It was a specific bucket list race for me. Seven years ago I ended my last triathlon in Roth. The Xterra get-together in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic was my coming back to competitive bathing, off-road biking and jogging.

Doing all the sports I love in one competition was intended to be a petite highpoint of my season. Succeeding a sweltering and lengthy Tour de Mont Blanc hiking outing with a friend, the race in Prachatice was a very good reason to travel to the Czech Republic go camping and stay active.

The day before the race I started to feel a bit vile. I got a head cold, felt drained and went to bed at 9pm. When I woke up 12 hours later I still felt like sXXX. The race started at 1pm so I had enough time to relax even more. I fell asleep again but the excitement to race woke me up 2 hours later. The very appealing old-school attitude that was surrounding this race paid into my conditions. I rushed to prepare my transition areas, got a bite to eat, had the chance to swiftly catch up with my club pals as well as Gines and made the start line on the shores of lake Køišanovický just on time for the Czech national anthem.

Then it was a go. I entirely was unable to picture how it feels to swim in a triathlon field. A quality group of racers anticipated a worthy fistfight that finished just soon after the first buoy. I never was able to catch a bigger group and just started to find a good pair of legs in the second loop. Even with a head cold swimming flew by and I arrived in the transition zone with the first females.

On the bike course it was just pure roughness. Virtuous trails were running around the local woodland. Step climbs and techy downhill’s. Such a great and reckless course. I entirely loved it. Only on the uphill, were I needed to push, I felt weak and flat. My pulse never went up and the high temperatures did not really help with my aching head. I decided to stop at T2 in the centre of Prachatice. As I race the Breca SwimRun this coming Saturday it was the only choice. The run would have totally bashed me out.

However this race is totally recommendable. A very good and authentic course with a splendid atmosphere amongst the racers. This course provides authentic and real triathlon style. A very good promotion for the sport! I definitely try to come back.