Anabel Knoll took on the Schnauzer Seelauf in Ingolstadt yesterday as she continues on the road back to full race fitness.
Taking on the undulating 10.6km course round the lake, Knoll won the women’s category with ease in a time of 38:16. Moreover she beat all bar seven of the men’s field.
Last year Knoll finished 13th in the WTCS and was the best finisher in the Series without a full complement of races. Three straight top-8 finishes in Yokohama, Leeds and Hamburg seemed to have confirmed her place at the top tier. However a crash at the European Championships in Munich took a heavy toll, as did a subsequent bout of mononucleosis.
As a result, Knoll’s form slipped in the autumn and she remains on the path to regaining it.
The time was not the key factor of her performance in Ingolstadt. Having logged run splits in the 34 minute region at Olympic distance races, she was evidently not at full bore. Instead, the run represented a stepping stone on her broader journey back to full fitness. Given her previous performances, it would appear Knoll is in heavy training.
With German Olympic selection to be primarily determined at the Paris Olympic Test Event and the WTCS Final in Pontevedra, it makes sense for Knoll to build towards the summer as opposed to rushing to get into shape four months earlier. Her compatriot Lasse Lührs has taken a similar approach after suffering injury at the end of last season.
In light of Knoll’s results in 2022, a top-8 finish in Paris or Pontevedra are well within her capabilities. The problem is they are also within range for a handful of other German women. Knoll will therefore need to be at her best this summer.
With plenty of time to go and a lot of work to do, she has taken an encouraging step forward to reattaining the form of last year.
A few (hundred) kilometres north, Lotte Miller was similarly tackling a running race as part of her return to racing.
Last year Miller’s season was ended prematurely by a hernia injury. Already this year, though, she has raced in the pool and made her triathlon return at the European Cup in Quarteira.
Yesterday she furthered her comeback by racing at the Siddisløpet. Racing over the 8.1km course, Miller logged a time of 30:03.
After the race she noted that she wanted to catch up on racing and enjoy the effort having missed so much towards the end of 2022. While her fitness is coming back to her, it is her positive mentality that may actually serve her best over the rest of the season.
