ODLO supports a number of athletes from around the world.
Come and meet the Run For Your Life team and discover the secret training tips that drive them on.
Tobias Furer is a Swiss national hurdling champion
The Swiss champion for both the 60m indoor and 110m hurdles loves the feeling of speed. “Performing precisely the same action to absolute perfection ten times over and against the clock — that is what makes hurdling so fascinating," he says.
Your Run for Your Life Moment:
My best track running moment was during an indoor 60m hurdles race in January 2011. I was in good shape but my legs felt tired beforehand. My expectations weren’t particularly high. I felt very little pressure. I did my usual preparations – and was rewarded with a personal best! I crossed the finish line with a time I would never even have dreamed of! It just goes to show that you don’t always have to push yourself to the max. Great performances also come from coolness!
Date of birth: 13.08.1987
Weekly km: I’m a sprinter so never do more than a 12 minute warm-up! Stamina makes you slow!
Discipline: Hurdles
Pre-race meal: Familia Champion cereal flakes
Best recovery tip: Eat something substantial, drink a lot and sit or stand in cold saltwater.
Favorite ODLO clothing: Shirt l/s crew neck EVOLUTION WARM
Next goal: Olympic Games 2012, London
Advice: Listen to your body
Motto: Keep your spirits up even when you’re against the clock, against gravity, against the wind and against the competition.
Ingalena Heuck — a German long distance runner.
A former junior cross-country champion, she competes in 5km, 10km and the half marathon. “To be competitive I have to give my best in every part of my life,” she says. “I am afraid of nothing.”
Your Run for Your Life Moment:
"Last winter I had one particularly beautiful experience. On a bright day, I was running towards Nymphenburger Park, with the sun right in front of me. The treetops were covered in snow and everything was glistening. With the sinking sun, the light conditions changed and it got darker with every minute. I felt like I was floating, incredibly fast and light. It’s experiences like these that stay with you."
Date of Birth: 8.9.1986
Weekly km: 100-160km
Discipline: Half marathon
Pre-race meal: Pasta with Scampi, cherry tomatoes and rocket
Best recovery tip: Hot bath with cocoa spice
Favourite ODLO clothing: Vest TRACK
Next goal: To run faster
Advice: Set your own goals
Motto: Move to improve
Sören Ludolph is a German middle distance runner.
Ludolph's greatest triumph was winning the 800m at the 2010 German championships. “I can’t go long without running — it gives me an inner satisfaction,” he says. “My dream is to be successful at the Olympics.”
Your Run For Your Life Moment:
"One of my most memorable moments was winning my first 800m race at the 2010 German Championships in Braunschweig in front of a home crowd. On the home stretch I was running right beside the race favorite and I could feel the audience’s support. It felt as if I was riding on the wave of the their enthusiasm. They literally carried me to victory on the last meters – an unbelievable feeling!"
Date of Birth: 25.2.1988
Weekly km: 60-90km
Discipline: 800m
Pre-race meal: Spaghetti bolognese
Best recovery tip: Lots of sleep and healthy food
Favourite ODLO clothing: Jacket RACE
Next goal: The European Championships in Helsinki and 2012 Olympics in London
Advice: Have fun — it makes it easier.
Motto: Pain’s ok when you’re training
Stefaan Engels — the Marathon Man.
In 2010 Stefaan Engels, AKA the Marathon Man, entered the Guinness Book of Records after running a marathon every day of the year. “I'm privileged that running is my hobby and my work,” says the Belgian. “My dream is to run a fast marathon again.”
Your Run For Your Life Moment:
"On the 5th of February 2011 I ran my last marathon in Barcelona — number 365. Finally, I could rest. No more running. No more getting up. No more suffering. I wasn't euphoric. My project was over, finally. It was a long year — longer and harder than I'd ever imagined. But I did what I set out to do, nothing else had to be done. Mission accomplished."
Date of Birth: 7.4.1961
Weekly km: 88km
Preferred distance: marathon
Pre-race meal: pasta pesto
Best recovery tip: a hammam
Favourite ODLO clothing: Jacket KRYPTON
Next goal: Barcelona marathon
Advice: Believe in yourself
Motto: Make it challenging for yourself and everything will become easy.
Simone Niggli-Luder is a Swiss orienteering athlete...
...who has twice won, in 2003 and 2005, all four women’s competitions at the world champs. “As a mum of three I have to be very organised to be competitive! “But when I’m running I love the feeling of my heart beating and my legs flying in the woods.”
Your Run For Your Life Moment:
"An unforgettable moment was the run-in at the World Championship 2003 in Switzerland. I knew that I was the winner and it was very emotional to run the last meters knowing to be the best. Very special was the fact that it was on my homeground and there were a lot of known people cheering at me."
Date of Birth: 9.1.1978
Weekly km: 60-80km
Discipline: Orienteering
Pre-race meal: Müesli and bread
Best recovery tip: A massage and a Gainomax drink
Favourite ODLO clothing: Tights long RACE
Next goal: OL-WM 2012 in Lausanne
Advice: Just go out and let nature inspire you
Motto: Every step is followed by another one
Rachel Berchtold — a marathon runner.
In the 2010 Zurich marathon she achieved a personal best of 2:47’10 to come fourth. “I run because I love feeling strong – mentally and physically,” she says. “When I run I feel happy and free.”
Your Run For Your Life Moment:
"It was in Boston, USA in the spring of 2008 that I first passed the finish line of a marathon — completely over the moon and full of endorphins! It was a very proud and special feeling to have completed a 42.2km run, starting out at the back of a starting field of 30,000 and pushing forward with every kilometer, overtaking other runners and getting closer to your goal with every step. No wonder this wasn’t my last marathon – but who would have thought that I would cross the finish line of my third marathon as Swiss champion?"
Date of Birth: 29.07.1980
Weekly km: 60-80km
Discipline: Marathon
Pre-race meal: Pasta
Best recovery tip: Travelling
Favourite ODLO clothing: Jacket TRACK
Next goal: EM Qualification Marathon
Advice: If you can dream it you can do it
Motto: Born to Run
Tanja Eberhart — the track athlete and distance runner.
Placed eighth in the 2011 Vienna City Marathon. “When I’m running I feel like I am in my own world,” she says. “I want to show my best performance in competition and achieve my goals.”
Your Run For Your Life Moment:
"My best run was my first marathon in my hometown of Vienna. When I ran the last two kilometers I had the feeling that the whole country was with me. As a result, I felt so powerful and forgot my pain and exhaustion. Even after the finish line, as the next days and weeks followed I felt invincible. It still gives me motivation when I see the video of those last kilometers, it is an unforgettable memory. Pain is temporary, glory is forever."
Date of Birth: 11.12.1989
Weekly km: About 100km
Disciplines: 10km & half-marathon
Pre-race meal: Oat flakes & millet with soy milk or yoghurt and fruit
Best recovery tip: Cold shower, massage
Favourite ODLO clothing: Jacket Hoody VIA SERLAS
Next goal: Vienna City Marathon
Advice: Respect your inner voice
Motto: Pain is temporary, glory is forever
