Not since primary school have I sprinted my way to a podium finish (and that red ribbon is still a prized possession and yes OK it may have actually been the sack race). I’m not fast, never have been. But anyone who knows me will tell you, I’m stubborn, I’m persistent and I’m a survivor. Despite my incessant chat, I don’t actually like people that much. Team sports are not for me. I like to pick my company and I like to test my limits. So running an endurance event has a certain appeal for me. If all else fails I can out stubborn runners who are much fitter than me.

Anyway, back in 2014 my good friend Tanya ran this mythical beast of a race called Ultra Trail Mont Blanc. The race is 100 miles, 10,000 meters of elevation through 3 countries all whilst circumnavigating Mont Blanc. Tanya’s nuts, inspirational, but as I decided at the time a) she was certifiable and b) I was never, repeat never running 100 miles.

Entry to UTMB requires a minimum of 15 points from a maximum of 3 approved races in the previous 2years. For me this was would equate to 3 100km race. Race entry is capped at 2300. You must also be lucky enough to get through the draw.

For the ladies who’ve given birth more than once, you will understand the special type of amnesia that takes hold. You forget the pain and the hurt and the hours of agonising labour almost as soon as the baby is born. You fall pregnant again, you’re excited, a little nauseous maybe, but you start planning and preparing for the happy arrival of your new born.  But then there’s the moment that you go into labour for the second time and you find yourself remembering and wondering why the hell you decided to do this again.

Ultras are like that, you plan you train you get nervous, the race hurts but then you have the medal it’s shiny and pretty and the pain is forgotten, (cleverly the medal/ buckle or gilet doesn’t cost you a tank load of money- unlike the children).

Following a disastrous Ultra trail Australia(UTA) 100km 2016, during which I rolled my ankle and hobbled to the finish, my strange logic dictated that I should find something harder to do. I fancied Alpine challenge 100km. So, I talked my friend Dominic into it and we trekked off to Victoria for the weekend to enjoy all the Victorian Alps could throw at us.

At around this time I began to hear murmurings of a group of runners from the Northside Running group (NRG) entering UTMB. Tanya had mentioned plans for a repeat visit. I was becoming more interested.

I knew going into Alpine challenge that the race was a qualifier for UTMB. I was curious to see if I could earn the necessary points for UTMB entry, not expecting to, and only half thinking I’d enter even if I could get through the draw.  There was also the small issue of persuading the family who I hadn’t really mentioned it to yet. Would they want this to be how they would spend their 2017 holiday?

During Alpine challenge, I started to think that I really do love the mountains. I really enjoyed the race and by the time we left our new friend George (a participant in the 100-mile race) at the turn off for the Miler, I secretly wished I was taking the Miler turn off too.  Add to that Rocco talking about UTMB only 5mins after finishing Alpine Miler and I’d decided I was going to enter the lottery. (No one gets in the first year they apply apparently).

Seems my entry was successful! Some sweet talking with the husband and the payment later I was in.

My fantastic coach Scotty Hawker tried not to choke on his green smoothie when I told him, (I have no idea what he drinks but I’m sure its ridiculously healthy) and he very politely agreed that it wasn’t impossible for me to complete. I knew I was going to have to train my arse off.

I signed up with Matty Abel at DBA runners for strength work and found myself a great physio. Pete and Elliot at the body mechanic kept this old girl going even when bits of my body started to complain about the training load. Thank you fellas.

Fast forward through a lot of training, hills, more hills and even more hill repeats later and I was as ready as I was going to be. Special thanks to Tanya, who is an amazing runner and friend and I really wouldn’t have done half the training without her (I really can’t thank you enough). Brook, Nikki, David, Byron, Russ and everyone else who put up with my endless chit chat and the odd trail tantrum – thank you.

Chamonix

After a long trip with 3 exhausted grumpy children and an only slightly less grumpy hubby, I found myself in Chamonix.  I love my children but jetlagged kids are not fun and I will confess to briefly considering moving out of our Airbnb into whatever hotel had spare rooms. Sensing that this would be bad for family relations I toughed it out and placated the kids with macaroons, cheese and Orangina. Beer and cheese kept Steve happy too.

The lead up to the race was fabulous, the credit card got a bashing at the expo on more than one occasion and I don’t think I managed to go into Chamonix once without bumping into at least 2 or 3 of the Aussie posse.  I really should have rested more but there was too much to see and do, plus I had to balance rest with making sure the kids had a good holiday.

The Race.

I’m a bit slack and one of the last of our group to write their report. So rather than repeat everything they’ve already said I pulled together the table on the next few pages.

Kit

The weather was utterly miserable at different stages of the race. It poured with rain, it snowed, the fog was intense and the mud was worse.  I’ve struggled with the cold in recent years but I knew my thermals were good and I purchased a spare one for the drop bag.   I was bought up to believe there is ‘’No bad weather only bad kit”.  After UTMB 2017 I’m not sure I still agree. The mandatory kit was extremely important and not something I would scrimp on, I used every last thing I carried.

Items I literally wouldn’t have survived without;

Black diamond poles

Salomon Bonatti rain pants. (I love them)

Salomon rain jacket

Ronhill windproof mid-layer

Ice breaker thermals

Hanz waterproof Gloves (although the addititon of thin merino liners would have been better)

Salomon 12L pack

The People

To be able to share this experience with the great group of guys and girls from Australia and particularly the NRG group made the whole trip really special.  I’m not a member of NRG but I was welcomed to the group with open arms, these guys rock!

My family were amazing. Steve managed to negotiate the official buses, with all 3 children in tow, to meet me at Courmayeur, Arnouvaz and Vallorcine. After missing me at the finish of this year’s UTA he managed to, not only get to the finish, but to position himself and the children such that they could run across the finish line with me.  I was crying before I saw them but if you look at my finisher’s pictures I’m balling. It was an amazing feeling. I hope that they are as proud of me as I am of them.

The people made this race for me.  I like to chat with other runners most of the time. If I go quiet I’m either struggling or focussed on getting to the top of a climb.

Tanya and I had agreed to run to Les Contamines together and we did see each other a fair bit at the beginning. Tanya is insanely fast downhill and I prefer the up hills. I would push on up the hill, knowing that she would catch me on the downs. This worked pretty well, but at some point, during the first 30km we became separated.

Given that not everyone speaks English, I was a bit apprehensive about how I was going to while the hours away with no one to chat to, but a ski season in Quebec and some high school French enabled me to speak to a few of the locals. I also met a great English girl called Emily who I stayed with until Courmayeur. She went on to beat me by 4 hours, so maybe I did go off a bit fast.

Russell was one of the group from Australia and someone I had trained with before we left. Russell and I saw each other at almost every checkpoint.  A few times he said “What are you doing up here? No seriously Emma, what are you doing up with me?” I wasn’t sure how to take this.  In training Russ had been a stronger runner and he’s definitely faster than me over 100km. I was worried this meant I was going to blow-up soon. I decided to just keep running as I was because I felt pretty comfortable.

Obviously, the blow up was in the post though, because the next time I saw Russ I was dying on my arse. It was the one and only time I fleetingly thought I couldn’t make it. I felt so sick, shaky and utterly broken. Russ said that there was nothing he could do for me and that I needed to get through it on my own. Tough love, even if he did head out of the checkpoint with me for a little while. Of course, he was right, it’s all about mental toughness at this point and I had to get my shit together by myself. I took some ginger and shuffled out of the checkpoint, thinking that would be the last time I saw him.

Poor Russ, like a bad penny I kept reappearing.  Eventually at La Fouly after the trauma of Grand Col Ferret and sleep deprived, I’d worn him down. He agreed to us sticking together through the second night and that we’d reassess our arrangement in the morning. For me this was great, it felt good to be in this together and I found thinking about how someone else was feeling and trying to keep our mood up to be a great distraction from my own discomfort.

