Carlo Nenast, a German in Germany

Yes, I know. In the context of “Emigrantrailer”, it might sound strange to talk with a German living in Germany.

Where would it be the emigrant part?

Actually, Carlo fits incredibly well in this category because he was born in East Germany, when the Berlin wall was still there and the whole Germany was not yet unified. The connection with this small idea of “Emigrantrailers around the world” is strong since my favorite quote is “sports experiences beyond physical and mental borders” (so less walls, more bridges).

Therefore, I have no doubts that he is part of this category.

And what about “trailer”?

In fact, Carlo cannot be found officially in any of the ITRA standings. But, is this the only parameter to define a trail-runner?

Not at all!

In fact, Carlo is indeed a good runner (damn fast!) but he does Trail-Running as well. Specifically, he was one of the few with whom I was able to run together on the trails between 2020 and 2021: we explored several trails in the Rheingau area (for example, some of the Wisper Trails – Info & Trails (GPX) | EmigranTrailer).

And by the way: last weekend we ran together an official trail: engelhorn sports PfalzTrail | Start (36 km with 800 m+). He could have been easily on the podium (he finished fourth with a fantastic comeback in the last 12 km), but he decided to run the first 23 km together with me. It was an honour and a pleasure for me. 🙂

But, he also a “trailer” in the larger meaning of this word as I explain in my home page ( The origin of the name “Emigrantrailer”| EmigranTrailer) and that will be clearer to everyone when reading the following questions.

So, welcome to a new Emigrantrailer, welcome to Carlo Nenast.

Even if we could have done in person, I decided to stick to the format of former conversations and this morning we picked up the phone and we made a very pleasant video call Hesse (Germany) <-> Rhein-Palatinate (Germany), frequently highlighting that “a younger runner (Carlo) is faster, but an older (me) runner is smarter” :;-), and going through my five TRAIL questions.

T like Tokio or Tien

“Ever since we met, you have also told me about this project started months ago with Tien, a guy with almost complete disability in the eyes (ASICS Frontrunner – Tien-Fung Yap). The project was ambitious and was to guide Tien to reach the minimum time necessary to participate in the recent Paralympics in Tokio. You shared this role with Max, another good German runner. How is it to run guiding a person with certain disabilities? How did the project go? Which emotions does this project bring to you?”

“To be honest, it is not so difficult. The main challenge is to find the right track to run, without so many obstacles. For sure, when I run with Tien, I need to run more focused: my way of thinking is different than usual because I need to anticipate potential problems and inform Tien. However, running with Tien is not so difficult (he can still partially see some shadows) and it is always a pleasure”.

“The project was not 100% completed. Unfortunately Tien got injured in May. In the following weeks, he could not run at all. When he was be back on track, he could not achieve the qualification time for the Paraolympics, even if he had the fastest time among his category for German runners. In any case in the recent weeks (August and September), Tien has demonstrated his great capabilities completing two marathons sub-3 hours:

midsummerRUN Wiesbaden 2021 with Max, completed and won in 2h58’56” (MidsummerRun 2021 › Sporthilfe Wiesbaden (sporthilfe-wiesbaden.de)
Challenge Roth 2021 with me, completed in 2h55’01”

“In terms of emotions, I really feel motivated by him. He is really inspiring because he is a positive person, he does not mourn for his disability and more important, he never gives up. In fact, you must know that he started to run after he became partially blind, not before. So he is a very good example to follow”.

R like Running

“The question is necessary: when did you start running and why do you run?”

“First of all, I am a sportsman before a runner. I’ve been doing sports since I went to kindergarten. For example I have been wrestling and handball for years. After moving to Rhineland-Palatinate, I searched for other sports. Since I like to do sports with movement, I started to run in 2008. No goals, no targets, just to move my legs. And I continued like this for years until 2015. My father was diagnosed with cancer that year. This was a breakthrough. When he recovered, we decided to run a half marathon together. I finished it in 1h48′ and I was completely destroyed! But that moment was the beginning of a training path to improve myself. I bought a gps watch immediately after that event, I started to run consistently and now here I am, capable of running a half marathon under 1h15′.

A like Ambitions

“You are in the age phase which also represents sporting and therefore competitive maturity. What are your ambitions?”

“I just want to improve myself. It is not a cliché, but it is reality. If I have to think about specific goals, I would like to run a marathon under 2h40′. So I have to and I want to improve myself. And to do this I run and train consistently, I run with other people (perhaps faster or more experienced than me) and I also alternate running on different terrains, such as trail-running. In other words, I try to look ahead and improve myself day by day”.

I like Improve

“Well, the concept of improvement was supposed to be my fourth question for you. How do you improve yourself? Do you have someone as a reference, target, to improve yourself?”

“Oh good. There are many athletes and sportsmen who are my reference. I follow several of them on their social channels, and I try to get suggestions and hints. Obviously, this is only in principle. In fact, in reality, I comapre myself with the members of my team, which also includes a good coach who gives me the right indications and suggestions to modify my training according to my goal”.

L Like Last

“I probably already know the answer, but as a last question, I want to ask you if you have ever done a competition in your home areas and if you have any races to suggest to those passing by”.

“Ok, I’ll be honest: I have never run an official race in the region where I was born. And now that you ask me this question, I think it is an incentive to do it as soon as possible: most likely the Dresden marathon in mid-October!”

“Excellent! If I have nothing better to do on the mountains, I might join you there: I have never been in Dresden!:-) Thank you Carlo and good luck for your personal goals”.

Additional information about Carlo

In case you would like to contact Carlo for more detailed information about his being an “emigrantrailer” in Germany, it is useful to know that:

Age: 33 years (1988)
Country of origin: East Germany (Halle an der Salle, Saxony-Anhalt)
Country of current residence: Germany (Nieder-Olm, Rhineland-Palatinate)
Strava: https://www.strava.com/athletes/26682955
Instagram: @carlo_am_rennen
Website: Der Verein LaufLeben | LaufLeben Running Crew e.V.
Spoken languages: German, English

Enjoy Trail-Running!

Andrea De Filippo

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