Thursday, March 14, 2013

2013 www.RedBullxAlps.com route released


I had the pleasure to be in Salzburg at Hangar 7 for the 2013 www.RedBullxAlps.com official route release.
Wow, 1031 km as the crow flies and going across a lot of very high alpine terrain. No doubt that this year will be for sure a big challenge and I am sure a very interesting race.

Start: Salzburg
1. Gaisberg 1,287m
2. Dachstein 2,995m
3. Wildkogel, 2,224m
4. Zugspitze / Garmisch-Partenkirchen 2,962m
5. Ortler / Sulden 1,906m
6. Interlaken 568m
7. Matterhorn 4,478m
8. Mont Blanc 4,810m
9. Saint Hilaire 995m
10. Peille 600m
Finish: Monaco

Thanks again to Hannes and Flo to put on this amazing day.

Here is a video from Mik about of Hangar 7 and the DC6 flight.


Red Bull Douglas DC-6B flight from Mik Broschart on Vimeo.







Friday, March 8, 2013

Wonder why we are participating in the xAlps again, for the 4th time?

xAlps2013logoThis question is very often asked to us, and my answer, in short, is "we have not learnt how to do it right yet and therefore we have to do it again!”. Well, that is one answer, but not quite true. We also say it is the adventure and experience, which is one of the reasons, but there is more behind it than just the adventure and experience. If we look back at how our lives were before the xAlps and how it is now, it shows that the xAlps have had an impact on our lives way more than we ever expected the race would when we first started.
Penny and Max during the raceFirstly, we have learned about the Alps and know more about the geography and history of these mountains than prior to the race, and we have learned a lot about our bodies and minds, and know ourselves way better than ever before. But the most rewarding result I got out of the xAlps it is to see and realize how lucky I am to be with my supporter, best friend, and the mother of my kids. The xAlps are a serious “relationship checker” and it will bring out and show how well your team leadership skills are (on both ends),  how your self discipline is, how you respect and trust each other and how important it is to accept things for what they are and accept people too, for who they are. This is all something we kind of know, but these fundamentals can get forgotten very fast when you are in a 2 week long race , extremely exhausted and when things are not always going the way you want it to go. Penny and I learned how lucky we are to be able to have so much fun with the race and everything that comes along with it. Even though we, and everyone else racing the xAlps, have a lot of stress factors against us, such as the race itself, the time to prepare, work itself, the financial burden of the race, lost income, the training, sacrificing time with the family and the interference of our regular family life.
284610_10150249414118541_53649398540_7627945_6343152_n Now how can we still do this and still be fun? It all comes all down to the very basic fundamentals of life, such as trust, respect, the right attitude and self discipline. Once all this is in place, one needs to deal with his ego and has to simply learn to accept other people and situations as they are and make the best out of any situation. Obeying these fundamentals helps make what one would consider the impossible, possible, and makes a race like the xAlps fun. Everything I feel and have written about, does not just have to apply to the xAlps, it will work for everyones personal life, relationship or family, for any sport, in the workplace, work career and  leadership. What we really enjoy and what has impacted our lives, through our participation in the xAlps, is that we really enjoy sharing and influencing others with our stories and experiences. We have done, and continue to do, a lot of "motivational/educational" presentations and leadership training in schools, to Rotary clubs and Corporations (mostly oil companies), for entertainment and also to educate them how much fun and mileage you can achieve with the right attitude. Do not just sit and wait ... take it to the Max