Over the past three years, Marcela Vašínová has left her mark on the running scene: She has not only succeeded in the Golden Trail World Series and Skyrunning World Series but also won three gold medals from the Skyrunning World Championships in Val de Boí 2021 - Vertical, Skyrace and Combination. “It is hard to top the feeling of being on the pedestal and hearing the Czech anthem,” the likable athlete reminisces while remembering another unforgettable experience: “I’ll never forget Zegama, even though neither my performance nor the end result were anything to write home about; the race, the atmosphere, the crazy crowd of 20,000 fans pushing us athletes to the limits as we were scaling the phenomenal Sancti Spiritu - all this combined made me believe I was a star.” However, not everything has run according to plan for Vasinova; she sustained an injury during last year’s Off-road European Championships in El Paso, Canary Islands, her lengthy road to recovery having been followed by another injury that made it all but impossible for her to participate in the WMTRC in Chiang Mai.

This was real nuisance, especially since the Czech athlete who resides in Salzburg is a real fan of the WMTRC concept with its combination of mountain and trail running contests. “Having experienced the first WMTRC in Thailand, albeit as a spectator rather than a participant, makes me feel certain that we are going to experience a proper trail running show in Innsbruck. I love the concept as it brings together so many athletes; it is going to be a celebratory week full of runs and contests and intense title races, yet neither lacking gregariousness nor the chance to gain new experiences.”

Being a keen ski mountaineer, Vašínová knows both Innsbruck and Stubai. The trail marathon at the 2019 Innsbruck Alpine Trailrun Festival was one of her first trail running contests, and she finished it as the runner-up. “The region is a paradise for all those who are passionate about our discipline.” She is going to be in the area, more specifically in the Kalkkögel region, prior to the contests; after all, the Czech team, like so many others, is planning on conducting a training camp including thorough route inspections. “It’s always great to be with the team!”

That being said, it’s not far from home for Marcela Vašínová. She has been living and working in Salzburg for some time now, which is why she is considering the WMTRC 2023 as being on “home turf”; she feels like her heart holds enough space for both the Czech Republic and Austria, and even more so for the mountains. It is to be expected that she will be cheered on by fans from both sides of the border, with many of her friends planning on following her Trail-Long-progress on-site, and so it is not really surprising for her to be looking forward to the special atmosphere pervading any such event and to seeing familiar faces that will be there to cheer her on.

“I am expecting the days in Innsbruck-Stubai to be my personal highlight of the season, if not my entire athletic career.”

Asked about her goals and wishes and future plans, Vašínová tells us that she aims to travel much more, to visit new countries and to discover new trails. However, with the most recent injuries not long gone, she adds: “I am wishing for the most important and fragile commodity - for myself and for all of us: Good health. Everything else will sort itself out.”