last minute to take a long weekend trip to Vienna, to take advantage of the fact that we can do just that! It was our first experience on an overnight train, which was great (although a bit cramped!). We really enjoyed checking out the city and its incredibly beautiful buildings, as well as a couple friends we know living there. It was great timing with all the Christmas markets and decorations all around the city, really festive...
When we got back to Zurich it was holiday party time, and we hosted a few of those ourselves, including some Christmas caroling as well as some jazz improv by Jeff and one of the younger guests...
Soon thereafter we got hit by even MORE of that white stuff! It's so different from last year when it didn't snow here all winter (until once in March)...
The good thing was that the white stuff fell in the mountains to, so that meant one thing - It's time to SKI!! So our first day out on the sl0pes was with our good friend from Colorado...
One thing we still can't get over is how people here seem to really appreciate having a good meal. Even if you're at a tiny eatery on the ski slope, they still make your lunch special...
This lunch above is Alpen Macaroni, served with apple sauce, mmm-mmmmm. And topped off with a Carlsberg beer - Their advertising slogan always cracks us up: "Probably the best beer in the world" (well if they're not totally sure, at least they're honest about it!)

Suddenly Christmastime was upon us... We were lucky enough to receive an invitation from our Swiss friend to join her and her parents at their mountain chalet for the holiday. This was our first chance to experience a true Swiss Christmas! We had always heard about how real candles are lit on the Christmas tree, but it was even more amazing to experience it in person...
It was a really special time with our Swiss family who has "adopted" us. We all celebrated on Christmas Eve together with some Fondue Chinoise, which involves cooking your own thinly sliced meats in a buillion, and is the traditional Swiss meal for Christmas Eve.

After the Fondue, the Christmas gifts are opened (on Christmas Eve - typically a single gift per person, usually something hand-made, and specially wrapped with lots of care), then a story is read, sometimes songs are sung around the tree (as you make sure no needles are burning from the candles on it!), and then we all walk through the snow to the village church for the service that ends right at midnight. Christmas Day is then usually spent out in the snow and sunshine, walking or skiing with the family.

The view from the chalet is difficult to describe in words, it's so beautiful...
Thank you so much, unsere Schweizer Mami und Papi, for sharing your holiday time and traditions with us!!
After Christmas we met up with our "Abenteuer" (adventure) friends to do some more ski-touring (better described in our opinion as "ski mountaineering", since after all it usually involves climbing to the top of a mountain, or sometimes more than one, and often has its epic nail-biting moments!). This trip ended up being a great adventure without any problems (nor any helicopter rescues).
We took advantage of the extra holidays to do some version of skiing every day -- ski-touring, skate-skiing, alpine skiing... No matter what the activity, it is always worth travelling the 45 minutes or so from Zurich to the mountains to enjoy the wunderschön views and sunshine...
We especially appreciate the sunshine since it tends to be very foggy in Zurich this time of year. Just another reason to get out and enjoy the beautiful mountains...

It has been a great year. We really enjoyed getting to share some of our life in Switzerland with you, either in person for those of you who came to visit, or at least on here "virtually".

We hope you all had a good year as well, and we wish you all a very
Happy and Healthy New Year!!!


Cheers,
Buggie and Gustav

In the news...

I haven't forgotten - I still owe the summary of the second half of May, not to mention all of June... We're really busy experiencing things, but not saving time to document/share them! For now I just want to share a couple recent news articles where Hillseekers have been mentioned...

Tour de Suisse: We biked up the pass where the time trial was held on Saturday, and brought along the Alphorns to help us cheer on the riders... Check out this online picture gallery and see if you see anyone you recognize ("subtle" hint: #'s 25, 26, and 35)It was in the Zürich paper too, in the "Rad" section :) (cycling)

The other Hillseeker story was in the AJC today, about Jeff's weight loss 12 years ago... and how he actually has kept it off ever since. It really did change life for the better - for both of us - so we're glad the story can be shared in case it can be an inspiration for others to make a change and improve their life as well.

Cheers!
Becky

Life after the desert race & Swiss water fun

A couple months have flown by since I returned from Morocco and the unforgettable experience of finishing the Marathon des Sables. The post-race transition has been an interesting one: exuberance, longing to be home, longing to be back in the desert, desire not to take time off to recover, desire to sign up for new events quickly, laziness followed by too soon a return to long training, a non-healing injury, a sudden, but temporary burnout on ultra running. It's all normal after such a big event, although it's quite a ride and for many becomes what's known as post-race depression. Fortunately, for most it ends after a few weeks or months (and thankfully I've fallen into the 'most' category). Finishing the MDS oscillates in my mind between being a major, life-altering event and being just a crazy, epic week in the desert. Some days it seems like a big deal -- others it doesn't. I'm thrilled at how well the fundraising aspect went and remain ever thankful for everyone's contributions and support. We made a difference in the lives of some very well-deserving children around the world and this is heart-warming. I'm also very happy at receiving so many notes about people being inspired by my story. This is just awesome and all I have to say is "pay it forward" - be inspired and go inspire someone else by pursuing and sharing things you're passionate about!

