Innsbruckathlon - Beat the City Final 2023

Like the Linz and Grazathlon, the Innsbruckathlon - Beat the City Final 2023 wanted to bring us to our knees. But we conquered this city too. 

The Innsbruckathlon was the last race in an amazing Beat the City series. Just like last year, it was the highlight of the three races for me. I think Innsbruck is just beautiful, the old town, the fantastic mountain panorama - everything is just right here. In this post, I'll tell you how we felt on this run and whether we managed to do everything.

Directions to the Innsbruckathlon

By car

In 2022, we travelled to Innsbruck by car. A much more relaxed way to get to the Beat the City event from the passenger's perspective. Not quite as much fun as a driver, as on the one hand it is exhausting to complete an obstacle course after a long journey and on the other hand you have to plan a few breaks on the journey home, which takes around 3 hours, as was the case with us.

About the A8, A93 and Inntal motorway/E45/E60 until Amraser-See-Straße/B174 in Innsbruck follow on Inntal motorway/E45/E60 Exit Innsbruck-East take. It is then only a short distance to Gigasport, where you can pick up your race number straight away. From here it is about 3 kilometres to the centre.

By public transport

A 3-hour train journey awaited us here this year and, due to our choice of connection, we also had to change trains. Once you arrive at Innsbruck main station, you still have to pick up your race number. If you are staying overnight, it might be a good idea to drop your bags off at your hotel beforehand. Now it's about 15 minutes and 10 stops in the direction of Gigasport. Get off at the „Innsbruck St. Pirmin/Volkshaus“ stop and walk for about half a kilometre. Now you have your start number, you can continue. Off to the next tram, 12 stops and a short walk later, you have finally reached your destination.

I'm a big fan of travelling by public transport. It's a cosy journey for everyone involved, you can talk to each other and everyone arrives at the run in good shape. The only disadvantage is that there can be a time crunch when you get there. A little tip from me: plan everything well and start your journey soon enough. 

Organisational matters at the Innsbruckathlon - Beat the City Final 2023

Overall, everything was very well organised. The start times and starting groups were great, the obstacles were well spaced and the order was well thought out. The lab stations also provided refreshments and there were plenty of toilets. A small highlight for me was the engraving of the medal - you can't miss it right after crossing the finish line.

The start number issue

A small minus point for me here. Although everything was super organised and structured, for me personally it was too far out of the city. Travelling by public transport in particular is very time-consuming and you get a bit stressed if you arrive on the day of the race. In Linz and Graz, the race number collection point was relatively central and easy to reach, which made the whole thing a lot easier. In Innsbruck, you have to walk quite a long way to the Gigasport. No problem at all by car, but rather problematic by public transport. Arrive soon enough, store your suitcases in the hotel if possible and get to Gigasport as quickly as possible.

Procedure & obstacles

The procedure is similar for every Beat the Ciy run. At the Innsbruckathlon, too, you first collect your race number and chip, where the start time is noted again. Then you get changed and take the rest of your luggage to the cloakroom - where everything normally runs smoothly. Put on the wristband with the chip and your race number and then it's just a case of waiting for your block to come round. Off to the start and off you go with a group of 60 - 80 participants.

The obstacles at the Innsbruckathlon - Beat the City Final 2023 

There were 22 obstacles over about 11.5 kilometres. I'm not going to list them all here - it should still be a little surprise for you. But I would like to mention my small highlights. So if you want to throw yourself completely into the deep end in 2024, then scroll on to the summary. For everyone else who is eagerly awaiting a few impressions, here are my top 5.

5th place: Under Armour Bagjump

For many, not spectacular at all and perhaps even a little boring. For me, it's always a bit of a challenge. Heights aren't exactly my strong point and jumping down even less so - so it's a moment of relief and I'm always a little proud of myself.

4th place Power Ropes

One of the most strenuous obstacles. About 10 ropes that you have to shimmy to the other end. No matter where this task comes, it will always destroy me - but I've mastered it on every run so far.

3rd place Tiroler Wand or The Pipe

A wall about 3 metres high that has to be conquered. You feel like you're on Ninja Warrior and want to get up there at all costs and press the buzzer. I've already run completely against it, slipped, made it with help and also without. This obstacle is always a surprise for me, I can never tell you how it will turn out for me or the pipe.

Place 2nd wall 4 Panier

It's a hot love affair. 2 smaller walls and 2 large ones - you have to climb over them, crawl under a net in the sand and over again. The first time I did it alone at the Innsbruckathlon. Admittedly, with a little trick between 2 wooden slats there was a narrow gap, which I used to help with the big walls. But done is done😜. 

1st place: Monkey Island

It had been our goal to complete this challenge since the first run. Eli managed it on his second attempt, if I'm not mistaken. For me, on the other hand, it took a whole 5 attempts before I finally managed it and as you can see from the photo, I gave it my all and really deserved it. 

Here is our Instagram reel with lots of great impressions:

 

 

 

 

 

 

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My summary of the Innsbruckathlon, the Beat the City final race 2023

The Innsbruckathlon, the grand finale and my highlight. I have to say that Graz was also a fantastic experience, but like Linz, it can't compete with this incredibly beautiful city. The layout of the obstacles was by far the best compared to the other two. The atmosphere during the run was so motivating and afterwards you really got into party mode and wanted to celebrate your success. Apart from the bib number distribution, which could be moved to a more central location, it was a perfect event. If everything goes well, there will even be another one next year, in Vienna. I wonder if I would like to do all 4 again this time - definitely. Whether I'm motivated enough to train for it - that's still up in the air. So stay tuned to see if there will be a Beat the City quartet contribution from me next year😉.

[ngg src=“galleries“ ids=“60″ display=“basic_thumbnail“ thumbnail_crop=“0″]If you've now got a real taste for the Beat the City runs and want to find out more about them, then you really must read the article about the GRAWE Grazathlon 2023 view.