Other than my briefly snapping at someone outside Trient, who wouldn’t pass me, despite breathing down my neck, I can honestly say that I felt positive for the rest of the race. My body didn’t quite agree. My knees had been screaming at me since the descent of Grand Col Ferret.

On the downhills, I was trying to preserve my quads, which by now was pretty pointless. They’d deserted me long ago. I think the knee pain was undermining my confidence in my balance, which is not that great at the best of times. Downhills were painfully slow.  I didn’t want to slow Russ down (something that I thought about a fair bit) so I made sure I pushed hard on the uphills, calling back to check he was still behind me.  On the downhills Russ would go ahead and this seemed to work well.  When he fell asleep dreaming of storm troopers I woke him up and when I told him how little I’d eaten he made sure we stopped to take gels. I think it was a fair partnership. We would probably have run certain sections quicker on our own, but equally we would have been slower on others.  Mentally staying together definitely gave me an advantage and I hope Russ feels the same.

Sleep

Early on I was anxious about the prospect of hallucinations.  I’m a bit of a control freak, I hardly drink alcohol and I don’t like the feeling of not being in control mentally. I decided that I would try and stay ahead of the sleep monsters. I tried to sleep at Arnouvaz. It was a complete waste of time.  I wasn’t tired enough, it was daylight, I was wet from the rain storm and the checkpoint was really buzzing with activity. I just got cold and had to waste time getting warmed up.

Later in the race, I was hallucinating.  Not badly, but I was seeing shapes, mostly animals, in the shadows, the mud and the trees.  It was like when you look up at the clouds and can make out familiar shapes. I kind of got used to it. I was seeing snakes in the mud, but I knew they weren’t there so just ignored it.

The only time the visuals got a little weird was when we went through a wooded area that really did have carved animals by the side of the track.  (At least I asked Russ and other runners and they said they saw them too!). I was surprised at how well I could function on so little sleep. Perhaps I have the kids to thank for the sleep deprivation training?

I eventually slept at Champex Lac, by which time I was desperate for sleep and had no trouble passing out on a wet stinky mattress for about 20mins.  Later I slept with my head rested on my pack on a table in Trient. I felt surprisingly good after 5/10 mins. “Refreshed” would be a bit strong, but I felt human again.

Fuel

I didn’t eat enough, nowhere near. I struggled to eat on the climbs, partially because of the cold, I couldn’t feel my fingers to open the zips on the pack, and partially because I didn’t want to break my rhythm. I’d taken tailwind (powdered carbohydrates) which was dissolves, but the cold temperatures meant that I wasn’t as thirsty as normal, so I was getting fewer calories there too. Later I was in a calorie deficit hole so big that the thought of eating made me feel sick and I ate nothing for hours.  Each aid station had hot sugary tea and salty soup. I could stomach these and made sure I had both at each aid station after Grand Col Ferret.

*Bonus points- here is Emma getting a podium at Primary School

I wrote such a long UTMB report last time, that I didn’t think I’d bother with another. However I changed my mind due to the loopy way it ended. I have kept the first part very short and would have included more photos but I outdid Brook by not taking a single one.

Aussie line- up at UTMB 2017

Lead up :  Less volume in training (around 70 80kms pw vs 100) but similar vert. No injuries.

Pre-race in Chamonix :  Great to know so many other runners from Aust. Felt relaxed, good sleep in the days prior and a couple of hours on the day

Start to La Fouly 110kms

The second hill was diabolical where I couldn’t keep anything down but would then come good, only to repeat the cycle 15 mins later. I got way too cold as I had started only in a T-shirt and skirt (sorry Richard for not listening). So cold that I couldn’t even get my fingers to work to open the ziploc bags containing my thermal top, gloves etc. I had to use my teeth to get them open.

I came good and whilst being behind where I wanted to be, I was happy enough cruising along. I thought that the race was going to pan out in a similar fashion to 2014, where I wouldn’t have a lot of wriggle room before the cut offs, but was feeling reasonably OK (OK being a relative term in the middle of a brutal miler). I only managed to have 3 gels I think, so was relying on soup, Coke, oranges and a couple of crackers as my fuel. This seemed to get me through last time, but with the cold temperatures (down to minus 9 degrees) and the benefit of hindsight, my nutrition obviously wasn’t sufficient.

La Fouly to Champex Lac 123kms

I didn’t realise it at the time, but the wheels started coming off a few kms out from La Fouly. The problem was because I had completed the race before, I kept anticipating when certain sections and checkpoints were coming up. The trouble was as I got more tired, my memory and my handle on where I was on the course was getting a bit messed up. I got really frustrated as I expected to see the La Fouly checkpoint a lot sooner than I did, and in my mind I felt like they had shifted the location from last time. I know this doesn’t make sense but I also felt like I had some say in where the checkpoint should have been, and that the person in charge of this checkpoint had ignored my instructions. Hmmm maybe alarm bells should have been ringing.

I got into La Fouly and set my alarm for a ten min snooze. I didn’t fall asleep but I think it helped a wee bit. I had just under 4 hours to get to Champex Lac. It was only 13kms with most of it downhill (and as it turns out on the road), and then a relatively short ascent. I headed off feeling tired but OK, and planned to hopefully have a 15min sleep at the next CP. The downhill section seemed to go quickly and I felt like I was running the majority of it. I seemed to be passing quite a number of people and was feeling pretty positive.

Then things started to go awry again at Praz-De Fort, just before the climb. As in 2014 I noticed a cubby house on the corner of a street. I was beyond tired as It was around 11.45pm on Sat night, and we’d started the race at 6.30pm on Fri. I stopped to see if I could go in, but too many runners were going past. From here on it was a real stop start affair, as I kept closing my eyes whilst I was walking, then would just stop for a while and then finally I tacked onto the back of a group of people and started up the hill.  I got what I thought was all the way to the top, but then couldn’t hear or see any signs of the checkpoint. I was getting really frustrated, although not upset. For reasons I still can’t fully explain, I then decided that the path I was on, was not leading to the checkpoint, and that I was lost.  It didn’t help that there were lots of little switchbacks and a few other small trails in the vicinity, not to mention faces carved out of trees (truly, this bit wasn’t just in my imagination).  I don’t think I really strayed from the path though, I just kept sitting down and then telling anyone who would listen that we were all lost and that I didn’t know how to get to Champex Lac.  I felt like I was sending people off in all different directions, but maybe it was just the switchbacks that were making me think that.

Some people kept on going, and others stopped and convinced me to go with them for a little while. From my fuzzy memory and looking at Strava it appears that I stopped 3 times. The first two times for 15-20 mins each, and then I got up and went another 700m or so each time before sitting down again.. I am very clear that when I first stopped there was 90 mins until the next checkpoint (CP) cut off, and I was feeling so frustrated as I just wanted to get there to have a quick sleep. When I stopped for the 3^rd and final time I didn’t know it, but I was only 800m from the CP, had an hour to get there, and only had a further 70m of ascent!! However I sat there for ages before I finally rang the organisers to say I was lost.  I spoke to someone but then got cut off and couldn’t get through when I tried again. I was soooo tired and felt a mix of helplessness and frustration. I just wanted to get out of here and to the checkpoint. Not one ounce of me wanted to give up, and I kept thinking about running across the finish line with Matisse and Jesse.

I don’t know why I couldn’t work out that everyone that kept on going on the trail never came back to me, so they must have been on the right path. It was also very well marked, and I could see all the markers glowing in the distance. As with La Fouly the trouble was I thought I knew where the CP was, and I couldn’t reconcile where I was, with where I thought I should be. I even told some poor souls that the checkpoint was near my driveway, and if I could find that, that I would be able to find the right way. I had definitely taken a side trip to crazy town.

