And then came August 1st...Swiss National Day! It begins at 6a.m. with the firing of cannons and the local band playing tunes that echo through the mountains.
Something else happens this day....a running race. This is no normal running race. It is a half marathon 21.1km distance. The first 16km (10 miles) race up from the valley to the top of the ski resort in Leysin. The elevation change is 1650meters (5413feet). It only gets worse from there because the next 5km (3miles) is all downhill dropping 800meters (2624feet) in elevation. I was up early to take the cog to the valley to endure the pain of this race for second consecutive year.
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| 10km into the race... |
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| They were so excited to cheer |
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| ...I was greeted by all the campers... |
Here's a little video clip from the race as I rounded the corner to head up the Prafandaz climb. The kids made up cheers for me..."L-A-U-R-A, let's go Laura, Allez! Allez!"
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| My Vermont (and AA) colleague, Dennis ran too! |
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| Approaching the finish line after the descent |
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| Ready to be done |
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| My fans met me at the finish! |
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| Crossing the finish line, 3 hours and 2 minutes later |
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| Using my prize, a chair.... |
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| ...waiting for Dennis it finish |
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| We survived! |
After a nap and some food, it was time for the evening festivities. The children are the town parade. We give them paper lanterns with candles (lit) inside. They march through the town chanting.
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| There's real fire in those latners |
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| Group shot! |
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