König Ludwig Lauf in 2008

February 3, 2008

Finish in OberammergauWarm temperatures and a lack of new snowfall for several days prior to this year’s König Ludwig Lauf created a difficult situation for the race organizers. With considerable effort they were able to hold all of the scheduled events. The course began at the usual starting point in Ettal with a 20k loop and ended with the trail into the normal finish point in Oberammergau. The short distance totaled 21k while the long distance comprised 2 loops for a total of 42k.

6-8 cm of fresh, wet snow arrived early Saturday morning before the start of the freestyle events. Skies remained cloudy most of the day with the temperature ranging from 0 to +2C. The trail surface varied from hard and icy in some places to soft and sugary in other areas, where skis ploughed through about 10cm of loose snow. The 42k and 21k events started simultaneously resulting in some traffic problems for the first 5k. The winner’s time for 42k was 1:38:36 for men, 1:54:28 for women. 653 skiers completed the 42k, 500 completed the 21k.

Competition to the endSome results of IAWLS members.

For the 42 km free technique:

For the 21 km free technique:

Classical finishThe skies cleared late Saturday and the temperature dropped to -10C overnight. Sunday was a beautiful, sunny day with no wind until after 11AM. The classic tracks were firm and icy at the start and held up well as the temperature rose to about +2C by noon. This time the 42k started at 9AM, the 21k at 1PM. Again the lack of a wave start caused some crowding for the first few kilometers. There were a few mass crashes on the first icy downhill in the woods. By the second loop skiers had separated enough to prevent any repetition of the problem. 1237 skiers finished the 42k, 503 completed the 21k. Winner’s time in the 42k was 1:32:03 for men, 1:44:26 for women.

Some results of IAWLS members.

For the 42 km classic technique:

For the 21 km classic technique:

 

This page was last revised on March 1, 2008