Finally with 5 mins to go before the cut off time, a middle aged lady, two girls in their late teens/early twenties and a dog came across me sitting in my same spot.  I started to deliver my standard speech that we were all lost and not to go that way, when they said they were volunteers and would help me back to the CP. I told them that as there was still 5 mins until the cut off, that I obviously should be able to keep going, but the older woman was adamant that this was the end of my race. I didn’t say anything rude but my body language would have given away my extreme frustration. I also I still thought that they were leading me in the wrong direction to the CP and said as much to one of the girls. Other than being super tired, my legs were still feeling good and I had no stomach issues. Of course they were doing the right thing, but I didn’t even walk with them into the tent, and stormed off ahead.

So that was it, an absolute bummer after 123 kms out of 167 according to the results sheet. I’d completed 7 out of 10 of the climbs with 3 of the shorter (but muddy apparently) ascents to go. I had covered somewhere between 7,000 and 8,000 metres of ascent depending on whose data you look at.

Funnily enough I got up the next day not feeling too bad about it, and even now it is only when I sense someone else is disappointed for me that I feel it too. As I said to Robyn Bruins I got to enjoy even more time on course that she did, albeit I didn’t get a cool new finishers gillet, or come in 10^th place!!! (Congrats again Robyn). On a positive note I stuck to my plan of not giving up (although sitting stubbornly on the trail didn’t help), and I did have some absolutely magical moments out on course. It is an incredible race with jaw dropping scenery and vibe. I might go back one day to crew for someone else or to do one of the shorter races, but I don’t feel like I need to do the full UTMB course again. I’ve been fortunate to do it twice and I think there are so many great races out there, that I’d like to do something different next time. Perhaps that’s Western States as it will be my 3^rd year in the lottery, so hopefully I get in sometime in the next 2-3 years. Might need to pick up a bit of speed for that one though.

In terms of what I’ve learnt from it, probably just what I already knew – that I have to improve my nutrition as clearly my brain stopped working. Maybe the cold affected me more than I realised, should I have taken no-doze? or perhaps tried to sleep on the side of the trail and then woken up with some more clarity? Regardless I had a blast anyway.

Finally thank you to my coach Andy, everyone who I’ve trained with, and to my family for the sacrifices they make for me. Congrats to all the other UTMB’ers this year, regardless of the result everyone put everything they had on the line. It was so much more fun having you all around

My human and doggie rescuers coming into Champex Lac– Im not in the picture as I marched off ahead in a foul mood

Sooooo,

UTMB 2017, the loop again, where to start?

In 1968 a race was held for the first nonstop solo yacht race around the globe. By the time the race had finished, more people had been on the moon’s surface than had completed the solo voyage.

For the record, Robert Knox-Johnston was the only person to finish the race but curiously, a French sailor by the name of Bernard Moitessier had the chance of winning. Rather than sail to finish line to instant fame and cash prizes, he instead continued to sail on to Tahiti, (effectively sailing 1 1/2 time around the world non stop).
It became apparent to him that racing wasn’t the inspiration for competing in the event but rather a pure joy of sailing.

I like to think this is what happened to me over the 43 hours I was out there and hopefully this will become apparent within the below mumble jumble of my race report.

Let me just say from start that attempting such an individual event takes a team. Those of you who were around me during my training should feel part of my run. Family and friends, please feel part of my run as you directly or indirectly got me to the start line; you have every right to feel proud of yourselves because of what we achieved.
UTMB 2017 would be my second time running in the event;

I knew what had to be done.

I had learnt valuable lessons from the first time and this time there was an entourage of Australian’s going to the event.

AND

As a bit of a ultra groupie, the field for this UTMB was epic.

This includes, but not limited to:
(Listed in finish places)

Mens
François D’haene
Kilian Jornet
Tim Tollefson
Xavier Thévenard
Jim Walmsley

Womens
Núria Picas
Andrea Huser
Christelle Bard
Kaori Niwa
Kellie Emmerson
Alissa St Laurent
Anna-Marie Watson
Amy Sproston
Maria Nikolova
Robyn Bruins (I know her J)

Beginners guide to surviving Chamonix before UTMB:

• Get there before the race starts (essential).
• Go for a light run after the flight from Australia.
• Eat baguette’s, eat all the baguettes.
• Don’t walk too much.
• Buy everything from the expo.
• Take a selfie with Killian.
• Go to one of many Pastries and go and look at a Chocolate Almond Croissant……. But don’t eat it ! (But know that it’s there when you finish the loop).

The night before the run a group of the Australian crew had gathered for dinner at an Italian restaurant, only two tables down was David Laney who had finished 3rd and 4th in this event. I think everyone on our table ordered Bolognese as did Laney!!!!!!!……… This was a great sign!

Friday came and I did everything I could do to sleep before the start of the race but I just couldn’t, the excitement was just too great.
With a course adjustment and horrible weather predicted, they started the race later making it an 18:30 start time. The Aussie contingent gathered at the church some 100 metres from the start line. We were in no rush to push up to the front and I was actually sitting down until the count down.

As a man, you are only allowed to cry in two situations:

1. When watching the end of Terminator 2 and Arnold Schwarzenegger lowers himself into the molten lava to save humanity and gives the thumbs up, and

2. At the start of UTMB when they play Vangelis Conquest of Paradise (I’m not too proud to say I shed a tear or two while this was playing at the start).

Since learning lessons from my first loop, my strategy this time was to get through the night as slowly as possible, make it to Courmayeur in some kind of shape and not the complete wreck I was on 2015. After Courmayeur I was going to ‘Pimp my Run’: I had caffeine, iPod, Panadol and clean running clothes bought from the expo.

Anyway back to the start. My ‘no rush’ policy was working well, just keeping up with general traffic and making a point to look around at the views. It was a really good strategy that I felt worked well. The only part where I wasn’t comfortable was the weather. From experience, I don’t feel you are really in the run until passing Col De Bohemme, (it’s approximately around the marathon mark). Until that point, I was slow; not being passed by too many people and not passing anyone, when even the slightest twitch or feeling of chafing occurred I would pull off to the side and reapply my ultra glide, I ended up having to do this every 4 hours or so but no real issues. (Chafing almost brought my race to an end last time). The climb from Les Chapiexu  to Col de la Seigne  seemed to take forever and much longer and tougher than I remembered. During this time it started to rain and  the mud was making it horribly tricky to climb. At one point I fell over in a puddle of mud, but I got back up and continued on. Once above 2,000 m it started sleeting and eventually snowing. Stupidly I didn’t change into warmer clothes so my fingers went numb before I could open my zipper. I was locked in to making the pass in shorts and a t-shirt. Thankfully the pass was close enough so that I was able to gut it out and then get the hell off that mountain.

Climbing above 2000m I really noticed a change in weather and my heart rate. The air gets thinner and with the mixture of cold air, it really slowed my pace, but as soon as you drop down to  below 1,800 m you feel awesome and it almost makes you forget about the climb you were just on. It’s kinda a UTMB sucker punch that you fall for every time.

The run down was some of the most beautiful trails I’ve ever run on mixed with the sun rising over the Alps it was trail running at it purest.

As I came into Lac Combal (65k) I saw Emma as she was leaving, she was in high spirits, she was running really well, she was either having the race of her life, or unbeknown to her she was about to blow up.
I wished her luck and spent a good 15 minutes at the checkpoint having some soup, salami and cheese and got out there and started a runnable flat section before the climb to Arete Du Mont Favre, (roughly 500m of vert  in 3km) It’s an epic climb as you can see the top when you start and the trail follows ridge lines up. You can see people making the pass when you are still an hour away. You always wished you further up the climb but then you turned around and appreciated where you had come from.

