A message that may have caused other runners to frown on the forehead caused Laura Hottenrott to delight: "The course of the 2024 Olympic marathon in Paris has been published... and it has 438 meters in altitude," Hottenrott left her almost 7000 Facebook followers Know at the beginning of October, followed by two heart smileys.

438 vertical meters is quite a lot on the marathon distance.

When Hottenrott starts the 39th edition of the Frankfurt marathon on Sunday, it will be 28 meters.

The fact that she can claim profiled routes as a competitive advantage is due to an unusual combination: Hottenrott, 30 years old and a runner at PSV Grün-Weiß Kassel, is not only the current German champion in the half marathon on the road, she also recently won the German championship in the marathon Mountain running: “It has a special appeal to run in nature.

We wear trail shoes instead of carbon shoes, run without pacemakers.”

Winning a prestigious mountain run

The trail and mountain running scene is growing.

Routes over scree and roots require not only stamina but also sure-footedness and stability, i.e. “the complete runner”, as the German Athletics Association (DLV) puts it.

The sport has been affiliated there since the 1980s.

In September, Hottenrott won the Swiss Jungfrau Marathon for the second time in a row, one of the most renowned mountain runs known for its landscape and 1,829 meters in altitude.

She overtook her Kenyan competitor Esther Chesang just before the finish line.

She describes the victory as a "huge relief": "I had to cry at the finish.

It was tough, but I saw that I can push my limits again.”

This certainty had previously been lacking.

The start of the only German runner in the marathon of the World Athletics Championships in Eugene, USA, in July was prevented by a Covid 19 disease.

In the weeks that followed, Hottenrott fought for her old form: "I didn't think Corona would throw me back like that.

My performance was gone, the blood values ​​were bad.” With the support of doctors Andrew Lichtenthal from the DLV and Hans-Herbert Vater from the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB), the comeback was successful.

The qualified sports scientist explains to skeptics who complain that mountain running is counterproductive for road running due to the strain on the joints and the eccentric – i.e. yielding – muscle contraction when running downhill: “I only run races that go uphill.

That also suits my high-frequency running style.” Mountain running is less suitable for those who prefer a jumping style.

"Achilles' heel" of the route

Hottenrott's focus is "still on the road".

She travels to Frankfurt on Friday, she is currently still in the Italian high-altitude training camp.

The Frankfurt marathon means a lot to her, she says.

Not only because of its prestige as the oldest city marathon in Germany and the geographical proximity to the home of the woman from Kassel, but also because Hottenrott ran her very first marathon here in 2017.

She has particularly good memories of the Mainzer Landstraße, which is not exactly known for its architectural charm: "It always goes straight ahead, you don't have to think anymore, the meters go by quickly." At 30 kilometers of the course, the runners turn onto the eight kilometer long road identified by the organizers as the "Achilles heel".

Hottenrott also wants to "grow a bit here on Sunday if the wind is good".

Her goal is to improve her top time of 2:28:02 hours in Frankfurt.

She ran it in April 2021 in Enschede and not only made it into the top 20 of the all-time German best list in the women's marathon, but also undercut the Olympic standard for Tokyo 2021. It was still not enough for an Olympic starting place, three others were even faster.

A novelty: "It was the first time that a time of 2:28 was not enough for the Olympics," says Hottenrott.

That was "quite bitter".

The high level of performance in the women's marathon squad is "joy and sorrow at the same time" for her.

She feels fit for her last race of the year in Frankfurt, says Hottenrott, the training went well.

She completes 160 to 180 kilometers per week in preparation, 14 days before a race she reduces the workload.

The training plans are written by her trainer and father Kuno Hottenrott, former national triathlon trainer and professor for training science.

It is remarkable that a woman from northern Hesse, a region that is not exactly known for its altitude, dominates German mountain running in Hottenrott: "I can run 300 meters in altitude consistently at home in training, but that's the end of it." That's why she goes to the mountains for training as often as her schedule allows: Hottenrott handed in her doctorate in February and is currently working as a lecturer at a vocational academy in Baunatal.

Hottenrott rejected a possible promotion as a member of the federal cadre by the armed forces or the police: "It just doesn't suit me".

Her big goal is the marathon in Paris in 2024. "A childhood dream", as she says.

Hottenrott makes her first attempt in the spring.

Then she not only wants to undercut the Olympic norm, but this time she also wants to be one of the three fastest at the end of the qualification period.