Eight years ago, he finished his first run ever: the Lenzburger Lauf. As a small, local event, there he could experience for the first time the atmosphere at such an event, how the crowd was cheering, how the runners all stand in one line at the start, how it feels competing at going over this Finish line.  As an absolute beginner, he had no target or strategy at all. Indeed, he just wanted to give his best he had. So he also got to know the joy of reward for the first time, with a third place in the junior category (giving the fact, that there were only three people in this age category), standing there on the podium and receiving a voucher. Naturally, you cannot compare teenager from then to the grown young men from now. But still, how should this 17year-old boy from then have known what happened until eight years later, when he returned? Who even could have enough imagination if you told them?

When I came back this weekend, nothing seems to have changed. Still, it was a small local event, with a kids run for the school classes and a military run. Also, the place, route, and specialties of this event remained the same. Even the more extremely I felt how I developed since then. Not only in an athletic point of view, also in means of career progression, a switch of interests and place of residences. As I run it without preparation (only for the joy), I had no special target at all. My only ambitions were, again, to stand on this podium. Or maybe, even win it, if there was nobody going faster (as I gained more experience in this year, as a frontrunner). The joy of winning was unfortunately denied because there was the fast Ethiopian Guta Fikra going into the lead for the last two kilometers. Nevertheless, finishing here second overall I could not have imagined in my most fantastic dreams seven years ago.

Right now it seems normal to me. Things can change fast. I need to be grounded, because...

things can change fast. We all need to stay grounded and enjoy what we can do now. Time passes by so fast and nobody likes to regret.

Newspaper article from the Aargauer Zeitung. The reporter actually has been my coach in primary school. He founded the floorball club Lok Reinach and run the Jungfrau Marathon which I will visit this year as a spectator.