After making the pass, the run down to Courmayeur is gentle for the first 4km but ruthlessly cruel after Col Checrouit.
It’s kinda like coming off Mt Solitary but runnable. Either way it sucks hard and your quads start to cry.

If you’re reading this report and thinking of doing UTMB this part is brutal! It makes you realise that you may be lucky to be running UTMB but you are also as dumb as fuck because you just don’t think a run could be this cruel.

UTMB has it’s own personality and right now it was being a moody bitch. Coming into Courmayeur I was feeling ok-ish, time to pimp my run!

Again a familiar situation, I saw Emma as she was leaving, she still looked pretty good but the race was really only just starting.
I was lucky enough to have one of Bruces (One of the Aussies I had dinner with last night) friends Danae’s help at the aid station. An absolute sweetheart and champion! I changed my clothes, took some panadol loaded up with caffeine gels and got out of there. Spirits were high and I started to climb pretty well, keeping up with people and overtaking where I could but once again I was in no rush, I figured I was 3 hours ahead of cut off without doing too much and I was hoping to increase that to 6 hours by the time I hit the streets of Chamonix, ultimately getting a sub 40 hour time.  Those who know the climb, know that it’s in Italy, so it’s not well maintained and I think it is one of the steepest climbs on the course. This climb almost broke me last time but this time I really enjoyed it. Yes I became one those annoying people who would say “Hi” to everyone.

To put things in perspective, I took about 30 mins off my climb back in 2015. I figured from here I would try to hurt myself till Champex – Lac, approx 40km away (not that far by UTMB standards) for a nap, I figured I could make it in 8 hours.

Got to the top Refuge Bertone (83k) feeling awesome, hi-fiving ethe day walkers, commenting on people’s fashion choices – life was good. As I was getting my water bottle filled I heard this cry of “Russell”, I looked around and thought I was hearing things but sadly not, there was someone who used to be Emma, (think of a sick puppy………… Actually puppy’s are kinda cute even when they are sick…….. think of a sad lioness).
Those of you who remember doing there first “Miler” should appreciate the feeling, if it was a 100k event you are ok because you can get your shit together to punch out the last 20 k ’s, but when you have 85+ks to run you are nowhere, you dare not even think about the finish line, you really just want to curl up and die. I was looking for ‘proof of life’ from Emma and I honestly thought her race was done. I reminded her that this is exactly what happened to me in 2015 and that although you want to quit, you just need to make it to the next checkpoint. The one thing Emma has in abundance is heart, she got up and left the checkpoint

I stayed at the checkpoint for a little longer, restocking and changing into my rain jacket. The weather at this point was horrific, a strong headwind and it was sleeting; tough ks were ahead. I caught up to Emma and just stayed with her for a while, she had regained the key component of running ultra’s……….. Persistence.

Soon enough after all the help I thought I could give, I passed her and I started to run pretty well. The trail is once again gorgeous, massive glaciers and a view of Mt Blanc to your left, and I was almost skipping over very runnable terrain.

Coming into Refuge Bonatti (90k) the toll of the run was starting to show on my body. I could notice I was starting to get really tired, hot spots on my feet and a little chaffing were becoming more apparent. I took a good 10 minutes at that checkpoint, trying to sort myself out. As I was leaving Emma was coming in and I decided to wait for her and get the next part of the run done with her. It was actually nice to run with someone, I think we worked pretty well together as we were able to push each other without red-lining. The only real bad part was the final descent into Arnouvaz (95k). The trail had basically just turned into a mud slide, no amount of “lugs” on the shoes would grip.

It was about 1k or so down and we both struggled down the mountain. The highlight was one guy who we pulled over to let pass but he refused. He then tried to take higher ground to pass, only to slip and snap one of his poles.  I asked him if he was OK, but inside I was thinking good luck climbing up the 5 climbs with one pole you impatient fucker!

Anyway Emma’s family was at the next checkpoint to meet her which gave me the perfect opportunity to make a move and get to Champex-Lac before sundown.
Meanwhile UTMB were forcing people to put on wet weather gear.
Basically if UTMB tell you to put on wet weather gear you do it. Don’t argue. Don’t hesitate. Just do it.
The climb to Grand Col Ferret was without doubt the toughest bit of running I have done.
I have been caught in squalls on yachts before but this weather was the worst I have ever experienced.
If this was Australia the event would of been called off, but this was UTMB, we had to earn our gilets.

On the climb people were turning around and deciding their race was over.
I honestly thought we were marching to our deaths! I’m not just saying that I genuinely thought I was going to die…… my new mantra….. ‘don’t die’

Anyway,

I marched up that hill with every bit of clothing I had and out of the mist came a guy rugged in a huge parker who scanned my bib and pointed me to salvation, La Fouly was just 8km of downhill away. The climb was cold and had sapped my energy.
UTMB was having her wicked way with me and I started to fall asleep on my feet. I pulled off to the side of the track and lay down in the rain,(Yep, that was me). I ended up resting for about 5 minutes and got down to LaFouly

At La Fouly (109k) I put my head down on a table for about 20 mins. There was no chance of sleep but at least it gave me mental break. I got up, got some calories in and then as I was going out I ran back into Emma. It was so good to see a familiar face and she looked like she was coming good. From this point on we decided to stick together and tackle the rest of this monster.

Out of a LaFouley we were greeted with a runnable road section that had been changed because of the weather. We managed only a shuffle but we did manage to knock off some kms without exerting ourselves too much. The highlight of this section was a group of young kids who had set up their own aid station serving warm cups of tea all they wanted in return was a hi-5. Tooooooo cute!

Then the next climb up to Champex-Lac, I think out of all the recognised climbs this is the shortest and perhaps one of the least steep but for some reason everyone finds it hard and so did I. Emma as usual set a cracking pace up the climb and I just tried to hang on; it was becoming a familiar story…… Emma killed it on the up hills and very cautious on the down hills and vice versa for me. Frankly we both could’ve finished quicker if we were by ourselves, but would we have finished at all?
(I reckon I was going to feel just as good as Killian about finishing the race.)

When you get to Champed-Lac (123k) checkpoint, it is like aid station heaven: abundance of food, warm, friendly people and beds!
We were going to take a 20 minute nap, but I found it impossible to get warm from my wet cloths and it was actually quite the waste of time for me, however it was time off feet.
As we were getting up we heard Bruce’s voice. Out of 2 other sleep tents he walked into ours 🙂 We didn’t speak much, as we were trying to be quite, but it gave me an enormous lift to see or even hear Bruce. I honestly thought he was out of the race. He lay down and got some rest, and Em and I took off again.
The next section was to Trient – 17ks of “f@ck this shit”!
I knew that if we could get there we would more than likely make the loop. This sections is a bit of a blur to me. I remember being really sleepy and Emma and I picking out places that we would run…… to the next lamp post…. To the next marker………. We knocked off about 5km within an hour and this is where I started to loose it.
Being mentally spent, I remember thinking I was in a theatre watching a LaLa Land musical that used storm troopers as characters and how impressive it was that storm troopers who had a “Mask” were still able to show emotion.

Anyway next thing I remember is Emma firmly shouting at me, saying it’s time to take some caffeine.
I was still moving but I was out. Emma was good enough to bring me back to form. She told me to ask myself short questions to bring myself out of my coma. This seemed to work, but I was really nowhere in this section.
I asked the question above would I have finished if I hadn’t stuck with Emma? I really doubt it, Emma was paying dividends ! 🙂
She helped me get to the top of LaGiete and at the top I took off and agreed with Emma that I would run down and get 20 mins rest and wait for her. The run down is relentless quad bashing “f@ck this shit” shit! But I remember Bruce overtaking us going up the hill then me passing him on the way down. Bruce was having a strong run in the back half and the value of a coach was coming through.

