We Did a "Non-Competitive" 45km Hike and Somehow Still Suffered
Every year some poor soul organizes a hiking event and puts the word “Marathon” in the title without checking who’s on the starting list. This year that soul was Schwarzwaldverein Engen/Hegau e.V., and the poor souls on the starting list were us: a small delegation of DAV Gogginsingen, a club whose entire personality is built around treating “recreational” as a slur. 45 kilometers, 7:30 am to 9 pm latest, advertised pace 4–5 km/h, advertised character “non-competitive.” We read “non-competitive” the way we read every warning label: as a suggestion aimed at other people. ...