Endurance = Patience
The Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc (UTMB) has been on my check list for a long time. One hundred and five miles over thirty five thousand feet of vertical elevation gain, three countries and the Mont Blanc in between. This is one of the most difficult foot races on earth - 2,300 runners from 63 countries met in Chamonix, France, on the last weekend of August to measure themselves against the best trails runners in the world.
Anita and I gladly took two weeks off to go to my native France, we met in Paris a few days before the race and spent some time touring my country. When we arrived in Chamonix the energy of the town was amazing, it was like a convention for ultra runners who were accompanied by their crew and family members, in a way this was very different from the races I’ve been in the U.S. My wife and I went for hikes and enjoyed every moment of this trip. The Mount Blanc is quiet and majestic, the weather was just perfect - 82 degrees however this would soon change, it was supposed to cool down a bit by Friday, the day of the race. My brother Mickael drove from Normandie to spend time with us at the race, he has also been running the past few months, but he had a hard time putting this race together in his mind.....
August 26, 2011, Friday morning, we woke up and went for breakfast only to find out that the race has been delayed due to the weather, everyone was quiet, yet the stress was eminent throughout the entire town. The UTMB organizers decided to delay the start from 18:30 to 23:30; a big storm was coming around 18:00 the forecast was indicating that the storm would just pass by us very fast and the weather would get better by 23:00. I was really worried, last year the race got canceled due to similar weather conditions, it seamed unfair that after so much planing this could happen again, I didn’t know what to do. My brother arrived that afternoon, it was nice to have him there, yet the three of us look at each other hopping that everything would be all right.....
For once the forecast was accurate, at 17:30 we could see the storm coming, the clouds and fog managed to cover the mountain top. By 19:00 it got really bad, a commanding thunder storm reigned over the Alps, heavy rain was the main course, and for dessert it got really cold. We tried to have dinner, it was tense, Anita with her ever amazing sense of good humor was reassuring me that it was going to be okay; my brother could not believe I was going to run. At this point in time I was not sure if I even wanted to go anymore!!!!
We went to the start line at 23:00 - I was in poor spirits, all 2,300 runners, their friends and families were waiting under the heavy rain. I asked myself a few times: Should I just stay home???? It was cold, windy, jut miserable, and the thought remained the same: 105 miles to go. About five minutes before the start of this race, the music went on, I looked around, everyone became very excited the weather didn’t seem to matter any more. Two minutes to go and 2,300 trekking poles waiving in the air, the hearts of everyone involved filled the air with a wonderful energy, this was it.....we went for it!
At the start I was in the middle of the pack and not to happy about it. The race started on flat grounds, I ran as fast as I could to move up the field before reaching the trail ahead. We reached the trail and I had no clue of my position, all I only knew is that I had to run, run, run, there were a lot of people a front of me, it kept me pushing and pushing hard. I ran by Nick Clark and I stayed with him a few miles, I really was just trying to just stay warm by moving my body as fast as I could.
I run well and before reaching Les Houches, I was running with Dakota Jones, it was then that I decided I would not go any faster if I wanted to finish the race. This is when I was starting to enjoy this race, it was still raining but not so many runners anymore, we were just a few people running on a good pace to St. Gervais, the first major aid station; I did not event stop at this station, I had plenty of water and did not want to lose time, the trail ahead was still very manageable.
Les Contamines, first major climb and the rain finally stopped. This was a steep climb, getting steeper and steeper at the top of Col du Bonhomme. Towards the end of the mountain top, Dakota was still going strong and I ended up finishing the climb alone. It was getting cold and the snow made its presence, for the next few climbs it was the same, very cold on top with snow and a bit warmer down in the valley.
After Col de la Seigne, which was the most difficult climb so far, with the wind, snow and ice I was really happy to reach Italy - this was a good moral boost for me, it was short but very technical downhill, a few miles in the valley I was doing good!...I thought. At the aid station, mile 44, I looked behind and another storm was on its way, the sky was getting dark again. I spent no time at that station, the locals were telling me "run fast before the storm gets here." The last uphill before Courmayer, the storm was closing on me and snow started falling down again. That was probably the lowest point of the race, I was still cold and not very happy ... I made up my mind, if the weather was not going to get better I will call 0ff this day at Coumayer, however when I got there it was sunny and warmer. I arrived to the half point of this race in 10 hours and 45 minutes.
Leaving Courmayer I was in much better spirits than I have been so far, we still had many mountain tops to climb including Le Col du Cap Ferret. I made up a few places in this race, I was told I was in the 38th position, I was passing a few fellow runners on the climb and people were passing me on the downhill, story of my runs :-)
I knew Le Col du Cap Ferret was going to be difficult, I was far behind the reality of this challenge; it was a short but very steep climb 2,400 feet vertical climb in only 2.5 miles. I took a bit of time to make it and then I was on my way to Switzerland. One long downhill on a very smooth trail and I was heading to Champex. When I got there Anita and Mickael were waiting for me, this was one of the best moments of the race; I did not want to spend too much time there, so I got a bit of soup and on the go again. It was mid afternoon and I wanted to cover as much ground than I could before dark.
The few climbs in Switzerland were steep but the trails were really nice, the weather was a bit cool but much better than it was since the start. I got to mile 82 and it was getting dark, at that point I have been awake for over 34 hours and I was getting tired. The last three climbs were getting longer and longer but the downhills were like murder!! rocks and threes roots were making this battle a nightmare, I was getting slow and it seemed as though I was going faster on the climb than the descends. As slow as I was, I kept on going. It was two in the morning on Sunday, August 28th, and running was the only thing that could keep me warm.
Then, the last aid station! This was such a pleasure, I almost did not even stop, got a cup of soup and on the go again. I was still running the flat portion and I knew the finish line was almost there (10 more km), I power walked the last hill like a mad man and then at the last descend I could see the city lights. I got to the pavement after 104 miles and finishing my last mile like if I was at the San Diego Marathon. Half a mile to go and I saw Anita and Mickael waiting for me again :-) :-) :-) We ran the last kilometer together, this was really special, my wife and my brother have been waiting 29 hours - they did not sleep either! and finally there I was, back from what has been so far my toughest race.
I finished 39 over all 25 in my age group in 29:14mn
This whole experience has been magical!!! A week later, the thought of all the challenges I was able to overcome just made the toughest race on earth a bit more special....I am grateful and I am humbled by this experience. I am blessed!
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