What has started during childhood carries on at the highest quality possible now that Manuel and Hans-Peter Innerhofer are grown men. Every bike ride home from soccer training turned into a competition between the twin brothers. Sometimes it was Manuel who won, other times it was Hans-Peter. These days, the two athletes from Neukirchen am Großvenediger are even repurposing national championships for their familial duels. At the end of April, Hans-Peter won his first national mountain running championships on the Kleine Salve in Itter, crossing the finish line ahead of his brother Manuel who had to admit defeat for the first time after four consecutive victories.

“It is an advantage that our training runs are often tougher than the races,” says Hans-Peter, who is in formidable shape just in time for this year’s World Mountain and Trail Running Championships in Innsbruck-Stubai. Apart from taking home the title of national mountain running champion, he also won the national championships on the half-marathon distance as well as the cross-country short distance; and as if that wasn’t enough, he also came second on the cross-country long distance. “When we exercise together, we are able to risk more, and there it is very likely for us both to be out of breath half way up our local mountain; however, when participating in a race, that won’t cut it and we have to keep giving it our all until we cross the finish line.”

At the WMTRC, Hans-Peter is going to compete in the Trail Short, while Manuel will be running the Mountain Classic and the Vertical Uphill. The latter would have preferred to participate in the Trail Marathon, however, he was incapacitated by a persistent flu in early April. That being said, the Trail Short would have been as much of an uncharted territory as it is for Hans-Peter. “We have never before run that far,” the two brothers tell us. “Usually, we run up to about 30 kilometers,” a distance somewhat shorter than the Trail Short, which covers 44.6 kilometers.

The fact that both of them may be competing in the same race on a regular basis notwithstanding, they never do so as a team, as some cyclists would. “Each of us has to run their own race,” Hans-Peter says. “Often, Manuel will start off with the leading field. At the Grossglockner Mountain Run for instance, he started off along with the Kenyans. I am usually further back - but towards the end we often finish at the same pace.”

“The area around Innsbruck-Stubai is sensational. We know many of the places from running and ski touring.” Hans-Peter Innerhofer

The Innerhofer twins rejoice in the fact that the World Championships are staged in Innsbruck-Stubai this year, which is basically around the corner from their hometown. “It’s very cool for our friends and family to be able to cheer us on along the route,” Manuel says with twinkling eyes, and Hans-Peter adds: “The area is sensational. We know many of the places from running and ski touring.”

Auch wenn sehr lange sehr viel Schnee gelegen ist (und immer noch liegt) und die Beschäftigung mit den WM-Strecken intensiver hätte sein können – für die Innerhofers wird es nicht viel Unterschied machen. „Das Terrain ist bei uns zu Hause ziemlich ähnlich und daher haben wir schon einen Heimvorteil.“

Over the years, Manuel has not only gained more experience training in the mountains but also taken home more victories; however, come June, Hans-Peter is likely to be the more successful twin. “I have never before trained as well as I have this year.” Manuel, on the other hand, has received some extra boost, with Andrea Mayr, six-time World Mountain Running Champion and newly minted national champion, predicting a bright future. “Really? It’s nice of her to mention me,” he says. “It’s a big honor - after all, Andrea Mayr is a legend.”

All the praise left aside, the two brothers, who have been dueling from an early age, are looking forward to being able to prove what mountain runners are able to achieve. “If we are running on the track, people usually don’t take us very seriously,” Hans-Peter claims. “But now that a mountain runner has taken home the title of national half-marathon champion, it goes to show how strong we are.”

Thinking that way certainly helps them get over the fact that they won’t really be able to take in their surroundings. All that counts when running is being in nature, even though both of their professions take them outside a lot. Hans-Peter is a forestry worker, and Manuel is an employee at their local cable car company. “At the WMTRC, we will be focused and have tunnel vision,” as both of them claim. “There isn’t much time to enjoy our surroundings.”

That being said, they can go back to focus on their surroundings once the WMTRC are history - at home, in Neukirchen am Großvenediger, when they are taking up their tough training sessions again…