From walker to marathon man

Only five months after a triple inguinal hernia including an operation, Stefan Zielbauer (37) from Kleinberghofen finished an outstanding 62nd in the Munich Marathon.

In a personal best.

The man had great supporters - big and small.

Kleinberghofen - It is clear that a person who quickly goes to his basement out of boredom and runs a marathon on a treadmill has a good deal of madness. And then Stefan Zielbauer (37) “trampled down” the 42.195 kilometers in the immensely strong time of 2:41:32 hours. That is why the Dachauer Nachrichten called him “Forrest Gump from Kleinberghofen” in their report on the cellar campaign. But unlike Forrest Gump in the classic film, who simply stops running because he's tired and wants to go home, Stefan Zielbauer had to stop running. Single hernia on the right, double on the left. The Kleinberghofer was operated on at the beginning of May. It's hard to believe that Zielbauer started another marathon just five months later. On the 10thOctober in Munich it ran for 2:50:28 hours. An incredible comeback.

“In the beginning, my preparation consisted only of long walks,” says the running maniac. "After ten minutes I was flat". It took him three hours to walk ten kilometers. In addition, Zielbauer, who works for the shoe manufacturer Hanwag, swung himself on his bike. Light jogging was only an option after four or five weeks. "I wasn't really able to walk without problems until mid-July."

At that time, Zielbauer had slowly set his sights on running a marathon again in the fall - in Munich. It would be his fifth. “I would never have dreamed of a new personal best,” he says. And: “Why bother when it's almost impossible anyway,” he thought. But “leaving it untried” was out of the question for the commander of the Kleinberghofen volunteer fire brigade. “So I discussed this idea with my family, and I got the support I needed,” says Zielbauer, who is in steady hands (Nancy) and father (Rosalie, two and a half).

After he gradually got back on his feet in the truest sense of the word under the guidance of the physiotherapist, sports scientist and trainer David Schönherr, who is well known in the running scene, nothing stood in the way of registering for Munich, especially since he passed a final test at a half marathon in Augsburg .

In Fuggerstadt, Zielbauer crossed the finish line in a good 1:21:11 hours.

Five degrees and a cold east wind that blew the runners around the calves - the conditions at the start of the Munich Marathon weren't exactly cozy.

Zielbauer cleverly attached himself to a runner who "ran like a Swiss clockwork almost to the point four minutes per kilometer", says the Kleinberghofer, "perfect for me, because I just had to hang on to him and could relax a bit".

Everything seemed to be going well, but then came kilometer 32.

"Mentally it was the most difficult moment for me, because I got the feeling that I could no longer maintain the pace, but I still tried to motivate myself," said Zielbauer.

That succeeded, because in the end he finished.

And when he looked at the clock, it read 2:50:28 hours.

The 37-year-old had undercut his best time of the Frankfurt Marathon 2019 of 2:57:51 hours by more than seven minutes.

A look at the overall standings of the Munich Marathon reveals how well the “Forrest Gump from Kleinberghofen” did.

Out of 3198 starters landed on the excellent 62nd place.

In his age group M 35 even in eleventh place.

Unlike Forrest Gump in the film, who was accompanied by dozens of people on his run through America, Stefan Zielbauer had only one person from the start: his mother Christiane.

“My mom always supported me on the bike,” says Stefan Zielbauer, who of course doesn't forget his girlfriend, because “she gave me the space and time for this project”.

Oh yes, and there is also daughter Rosalie.

"When I went to train once, she said to me for the first time: Dad, I love you!" If that isn't great support ...