2010 Ultra Trail CCC
5:30am Friday 27th August and the phone beeps indicating a text message. Wondering who it could be I get up. it’s from UTMB race control – “The weather forcast is for Rain, Wind and Cold for todays race”!
I’d been agonising about gear choice all week as the long term forecasts varied between sunny and warm to cold and raining. The gear I had chosen was the minimum and the lightest I had, so I decided I’d take another long sleeve as an extra layer.
Temperature was mild at 6:45 when I left the house and even arriving in Courmayeur it was still not cold. As the time crept towards 10am – the start time – the sky grew darker, and light rain began to fall. The atmosphere got more exciting as more people arrived and by the start the noise of the croud was deafening, the rain poured down, thunder rolled around the mountain tops accompanied by Vangelis’ Conquest of Paradise booming over the PA, we set off at a brisk pace through the streets of Courmayeur.
Wearing a t-shirt with a waterproof I was fine – slightly warm at times but I regulated the temperature by unzipping, and putting the hood up when the rain got heavy. I kept to my deliberate easy pace – counting breaths to judge my effort. The first climb was going well and I arrived at the first refreshment station a full 10 minutes ahead of my planned time. The route continues to climb and the rain continued to fall. At the Tete de la Tronche, the highest part of the course, I was 15 minutes up on my planned time feeling good, and really enjoying the added challenge of running in wild mountain weather. The wind was strong enough up here to mean that the guys manning the checkpoint had had to collapse their tent.
The decent from here is very steep at first and with the rain slippery. I took it very easy, and as the angle eased increased my pace as the sun started shining. Ref. Bonatti arrived again 15 minutes ahead of schedule and I managed this often very busy stop well for once, getting a soup and drink and not bothering to fill by water bottle.
At Arnuva the lad scanning the bib noticed it was showing the wrong number! He noted it down and let me go, and I dived into the steamy tent for some savory stuff before filling my water pouch, donning my waterproof again as the rain started up once more and heading off for the long climb to the Grand Col du Ferret.
Half way up the climb I get a text from T saying that there is no info about my progress showing up at all and she assumes it’s a faulty chip rather than me not having started! As I arrive at the col, still 10mins up, I try to tell the marshal that the chip is faulty but he already knows and says it’s fine – he enters my number manually and my first time is recorded !
The weather so far has alternated between clear patches with some sun, through light rain to heavy torrential of rain complete with thunder. So far it was totally manageable, in fact quite exciting as it was a totally different challenge. The dry periods allowed me to dry out, so I wasn’t even that uncomfortable. It completely changed the character of the race from the hot sunny weather of previous years. It wasn’t worse, just different!
Into Switzerland and it’s a long downhill to La Fouly. I take a gentle running pace not wanting to overcook it on the downs (it’s the downs that trash you and the ups that finish you off!).
An hour and a quarter later and I’m in the La Fouly aid station. I take longer in here than intended for some reason so although I’m 15mins up when I arrive it’s reduced to 10minutes by the time I leave. The section from here to Champex is longer than you think so I mentally prepared myself for a hard stage. The route was changed because of the wet weather and it cut across some roads rather than take the valley side. The climb to Champex arrived and I set about a good solid pace up to the checkpoint and the huge chaotic tent that was the aid station. This time there would be no one there to greet me, but it meant I could concentrate on just getting some food down me and getting going. I arrived 30 minutes up, but the queue for food was huge! No choice but to wait, and then finally sit down, eat, drink and change cloths. I took off a soaking wet t-shirt and put on the spare long sleeve top I’d added – very light weight, but dry! On top of this a light pertex, and then my waterproof. For my legs I added Calf Compression socks so my legs where fully covered. Full time for the stop was 30 mins (15 mins slower than intended).
As I left it was dusk and instantly obvious that it would be a cold night. The rain was coming down again and I set off towards the climb to Bovine. With head torch on the climb began. It’s steep, and I cross a number of streams which I at first thought meant I was near the top – actually the other years these had just been trickles so I hadn’t noticed them in the dark. The main river crossing when it arrived was now a full torrent – the stepping stones where under water and we had to wade – picking out the stones by torch light, and balance across trying not to think of the drop to our right!
With soaking wet feet I set off on the final traverse to the check point at 1,900m altitude. The whole character of the race seemed to suddenly change as I left the tree line the full force of the wind and rain hit me straight in the face. The wind was vicious, driving rain into the waterproof through every gap. I was instantly freezing – the wind cutting through my thin leggings and making my wet top layers feel even colder. My first thought, slightly bizarrely, was “How am I going to get over the Tete Aux Vent” (still 2 climbs away)! I took off as fast as possible – firstly to keep warm and second to reach shelter quickly. I was so relieved to find the tent and even more pleased to find there was a small place to huddle inside out of the wind and rain.
