Run with pride and with humility. The before is the hardest part. Once you get to the start line it is simple, all you have to do is run. There will be times that are hard, times when you feel you cannot go on, times when you forget everything but getting to the next checkpoint. There will be moments of camaraderie with your supporters and fellow competitors, and moments of feeling entirely alone. Focus and determination; wherever the race ends for you, it will be a special experience. Savour every moment and realize the privilege of journeying through such a wonderful mountain environment with such incredible support and encouragement.
A quote on the North face site about the race that couldn’t be more accurate.
Over a years worth of training was now behind me as I stood in front of the town hall in the centre of Courmayeur with 1600 other runners, and thousands of noisy spectators. The atmosphere was so exciting all the tension of the last few hours drifted away. 12:30 arrived and we were off - the crowd, music, cheers and general commotion so loud that the only way most of us nearer the back knew that we where underway was the surge forward as the front runners shot off!
The noise in the narrow streets of Courmayeur was deafening - cow bells, the noisy crowd shouting and whistling, the echoes of thousands of feet running and the tap of ski poles on the tarmac. It takes a lot of concentration as I weave through runners, some running, some waving ski poles some jogging, but soon the town is left behind and we start the climb into the mountains.
The pack is still thick as we climb but I slowly make my way forward. Above the tree line the course levels out and the runners thin out a little. The view is breathtaking with the southern flank of the Mt Blanc Massif to my left, ahead a thin stream of runners stretching into the distance. A continuously varied trail ensures that the time flies past, in and out of trees, over streams, traversing round the mountainside. I always try to pass slower runners but it is difficult on the narrow and busy trails.
Arnuva checkpoint, at the bottom of the big climb to the Grand Col Ferret soon arrives. We all wear 2 timing chips on our wrists and these are scanned here, and at all the other checkpoints. Times are sent back to the organisers, the web-site, and our followers get a text message to say where we are and at what time. There is a daunting selection of food, enough to always find something you fancy, but the main problem is indecision! I discover the soup is easy to digest, and it’s probably this at each rest stop that keeps me going.
I enjoy the big climb to the highest point of the course, we are really in the high mountains here. It is taken at a fast walking pace, pushing with poles as well as legs. I find that I am working my way past people as I climb. In fact I later discover that I’ve gained 73 places since the first check point.
Passing over the Col Ferret at 2,537 m I cross from Italy into Switzerland, some 21 km and 4¼ hours from the start. I was overjoyed to have got here as I set off on the long 22 km descent that lay ahead of me.
The descent was fast and exhilarating along a good trail, the scenery spectacular when I had the chance to look up! It soon gets steeper and more exciting and I hear someone shout ‘Attention Gazelle’ as I fly past! Now on forest trails and roads, I often run carrying my poles, I hate the ‘tap tap tap’ on the tarmac and it jars my arms! It takes just over an hour to get to Le Fouly refreshment stop, 10 km and 1,000 m lower.
Two hours later just before 8:00 pm, after a 500 m climb I arrive at Champex Lac to the shouts of “Allez Simon!”. Tracey & Joe and our friend Sarah with Leon were waiting for me by the food tent. The choice of food is amazing; Cold meats, cheese, soup, pasta, biscuits, fruit! So much choice, but what can I digest? Can I eat enough to keep me going, or will I get cramps if I eat too much?
Into the night
Changed into leggings and long top I set off into the dusk out of Champex. It was hard turning round and leaving Tracey & Joe to head out into the night with a full mountain marathon still to run.
As the sun set and it got dark head torches came on all around. Little pools of light snaking away into the night. I had one on my head and one on my chest to pick out my feet. I hear what sounds like something flying off and landing on the ground, stop, look back and there is my wrist band with the 2 timing chips lying on the ground. I’m unsure of what to do in my tired state, but I am aware that effectively this could be the end of my run, because technically I’m out of the race if the band is removed. This was to play on my mind the whole way on from this point.
The big climb to Bovine brings new problems. I feel suddenly starving. or is it stomach cramps? I’m slowed down to a plod, following the line of headlamps up the imposing dark mountain. Doubts set in; will I run out of energy; could this be my limit already at 54 km? Reaching the top of the climb I’m feeling better, a beautiful moon rise over Mt Blanc lifting my spirits, as I grab a bowl of soup at the desolate Bovine drink stop - on the top of a mountain.
