#about
It started out as a casual dream, then became a concrete idea and finally a firm plan: in October 2026, when I will be exactly 80 years old, I will plunge into the waters of the Pacific at 7 a.m. in Kona, Hawai’i, with thousands of other athletes from all over the world to finish the mythical Ironman at the World Championship on the Big Island for the second time since 2013.
If it’s possible, then it’s possible, I thought. First running competition ever, and in New York no less! And not a bad time at all: 3:12 h, 1550th place out of 25,000 participants. Despite cramps on the last five kilometers in Central Park. Tribute to my inexperience.
“Amerikanski?” asked the Georgian running next to me. My answer: “Swizaria.” Runners from 50 nations on the road together. And at the end, we sang John Lennon’s “Imagine all the people…” together in Lenin Stadium.
Marathon: There should be one or two per year: Moscow, Munich, Hamburg, Berlin, Vienna, Zurich, And a second time in New York. Then mountain races such as the Matterhornlauf, Sierre-Zinal, Jungfrau Marathon and finally six Swiss Alpine Marathons, 78km, 2778 meters of altitude.
In southern Morocco: the legendary Marathon des Sables. Running 250 km over endless dunes and rocky deserts in six days, with full food supply, stove and road book (12 kg) on your back, at 30-40 degrees. – Finished in the top 100 out of 650 participants.
First Ironman in Zurich, followed by others in Frankfurt, twice more in Zurich, then Bolton UK and finally Kalmar, Sweden, where I won my age group in 2013 at the age of 67, qualifying me for the World Championships in Hawai’i and successfully finishing there.
They call it the “Club des singlés du Mont Ventoux”. Singlés, literally: the crazies who climb the legendary “Géant de la provence”, where so many Tour de France dramas have taken place, from all three sides on the same day. I’ve been part of this club since 2017. Endlessly steep and brutally hot, 137km, 4400m of climbing.
Ruedi knows how to regularly push his boundaries beyond his comfort zone. He always dares to try new things in order to reach his zone of freedom. His dreams and visions have led him through deserts and storms, and time and again he has been able to set sail. This requires courage and is not always easy. Good luck!
Christian Harzenmoser
Triathlet and Naturopath
My physical requirements as a soon-to-be 80-year-old senior athlete – completely at the end of the age categories – are completely different to those of a 20 to 60-year-old athlete, for example. I see my project as a daily exercise in confronting myself with my age and the finality of my earthly existence, or rather: making friends with it in all its depth. To ultimately experience the whole thing as an exciting game with myself, regardless of the outcome.
Performance is measured in watts, plus age. A combination that I like. That’s why I decided on the blog name “highwattage”. And I want to immerse myself in this balanced sporty feeling in a flowing way, hence: “highwattage_flow”.
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