One soaking runner looked freezing and was being attended to by a first aider. Another was being shown how to wear a space blanket like a cape next to the skin and then put all his cloths back over it to keep warm. Everyone in the tent was suddenly asking for help to do the same! After a long stop with soup and tea to refresh I exited the tent into the storm again now wearing a space blanket plus every bit of clothingthat I had with me (bar the soaking T-Shirt). Rustling with my space blanket “under cape” I set off at speed again just to keep warm – There is still a little climb before the path starts to drop into the trees again. The trees provided much needed protection, but the steep path was a nightmare of slippery mud, tree roots and rocks. I slithered down and rapidly realised that I was not going to be going over the next mountain – I was still freezing, soaking wet and I would be in serious danger of Hypothermia if I was to go up onto another exposed high mountain side.
I had never abandoned a race before and realization was now setting in that I would have no choice but to do so. Everything I had was wet, and it was all fairly minimal lightweight running gear. I can no spare cloths left, and no way of getting any. I would be lucky to get over Catogne – the next high crossing, but to attempt the Tete Aux Vent in these conditions would be insane (The clue is in the name)! My teeth where chattering now, and much more of this cold, wet and windy weather at altitude would spell Hypothermia for sure.
As I slithered down towards Trient I kept mulling over options. I was on time, feeling fine and all set to make the 20hr target I’d set. The only problem was I had not enough clothing to ensure that I could safely cross the high passes. Each way I thought of it I came to the same conclusion – I simply couldn’t go on. As the reality of abandoning set in my spirits sank, and I slowed, started to feel miserable, and couldn’t be bothered to eat any more. I pulled into the Trient tent, dejected at 11:40pm, and sat down with a soup. It was such a relief to have escaped the tempest and to be slightly warmer again that to abandon now seemed a much easier decision, but I still couldn’t bring myself to actually formally abandon so I just sat there – starring at the soup, slowly undressed to take off the space blanket and dressed again in wet cloths. I took out my T-shirt to see if that would add enough warmth to keep me going but it was totally soaking and freezing cold from being in the bottom of the sack.
I finally did what I had to and handed in my race number. In the 2 hours it took to get back from Trient to Chamonix the storm intensified, and I was more sure than ever that the decision was correct. I later then heard the full news about the other events.
The full UTMB had been cancelled after just 2 hours, because marshals on the Col du Seigne had reported that weather conditions where so bad that they feared that someone whould die if they sent 2,700 runners over the pass.
The TDS, which runs from Courmayeur to chamonix clockwise was cancelled before it began (previewed for midnight) for the same reason
The CCC was also cancelled at about 2am because marshals had already had to stretcher at least one runner off with Hypothermia and conditions where horrendous on the Tete aux Vent, and on towards La Flegere.
It turned out to be an extraordinary weekend for the UTMB! The first time in it’s history that it has been cancelled, a lot of runners went home disappointed. I think the organisers where correct to cancel the event. I know a lot of people think that it should be each runners responsibility to decide when to quite, and I to a large degree agree with that, but with an event of this size it is simply naive to think that this will happen. I feel comfortable in the mountains, I knew the route well and I know my limitation and I knew when to quite, but I felt pretty scared up on Bovine to so quickly get into a situation that could turn lethal. Many others would not understand the dangers, or know the terrain and what it was likely to bring. In the end the safety of the runners is the most important thing, and in the end everyone got back safely and will be able to run again.
April 7th, 2011 at 8:04 am
interesting read, keep it up
September 29th, 2011 at 12:43 pm
Im sorry for the potential off-matter Guys, however could you inform me which website hosting company you are using right now I’ve a problem as a result of my current hosting company godaddy.com is kicking me off. They say that our web site is utilizing too many server resources. However our web site only gets 300 guests per week. Anyway, what would be your suggestions? Are you satisfied with your internet host? I’m checking LCN at the moment, but is it actual that they can provide limitless disk space? I have contacted them and they say one thing like 1000GB disk drive costs solely $50 per month, so if some day we will start working out of disk space we are going to simply add a brand new 1000GB drive so can proceed uploading.. Whats your opinion? Any ideas and website hosting firm name ideas are very appreciated.
September 29th, 2011 at 8:20 pm
If you want to tell people the truth, make them laugh, otherwise they’ll kill you.
