Zell Am See, literally, the Zell Lake, just a couple of hours outside of Salzburg, has become Ironman territory. The Austrian lakeside setting will host the 2015 Ironman 70.3 next year – the first to be held outside North America.
It’s like racing through a postcard, we were told, as our trio took mental notes about what was to come. Steep climbs, with a base at 650 meters, ascending to nearly 1300 meters, and an even scarier descent, didn’t rattle our cyclist, even when the event organizer admitted he kept his brakes on all the way down.
The small town of Zell Am See is more like a village, mostly populated with shops that see a brisk ski trade in winter, and equally strong hiking business in summer. There are free, guided hikes, musical hikes, herbal hikes, and other themes.
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But for me, it was all about the lake. We swimmers were the first to set off on a reasonably mild, but grey Sunday morning. The clouds never full rose above the alps, but made for a stunning backdrop whenever I lifted my head to spot the distance. A triangular course sent us over a mile back into town, before returning to the race site. The water was crystal clear, cleaner than many oceans and seas I’ve swum. After 54 minutes flat, and out of breath, I clambered out, and ran to transition for the chip hand-off and the start of the 90km ride.
Our runner did a two-lap route along the edge of the lake, surrounded by the mountains. The cycle and running route makes a wonderful loop through the center of town, involving the entire, cheering community and visitors in the race.
A respectable finish, especially with two novices, we completed the 113km course in well under 6.5 hours. Before, and after, we were treated to Austrian-style carbo-loading and replenishing. Meals of bread, Kasespaetzle (pasta with cheese), doughnuts, beer and more bread, were piled on.
We didn’t qualify for one of the 100 championship slots to compete next year, but with no injuries or accidents, and none of our team finishing even close to last, we claimed victory.