I got into Trient (140k) then straight to the table for another nap, set my timer for 23 mins, pulled my buff over my head and this time I was out cold on the table. I slowly got up and looked around for Emma, she had fallen asleep opposite me. Curious as to how I would of seemed to other people at this time at it was 4am in the morning and I felt as pure and honest as I have ever felt. Really strange feeling, I guess your body is all out of excuses???

I knew now our chances of making it were fairly high and that it was all about getting to Vallorcine, the climb started off in the dark, but as we were summiting the light of new day was warming us and the run down to Valorcine was spectacular and not quite as devastating as I recall it being last time. Even stopped to take a photo!

What seemed to be a recurring theme was the gradient and terrain got extremely hard as you were coming into the check points, this was no different but least it was a little drier and it wasn’t raining.

Vallorcine (150k) to Chamonix, they had changed the course here as well instead of one massive climb we had “M” shaped climb……..two peaks! I wasn’t expecting this and neither was Emma and the terrain was technical, UTMB was still testing us. Em was pushing herself up the hills as she was trying to maintain/imporive her female placing. As I was walking behind her I offered to slow down her female competitors with cheesy pick up lines. “Your pace or mine?” or “when did you stop modelling and start trail running?” there was real no need as she was killing the up hills, she developed quite the gap on me even with a very technical downhill section, her sleep starvation of being the mother of 3 seemed to help her over the last 10 hours of the run! La Flegere was in sight!

We just had to climb a ski slope……
Straight up, no  switchbacks no turning, just a straight line to the top La Flegere chair lift.
It was demoralising
Salvation came with the summit and upon seeing a friend who I had done some training with Brook, she had finished 10 + hour ago, had had a nap and came up to cheer me and Emma on. Absolute champion! Small (actually quite big) gestures mean everything at this stage hi-5’s were more important than calories. Sincerely thank you Brook.

Now just a lazy run down hill to the streets of Chamonix, as Emma had her whole family here, we had agreed that we would run our separate races from this point on.
This is the part of the race that makes everything worth it. You know that you were going to finish, The camaraderie between runners is at its very best, everyone cheers you on: from day hikers to Killian Jornet (As Emma later pointed out). The race wasn’t quite over, I had been at battle with a fellow runner for the majority of the downhill, our intermittent energy burst were sporadic but just enough to pass one and other, I could tell that he wanted to beat me and I definitely wanted to beat him, but when we made the streets of Chamonix we agreed to finish together. I’ve experienced the finish before and it’s s-p-e-c-t-a-c-u-l-a-r.

It’s about 3-5 deep for the final 1km.
You look like shit, mud all over you but you know whatever you did to get there, it was worth it!
Impossible to explain nor will I try.
But I did learn something out there and to refer back to Bernard Moitessier, patrticipating in these events are not about racing but they are about running.

I had made the loop again for 2017, Emma finished soon after and then, Jennie Sharland Riggs who deserves a special mention. She had battled out the race and came within 8 minutes of cut off only to finish 2 hours ahead of cut off.
Complete respect to her as she did it all by herself, pure heart!

Things are never the same once you finish UTMB, you think about all the sacrifices you and made to get you to the finish It truly is the greatest pain you ever feel.
No better way to spend 43 hours 🙂

Now 3 weeks on, UTMB2017 is forever in the memory banks.

Questions and answers

Which was harder the 2015 or 2017 ?
I’ve really thought about this, Statistics will tell you differently as 2015 had a higher withdrawal rate. But I would have to say 2017 for me but only just and only because of the conditions.

Would I do it again?
In a heartbeat

Coach or no coach?
Ideally coach, and definitely a coach for your first try.

(I didn’t have one for 2017)
Typical training week.

Mon: Nothing

Tue: (morn) Strength (night) Tempo run

Wed: (Morn) Stairs

Thu: (morn) Hill reps ronald park (night) stregth

Fri: Nothing

Sat: Long run

Sun: recovery run

My average k’s during the 12 month block of training (excluding taper) was 63k’s and my longest week was 104k’s

What would I change?

I would just change my final long run to: from to 8 hours early morning to Friday night starting at 9ish 10ish and going until sunrise up and down kedumba and Mt Solitary. It doesn’t matter how much you save yourself for the final half, you still need to be able to put it in the action.

(My lack of training with minimal sleep almost brought my race undone)

Firstly, thanks to Adam Connor for hosting this UTMB blog on his running+music website.  It might mean someone actually reads it!  Adam describes himself as forty something, which I can’t do any longer, and has just run the 135 mile Badwater race across Death Valley, so my UTMB efforts pale in comparison.

(Editors note- I’ll have to update the blog if it says 40 something, and there is a reason I chose Badwater over UTMB- I suck at climbing hills!)

Its exactly a week since I crossed the finish line of the 100 mile UTMB race in 42 hours 13 mins to complete a burning goal that had been sizzling for 3 years. Why write this?

1.  To remind myself why I might not want to attempt it again
2.  To help others achieve their goal and
3. To unload some emotions that built up for a while and are still rumbling around.

This race crept up on me via one of my Sydney running friends, Tanya Carroll.  Tanya was training for this race in 2015 when I was training for the 100km UTA in the Blue Mountains.  I didn’t know much about UTMB at the time but I, along with many others, followed her training and finally the race itself via the online updates and video.  She had photos with Kilian Jornet, pictures of really high mountains, glaciers, cable cars, the best runners from all over the world, it went on and on.  Once I read more about it, I wanted to know more.  How do you get into this race.?  Could I do it?  Probably not was my thinking at the time.  Let’s just stick to the Blue Mountains.

For the uninitiated, UTMB requires the equivalent of 3 qualification races of over 100km to be completed by an entrant within 2 years.  Each race needs to be under a certain cut-off time.  With the points from the races under your belt, you apply in Dec, find out if you are successful in the ballot in Jan and if lucky, you get to race in August.   Most miss out in their initial entry.  UTMB (Ultra Trail Mont Blanc) itself probably doesn’t need any introduction – 100 miles through 3 countries (France, Italy and Switzerland and back to France) with 10,000 metres of ascent and because we start and finish in Chamonix, there is also 10,000 metres of descent.

My qualifiers were UTA 2014 (100km), UTA 2015 (100km) and then a 113km race I did in Italy in Sep15.  This was called Morenic Trail in the foothills of the Italian alps just north of Turin.  I had planned on running GNW (a local qualifying race north of Sydney) and I had trained with my running colleagues on the GNW course.  However, a sailing holiday meant I couldn’t do the race and the cut-off time for UTMB entries was approaching.  Thus I found the Italian race which I could tack on to the end of my Greek sailing holiday.  The 10 days on the boat were during my taper and involved a lot of drinking.  Evidently that didn’t hurt my race and perhaps the enforced rest helped.  I was one of 2 english speakers in the race so they held a separate race briefing for the 2 of us.  Totally weird.  And at the finish line you douse yourself in red paint (a tradition).    See below.

Anyway, I had my qualifiers and the bunch of us NRG’ers in Sydney entered UTMB as a group (we would either all miss out or all get in – together).  As is the case for many people around the world, we missed out for the 2016 intake.  They take 2,500 people into the race each year but many multiples of this number apply (all with appropriate qualifiers).  So, having missed out, this meant one of my races in 2014 was no longer current and I had to re-qualify via UTA 2016 (another 100km).  And to make things even more interesting, I moved with work across to London in Sep 16 2016.

I know I haven’t got to the race yet but bear with me.  Just getting to the start line of UTMB is a massive effort in itself.  We then re-applied as a group in Dec 16 and this time we were successful.  Yessssss!  Finally!   Gulp!  What now?  (By the way, I think this is the largest group entry ever into UTMB from anywhere in the world).   Not only did we have our initial group but other Sydney running friends who were successful on entry joined our group chat and the size of our Aussie contingent grew.

