Around 80 runners took part in the newly added 5000-metre race ‘Zofingen5000’ on Saturday, which was blessed with glorious sunshine and perfect temperatures.
The five 1,000-metre laps along General-Guisan-Strasse were lined with numerous spectators on both sides, cheering on the runners with loud shouts. Whether this led to improved performance remains to be seen, but the races were certainly a spectacular way to get in the mood for Sunday’s short and long-distance duathlon races. The proportion of amateur runners was surprisingly high, with some participants simply aiming to finish. Taking part is also very valuable if it lays the foundation for the future.
With a time of just over 20 minutes, Spain’s Marga Llobera Martorell won the women’s race ahead of Switzerland’s Irene Studer in second place. In a similar fashion, Stefan Ulrich from Regensdorf won the men’s race in a fabulous time of 16:40, followed by Stefan Ging in 17:04 and Dominique Gross from Unterentfelden in 18:41, with Stefan Gerber from Muhen narrowly beaten in 18:44. George Weigel, who was also involved in marketing the Zofingen5000, took home the winner’s prize in the U20 category.
Andre Müller from Basel also won the U16 category over 2000 metres in 6:46. He would certainly have finished in one of the top places if he had competed in the men’s 5000 metres. The duathlon races for children and young people, known as POWERPFÜDERIS and POWERKIDS, proved to be a regional talent promotion event as usual.
Mehr Bilder auf: https://www.flickr.com/photos/powerman-zofingen/albums/72177720328855890
Text: Alfred Weigel
Bilder: Alfred Weigel und Manuel Geisser