stations , but no support between them on the rugged route .
I realised I would need to shake things up with my training and put in some time climbing steeper trails than usual . Jenny Houston , my running coach , set up a training schedule , and off I went . Getting in five runs a week meant super early mornings on the road weekdays , and a long run on Table Mountain on weekends . I got to know the east face of the mountain well , but I seldom managed to get to more than 1 500m of elevation in a single run . After 102 training runs , 1 100km and 15 000m of elevation from January to end June , I was ready to head to Switzerland and give the Verbier Marathon a go .
DELAYED BY THE WEATHER The race was scheduled for Saturday 6 July but I landed in Geneva on the Friday to be met with an email telling me the event had been postponed . With heavy showers forecast for Saturday , and the Val de Bagne already inaccessible due to torrential lava flow earlier in the week , the organisers had shifted the marathon to the Sunday . The “ good ” news was an altered route of 38km with slightly less elevation gain at just 2 500m . Luckily I ’ d planned on staying an extra night after the race , so was able to accommodate the new schedule .
Registration in Verbier was a rather interesting experience . I have never received a block of local cheese in a goodie-bag before , but it seemed appropriate given the location . It does makes me wonder what I would get if I run a marathon in Mexico , though .
I was staying in Verbier , so on race day I had to take the cable car down into the valley , and then up the other side to Bruson . It was cloudy and cold , and we were asked to take packs fully
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