This meant it was becoming real and I would need to train towards the race on 1 Sep 17.  I had 8 months!  However, reality dawned on me in January as I realised:

1. I was alone in London as all my running buddies were in Sydney
2. London is what you might call a flat track. How on earth was I going to get fit for the alps?
3. Also, stupidly, in December I had been training for the London marathon and doing some intervals on cold legs which lead to straining a hamstring (first time ever). I should never have been surprised about hamstring problems because I only have about ¾ of each hamstring intact.   Two ACL knee reconstructions many years ago used both hamstrings  for the new knee tendon leaving me with depleted hammies.

It was a low point after the excitement of getting an entry and I wondered if I could even start any proper training.  Perhaps I would have to pull out of UTMB already?

I used the down time to attend a day-long seminar in February that a running company called XNRG ran just outside London.  Probably 30 people attended from the UK, all of whom were either entered into, or thinking about entering UTMB.  A group of pro runners gave talks about how to train, gear recommendations, the course itself, strategy, etc etc.  It was great for a lot of us newbies.  And it was during these talks that I realised I needed a coach if I was going to be serious about preparing.  I met Robbie Britton (appropriate surname) who is one of the top British ultra marathoners and Robbie recommended an Australian mate of his who could coach me – Majell Backhausen.  Majell is a world class mountain runner, had completed UTMB in 2015 in just over 25 hours and 22^nd place, and knew the problems of training in a flat landscape.  Majell lived in Melbourne but our discussions and training interaction were all online from that point onwards.  I used a trip back to Australia in April for a wedding to meet up with Majell for a face to face chat as well.

And so it began.  The hamstring was healing up very slowly and I was able to begin some slow running in March/April.  The London marathon came and went.   I knew I had to complete it given my charity sponsorship and although I finished, it was a lot of slow jogging and walking in just under 5 hours.  So now it was late April and Majell had been adjusting my training to take into account my hamstring recovery.  It meant a lot of hiking uphill on the treadmill, spin classes, a lot of gym work but not much pure running.  By May my leg was better for running and the program picked up.  I was training a couple of times a day before work, lunch time or evening.  I was riding to work and weekends were spent outside London if possible wherever I could find hills.  The last half of June involved sailing for 2 weeks in Croatia but I made sure I ran for a couple of hours every morning before sailing and began clocking up some serious metres of ascent and descent.

It had now reached July and the race was getting seriously close.  I managed to get a weekend to the Peak District and Catherine was hiking whilst I ran into the mountains.   Lots of km and metres of ascent and descent on muddy single track which was ideal.  In one of my best decisions, a few months earlier I had booked an organised trip to run around the UTMB course over 4 days with a French group.  A couple of pro runners took a group of 12 of us around the trails and we slept each night in refuges in a single room with 12 bunks.  They were all French, including the pro runners, apart from Elaine who was from London, so the 2 of us would need translation of whatever was being communicated on the trail.   But we all got on very well and would re-group often to allow for different pace groups.  So approx. 40-50km of running each day with 2500 metres of ascent and descent daily.  Not only did I get to pound the legs for 4 continuous days (something I hadn’t done before), but importantly, I got to see the whole course in daylight.  Before that I had no idea what to expect from climbing a true alpine mountain.  Now I knew it was seriously hard but I found I wasn’t scared of it any more.  I knew I could do it.

However, (and this must be the old age), when I woke up on the 4^th day, my achilles was quite sore.  Not enough to stop me completing day.4, but it meant I couldn’t push off the left leg as much.  Thus running on the flats was harder than climbing a steep gradient that used the quads more.  Hopefully this niggle would go away!  Upon returning to London, I went to Wales with Catherine the next weekend and she did more hiking whilst I hobbled and propped my way around Pen-Y-Fan mountain.  I found I could climb mountains really well and run downhill without inflaming the achilles, but running on the flats was out.

A few more weeks back in London was spent going to the physio to try and fix the achilles, doing spin, strengthening gym work and lots of work on the treadmill without inflaming the damn achilles.  Could I just buy a new achilles?  Could I really get to this race?  By race week it had calmed down and I was hoping it would hold up over the race if I didn’t push it too much.

It was now race week and the Aussies were gathering in Chamonix early on to try and get over the jet lag.  My 90 min flight from London meant an easy commute and I arrived on the Wed night.  My wife Catherine and 3 of her friends had been hiking the Mont Blanc route (TMB) over 10 previous days and Cath and Danae (who were to be my crew) met me at the hotel that night.  Without realising, we had booked a room overlooking the start and finish line of UTMB which turned out to be both a blessing (views, photos, atmosphere) and a curse (noise of loudspeakers and music day and night given some other shorter distance races were occurring on Wed and Thurs nights).

I had mentioned in a post on Fbook that I was both excited and nervous.  The nervousness was really unavoidable given the huge build up to this race but also because I had never run further than 113km and had only run through one night.  So I hadn’t done a “miler” (100 mile race).  Here I was about to embark on 170km over 2 nights and 2 days.  I knew the course in the daylight, but how would I go at night?  Would my achilles hold up?  What about food and nutrition?  I had read so many blogs of people not coping with stomach problems, the cold, tiredness, injuries – the list went on.  People who came to the race, climbed the first mountain and decided there was no way they could get through!  To top it off, the course organisers announced that the weather was going to be a problem this year and some course adjustments were needed given that it was forecast to be minus 9c in the high passes.  Wow.  This also meant cut-off times at checkpoints were changing and my race plan needed some adjustments.  Yes – I did have a plan which was based on the averages of some friends who had run before and runners from last year who finished around the 44 hour mark.  The race cut-off is 46.5 hours but along the way, each of the checkpoints has its own specific cut-off and race organisers will allow no discussion on removing a runner who doesn’t make it in time.  Each year approx. 1/3 of the runners who start do not finish, some from injuries, but many who just can’t get through the checkpoints in time.

(Side note – I met a guy from NY after the race.  This was his 2^nd attempt.  He failed last year after 150km as his feet were so badly chopped up.  This year he came to the checkpoint at Trient (142km).  He had 15 mins before checkpoint cut-off time.  He needed to eat and drink and warm up.  He spent 14 minutes doing this and walked out of the checkpoint 1 minute before cut-off.  All good.  Except …. he had dropped his headlamp under the table inside the tent.  Bugger – so he turned around and went back in to get it.  At that point the clock ticked over cut-off time.  As he leant down to get his light, the official lent over and cut off his number.  Game over.  Out of the race.  Heart-broken and no arguments allowed.  He had to wait for a bus to get back to Chamonix – he saw me in my finishers gilet on the Sunday and he looked like he was about to cry.)

Friday was race day but strangely the race was not going to start until 6.30pm.  I had always started races first thing in the morning.  What to do all day?  What to eat?  How to rest?  As my hotel was right above the start line, I could see runners beginning to position themselves at the start line – 5 hours before the race!!   What on earth?  They were sitting on hard concrete in their race gear ready to go.  I have no idea if they finished the race but this preparation was not going to help them!

I had spent time on Thursday catching up with all my Sydney running mates, getting my compulsory gear checked, shopping at the UTMB expo (every running company around the world had a stall there which was fantastic), and just taking in the atmosphere.  Other races such as OCC, CCC and TDS were taking place and some of our running colleagues from Australia were taking part.  So there was always something going on to occupy time.  And meanwhile you watched the weather and could tell it was deteriorating after having been so nice for weeks.  Typical.

