Munich became part of our itinerary due to the Wings for
Life World Run being scheduled for May 8th 2016. We were going to be
‘in the area anyway’ so it was a no brainer that we had to be there to support the
foundation. How spoilt being in Melbourne one year and Munich the next! The
Wings for Life foundation was created with the purpose of raising vital funds for Spinal
Cord Injury research. Creating the World Run they designed a unique event that not only donate's 100% of funds raised to research (Red Bull, Puma and
Garmin cover the rest of the costs) it is also held at the same time in 32 cities around the world. While our friends ran at 9pm in
Melbourne, we took off at exactly the same time in Munich, being 1pm on a sunny
afternoon. The point of difference doesn’t stop there either; you don’t set out
to run to a finish line. There is a catcher car that gradually increases pace
and catches up to the runners. Once passed you are done! Basically you have no
idea how far you will run for! In 2015 we had organised a big group of friends
to participate in Melbourne with the aim of raising an additional $500 to
donate to a friends son who had recently become a paraplegic.
Running a raffle and selling our specially designed T’shirts
we raised $3500 and were able to up our donation’s for both Jason and the Wings
for Life Foundation. The best bit is that our friends are still talking about
it 18 months later, asking if & where we will be lining up again in 2017.
Getting from Berlin to Munich was a great experience on the
ICE 1589 high speed ‘rocket’ train. 230km/hr top speed was awesome and we
literally watched the scenery wiz by. When planning the trip we hadn’t realized it was just over 6 hours from Berlin to Munich (rookie error!) so by the time we
arrived at our Munich hotel it had been a long day. Arriving into Munich was
fantastic and not only did the attendant get Dickey off the train on the
wheelchair lift with no fuss, he refused to let me drag the bags putting them on the lift and wheeling them all the way to the main concourse for us! We looked up our hotel and discovered it was only three
tram stops away. We can walk that we thought, 65kg of luggage to drag isn’t that
much of a hindrance we thought, especially given I had a free lift down the platform!! Oh how wrong we were. Being from Melbourne
there are trams everywhere and typically stops are not much more than 600m
apart. Not in Munich, they must far less lazy because our short roll
to the hotel turned out to be just on 4.5km on a gradual uphill, with me dragging
the cases behind. Unbeknownst to me Dickey had taken a picture of me loaded up, later posting to Instagram that I was a keeper! Apparently I had proven myself
as a good strong pack horse. Perhaps not always a gracious one though as I am
sure I told him more than once that my legs were getting shorter and my arms
longer with ever new destination we traveled to on this trip!! Both having
backgrounds as endurance athlete’s we agreed this was possibly the least
beneficial race preparation!! 
Checking in to our hotel we were stoked to find it brand
knew, incredibly spacious and with a shower chair resembling a throne. Dickey
was more than chuffed!! We were only in Munich for 2 nights before heading on
down to Verona, Italy. We had both been in Bavaria a few times in our past and
as we reflected on what we had seen and experienced so far we had loads of
positive memories flooding back! The Bavarian's consistently seem so friendly
and fun loving! From our hotel we found a traditional Bistro for dinner,
somehow taking recommendations for German specialties by our fabulous non-English speaking 65 year old waitress in full German dress. We had a blast!
For Wings for Life this year we were on our own and also seemed to be the only Aussies running in Munich! We got done up in our full Aussie kit –
tshirts and fake tattoos and headed off early to the Munich Olympic
Complex. It was remarkable with the stadiums, swimming complex, lakes and
hills. We had read that the first 10km of the run course was within the complex
and now we understood how. The property was huge. There were 1000’s of people around and the sun was
shining. It was the most awesome atmosphere and we were a part of it. We had a
chat and decided to head off separately on the run so I could really challenge myself and
see how far I could make before I was caught by the catcher car. At the start line I found the
21km pacer and with ‘Eye of the Tiger’ blasting and the crowd amped I was suddenly
feeling a bit emotional. If there were 7500 people running in Munich to support
people with Spinal Cord Injuries, how many must there be involved around the world right now? I
was also aware that this was the longest we would be apart for the duration of
our trip and started to worry about how Dickey would handle the heat, if the very worn out gloves would last the distance and that his bad hip would be ok. I
had a moment wondering who I had become and quickly snapped out of it. We are a
strong couple, but at home totally independent. He would, like always be
totally fine without me!
With a roar of the crowd the start siren sounded and we
slowly took off, already sweltering in the sun and the claustrophobic crowd. The run was
incredible following the roads within the stadium past lakes and over lush
green hills. It was so picturesque and I quickly lost all sense of direction as
we wound our way back and forwards. At around the 11km mark the track became an
uphill climb on a gravel road for the next 3 km. I was getting hot and had lost
some pace and all I could think about was how the wheelies would ever manage this
and what the hell the course designer had been thinking when he added this in.
I knew Dickey’s aim was to get to the 10km mark, and all I could hope was that
he hadn’t made it any further and would soon be happily sitting in the shade. As I
ticked off the km’s the temperature continued to rise and after the cold weather
we had come from I was really feeling it. I love to run, but I was definitely
hitting my limits. The thought of why I was running, the thrill of being part
of the World Run in Munich and also the power and skill of the paraplegic I
seemed to be pacing with certainly kept me going. Along the way I had lost the
21km pacer so had no idea how far I was likely to run. I passed the 19km marker I heard some cheering behind me. The catcher car was on its way! Naturally everyone started to pick up
pace and with cheers and smiles the car passed the group I was in and our race was done. I had
covered 19.66km!
An hour later the transport
bus pulled onto the field of the main stadium. Like rockstars we got off to
cheers from the crowd and like a sick joke had to walk our way up the dozens of
stairs to the main concourse. These Germans have a warped sense of humor!!
At
our meeting point Dickey was happily waiting, watching the big screen and the
crowds go by. He had pushed 9.15km and was stoked! He had a little hiccup being
flipped out of his chair by a girl running in front of him at the 5km mark. She
was oblivious to what she’d done, but before he knew it two other participants
had picked him up, had him back in the chair and he was on his way. The best
bit for him was that when he finished it was only 400m back to the main concourse
and the shady tree we had found right in front of the big screen! What an event
it had been for us, and we enjoyed the rest of the afternoon watching the
finishers all over the world, cheering for the Aussies back in Melbourne,
eating ice cream but avoiding the alcohol free beer! When the overall
winner of the 2016 event was caught the crowd erupted and we watched in awe as
the Italian runners official distance was shown as 88.9km!!
With only the night remaining to enjoy Munich and reminisce
on places we’d visited in the past we summonsed the remains of our energy and
adrenaline and with a quick shower headed off to Marienplatz. It was
so great to see it again, enjoy the atmosphere and to see the Glockenspiel again, my favorite ‘big
clock’ in the world! It was right on sunset as we arrived and we were still
high on the excitement of the day. It was all just spectacular! Finding a
Bavarian dining hall for dinner we were contented with food and wine and then headed off to the the Hofbrauhaus that Dickey had enjoyed on his last trip. As our energy
depleted we giggled and laughed all the way back to our hotel. Getting packed up, ready to leave for Verona early the next morning we were excited for our next
chapter in Italy but a little sad we hadn’t allowed more time in Munich. So
full of good memories it had once again delighted us and were so incredibly grateful of the experience we had been a part of!
Munich Sat 7/5 - Mon 9/5
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