Have you ever tried to run a “full throttle” 400 m? It’s bloody difficult. But…what if your quarter mile race included a sensible climb? Let’s say something like 37° of maximum slope. Let’s say half on slippery grass and half on the glassy concrete of a…Ski Jump! Pretty weird, isn’t it? Well, this is the “Red Bull 400”, a race held in Tauplitz/Bad Mitterndorf’s Ski Jumping facility.

With an average gradient of 45% and a nickname of “Highway to Hell” given by the athletes, this is probably the most difficult 400 m race in the World! Take a look at the video: aren’t you curious to give it a try?

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We could organize a bus for next year’s race! Take a look at the official website, it’s an interesting collection of news and articles (they discuss, for example, the difficult choice of the right shoes for this strange competition). Just to let you know, the 2011 winner was the “Turkish chamois” Ahmed Arslan, with a time of 5’04″58. Keep on running, people!

• Runner’s performance evaluation – Part 1: the VO2max.
• Runner’s performance evaluation – Part 2: Carbs, Fats and Proteins as Energy for living.
• Runner’s performance evaluation – Part 3: Energy expenditure during running.
• Motivation for training: two inspirational speeches by John Doman.
• A pseudo-“Conconi test” to predict the anaerobic threshold
• Running at 4000 m: the hypoxic chamber
• My 2011 in numbers – Happy new year!
• Omni-Lite ceramic track spikes

• BIG 25 Berlin 2012: a new World Record!
• The hardest 400 m of the World: the “Red Bull 400”
• Trail running in the dark: 4^ Notturna di Sant’Antonio – Miane (TV), Italy
• Talkin’ blues: when XC meets life. Offene Berlin-Brandenburgische Crossmeisterschaften
• “Non Solo Sport Race” – Padova, 28th August 2011

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