I thought I've seen it all but I was obviously wrong. Last week I did some posts about stupid sports, really stupid sports that makes no sense and I don't think those are qualified to be called sports but they are. To make things worse, there are even world championships, which means people like them and there's a market for these events.
Today I came across another sport that looks stupid at first glance but if you think a minute, you're going to realize it's not stupid, just extremely dangerous. It's called Downhill Running Race, the last one took place in Austria not long ago.
Runners will be launching themselves down near-vertical gradients in a race on one of the world’s most notorious ski slopes. Returning for a second year, the inov-8 Descent Race on the Hahnenkamm mountain in Kitzbuhel, Austria, is being staged on Saturday October 5.
Revered amongst downhill skiers on the world cup circuit, the Hahnenkamm, which steepens to a gradient of 80%, will provide runners with a great opportunity to test their bravery. source
Here's a photo for you to see what this sport is about. The race takes place at a 350m long slalom-style course which steepens to a gradient of 80%. If you think of it, it's difficult enough skying, let alone running down such a course. You have to know the course or have plenty of experience on similar courses if you want to get to the finish line safe. Plus you need to know your body and capability very well. This is an exercise that requires strong muscles and healthy knees.
As I said, it looks stupid at first glance because it's very dangerous. If you give if a chance you'll see the point. If you live in a city and you're satisfied with what the concrete world has to offer, then you don't need this ever. However, if you like hiking, Nordic walking or just go walking in the woods, this can come in handy one day. Knowing how to behave in nature, what to do in certain situations can save your life.
The participants are not starting in the same time, there's a delay of 30 seconds between each individual start. Each runner will get two attempts, their times are added together and that's how the final result is decided. Last year's records are 54:65secs and 1min 22:18secs held by Daniel Hauser and Lisa Kroll. The winners (both men and women) can take home a prize of €300. Austrian sky courses are only used during winter I believe, so this is a good way to attract some extreme sports fan and use the place outside the usual sky season.
It's an extremely difficult task and the risk of being injured is very high. Watch the video uploaded by Reuters Top News on Twitter to see how some of the participants are cooping with the task. Some fell and I bet it's not pleasant.
This is a sport that is definitely not for me, unless I have a chance to be born again and train for it properly. It may come in handy when trying to escape bear attack. I'm not sure I would be successful as bears are fast and contrary to what is believed, that bears can't run downhill, they can, unfortunately. But if you can too, you may have a chance to escape.
What about you? Do you think this is stupid?