by Mauro Pigozzo
The ultra trail runner Philipp Ausserhofer, a Boa and Scarpa athlete, recorded the Fkt on the track, improving the previous record by 54 minutes. Hikers usually take at least a week. “A fantastic day on beautiful trails. Technically very demanding, exactly how I like it”
The Stubai High Route is a spectacular and extremely tough trail. It takes hikers a week, more or less, to complete it. There are eight stages through the Starkenburger Htte, the Franz Senn Htte, the Neue Regensburger Htte, the Dresdner Htte, the Sulzenau Htte, the Nrnberger Htte, the Bremer Htte, the Innsbrucker Htte and back to Neustift. They also call it the “Tour of a thousand torments” given the long distance, sweetened by its breathtaking views and made adrenaline-filled by its technically demanding climbs. Without a doubt one of the most beautiful high altitude trails in the Alps, in the Austrian Tyrol: completing it represents a test of endurance, skill and mental strength.
The ultra trail runner Philipp Ausserhofer, BOA and Scarpa athlete, managed to cover the entire route literally in half a day, precisely in 12 hours and 4 minutes, beating the previous record of 54 minutes, redefining the travel time of this Austrian classic of high mountain trail running known as the “Tour of a thousand torments”: 80 kilometers and almost 6,000 meters of altitude difference, passing through eight refuges from Neustift and returning to the Stubai Valley in Austria, with technical passages by expert hikers and others in which Via ferrata and climbing equipment is necessary.
The Fkt was held by his compatriot Daniel Jung. Philipp, during that record, had been close to him and encouraged him. And probably the desire to go further, to improve that performance, was already growing in him. “Ever since I accompanied Daniel as a supporter in his record attempt in June 2020, the Stubai Route has never abandoned me,” he says now. “Since then, these mountains have become my playground in my adopted homeland and I wanted to test myself to beat this time.”
With the new record, Philipp Ausserhofer confirms a trend that is increasingly establishing itself in the world of ultra trailers after Covid. Races are no longer enough, the real challenge is flying on historic tracks, those that evoke the greatest sense of vertigo and challenge, to try to eat them up in the shortest time possible. They are the Fastest Known Times, the records officially recorded on iconic trails that compare different generations of runners who challenge each other beyond time.
On the platform that tests the fastest running times in ultra trail running, the goal now is to beat his result. “The future will tell the value of this time. I know that there is still something to improve for me too”, he says. “After all, performances are always fleeting, they are always surpassed. There is a moment in which you are beaten , and then we go back to being challengers. This is what I like best.”
For mountain running enthusiasts, it should also be noted that the athlete originally from the Aurina Valley, who now lives in Telfes, Austria, took the record opportunity to simulate a race performance, in view of his commitments. There are three refreshment and rest points (refueling breaks are included in the final time, ed.) along the route, during which a perfectly balanced diet was provided with rice, potato soup, energy gels and bars.
For Ausserhofer, who studied and worked as a pharmacist, now is the time to celebrate. “A fantastic day on beautiful trails. Technically very demanding, exactly how I like it”, concludes the athlete who in June had won the bronze medal for Italy in the World Mountain and Trail Running Championships. “I didn’t expect a time like that. I’m very satisfied, knowing that I still have my energy. When a project like this comes to fruition in your adopted homeland, it’s truly something special.”
November 7, 2023 (modified November 7, 2023 | 2:21 pm)
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2023-11-07 13:21:44
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