ZURICH – At the beginning of May, 14,000 runners took part in the 44th SOLA relay race in and around Zurich. 1,000 teams with 14 runners each covered the distance of 116.1 kilometers divided into 14 legs. The SOLA relay race, which is supported by the Swiss University Sports Federation, is the largest university sporting event in Switzerland and one of the largest in Europe. Year by year, almost every Swiss university starts with at least one team; in addition, around 20 foreign teams participate in the event that initiated in 1974.
Right from the start last year’s winners ‘Running Freaks’ and third-placed ‘TV Oerlikon’ dominated the SOLA relay race, consisting of 14 sections. While the young savages of the team Running Freaks (who had participated for the first time in 2016 and won right away) led the race on the first 5 sections, the well-experienced SOLA-team TV Oerlikon set the running pace from section 6 onwards and increased the lead continually. With the fast time of 6 hours and 33 minutes, TV Oerlikon ultimately triumphed, 9 minutes ahead of the Running Freaks and another 9 minutes of the third-placed Brownsche Spaziergänger XS.
In total, 992 teams and almost 14,000 runners contested the race and the overall course of 116.1 kilometers in and around Zurich. Satisfied faces at each finish line and a good mood on the route made the SOLA relay race 2017 a successful event. The SOLA relay race is the largest university sporting event in Switzerland.
(Source: SUSF)