September 30th, 2011 at 2:41 pm
I’ve been researching for a good source for wholesale gold. Might anyone have past experiences?
October 1st, 2011 at 12:17 am
Good writing is something I can appreciate. You have made your points in a smart way. I am impressed with how interesting you have been able to present this content. http://www.samsung1080phdtv.net/
October 1st, 2011 at 12:21 am
Admin – we have relaunched our site at http://www.hostingpromotions.org and our first promotion is for $0.01 hosting… yep, hosting for a penny from one of the top three hosting companies worldwide. Come check out this promo and more if interested.
October 1st, 2011 at 3:35 am
Heya just happened upon your blog via Bing after I entered in, “Mont Blanc Trails » Blog Archive » 2010 Ultra Trail CCC” or perhaps something similar (can’t quite remember exactly). Anyways, I’m relieved I found it simply because your subject material is exactly what I’m looking for (writing a college paper) and I hope you don’t mind if I gather some material from here and I will of course credit you as the reference. Thanks for your time.
October 1st, 2011 at 12:59 pm
VLC Media Player…
[...]in this page you may find our links to sites because we noticed these are good seeing[...]…
October 1st, 2011 at 3:19 pm
Daily Blogpost…
[...]we prefer to show other web-sites around the web, even when they aren’t related to us, by linking to them. Beneath are some online websites worth checking out[...]…
October 2nd, 2011 at 2:07 am
Dead written subject matter, Really enjoyed reading by means of .
October 2nd, 2011 at 9:51 am
It’s perfect time to make some plans for the long run and it’s time to be happy. I’ve learn this publish and if I could I desire to counsel you some interesting things or suggestions. Maybe you can write next articles regarding this article. I wish to learn more issues about it!
October 2nd, 2011 at 11:40 am
brinkmann spotlight…
[...]Mont Blanc Trails » Blog Archive » 2010 Ultra Trail CCC[...]…
October 2nd, 2011 at 1:40 pm
I’ve thought about writing something about this on my site. Good job! Can I put a link to this post – http://mountainnomad.co.uk/blog/2010/09/06/2010-ultra-trail-ccc/ – in my blog?
October 3rd, 2011 at 2:13 am
Admin – we have relaunched our site at http://www.hostingpromotions.org and our first promotion is for $0.01 hosting… yep, hosting for a penny from one of the top three hosting companies worldwide. Come check out this promo and more if interested.
October 3rd, 2011 at 11:40 am
Admin – we have relaunched our site at http://www.hostingpromotions.org and our first promotion is for $0.01 hosting… yep, hosting for a penny from one of the top three hosting companies worldwide. Come check out this promo and more if interested.
October 3rd, 2011 at 3:47 pm
Check These Out…
[...]check below, are some totally unrelated websites to ours, however, they are most trustworthy sources that we use[...]…
October 3rd, 2011 at 4:40 pm
Awesome, that’s just what I was seeking for! You just saved me alot of work
October 4th, 2011 at 10:39 pm
congratulation for this post quite good
October 5th, 2011 at 9:55 am
We possibly could go after you choose to had talking about concerning bialetti capuccino vendor at this instant espresso cups . This is an excellent note education to have the house lively around the other hand, deciding on the accurate chinese expresso brewer can lead to a good deal of advantage to an individual’s tassimo descaling named agent. We have all made up my mind we have obtained enough of top premium coffee brewers comments on as well find the actual outcome. Allow you to practice suffering from breville breast milk frother is without question overrated. You will find in versions that can cover moka cups of coffee kettle for speechless. Have said what you want to on the other hand, we dialog mainly because that experts claim apprehensions barista stovetop espresso maker stainless steel . I really mean nearly citizens to achieve this cappuccino espresso machines . Aren’t the public factoring this one to your accounts?
October 5th, 2011 at 11:36 am
3356149 beers on the wall. sck was here
October 5th, 2011 at 12:44 pm
Cr360.com is actually a UK primarily based organization that supply customisable online 360 degree feedback. Cr360.com assists you to administrate and carry out 360-feedback in any type of small business. That is assist complete to improve overall performance of an business. Cr360.com’s 360 degree evaluation support is just not only common in United kingdom but it is well-known in all Europe and Internationally.
Making use of 360 degree-feedback, you will be in a position to gather the performance needed to choose no matter whether management is doing properly or not. In leadership position any one can advantage from 360 degree feedback assessment by an external consultant or perhaps a coach. This kind of assessment delivers fast view of overall performance.
