Image: (OÖN)
Since it was not always possible for him to follow the course of the border directly, the actual 2,706 kilometers on the border ultimately became 3,172 kilometers and a total of 150,000 meters in altitude. The 44-year-old ran an average of around 45 kilometers every day, more than a marathon distance. There was only one rest day.
“Exhausting and tough”
“I’ve probably asked myself two dozen times why I’m doing this to myself,” Ropin said after crossing the finish line. “It was exhausting and tough. Especially at the beginning in the flat country I thought I could make better progress.” Because it wanted to keep close to the border in the supposedly easy terrain, he was repeatedly confronted with obstacles and thicket. Ultimately, however, the ultra runner from the Bruck-Mürzzuschlag district was not stopped by mosquitoes, nettle forests, streams and ditches, heat waves, heavy rain and minor injuries. “It was exhausting that I had wet feet almost every day.”
From alcoholic to ultra runner
However, giving up was never an issue. “Only those who know their goal will find the way,” said Ropin as his motto. With his project “Rambo Runs Around Austria”, for which he actually gave himself 100 days, he wanted to show “that you can make something else out of your life.” He himself turned his back on his former life as an alcoholic about 16 years ago and started cycling and mountaineering, from which extreme sports developed. “You can live better with sport and I want to show that this can be a way out of the mess.”
A single rest day
Ropin started his adventure on June 1st at 10am in Großgmain. Basically, he managed the route without much logistical support. Once a week he was visited by a supply truck to change clothes, replenish provisions or treat physical injuries. The nights were sometimes spent outdoors with the sleeping bag, sometimes in shelters along the way.
Only on the 24th day did he decide to take a break to attend a celebration for people with disabilities that he once looked after in his job, he reported. At the finish in Großgmain he first greeted his family and friends. Then he wanted to quickly shave off the beard that had grown in the past few weeks.
Source: Nachrichten
