With May finally here, the choice of walks gets better each week. Thursday’s Ascension Day holiday allows for several extra walks to enjoy. But the hot spot this weekend is in Ramstein-Miesenbach, Germany, where the Ramstein Roadrunners proudly host their 74nd International Volksmarch. This is always a popular event because of the excellent organization, nice trails and fabulous prizes. You can expect food, drink and music at the start hall.
The event begins at the Mehrzweckhalle in Miesenbach (street address Am Kiefernkopf 20, 66877 Ramstein Miesenbach). Start times both Saturday and Sunday are between 7 a.m. and 3 p.m. for the 5K, 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. for the 10K, 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. for the 15K, and 7 a.m. to noon for the 20K route. The hall closes at 5 p.m. both days.
This year’s prize is a coin with the Roadrunners’ logo on one side and crossed American and German flags on the other. Supplies are limited, so get there early
For more information, contact the club either by calling Brad Crandall at 06374-801179 or by email at ramsteinroadrunners@yahoo.com. Check out the club’s website at www.ava.org/clubs/ramsteinroadrunners for more information.
Another good place to walk is the German town of Limburg an der Lahn, where there will be an IVV triathlon this weekend. You can walk 6, 12 or 20 kilometers, bike 25 kilometers and then swim either 300 or 500 meters.
Participants also can do any of the separate events for the regular volksmarch price of 1.50 euros for IVV credit only, or 3.80 euros for IVV credit and the prize, which is a choice of B-medals. No bikes will be available for rent, so bikers must provide their own. A shuttle bus will ferry participants from the Markthalle to the swim event in Offheim.
Saturday events start at noon, whereas Sunday events start at 7 a.m., except for the swim, which starts at 9 a.m. Though we don’t know why the change in time, at least you can sleep in a bit Saturday and still enjoy a full day of walking, biking and swimming.
The Stuttgart German-American Wandering Club will be busy in the next few days. I’m sure a lot of folks will be heading to Ramstein to support the Roadrunners. The club also has Stammtisch walks in Bitzfield on Sunday, Michelbach on Wednesday and Thursday and Flacht on Thursday and Friday. If you’re in the Stuttgart area and are new to volksmarching, this is the group to find. Look for the blue club flag at the start and go up and introduce yourself. They will happily help you get your boots on the ground.
If you know of a walk that took place and wonder why it was not listed in the published walks chart, it is because we did not receive a flier for the event. Assorted websites do not list all of the information needed, so we depend on fliers submitted by readers to put the chart together. We have about six steady contributors and always are glad to get an envelope of fliers. While they keep us pretty busy, we can handle more. If you’re on a walk and pick up fliers for yourself, why not pick up an extra set for us? The good news is it is free to mail using the Military Postal Service.
Address the envelope to us at:
Bob and Lorraine Huffaker
CMR 460, Box 278
APO, AE 09752
Write “MPS” where the postage would go and take the envelope to your military post office. If you also write “brochures” or “documents” on the envelope, you should not have to fill out a customs form, though it varies from post office to post office.
We do not have any regular contributors from southeast Germany. As a result, areas such as Garmisch and Hohenfels don’t get the coverage we would like to give them. We also lost our Italy connection when Clark Soeldner retired, so we need Italy help as well.
We’d love to get more fliers from anywhere, but especially Italy and southeast Germany. So, please take advantage of the free fliers and the free postal service and flood our mailbox with fliers. You will be providing your fellow volksmarchers with more choices every weekend.
Email volksmarch information to two.walkers@yahoo.com. Mail brochures to Bob and Lorraine Huffaker, CMR 460, Box 278, APO AE 09752.
