7th stage – St Vigil – Niederdorf 42.2km - Marathon anyone?

8:25.59hr (38)

I feel alive with joy today. 

Mad keen to run. Inspired to fly through the forest start. Skipping over tree roots. Passing stray cows and supporters at speed.

We hit V1 in time to see Schnitzel! Don't know who was more surprised!

But something is up. 

My Team Leader, my train, lagging in the woods is in pain as the climbs begin. 

Intestinal problems have had him struggling from the off. He soldiers on but it’s not fun for him just now. There is a mention of throwing his pack off the mountain .. 

As the ascent continues he works the climb well as I drop take happy snaps and suck up the energy of the world on this mountain top.

I then have to run to catch up! Sick but not down. Well done, bubby!

Wondrously, as we peaked at 2380 metres, my boy also clicks into the joy of the stage. 

Was the steeply chained-for-safety descent? The jaw-dropping 360 degree Dolomiti panorama? A lake to drool for? Or just the joy of skipping down the mountain again?

All I know is .. yay my hero is back! 

Smiling with joy .. a view to bring tears.

V2 is set on the most gloriously clear, glacier lake I have ever seen. 

Wooden row boats glide on the mirror calm water. 

Day-trippers fill our path. Luckily happy to jump out of the way of the crazy girl running along humming.

Climbing again ..

Flying down gravel to V3 .. pixies!

Up over and down the face of the mountain. All those desert runs and precariously sliding jebel faces have me SO ready to fly down to V3 today and the joy of being home free.

It's unstable under foot but I love it. No Snoopy here! The zig-zaggingly slippery steepness holds no fear. Go go go! We can almost taste the soup now .. 

Into V3 an hour under cut off. Across the mat. Beep! Joy bubbles up. 

This is the crunch cut-off for the race and we have done it! 

A chat from Wolfie (Mr Race) to Team Australia, as we are largely known, is great. He is thrilled we had stopped to take in the views .. even stopping on a bench to just stare at the lake .. to miss that and you have missed the point.

We are running, seeing, loving, fearing, rushing, stopping, crying, absorbing these Alps.

Thank you for the pleasure, sir. How can we not be back?

Who has come to greet us home?

Susanna Corsini-Mather!!

Sun-shiningly fabulous finish. Friends to greet us in. New and old. Today we have done it. Tomorrow left to run but the strongly satisfying feeling that Stage 8 will be a formality and we can almost feel those finisher tee's on our backs ..

Link to today's stage on YouTube