It’s 10:30 at night and a little chilly now so I put on a light wind proof, a scarf and gloves. From this lofty point the lights of Martigny way below in the valley are visible as I start my long descent. Through the trees it’s really dark and tricky to spot the roots, rocks and little drops, so my speed is not fast but I still pass the odd runner.
11:30 pm and there is still a warm welcome at Trient. I refill my water pack and try to eat as much as I can before heading out for the last big climb. My spirits are raised getting a text from Tracey - ‘Congratulations on getting to Trient in 304th place’! A few minutes later I’m feeling very down again as the stomach problems return with vengeance. I’m reduced to a slow plod, many people are passing me now, and I even have to stop to force down an energy gel and bar.
The trail soon starts cutting back across the hillside and it’s much less steep. I start to feel a bit better and pick up the pace, sometimes running, others walking as the trail traversed around the mountain side. To my right, way below the lights of the Vallorcine valley.
The trail starts to drop down hill. I’m picking my way along this track as fast as I can, zigzagging down the hairpins, running all alone now. At times I stop to check I’m still on course. I’m in a strange emotional state. Exhilarated running through deserted mountains alone in a small bubble of light. Waves of emotion well up and almost bring me to tears. It’s the combination of the total concentration and exertion for over 12 hours at almost maximum effort, relief to have managed the last big climb and the joy of the run.
The Last Painful Km’s
At Vallorcine I patch up a big heel blister, and more on my hands and take more soup before setting off for the last 16 km at 2:45 am. I’m feeling stronger and make good progress up the gentle hill to the Col des Montets. The downhill to follow starts to get hard - my legs are finding it difficult resisting gravity, and my heel blister hurts as I step down.
Argentière passes and it’s the final push, through the woods above the south of the valley, running, walking at a good pace following a small group. I foolishly pick up the pace to follow a pair overtaking us and am soon left alone, struggling in the darkness. Down from Lavencher it’s pitch black - there are no lights from the valley and the steep hill is hard going. Alone with my own thoughts the pain of my feet creeps in, the pain in my shoulder from carrying the rucksack gets worse, I notice the ache in my hip joints. The hill seems to go on for ever.
The Finish
Eventually the hill does end, the bright lights of Chamonix are just ahead. I feel like I’m barely moving, almost hobbling, people keep passing me. Into the main streets of Chamonix - running now between gates set up to keep a clear passage through town. At 5:30 in the morning they are not needed! I’m running, I’m determined to cross the line running as I turn into Place Balmat the last 50 meters to the line - the huge arch, bright lights plenty of people, the finish. I cross 17 hours, 8 minutes and 4 seconds after leaving Courmayeur.
The tension is not over though as I hand in my broken bracelet and timing chips. They shouldn’t be off your wrist! What happened? ‘Je cours, il tombe’ is all I can manage. He looks suspiciously, asks questions to other organisers, ‘Ill n’est pas coupé’. It’s not been cut, Ok, I’m given my finisher top and let through, my time stands!
I get to Tracey and Joe and I just can’t speak. I’m so emotional, so exhausted, so happy to have finished and so glad to have my time officially accepted. It’s been over a year of training, of self doubt, of dreaming and now it was done.
Statistics
The Course
A Mountain Ultra Marathon. 86.5 km with 4,537 m Ascent, 4,722 m descent. 1,603 starters
Result
Finished in 17 Hours, 8 Minutes and 4 Seconds, at 5:38 am Saturday 25 August 2007
361 st Position
123 rd in Class (V1-H: Veteran 1, Male - 40 - 49 Years)
1,332 finishers
For more information visit the Ultra Trail Web-Site: http://www.ultratrailmb.com
More photo’s from my run here:
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| Ultra Trail CCC 2007 |
So 7am arrived, the starting gun went off (somewhat before the announcer got his count down in !) and we were off, at a gentle walking pace which slowing accelerated into a run. 50m later we were walking again as the pack slowed to make the sharp left round the Chemist, and again we where running. A nice gentle warm up.
