Chris Zehetleitner's Blog, page 4

Der Immer Gleiche Berg (#135)

Warum sollte man immer den gleichen Berg hochlaufen, wenn man im Bergparadies wohnt? Findet es heraus.

LINKS ZUR FOLGE

Passender Das Z Letter

On Repeat: RISE AGAINST - Ricochet

“On Repeat” Spotify Playlist (mit allen Musik-Tipps der letzten Wochen)

Sprachnachricht cool? Dann gib mir einen Ko-Fi aus!

Die Das Z - Sprachnachricht ist kein Lauf-Podcast von Chris Z, dem Gründer der Laufsportmarke Willpower und Autor der Bücher Runhundred und Hundert-Meilen-Herz.

The Same Old Mountain

Inspired by a brief conversation with my friend while we were climbing “that one” mountain together a couple of days ago.

More Mountains Than I Can Count — But I Always Run This One

I live in a mountain paradise.

Snow-capped giants, picturesque valleys, and winding ridgelines. This is a place where the dreams of trail runners and mountaineers come true. There are more peaks here than I could ever hope to climb. Yet, week after week, I run up the same mountain. Always the same one.

The way up there...

Die Ruhe Nach Dem Sturm (#134)

Lange nix gehört, wa? In dieser Sprachnachricht gibts ein kurzes Lebens- und Lauf-Update und ich versuche den leeren Raum zu beschreiben in dem ich mich seit dem ZUT befinde.

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Mehr oder weniger passender Das Z Letter

On Repeat: BIOHAZARD - After Forever (Black Sabbath Cover)

“On Repeat” Spotify Playlist (mit allen Musik-Tipps der letzten Wochen)

Sprachnachricht cool? Dann gib mir einen Ko-Fi aus!

Die Das Z - Sprachnachricht ist kein Lauf-Podcast von Chris Z, dem Gründer der Laufsportmar...

The Calm After the Storm

I’ll be honest.

I don’t really know where I stand right now as a runner.

After the Zugspitz Ultratrail (ZUT), taking a break wasn’t just the right decision — it was necessary. My body was exhausted. My knee needed time to finally heal. And my mind? It wasn't until everything went quiet that I realized how much this race had demanded of me.

So, I stopped. Fully. Two weeks of complete rest. After that, I handed over all responsibility to my physiotherapist and let her manage... everything. She approa...

All My Running Heroes Are Dead

The Empty Pedestal

Recently, Benni and Christian discussed heroes and role models in running on the Trailfunk podcast. It got me thinking.

I don’t have any running heroes. None.

Realizing this felt strangely liberating, but also slightly sad.

(Photo by Manuel Peric)

Of course, there are athletes whose achievements impress me greatly. I’ve seen feats on the track, trails, and roads that leave me in deep awe. But despite all of that, I don’t want to be any of them. I don’t aspire to follow in their ...

[+] Running Into Myself

[Lese diesen Artikel auf Deutsch]

Depth Over Distance

There’s a difference between movement and meaning.

The world often applauds the runner who covers the most ground, reaches the highest summit, finishes the race in the best time. Broad and visible.

But I don't want wide. I want deep.

I’m not running to conquer something external. I’m running to surrender to the inside. The habitat that strips me down until all that remains is unedited honesty.

(Photo by Nils Laengner)Don’t Take Me Somewhere – Take ...

[+] Nach Innen Laufen

[Read this article in English]

Bewegung ist nicht gleich Bedeutung

Die Welt feiert Läufer:innen, die weite Strecken zurücklegen, Gipfel erklimmen, Rekorde brechen. Laut, sichtbar, beeindruckend.

Aber ich suche nicht die Weite. Ich suche die Tiefe.

Ich laufe nicht, um etwas im Außen zu erobern. Ich laufe, um mich im Inneren zu verlieren. Um das Terrain in mir zu betreten, das mich Schicht für Schicht freilegt, bis nur noch rohe, ungefilterte Ehrlichkeit übrig bleibt.

(Foto von Nils Laengner)Nicht irge...

Run Till Death

(Photo by Stephan Wieser)

In a world obsessed with speed and quick wins, we chose a different path. Not the loudest. Not the easiest. But the most lasting one.

We run for life.
We run till death.

It’s the most remembered line in the Willpower1 universe. A simple phrase — but for many of us, it carries more weight than entire books. It speaks to the decision to stay with something for the long haul. To build a life around motion, self-exploration, care, and the freedom that running can bring — not ju...

Running Beyond My Physical Limits

We should all take more breaks from running.

The depth and accuracy of self-reflection when we're not running is incomparable. When we're training or racing, we're in a constant state of euphoria. It's almost like a trip. It's so intense that we often disconnect from ourselves. A break from running forces us to look back and look inside. That's exactly where I am right now.

Here’s what I found so far.

I ran beyond my means.

I think I know the various factors that ultimately led to the irritation in...

The Ultra Rite

It's been quite a while since I teamed up with Stephan Wieser and Valentin Rapp to work on a Willpower Running film project. The results of our previous collaborations have always had a lasting impact on many people, and that's exactly what we want to achieve with our new joint film, The Ultra Rite.

The film tells the stories of four Willpower Athletes at the Zugspitz Ultratrail (ZUT) who couldn't be more different. David Rott, Henning Lenertz, Benni Fuchs, and I all started the race for differen...