Streicher and Rath masterfully on the mountain: "It still feels like a dream"
Created: 10/11/2022, 8:15 p.m
By: Paul Hopp
More is simply not possible: Julia Rath from Penzberg won gold in the U20 class, both individually and with the LAC Quelle Fürth team.
© Christine Rath
Julia Rath and Josef Streicher caused a sensation at the DM in mountain running at Königssee.
Streicher had relied on a very specific tactic - which worked perfectly.
Schönau – The Jennerberglauf in Schönau am Königssee was the scene of the German mountain running championship this year.
The route was tough: 1,190 meters in altitude had to be overcome over 8.4 kilometers.
Rain and the resulting muddy paths didn't make things any easier.
In the end, three athletes from the district were at the top in different classes and ratings.
Josef Streicher wins gold in the M55 class
Seniors:
Even days after his triumph, Josef Streicher still couldn't believe it.
Being German champion, and in his favorite discipline, mountain running, "still feels like a dream to me," reports the Peißenberger.
In the M55 class, Streicher (born 1967) easily won the gold medal with a time of 1:00:40 hours.
The lead over his long-time rival Thomas Blum (LG Allgäu) was 57 seconds.
For the athlete from TSV Peißenberg, it was only the second start in a mountain running DM after his sixth place in 2021 on the Hörnle (then still in the M50).
"I didn't expect to win at the Jenner at all," says Streicher.
From various competitions before that, he only knew the top runners from the region who had entered.
These included Martin Sambale (former top mountain runner from the Wolfratshausen area), Thomas Blum (LG Allgäu) and Franz Engel from Peißenberg.
"I'm usually about a minute or two behind these runners in competitions," explains Streicher.
Josef Streicher relies on a special tactic
At the Tegelberglauf he had tried to keep up with Blum, which failed.
"I broke through" in the upper part of the track.
At the Heimgarten mountain run, however, Streicher managed to finish ahead of Engel and Blum.
He started with the requirement to "just run my pace at my usual rhythm".
That brought success, even if Blum initially moved away.
In the steeper upper part, Streicher was able to counter.
"Every mountain runner has his strengths and weaknesses, depending on the nature of the trail and the incline," says Streicher.
Encouraged by the sense of achievement at Heimgarten, Streicher again relied on the tactic of orienting himself towards his pace and his performance.
Since he ultimately only knew the Bavarian participants from his class, "I had no idea how many of my age group were ahead of me".
However, Streicher knew that Blum and Engel were behind him, "but I deliberately did not look around".
Sambale wasn't even at the start.
Only on the serpentine mountain path, on the last third of the route, did Streicher actually see that he was about 150 meters ahead of Blum.
In the last two kilometers he even increased the gap.
That really is the pinnacle: Josef Streicher (2nd from right) won the gold medal in the M55 class at the mountain running championships and was visibly happy about it at the award ceremony.
Left Thomas Blum, right Reyk Buch.
© Christine Rath
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The Peißenberger knew the route on the Jenner from the previous year, "which was certainly an advantage".
He had a "very good day and felt in top shape," reported Streicher, who works as a tax consultant.
His good feeling was also statistically substantiated: Compared to the performance at the Jennerberglauf 2021, he improved by more than two minutes.
Streicher only found out that he had won the German Championship "after the list of results was available".
In any case, his joy was huge: "My greatest success."
In the end, Franz Engel also achieved a strong result.
The Peißenberger (born 1967), wearing the Post SV Weilheim jersey, took fourth place in the M55 class.
After 1:05:40 hours he crossed the finish line.
In the run-up to the DM, it was learned that Engel had been struggling with muscular problems.
Otherwise a medal would definitely have been possible.
He was 1:16 minutes behind bronze that day.
Team gold for Christian Scholz
Christian Scholz traveled home with a plaque.
The Peitinger (born 1969) took sixth place in the M50 class with a time of 1:01:31 hours.
With the LG Allgäu team, which included Franz Schweiger (57:51) and Blum (1:01:37), Scholz won the gold medal in the M50/M55 classification.
He had already become German champion with the team in 2021 at the Hörnle.
Second place at the Jenner went to LG Allgäu II, bronze won a trio from SSC Hanau-Rodenbach.
Sabine Nagel, Scholz's partner, came sixth on the Jenner in the DM rating of the W35 class.
The clock stopped at 1:09:27 hours for the native of Peiting, who was also at the start for LG Allgäu.
Julia Rath wins two gold medals at the same time
Youngsters: Julia Rath had already toyed with a medal.
After all, the Penzberg native (18) won silver in the U20 class at the Hörnle last year.
The fact that the LAC Quelle Fürth athlete went home with two gold medals in the end made things all the better for her.
Rath won the individual title in the U20s in a superior manner at the Jenner - and that in a time that state coach Jörg Stäcker described as "strong as an ox".
After 1:06:10 hours, the Penzberger crossed the finish line, only ten women were faster than the U20 athlete across all classes.
In addition, Rath also won team gold with Luisa Frehner (1:23:23) and Marie Krebelder (1:25:16).
For 16-year-old Frehner and Krebelder, a specialist in the “walking” discipline, it was the first championships in mountain running.
According to Coach Stäcker, both had "less respect for the altitude difference than for the time limit", which was two hours.
Ultimately, however, the brand was not a problem.
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Far ahead in the U20 class was Rath, who was unaffected by the adverse conditions with temperatures just above zero degrees Celsius at the summit.
Four weeks ago, the woman from Penzberg was the ninth best woman among 178 starters at the "Drei-Zinnen-Lauf" in Sexten (South Tyrol).
She ran the 17.5 kilometers with 1333 meters in altitude in 2:05:15 hours.
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According to Stäcker, the German title was also a "compensation" for Rath.
Because with two highlights on the track this year, things didn't go as hoped for the LAC athlete.
For example, the obstacle specialist had to miss the German junior championship at short notice due to illness.
The health problems also disrupted preparations for the U20 World Cup in Colombia.
There, in tropical conditions, Rath was not able to call up her performance and was eliminated in the preliminary heat over the 3000 meter obstacle.