At first I found myself trundling along at the pace of the pack. In fact there wasn’t much choise as 1000 runners along the streets of Cham don’t leave much room for manoeuvring! Soon I realized that I shouldn’t just follow and should try to run my own race, so I started working my way through the pack.The route soon leaves the streets of Cham behind, and starts along the ski de fond tracks before going under the railway, and then swinging across over the river. I was nicely warmed up and enjoying running along in a little bit of space with other runners going at my speed. It felt easy so far, but then so far it was flat! We run through Les Bois, with people cheering us on out of windows, and then on to the first climb, up to Le Lavancher. Immediately many of the runners around me where walking. I ran up most of it, except where it narrowed and I had to follow some walkers for a while.The first refreshment stop is at Le Lavancher. A first for me (well this is my first running event!). I grabbed some dried apricots, drank a mug of water, ate some more dried fruit. I stayed longer than needed but I knew that getting enough food in me would be really important.The route is now on footpaths up the side of the valley, under trees with lots of roots to avoid tripping over as we head out towards Argentiere, past the man with the cow bells. Again some hills slow many to walking. By now having gone past runners who where walking on the hills, and then being re-passed on the flat or downhills by the same runners I decided that everyone has their own way of running this distance and I just had to do what I’d intended; which was to run as much as I could.As I came in to Argentiere I realised that I was going to get to the Col des Montets earlier than I’d told Tracey, and worried that she wouldn’t be there!We are now on the road up to Le Tour, the slow gentle jog up hill into Montroc, and then back onto paths round to Tre-le-champs where I filled my water bag up, had a cup of tea - by mistake, but decided that this was quite a good drink after all, full as it was with sugar! The man with the cow bells was there to cheer us on, the SAME man as earlier - is he omni-present ? Maybe there is only the one man with cow bells at all Alpine sporting events?Onwards to the Col des Montets where in the car park was our car. I knew that Tracey and Joe would be somewhere along the next part of the trail which was great! I past the 15Km marker and soon met Tracey and Joe, in the backpack, at 8:50am - 1hr 50min down, and 27km to go, the harder 27km of course!
I arrive at Vallorcine (19km) refreshment station in 2hrs 10mins. A notice there says that the next refreshments are in 6km with 760m of ascent ! I stuff down as much food as possible and make sure my water bag is full. The first big climb begins. I tell myself that if I get to the Col des Possettes in an hour I will be really pleased! The ascent wasn’t as I expected. It is on a 4×4 track, which is I think the ski slope down to Vallorcine’s new telecabin. It’s quite a slog, the slope being just steep enough for it to be hard to run, but not too steep. Ok that’s not well explained but It’s not the sort of slope I like! Lots of people where walking here. I ran as much as I could, and then realised that on some parts I could walk fast, and still be quicker than my running pace. I adopted this strategy, running the flatter sections, and fast walking the other parts, partly because although I could have run more I knew that I had to run 12km further than I ever had and a lot more ascent and wanted to give myself a chance of finishing! It seemed to work well - I could walk up the steeper slope quickly, gaining on some of the other runners, while using less energy than running. I soon started to recognise some of what is the ski piste in winter, and after many switchbacks just when you thought you were there I arrived at the top of the Telecabin. The tops of the Aig du Tour and the Chardonnet came into view, followed by the Tour glacier, the Aig Verte and the Dru. An amazing panorama that really lifts the spirit at the top of the tough climb.The Col des Possettes refreshment stop arrives, my watch says 3hrs 15mins gone, so the climb had taken me 1hr 5mins, which I was another real lift. Ate Bannana, dried fruit and some bits or cereal bars, took a lick of salt and refilled my water bag. The timer was now 3:20 and I set off on the big decent back to Montroc.It’s definitely quicker on skis, but I had a good pace without ! The first part is on 4×4 tracks down to Charamillon, the top of the bubble lift, before it turns off the ski slope onto foot paths. I love running these paths - having to watch your footing, skipping over rocks and continuously changing direction, I must have had a manic grin a mile wide at that point! Other runners clearly did not have the same appreciation for these descents as I had to wait behind slower groups of runners for a fair while before I could get past, and at one point I passed a runner being helped who had turned his ankle quite badly by the looks of it - I can certainly see why some are hesitant on this terrain.The car park at Le Tour arrived and then it was down the road towards Montroc, past the 30km mark at 3:45, the full descent had taken just 25 minutes, and I was now into new territory. 30k is the furthest I’d ever run, and I’d beaten my time over the same amount of ascent and distance by 15 minutes ! This was a great boost, which got even better as I ran into Montroc for the second time to find Tracey and Joe, in the pushchair, waiting for me.