My race gear had been adapted over months.  Lots of testing of different gear and changing what needed to be changed.  I had moved to Altra shoes to allow more room for my feet which was a great decision and meant my feet and toes were not getting bashed up as much.  I had trained extensively with poles in the mountains and each time I ran outside London, I would take exactly what I planned taking on race day with all gear and nutrition.  This meant quite a bit of weight.  Not sure the exact tonnage but it certainly felt like tonnes rather than kilograms.  Majell’s training program had also prepared me for the climbs.  In fact I was looking forward to the ascents.  I don’t want to give away his trade secrets but the use of the treadmill for hours and hours at slow speeds but high gradients was all part of it.

Friday 6pm and I finally came downstairs from the hotel.  The place was absolutely packed already.  All the Aussies met just near the church and we had a few last photos before merging into the masses for the countdown.

(Note we are missing couple people including Jen and Marty)

The music, the slow capping, the atmosphere …. this was why we had spent years getting here.  It is absolutely unbelievable.   There is a photo of me at the start and I look quite calm.  And I was.  I had played out in my mind each of the race sections and I knew how I wanted to approach them.  I had worked through with Cath and Danae what I needed in each checkpoint and they were all primed for the nights and days ahead.  The one section I was apprehensive about was the first 8km to Les Houches as it was flat and required a fast running pace – something that I hadn’t been able to do for weeks.

The mass start and our position near the back meant it took a while to get over the start line, and then we were walking/half jogging for a couple of kilometres, lapping up the cheers and hand slaps from the crowd on the way out of Chamonix.  I was running along with Tanya, Emma, Russell and Geoff at this stage and then we caught up to Jen and Marty who had started a bit further ahead in the crowd.  I couldn’t think of a better place to share the trails with my friends from Australia and we all had Aussie flags, boxing kangaroos and koalas to show off our Aussie roots.  And as the pace picked up and the runners spread out, I was quietly hoping the achilles would stay quiet.  The slowish start was not a problem – one of the biggest errors is to go out too hard in this race.  It really doesn’t get going until after Courmayeur (80km) and some say not until Champex-Lac (126km).

I had expected the congestion of runners to ease off by the time we started climbing from Les Houches, up to Le Delevret (900m) and back down to Saint Gervais where the first checkpoint is.  But it didn’t.  It was packed and at times you came to a complete stop in single file.  Darkness arrived and still we were stopping and starting as the crowd ebbed and flowed through difficult parts of the trail.  I couldn’t believe it really.  How long is this going to go on for?  But inwardly I thought perhaps this is a good thing.  Enforced rest.  Just go with the flow.  And I used the time to sip on my Tailwind nutrition and relax.  Geoff and Russell had moved off ahead and Emma was nearby whilst Tanya, Jen and Marty had fallen behind.  Tanya came past at one point as she loves the downhills and the race started to play out as we went through a minor checkpoint in Saint Gervais (21km).  This was a fast stop – fill up water but keep going – no crew allowed.

Exiting the checkpoint, it was still early and runners were everywhere and a slow jog was the order of the day.  There are some rolling hills and a gradual incline towards the first major checkpoint at Les Contamines, and it was in this section that I could feel my achilles calling.  Bugger.  It had behaved so far but this section was the worst gradient for it requiring a slow uphill jog, pretty much designed to inflame an achilles.  In the space of 5 minutes I went from feeling comfortable and relaxed and focused, to thinking, I don’t think I can get through another 145km with an achilles that is starting to hurt.  So I slowed down again and did some run/walk for a bit.  And I then started working out how I would tell my friends and family that 3 years of hard work had only allowed me to get through 25km of the race.  Swear words here *&#$%%*.   Thus it was that I entered the major checkpoint at Les Contamines (31km) to meet my crew.  It was great seeing Cath and Danae but they could tell something was wrong.  Explaining that my achilles was playing up, we had a quick chat and Catherine whipped out 2 panadol.  We decided that I would just keep going and see what happened.  I topped up my nutrition and took the chance to munch on salami, cheese and drink some soup.  My pre-race coaching advice had been to always grab food whenever it is on offer, and thus I ate more than I would have in any prior races.

Heading out of Les Contamines, there is a massive long climb for 1300 metres over 13km.  It was still crazy with congestion and we were in a long single file, unable to pass people and stuck at whatever pace the slowest runner was going.  It was extremely muddy, slippery and steep and I loved it.  The pace was slow which gave me time for the Panadol to kick in, the climbing suited me and I was using my quads mostly which gave the achilles a rest.  After a while I didn’t notice the achilles and as the crowds around me thinned out, I was passing people.  We went through a minor checkpoint at La Balme and once again, I ate and drank soup and soon I was ploughing downhill through the mud and heading towards Les Chapieux (50km).  I felt good.  I was still passing people and at the checkpoint I once again topped up food and soup.  I didn’t have crew here as it was very difficult to get to.  I knew from here it was a long slow climb to one of the high passes in the race but it was a section that I loved in training and I was looking forward to it (can you believe that?).   It was also in this checkpoint at Les Chapieux that I noticed a huge number of people just sitting and staying warm in the tent.  I stood shoulder to shoulder with other runners and then sat for 2 minutes to finish my soup and then I exited.   Most people who were in there when I arrived were still there when I left.  I had eaten, topped up drinks, topped up nutrition in my bladder, had some soup.  What else did I need to do?  Nothing.  Get going.  Why sit around?  The mass of humanity in that tent also reminded me that what we experience in the checkpoints is a lot different than the leading runners who have a table each with all their gear laid out and everything provided.  We were shoulder to shoulder like standing room at a footy match.

On the section to Col de la Seigne, it was another 1,000 metre climb.  You get used to them.  That is the typical ascent for each of the climbs.  It was early hours of Saturday morning and I knew dawn would arrive somewhere along this section.  It was beautiful.  Looking ahead towards the Col, you could see the long line of lights on the switch backs and I was once again passing a lot of people.  I wasn’t tired and my achilles was not bothering me and I felt like I was flying up that hill.  Dawn arrived just before I reached the Col so I got the silhouette of the top of the mountains as I looked east.  Fantastic.  Worth racing just for this.  However the clouds soon arrived and as I reached the top of the Col, it was suddenly snowing.  Not too cold as it was light snow but I still put on the warm gear and I prepared for a long descent to Lac Combal.

I have a photo below from my training run that shows this section in daylight.  It is amazing and such a pity that so many runners never get to see it.

Once again I flew down from the Col here as the knees were ok (at this stage).  Runners were becoming more and more sparse as I went on (perhaps they were all still back in that tent!) and I would see a runner ahead and try and pick them off as I descended to Lac Combal (67km).  I topped up food, drinks, nutrition here, sat for a few minutes to have some soup and then got out of there – once again no crew here.  I was well ahead now of the cut-off time and that gave me quite a bit of confidence.  I haven’t mentioned any of the other Aussies and that is because I hadn’t seen them since before checkpoint 1.   I assumed they were ahead of me and hoped they were all going well.

It was fully light now and heating up as I went up another climb via Arete du Mont Favre and Col Checroutt Maison Vielle (75km).  I had pasta at one of these checkpoints and filled up on drinks etc .  And as it was very runnable on the descents, I pushed along quite quickly (for me).  Still passing people and still feeling good.  Courmayeur (80km) approached where I would meet my crew and I had a lot of time up my sleave in terms of cutoff times.

Courmayeur was mid morning and it was warm outside when I went in.  I didn’t linger here either.  Grabbed food, changed clothes, topped up nutrition, re-applied Gurney Goo, but basically got out of there.  22 minutes I think I was there.  Still time to do everything.  But it was here also that I noticed hundreds of people sitting around.  I think I went in and out before half of them had moved.   Farewelling my crew I knew the next sections would be tough, partly because I wouldn’t see my crew for nearly 12 hours, and partly because I could see the weather was getting worse.

