Crosslauf Meerhardt Extreme 2020 – Streckenrekord mit Ansage

11te Auflage vom neuen Organisationsteam erfolgreich durchgeführt, „Strecke war nie so schwer wie heute!“

Helpers, tents, equipment and, last but not least, the route and its markings were put to a lot of use – but this did not dampen the good mood in the team or among the starters.

In the end, the new organization team and the 50-strong team of helpers were able to record a total of almost 170 participants – a good number given the prevailing weather conditions.

The constant rain certainly prevented some early registrants and late registrants from starting.

There were happy faces even before the start, because with their starting documents each participant received a great starter package, put together by Medica Pharmacy, Radsport Nagel and AggerEnergie.

At exactly 1:30 p.m. the rain break predicted by the weather forecast arrived and the two races could start as planned.

130 runners dared to take on the challenging 10 km route, and at least 40 participants chose the 5 km “light” variant.

As is already traditional at Meerhardt Extreme, the runners are sent onto the course by celebrities or distinguished people from Oberberg. The 5 km run was started by “AGGI”, the mascot of AggerEnergie. The starting signal for the 10 km run was given by the CEO of Volksbank Oberberg, Ingo Stockhausen. 

Before the start, Mr Stockhausen spontaneously offered a prize of €250 for setting a new course record – this would pay off as the race progressed. 

In extremely slippery track conditions, there were exciting duels and battles for position in the Meerhardt. On the 5 km course, Jonas Land (unaffiliated) secured the overall victory ahead of Colin Riss (VfL Engelskirchen) and Kilian Cremer (SV Serkenrode 1955).

The victory in the women's race went to Sonja Vernikov (LAZ Puma Rhein Sieg) in a top time of 22:14 minutes - as she did last year with a new course record - and was thus able to enjoy the special prize from Volksbank Oberberg. 

Marina Moldenhauer (FR – Training) and Klara Frackenpohl from TSV Dieringhausen completed the women’s podium.

 The 10km main race is traditionally the highlight of the event. From the strong field of starters, local hero Richard Glatz (LG Gummersbach) came out on top in a top time of 37:59 minutes, ahead of Tobias Lautwein (Runnergy.de) and Moritz Flader (LG Gummersbach). In the women's race, Carmen Otto (Sport Schneider Trail Team) won ahead of Laura Manghofer (SC Gute Freunde) and Christine Rouge (RC Lüdenscheid). 

The team ranking over 10 km for men was once again won by the LG Gummersbach team (Richard Glatz, Moritz Flader, Steffen Voß) ahead of last year’s winner Team Runnergy.de (Tobias Lautwein, Matthias Weber, Thomas Giese).

In the women’s category, the winner’s trophy went to the XTrail-Aktiv team with Ines Marquardt, Daniela Kösler and Maxie Kohler.

As in previous years, AggerEnergie donated 1 euro for each pre-registered runner to a good cause. The amount was rounded up to 400 euros by the running club “running & more” and presented to the “Chancen – Leben Geben eV” association during the award ceremony. This association supports socially disadvantaged children and enables them to take part in leisure and educational activities. 

Special thanks go to the sponsors, without whom such an event would not be possible. We would like to thank the VOLVO car dealership Benz, the Volksbank Oberberg, the company Skinfit, AggerEnergie, Orthopaedic shoe technology Achim Hardt, watches, jewelry and trophies Stoffel, the Medica pharmacy Dieringhausen, Radsport Nagel and Udo Lohrengel.

All information about “Meerhardt Extreme” can be found on the race’s own website 

www.ltram.de/meerhardtextreme-2020  .