Back up to the Refreshment stop at Tre-La-Champ, where I stocked up with water again and stuffed down sugar lumps, cereal bars and banana and then off to cross the RN506 and on to the Grand Balcon Sud for the final 11km up to the finish at Plan Praz.It’s immediately steep and I’m straight away walking along with a fair few others, but as the path undulates I can run some of the flatter sections. I find it’s easy to get lulled into following other runners who are not necessarily doing your pace. I soon started feeling hungry as the climb continued, and had to slow while I took an energy gel, and stuffed down a nougat bar. I started feeling better and again ran the flatter sections. It was great terrain, under the trees with tantalising views across to the Chamonix Aiguilles, having to watch your footing on the soft earth with many tree roots.At 34km the Cross runners (A half marathon which takes the same route to Argentiere), who had started 2 hours later rejoined the marathon route from a steep path on the left. There was suddenly more runners on the path, and lots of new faces. I had found that at various stages on the route I kept passing and then being passed by the same people.I was feeling a bit low on energy again, when the next refreshment stop came along. It was just a drink stop and there where many other people who were really running short on reserves and really wanted that stop to have other food! I grabbed some sugar lumps, and drink and ate another gel, and set off again with the voulenteers encouraging us that there where just 6km to go. I think my timer said 4:50ish, but I can’t be certain and I’m sure that can’t be right - but I do remember thinking that if I have only 6km to do I could finish in under 6hrs.The climb continued. I was passing quite a few runners now, most who I didn’t recognise so I assumed they where Cross runners. It’s difficult to pass as the track is narrow and the drop off to the left pretty steep !After the La Flagere refreshment stop I was feeling really good. Lots of energy still and I was running quite fast, passing runners on the narrow tracks who where being really good about moving out of the way, and then I got to the back of the queue! Everyone stoped, and waited, and edged forward slowy. The queue was, I realised, for the steep steps at this point of the route. We waited, 10mins in all and as soon as my body had switched to this new pace I was suddenly starving ! A bit of a blow considering how well I’d felt earlier. I took the opertunity to get out my remaining gels from the rucksack and stashed them in the waist pockets. The steps where actually not a problem, but I guess tired people at the end of a marathon are going to be more careful, and it was always going to be a bottle neck.Again I was off, at good pace skipping over the bolders to get past other runners. The last refreshment stop arrives and knowing that there is now just 2km left and feeling pretty good I just grab some drink and an orange segment and I’m straight off, most likely on a bit of an adrenaline high at this point! It starts to get steep again but I power up the hills, still feeling good. A sudden steep climb I take walking, and as I get to the top I see for the first time the finish. It should be a big boost, It’s the exact opposite! It looks miles away and it looks miles higher! It’s the big sting in the tail, as the trail loops round for the final kilometer to the finish, it gets to a series of switchbacks up a steep hill.
I’m reduced to walking, trying to keep the pace up, at least knowing that I will finish now. It seems to take ages to get any closer, as my timer goes past 6hrs, then 6hrs 5mins. The last steep section is behind me, and the final distance marker say 42km, there is just 195 meters to go! I start to run again, as do others. I’m passed by someone making a sprint finish, then spot Tracey and Joe, and again pass the man with the cow bells (yep, the same one) and finaly cross the finish line with a big grin!
I finished in 6:11:39, in 523 place out of 852 finishers. I was the 476th male and was 198th in my category (V1M - Veteran 1 !) and was 2 hrs 44 mins 13 seconds behind the winner (who was Nick Sharp)
It was a great experience and I can thoroughly recommend it to anyone who wants a go at a pretty tough marathon!
And here is a Google Earth 