67-year-old Serhii Panchenko from Sumy in the M65 age category won the Monte Rosa WalserWaeg Trail mountain marathon in the Swiss Alps. He covered the 43-kilometer distance with an altitude gain of over 3,100 meters in 9 hours 25 minutes 33 seconds. In the overall standings among more than 1,000 participants from around the world, the athlete took 522nd place.
The athlete shared that at the 18th kilometer of the race, he felt cramps and almost dropped out. However, his condition improved within a minute, so the athlete continued running. In the middle of the route, Serhii lost about 150 positions due to fatigue. Still, in the final segment, he regained more than 60 places. He finished the competition with a victory in his age category.
Serhii Panchenko told his readers on Facebook that he has extensive experience on mountain trails. The athlete writes that he walked with a backpack from Kola to Kamchatka, from the Caucasus to the Urals, from the Pamirs to Taimyr. After the triumph in the Swiss Alps, Panchenko qualified for the unofficial World Trail Championships, which will be held next year.