I'm enjoying writing about the MDS experience and look forward to finishing the final chapters of the saga on my MDS blog in the coming weeks. If you haven't checked out the site in a while, please hop over and have a look -- there are stories posted covering the first five days of the race, as well as audio and video clips.

So, two months after the race finished, I'm now at a place where I'm focusing on multiple sports and enjoying the best of what Switzerland has to offer -- without overdoing it on the running. This led to the recent acquisition of a sea kayak as a way to combine my love of fitness and nature and desire to spend as little time cross-training indoors as possible.
I initiated my kayak with a multi-sport play day in the Alps -- all centered on the Aegerisee (about 40 minutes from Zürich). The day involved trail running high above the lake, kayaking, playing alphorn from the kayak, and mountain biking. It was a blast. (Ok, alphorn pun only slightly intended!).
Above is the first shot we've published of one of our new carbon fiber alphorns. It's a brilliantly-designed instrument - it sounds just like its wooden and traditional cousin, but it collapses, weighs only a kilogram, and is waterproof. It's built by a very interesting musician and engineer who lives in the French-speaking part of Switzerland, Roger Zanetti. This great design means I can take it kayaking and float it on the water! Below is a video clip to share the experience with you (I'm still getting the hang of playing this thing while on the water, so my apologies, especially to my prior music teachers, for the cracked notes!).

I've been doing the unthinkable and getting up extremely early (for me!) to kayak before work on the Zürichsee (Lake Zürich). It's a great workout and it's so calming to be on the water to start the day. I also recently kayaked into the city to watch the start of the Euro 2008 football/soccer championship. Great fun and a good way to mix up the adventure.

My next project is to kayak to work. I'm very lucky to live 5 minutes from the water and to have a canal that runs from Lake Zürich to within two blocks of my office. It looks to be about an hour-long paddle into the office. I plan to kayak up the lake, into the canal, and then portage the kayak the final two blocks to my office parking garage, where the kayak will occupy my parking spot (anxiously awaiting me to finish my workday, where I will put it back on the water again for the paddle home). This looks to be great fun, so I'll certainly post about it and share some photos of me rolling a sea kayak through the Zürich streets on my way to work!

I've signed up for an ultramarathon in Davos in late July, so that's the next official event. Becky and I have lots of Swiss adventure planned for the summer months, so we'll be sharing more on the blog over the coming weeks.

By the way, if you haven't checked out Twitter yet, I highly recommend it. It's a simple and free online service that lets you receive and send very short updates (less than 140 characters) regarding what you and your friends are up to. I post Twitter updates quite often -- if you "follow" me on Twitter, you can see what I'm up to in daily life. Click here to see a list of my updates. If you choose to send updates as well, I can follow you. I've found it to be a nice, easy way to keep a connection to the daily life of friends and family. Sometimes update emails and blogs can become overwhelming, so Twitter has been nice to just see when someone has gone for a nice run, is enjoying coffee with friends, is seeing a great concert, etc.

That's all for now - I hope that your June is off to a great start!

Cheers,
Jeff

Bringing it all together ...

We've just returned from a wonderful long weekend in the French-speaking Alpine village of Nendaz. The 2-day Alphorn course offered us an opportunity to reconnect to one of our first passions in life and the one that brought us together back in 1987: music. It also offered a chance to connect this passion to our love of the mountains and surprisingly, to our love of sport. (More on the last one later!) We felt very fortunate to have studied music as kids and later in college - it certainly helped in our ability to learn this traditional Alpine instrument. After a few hours of lessons, we were able to make music on the Alphorn -- and in a spectacular setting. We recorded some video on the second day of the course, so please envision yourself enjoying a glass of wine while sitting on a sunny terrace in the Alps hearing the following:



We felt such a strong connection to this instrument that we found an Alphorn maker with a shop just a couple hours from Nendaz, visited him Friday evening, and actually bought two carbon fiber Alphorns. On Saturday we biked part of the Tour de Romandie professional bike race mountain stage with an Alphorn on my back, with the plan to play it as the peleton cycled by. This lead to one of the most interesting and exciting blending of passions, tradition, technology, sport, nature, languages, culture, and people. What a fantastic experience!

More on our new Alphorns and the crazy American couple playing the Alphorn at the Tour de Romandie in the next post!

Cheers,
Jeff

Riiiiiiicolaaaaaa!

Musical greetings from Nendaz (ok, "musical" may be stretching it after the first day, but oh well we're enjoying it so far!),
Becky and Jeff