The climb up to Refuge Bertone (800metres) was fine and I had enjoyed it in training.  However the section through the rolling ups and downs along the bluff to Refuge Bonatti (92km) was hard.  I didn’t quite have the strength to attack it like I did in the training run but I kept up a steady slowish pace.  Noone else seemed to be going any quicker so that gave me some comfort.  The temperature seemed to be dropping and at the checkpoint, it once again started snowing.  This was a concern.   We were at 2,025 metres and I knew we had to climb over Grand Col Ferret at over 2,500 metres.  I saw a lot of worried faces at that checkpoint.  It was an outside checkpoint so no one was hanging around in the cold, but everyone was taking time to get every piece of emergency clothing on.  It took me 10 minutes to sort all that out whilst trying to eat and drink at the same time.  The downhill section to Arnouvaz (97km) was hugely challenging as it was extremely muddy with no footholds.  It was like skiing downhill on a steep single trail and hoping you stayed upright.

The tent at Arnouvaz was warm and I could tell no one really wanted to exit.  I knew it was a trap to stay in there.  Walking outside was uncomfortable and we were at 1700 metres with an 800m climb to come.  Visibility was not good and the rain and sleet were coming directly into your face.  It was mid afternoon but quite dark.  I knew it was a long way until I saw crew again and I think for many people, there was a huge temptation to exit the race at this point.  In fact, part of my mind was wondering how bad it could get before race organisers would shut it down.  And strangely this pushed me on, because I knew if I could get over this pass, then the other side was less exposed to the weather.

The climb was very tough.  Once again, this was a climb in training that I powered up, but not today.  It was pretty slow and a real slog.  Not many runners about and as you climbed higher, you were more and more exposed to what became a blizzard.  There was no way to protect your face as the the wind was head-on, and all the ground and bushes about you were frozen with sleet.  I didn’t have time to take photos but I wish I did.  And as I came towards the top, I saw a race organiser in a massive parka coming out of the murk yelling “Allez Allez Allez”.  Why is he shouting to hurry up?  I honestly thought he was hurrying me up because they were about to shut it down.  If you got over the top your race would go on and if you didn’t, they might bus you back from the previous checkpoint – race over.  So I found a third wind and pushed hard over the top.  It was quite frightening up there – dark, blowing a gale, sleet in the face, and I thought if you stopped up here for too long you would freeze very quickly.  It was definitely minus 9c here.  Quite brave for the organisers to let us go through it I thought.

Over the top and huge relief.   Long downhill runnable sections now towards La Fouly (111km) and thankfully out of the wind.  But a long way until the checkpoint.  Too long I thought!  They needed another checkpoint somewhere in-between and in training there was a Refuge (La Peule) along the way.  But it was closed.  Damn.  Most people were pretty cold and pretty stuffed along here.  In training it was a fast section but not today.  Late afternoon and you knew another night beckoned.  Another low point for me and I imagine others too.

At La Fouly, I went in alone as I had arranged for my crew to meet me at Champex Lac (126km).  At La Fouly you could see a lot of people who just needed to recover.  So no one was leaving.  I grabbed food, drank soup and didn’t stay long.  I was warm enough and I wanted to get to Champex Lac (another 14km).  We had to leave with lights on our heads as darkness was approaching.  A lot of runnable sections again if your legs and knees were up to it.  I probably lost a few places along here but I knew I’d made up a lot with people who were still in the warm tent at La Fouly.  Just to help things it was bucketing rain for the next 10km and it was a tough climb to Champex Lac.  I neither gained nor lost places along here but as I moved along, I was forming a plan to take a 20 min nap at the next checkpoint.  People were sleeping along the trail as I went (in rain??) and I thought I would far rather get a mattress in a warm tent.  I also knew my crew could wake me if needed.  Seeing Cath and Danae at Champex Lac was fantastic and they were excited to see me to break their boredom.

First thing I said was that I’m going for a nap.  Another 20 mins of boredom for them!  As I lay down and pulled a blanket over my head, I heard an Aussie accent 2 mattresses along!  Hahahha.  It was Emma just getting up from a nap.  And there was Russell standing in front of me!  They were heading out and asked if I wanted to join them.  I told them to go ahead as I need to rest and eat.  How fantastic to see them and as I lay there, I thought quite strange that I had run into them as I had assumed they were miles ahead.

I didn’t sleep at all as my legs were too sore, but getting off my feet was good.  Suitably fed and with nutrition topped up, I went out into the 2^nd night again somewhere around 11.30pm.    Probably 40 mins after I had seen Emma and Russell.   The next section has a nice runnable downhill leg before a steep and difficult climb up 1,000 metres and back down the same metres again to Trient.  It was tough in training and it was going to be tough on the 2^nd night.  The rain had stopped but it was muddy and the trail was covered with loose rocks and tree roots.  I climbed well again and soon I had caught up to a group of runners (runners were very sparse on the course now).  And there was that Aussie accent again.  Emma and Russell and a group of others.  I said hi but didn’t hang around as I was moving along well and so passed the group on the downhill section.

Trient (142km) and Vallorcine (153km) checkpoints came and went.  I met Cath and Danae at both.  Constantly fuelling up and feeling pretty confident.  More climbs, less runners, and kilometres and ascents/descents ticking by.  The light came up in the next section and I knew I was headed to a good time.  I had trained on the high Col des Montets section of the race and I loved it.  However the organisers had cut it out for safety and introduced similar ascent/descent and distance but all at lower altitude.  As I’ve read from some of the leading runners, most people think the new section introduced was harder than the original.  And I agree. It was very technical and on tired legs, very difficult to traverse.  It did feel like we were getting no closer to the finish in what seemed like a maze of ups and downs and back and forths.

It wasn’t until I made it to La Flegere (163km) that I was back on familiar ground again.  And then I knew the last downhill 8km section would be very hard on my knees.  But I thought stuff it, they can recover later, and I ran as hard as I could.  It started to heat up (temperature and emotions) as I headed down into Chamonix and it was only just before midday.  Originally I was very worried about final cut-off times (around 4.30pm) but these fears proved unfounded.  So I was very tired, very sore but floating really.  So happy.

Emerging from the forest in Chamonix was amazing.  Crowds were building along the course as I was lucky to be finishing at a peak time in the day.  Some of my faster friends were finishing in the early hours of the morning with obviously less supporters.  I ran as hard as I could through the town and saw Catherine and Danae, grabbed a flag and then turned the corner into the main straight and finish line.  Without knowing it Marty was running behind me taking a video which is great to look back on.  An absolute emotional high going through Chamonix and a feeling I will never forget.  And a time just over 42 hours that I’m very proud of. I was especially proud to gain places through the whole race going from over 2,000^th to 1040^th at the end.  This fit with my race plan.  I can say that once over the finish line the achilles decided enough was enough and it remains sore a week later.  But who cares!

Nearly all my Aussie running buddies made it and those who didn’t will be back for more I think.

So many thanks to Catherine and Danae for crewing and to Cath for putting up with months (years!) of preparation.  My coach (Majell) deserves a special mention because my training was very specific for this race and it proved to be invaluable.

Gear / nutrition / suggestions?

• Trail shoes with incredible grip
• Shoes that fit perfectly – any hot spots in training will multiply in the race (losing toe nails? Go up a size)
• Perhaps wear a wind proof top and a rain jacket over the top with a medium mid layer warm top. Gives more flexibility on layering than one warm top and one jacket.
• Nutrition, nutrition, nutrition – the gaps between checkpoints make it difficult to replenish but you can’t survive on the food from the checkpoints alone
• Get crew if you can
• Practice in training with every single piece of gear that you intend taking
• Practice with poles
• Guard against chafing
• Get a good light and train with it
• Prepare a race plan
• Find a coach who knows UTMB
• Use the checkpoints for what you need but don’t hang around
• Take a nap on the 2^nd night – but no longer than 20 mins

Good luck.  It’s worth it.  What a blast!