SOLA or how I raced from Bern to Zurich

as part of a relay team this weekend. I would like to use that as an excuse for why I haven't blogged in two months. It hurts to write that, I'm so ashamed. I was stuck in this downward spiral of not writing because I hadn't written in so long. But, I'm over that as long as everyone who reads this bares with me while I post my blogs in reverse chronology for the next couple of weeks.

Anyway, back to the "race". From what I understand (still not speaking swiss german so this is gleaned from my listening/comprehension skills). The SOLA is a tradition from the time there was a rivalry between ETH and the university in Bern (probably having to do with who gets to claim Einstein). And there was some kind of race between the two campuses wherein the distance is 116km. So nowadays, the two campuses race each other for 116km around Zurich. And this isn't some wimpy "just for fun" race. Its serious. 800 teams competing in a relay race where everyone's pride is on the line. Here's the map:

And here's my leg:

Pictures to come later. My team was in the top 100, which is a miracle considering how long it took me to do my leg (29 minutes). I was not last, or even second to last, but I was in the bottom 200, so I will be training in the next year....