October 5th, 2011 at 1:32 pm
Fantastic blog! Do you have any hints for aspiring writers? I’m hoping to start my own blog soon but I’m a little lost on everything. Would you suggest starting with a free platform like Wordpress or go for a paid option? There are so many choices out there that I’m totally overwhelmed .. Any tips? Kudos!
October 5th, 2011 at 2:04 pm
Fantastic post however I was wondering if you could write a litte more on this subject? I’d be very grateful if you could elaborate a little bit further. Thank you!
October 5th, 2011 at 2:47 pm
This is the first site I have seen on my new Ipad 2. I’ll be back.
October 5th, 2011 at 3:37 pm
I prefer this concept. My partner and i visited your website for the first time and simply been your current fan.
October 5th, 2011 at 3:49 pm
I have previously been looking to find a supply of wholesale gold. Would anybody have past experiences?
October 5th, 2011 at 4:07 pm
You have a wonderful Blog the following Mate. Appreciate your articles or even blog posts really informative, You should hold up the truly amazing work.
October 5th, 2011 at 4:12 pm
Cats do not have to be shown how to have a good time, for they are unfailingly ingenious in that respect. — James Mason
October 5th, 2011 at 5:48 pm
very useful article. thanks very much.
October 5th, 2011 at 5:52 pm
interesting news. thank you a lot.
October 5th, 2011 at 7:08 pm
Howdy! Do you know if they make any plugins to help with Search Engine Optimization? I’m trying to get my blog to rank for some targeted keywords but I’m not seeing very good success. If you know of any please share. Appreciate it!
October 5th, 2011 at 7:38 pm
Another person I get the job done with visits your website on a regular basis and proposed it to me to study much too. The creating fashion is fantastic and also the subject material is relevant. Thanks for that insight you provide the visitors.I learn a little something far more demanding on fully distinct weblogs every day. It will need to all the time be stimulating to learn subject material from other writers and adhere to just a little one issue from their keep. I’d choose for making utilization of some while using subject material on my weblog whether or not you never brain. Natually I’ll give you a hyperlink in your world wide web website. Thank you for sharing.!
October 5th, 2011 at 7:54 pm
Hmm it looks like your site ate my first comment (it was extremely long) so I guess I’ll just sum it up what I wrote and say, I’m thoroughly enjoying your blog. I too am an aspiring blog blogger but I’m still new to the whole thing. Do you have any suggestions for newbie blog writers? I’d really appreciate it.
October 5th, 2011 at 8:01 pm
It is in reality a great and useful piece of information. I’m happy that you just shared this helpful info with us. Please stay us informed like this. Thanks for sharing.
October 5th, 2011 at 8:25 pm
Hey would you mind letting me know which web host you’re working with? I’ve loaded your blog in 3 different internet browsers and I must say this blog loads a lot quicker then most. Can you recommend a good web hosting provider at a honest price? Thanks a lot, I appreciate it!
October 5th, 2011 at 8:40 pm
I really like your blog.. very nice colors & theme. Did you design this website yourself or did you hire someone to do it for you? Plz reply as I’m looking to construct my own blog and would like to find out where u got this from. thanks
October 5th, 2011 at 8:52 pm
Hey! Someone in my Facebook group shared this website with us so I came to look it over. I’m definitely enjoying the information. I’m book-marking and will be tweeting this to my followers! Fantastic blog and great design and style.
October 5th, 2011 at 9:08 pm
I’d incessantly want to be update on new content on this internet site, saved to favorites!
October 5th, 2011 at 9:29 pm
I would like to express some appreciation to you just for bailing me out of this type of challenge. After browsing through the search engines and obtaining basics that were not productive, I thought my entire life was gone. Living without the presence of strategies to the difficulties you’ve resolved by means of your main article content is a crucial case, as well as those which might have badly affected my career if I hadn’t noticed your web blog. Your actual skills and kindness in dealing with the whole thing was crucial. I am not sure what I would have done if I hadn’t come upon such a solution like this. It’s possible to at this time look ahead to my future. Thanks a lot so much for the specialized and sensible guide. I will not think twice to recommend your web blog to anyone who should have counselling about this topic.
October 5th, 2011 at 9:42 pm
Hello There. I discovered your blog the use of msn. That is a really neatly written article. I’ll make sure to bookmark it and return to read more of your useful info. Thank you for the post. I will definitely return.
October 5th, 2011 at 9:49 pm
Excellent read, I just passed this onto a friend who was doing some research on that. And he actually bought me lunch since I found it for him smile Therefore let me rephrase that: Thanks for lunch!
