Die Deutschlandstaffel braucht Euch wieder...

Two years after the successfull finish of the first Deutschlandstaffel it's time again to start such a challenging event. This relay event will last 14 days and cover 3600 km. I will run a part in Mecklenburg and help recruiting runners.

So, click and take part!!!

Germany on its way...

8 more matches to watch and then the World Cup is already history. 3 of the matches are hopefully for the German team. Now it's already amazing what's going on here, an amazing athmosphere and enthusiasm within the people that I have seen last time more than 16 years ago during the times of the German reunion.

The central World Cup festivities in Mannheim are at the Wasserturm just a hundred meters away from my apartment. So even if I wouldn't watch a match, I would know who has won by the cars and flags passing by.

The picture below I took some days ago, the area is beautifully illuminated at night.



What's going on apart from the World Cup? Well, currently my parents are here for a visit. We'll drive home tomorrow to Mecklenburg, where I'll spend a weekend and run the famous 5 lake run (www.fuenf-seen-lauf.de).

Moreover I have been hiking, biking, swimming, running and canoeing over the last weekends. My apartment has been decorated with curtains and my cousin Lothar and me build a nice loft bed. Maybe more of that later. But nothing promised. Work, weather, world cup, triathlon training and friends are taking most of my time.

Biathlon Victory!!!

Robert and me yesterday participated in the first Piesbach Bi(o)athlon, a summer biathlon event (3 runnning laps, 2 shooting sessions) which is sponsored and organized by Mathias Paul (Pauls Frischekiste), whose company is farming and selling organic food.


(Robert, Mathias Paul, Jolle)

We competed against 45 other teams and made it to the very top with the best running time and acceptable shooting results. It's the first victory in the still very young history of the All-Stars.

Sailing is...WOW

"Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaming: 'WOW!! What a ride!'"
read in Dean Karnazes: Ultramarathon man: Confessions of an all-night runner (Penguin Books 2005)

The sailing holiday was definitely part of the wow-life.

I got the photos from Clemens. Here are just 2 of them:

The ship on the Mediterranean Sea. The photo is taken from a small rubber dinghy, with which we had a lot of fun out there. ;)



The crew on one of the last evenings out on the Sea.

Happy Easter!

My comany ski trip to Austria was the same cool event as last year and I am already eagerly looking forward to next year. ;)

I'm a bit in a hurry, as I'll leave to Croatia in some minutes to go sailing with friends. We'll travel the Croation and Italian coast for 10 days and will hopefully reach Venice from the seaside.

More of that when I return. Happy Easter, my friends!

Spring arrives...

Finally, spring is coming to Mannheim. Today I planted some flowers on my balcony and it's warm enough to sit outside. So it's almost time to say goodbye to the winter, but not yet!

I'll go sking on Thursday with the company. I have been skiing this year several times alrady. The best time we had 2 weeks ago in Austria, powder snow several meters deep, a dream.

In April I will go sailing in Croatia and Italy with friends, that's for sure now and I'm really looking forward to that.

So be greeted from Mannheim with some flowers from my balcony:

What's up!

Wow! Time is running. Another months has passed without an entry here. ;)

But it's mainly due to a lot of activities in my spare time. I have been skiing in the French Vosges some weeks ago, and went out a lot.

This weekend I have been in Cologne for carneval and near Frankfurt for a friend's party. Today I just relaxed in front of tv for the last day of the Olympics.

Currently the Mannheim Eagles are playing in the final for the German ice-hockey cup, so I'll better return and follow the match.

Another year in paradise :)

We're quite some days into the new year already, so I guess most of you are back in daily routine by now.

For me it is true, I am back at work in Mannheim and moreover try to avoid extensive weekend traveling like last year. I want to spend more time here enjoying my flat, go runnning, cycling and swimming as well as going out with friends. Moreover I have time to go skiing from time to time.

Coming Saturday I'll have my first race in 2006, a 50 km run in Rodgau (near Frankfurt/Main). I hope it'll not be too cold. The last training on Monday evening has been quite fresh with less than -10°C. Luckily I can always enjoy a hot tub at home. :)



(The above winter running picture is from a trail ultra marathon in Luxemburg which I ran last November.)

Now, that I'll be home more often, I also hope some of you find the way to Mannheim, as some already did. It's not that difficult, as Mannheim is very good connected by road and rail.

Have a nice winter time, Jolle!

Merry Christmas

Well, my last working day for 2005 is over, tomorrow moring I'll leave Mannheim to drive home to Mecklenburg and visit my family for Christmas. Luckily 2 friends from home will accompany me, so the long car drive won't get boring.

Around New Year I'll be in Utrecht (NED) visiting friends before going back to Mannheim on 2nd January. My work will start again on 9th, so I'll have some time for friends, my flat and maybe a short ski trip, I'll see.

As a Christmas present ;) I have finally finished the report about my first long distance triathlon. Get the PDF-File here. Moreover I have already registered for next year's race in August.

I wish everybody a joyfull Christmas time as well as a smooth slide into 2006. CU then! ;)

Christmas is coming near...

Christmas is approching fast, so it's time again to stroll over beautiful Christmas markets, drink a lot of mulled wine, break your head on gifts for the family and organize all the visits of friends and family between Holy Eve and New Year.

Moreover it's time to plan next year's events, especially the runs I want to take part, as many of them are booked out fast or the starting fee significantly increases at the end of the year. Right now I've considered several marathons (Weinstrasse and Leipzig in April, Mannheim in May) and ultramarathons (Rodgau in Jan, Baerenfels in July) as well as shorter distances (Schwerin in July, Lichtenwald in April etc.). Moreover I have registered again for the Ostseeman triathlon in August and will probably start in Ladenburg again as a test race. But except the big marathons and the Ostseeman nothing is fixed yet, so I may modify the plan as I feel. ;)



Above you can see my garland of evergreens with four candles for the Sundays in Advent, a German tradition. I will drive home on 23rd and stay in Schwerin until the 30th before visiting a friend in the Netherlands (Utrecht).

So, you're almost up-to-date right now. Just one more thing, I'll visit my granny in Thuringia and run a hilly marathon in a disused salt mine on Saturday morning. Temperatures of 27°C on a December day have simply been to tempting for me to resist the challenge. ;)