A run that moves many legs, but also hearts

2023-08-11 01:30:02

“We had hoped that our idea would be well received. But we never expected such a big response,” says Hermann Puchberger, chairman of the Sport-Union St. Thomas am Flaschenstein about the bladder stone trail, which will be held on October 8th this year is discharged.

Although the run only celebrated its premiere last year, it already enjoys cult status – far beyond the borders of St. Thomas. Almost two months before the date of the event, the maximum starting capacity of 500 people is almost exhausted. And that at a time when numerous running events in the country are suffering from declining numbers of starters. “We were still busy dismantling the first run when sponsors already told us that they would definitely like to be there again next year. Participants and helpers also gave us so much positive feedback that we didn’t have to think twice whether there could also be a bladder stone trail in 2023,” says Nadja Winkler, who “invented” the run with her partner Bernd Grufeneder.

The two are parents to a boy who, at the age of four, fell ill with dermatomyositis, a permanent inflammation of the muscles. Since this is extremely rare in children, there are hardly any competent institutions that can offer help for those affected. In Austria, families with children suffering from chronic rheumatism have therefore founded the “Rheumalis” association, which tries to organize therapy weeks with medical experts from Germany with benefit events. The 10,000 euros that the Perlenstein Trail brought in last year were put to good use here. “The idea, organization and implementation of this sporting event were just brilliant,” says Rheumalis chairman Karin Formanek.

So the bar is set high for this year’s Bubble Stone Trail. The motivation to set up a really cool sporting event in October is correspondingly high. “We left the route of five and twelve kilometers unchanged,” says Hermann Puchberger. Instead of the relay, there will be a three-person team ranking this year, and the aim is to motivate more talented runners aged ten to 15 to start in the youth run. A bubble stone trail challenge cup awaits the largest participating group.

Bladder Stone Trail, St. Thomas am Bladder Stone, October 8, 2023, 2 p.m. Registrations at www.blasenstein-trail.at