There is something quietly absurd about running past a rollercoaster before it opens. The track sits above the treeline at a slight angle, still and enormous, waiting. In a few hours this whole area will be full of noise and queues and the smell of pretzel stands. At six forty-four in the morning, it’s just us and a loop of steel in the sky.
We were in Rust for the birthday tradition. Theme park, once a year, without apology. Europa Park had been on the list for a while, and this was the year. But before the gates opened — before any of that — there was a run to do.
The lake on the edge of town. Early enough for mist, early enough for quiet.
The village
Rust is a small place. It exists, you suspect, mostly in relation to the thing at its edge — and yet the village itself is genuinely pretty, the kind of German small-town pretty that doesn’t make a fuss about being pretty. Canal channels run between the houses, the water still enough to mirror the sky. A pink building reflected in the Alte Elz. Red and yellow flowers around a wooden welcome sign that says Herzlich Willkommen as if it means it.
Rust — Ortenaukreis. The village boundary, early morning.
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The Alte Elz at its most optimistic. Blue sky, pink walls, a good reflection.
The Gemeinde Rust welcome sign. Red and yellow flowers. Everything very neat.
The route went north through the village, over the canal bridges and out into the flat countryside beyond — fields, tree lines, the occasional pond. Canada geese on a bank, unbothered by a runner going past at a pace that clearly didn’t concern them. A wooded stream so overgrown it had nearly closed itself off entirely.
A pair of Canada geese on the pond bank. Completely unimpressed.
The wooded channel north of Rust. Green in every direction.
The park wakes up
Coming back into town on the southern loop, the park starts to appear over the roofline — first the brown loop of one coaster, then the white peaks of Silver Star rising above the trees against an overcast sky. The lorries were already moving. A delivery truck with the Europa Park logo. Staff cars in the staff car park. The infrastructure of a big day, all quietly assembling itself.
The brown loop of Eurosat Coastiality, visible from the run route.
Silver Star, from the road south of the park. Overcast by now. The day would improve.
Four miles at 8:14 pace. Flat, easy, a good birthday leg-loosener. Then back to the hotel, changed, a proper breakfast, and through the gates.
The rollercoasters were ready by then. So were we.
Rust, Baden-Württemberg – 4.00 miles – 32m 58s – 34ft – 8:14/mi
The park itself gets its own post — you can find it here.