Szupermarathon Vienna to Budapest

The Start of Szupermarathon

I was running/walking across Spain this summer when I met Zoltan from Hungary. We became friendly and he invited me to form a team of 5 for a relay race from Vienna to Budapest in October. The route runs through Austria, Slovakia and Hungary. He generously offered to cover all our expenses for the event.
I persuaded 4 other runners to trust me that this was going to work out despite the fact I had only met Zoltan for 2 days. All went amazingly well. The run is very much in the Fat Ass tradition. While it is organized and sponsored by Samsung, the rules are very laxed. You can run the 5 day long stages as a team or solo. In fact you can run, rollerblade, bike, scooter or wheelchair. You can take a dog and/or as many helpers as you like. The support vehicles can be next to you. In fact you wouldn't want to be going against the flow as 2,000 people travel towards Budapest. Accommodation with food is laid on each day. The aid stations may or may not have wine! The locals lined the streets of the villages and brought baked goods and wine for the participants. The finish of the race was in Heroes Square in the centre of Budapest on October 23rd thr 50 year celebration of the Hungarian Revolution. This year the weather was a warm 20-25 degrees. Beautiful running weather.
50 people did the solo. 7 1/2 marathons in 5 days! The winning team avarage just under 20KPH. I am amazed at the fitness of these Hungarian runners.
If any one is interested in a challenge next year in Europe I would be very willing to talk about the trip.

More photos here.

Tim Lepard