What an amazing event it was. The Challenge Roth 2001 triathlon will stay on people's minds for a long time and for a number of reasons.
First of all it was the 10th anniversary race of Challenge Roth. The Challenge series which emerged after the break up with the IronMan triathlon brand, has so triumphantly survived hard times. The series has now grown to include 13 events all over the world, and there are probably more to come. The 10th anniversary race was the crown for all the hard work that the Walchshöfer Family, their faithful crew of race directors and thousands of volunteers have put into bringing the Challenge name forward over the past years.
Secondly, the race experienced two amazing world records from German triathlete Andreas Raelert and the queen of triathlon from the UK, Chrissie Wellington. Standing on the bleachers with thousands of other spectators and watching these two cross the finish line was absolutely awesome.
Thirdly, the Challenge feeling gets under your skin. It makes you want to be part of it all. It makes you want to cross that finishline. And the urge was so big that I spontaneously formed a relay team (yes, I still have all my senses) with the very talented Timo Reichart from the Designlöwen, who for some reason volunteered to run the marathon, and Gerry Kiener, the Austrian triathlete from Triathlon Team Zugspitz Arena who is going to fly over these 180 km of cycling. So next year I will be a finisher as well, even if it is just going to be after 3,8 km of swimming. I can't wait to run into that stadion with my team mates.
Welcome to the finishline. We are Triathlon!!
