ENSIS ENGADIN MARATHON
High up in the beautiful Swiss mountains, the ENSIS Engadin Marathon returned for its 48th edition. This long-running event brings together many sailing disciplines to race on Lake Silvaplana. Sailboats, windsurfers, kitesurfers, wingfoilers and now parawingers all share the same start line. With everyone flying on foils, the event was more of a foil marathon!
ENSIS riders Balz Müller and Thomas Goodricke took to the water to represent the brand, and both ended up on the podium.
The Race
The format was a single marathon race around the entire lake, with both upwind and downwind legs. With close to a 100 competitors lined up for a rabbit start, making for a tricky and exciting start to the race. Among them were around 10 wingfoilers, who had to carefully position themselves against fast and crowded fleets of IQ windsurfers and kites.
Thomas explained that the start line was especially intense. “With so many disciplines on the same line, you had to be really strategic not to get stuck with no wind. It was challenging but also exciting.”
The conditions on the day could not have been better, with blue skies and 20 to 25 knots of wind filling the valley. “The atmosphere was amazing,” said Thomas. “Great organisation, great vibes, and really special to be racing on the same course as the IQ guys.”
A Winning Strategy
With only one race on the program, there was no room for mistakes. “Everything hangs in that one race,” Thomas explained. “If you mess up, it’s pretty much over.” His approach was simple but effective: push as fast as possible upwind, then balance speed with safety downwind.
The plan paid off. Riding a prototype ENSIS race wing, a ROCK’N’ROLL 57L board and the INFINITY ACE 540, Thomas powered through the course and took the win in the wingfoil category.
Balz, always pushing the sport in new directions, claimed victory in the first-ever parawinging category, racing with the ENSIS ROGER. That meant a double podium for ENSIS at their home lake.
Beyond the Marathon
For Thomas, the event was more than just a race. “It was a great feeling to be part of the 48th edition of the Engadin Marathon. The whole atmosphere with so many different foiling sports together was really special.”
Just a day before the competition, he also reached a personal best on Lake Silvaplana. “I managed to hit 37 knots on the INFINITY 540. It was mind-blowing to feel that speed.”
Looking ahead, Thomas is not stopping here. “I’m planning to attend King of the LAC in Portalban in two weeks, and then I’ll focus on race training over the winter to come back even stronger next year.”
A Home-Lake Win
The Engadin Marathon once again showed why it is such a unique event. From the amazing mountain backdrop to the mix of disciplines on one course, it offered a really unique race. For ENSIS, having both Balz and Thomas on the top of the podium was the perfect way to mark the occasion at their home lake.
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