October 5th, 2011 at 9:52 pm
Howdy, i read your blog from time to time and i own a similar one and i was just curious if you get a lot of spam responses? If so how do you protect against it, any plugin or anything you can advise? I get so much lately it’s driving me insane so any support is very much appreciated.
October 5th, 2011 at 9:57 pm
Thank you
October 5th, 2011 at 10:05 pm
It’s a shame you don’t have a donate button! I’d certainly donate to this outstanding blog! I guess for now i’ll settle for book-marking and adding your RSS feed to my Google account. I look forward to new updates and will talk about this site with my Facebook group. Talk soon!
October 5th, 2011 at 10:11 pm
Thank you
October 5th, 2011 at 10:18 pm
My programmer is trying to persuade me to move to .net from PHP. I have always disliked the idea because of the expenses. But he’s tryiong none the less. I’ve been using WordPress on a variety of websites for about a year and am nervous about switching to another platform. I have heard excellent things about blogengine.net. Is there a way I can import all my wordpress posts into it? Any kind of help would be greatly appreciated!
October 5th, 2011 at 10:19 pm
Thank you
October 5th, 2011 at 10:32 pm
Hi! I’m at work surfing around your blog from my new iphone 3gs! Just wanted to say I love reading your blog and look forward to all your posts! Keep up the great work!
October 5th, 2011 at 11:08 pm
Hmm is anyone else experiencing problems with the pictures on this blog loading? I’m trying to find out if its a problem on my end or if it’s the blog. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.
October 5th, 2011 at 11:30 pm
Hey! Do you know if they make any plugins to protect against hackers? I’m kinda paranoid about losing everything I’ve worked hard on. Any tips?
October 5th, 2011 at 11:35 pm
I think this is one of the most vital info for me. And i am glad reading your article. But wanna remark on some general things, The site style is wonderful, the articles is really nice : D. Good job, cheers
October 5th, 2011 at 11:52 pm
Woah! I’m really loving the template/theme of this blog. It’s simple, yet effective. A lot of times it’s hard to get that “perfect balance” between superb usability and visual appeal. I must say you have done a fantastic job with this. Additionally, the blog loads very quick for me on Safari. Superb Blog!
October 6th, 2011 at 12:41 am
I dugg some of you post as I cogitated they were very useful very beneficial.
October 6th, 2011 at 12:44 am
Hi there, just became alert to your blog through Google, and found that it is truly informative. I’m going to watch out for brussels. I will appreciate if you continue this in future. A lot of people will be benefited from your writing. Cheers!
October 6th, 2011 at 12:45 am
Hey! This post couldn’t be written any better! Reading this post reminds me of my previous room mate! He always kept talking about this. I will forward this page to him. Pretty sure he will have a good read. Thank you for sharing!
October 6th, 2011 at 12:47 am
Great post, you have pointed out some excellent points, I as well conceive this is a very excellent website.
October 6th, 2011 at 12:55 am
What i do not understood is in truth how you are not really much more smartly-preferred than you may be now. You are very intelligent. You already know thus significantly when it comes to this subject, produced me for my part imagine it from numerous various angles. Its like women and men aren’t interested unless it’s one thing to do with Girl gaga! Your individual stuffs outstanding. Always care for it up!
October 6th, 2011 at 12:58 am
Respect to article author, some excellent information.
October 6th, 2011 at 1:15 am
Do you have a spam problem on this site; I also am a blogger, and I was wanting to know your situation; many of us have developed some nice methods and we are looking to exchange techniques with other folks, be sure to shoot me an email if interested.
October 6th, 2011 at 2:52 am
Hello this is kind of of off topic but I was wondering if blogs use WYSIWYG editors or if you have to manually code with HTML. I’m starting a blog soon but have no coding experience so I wanted to get advice from someone with experience. Any help would be enormously appreciated!
October 6th, 2011 at 3:44 am
Hi there, I used to be simply intending to tell you greetings to your account. Although seems to be people are previous buddys however.
October 6th, 2011 at 4:37 am
I really enjoy looking through on this web site, it has fantastic posts.
October 6th, 2011 at 7:57 am
It is a superb suggestions particularly to these new to blogosphere, short and correct information… Many thanks for sharing this a single. A ought to go through write-up.
October 6th, 2011 at 8:03 am
Webmaster, I am the admin at SEOPlugins.org. We profile SEO Plugins for Wordpress blogs for on-site and off-site SEO. I’d like to invite you to check out our recent profile for a pretty amazing plugin which can double or triple traffic for a Worpdress blog. You can delete this comment, I didn’t want to comment on your blog, just wanted to drop you a personal message. Thanks, Rich