Race Report: Back to the beginning – Matterhorn Ultraks 16K (20K)
Over the past year, I’ve come to realise how much harder it is to get into trail races. Rejection is never an easy pill to swallow but as ballots have been introduced for popular races due to increasing participation of runners with a restricted number of slots, I’ve found myself getting rejected more often than not. So, when I failed to obtain an OCC spot this year (which I failed to obtain two years back but managed to get and complete the race last year), I decided to still make a point to travel to Chamonix after falling in love with the region from my visit last year and instead do some research into other regional races that fall around the same time but did not have the same stringent entry requirements.
I narrowed it down to three potential races I could do – 1) Matterhorn Ultraks in Zermatt, 2) Trail Semnoz Tour in Annecy, 3) Swiss Peaks in the Valais region of Switzerland. Eventually I picked the first two based on the distances I wanted to try and my travel itinerary. As I was planning to enjoy my second week of my break in the South of France, I didn’t want to be stuck with the pressures of having a race at the end of my holidays, which was when Swiss Peaks was held. Also, it would have been more expensive to do two races in Switzerland since everything is pricier in CHF!
One other major factor I had to consider was the extent of my recovery. Although I had been diligent in my training over the summer, I haven’t bounced back for long, my knee was still bothering me on the downhills and my body was still experiencing some imbalances, especially on uneven terrain. The big question was whether I was ready at all again for a trail race and what distance I think my legs could handle at this point in time. It was like doing a race for the first time again – mentally I was uncertain and far from confident of my fitness. All I hoped was that by doing and being able to complete the races while enjoying the landscape would bolster my confidence on the mountains again.
So with this simple mindset, while everyone chatted noisily on about the big UTMB fanfare, I quietly signed up to these two lesser known races, the first, being the Matterhorn Ultraks 16km, which also had distances of 30km and 46km, but which I didn’t want to push myself too much on yet, since I heard that the races were quite tough, particularly due to the elevation. I had also planned to arrive in Zermatt on the Friday, which meant I had less than 24 hours to acclimatize for a race which would take me over 2000m up the mountains (the longer races also meant more vertical).
My Friday arrival in Zermatt gave me some time to prep for the environment, and I found it nice to be travelling alone so that I had the flexibility of basically doing whatever I felt like doing. After managing to check in early to my room, I ventured out and decided on the fly to hit Gornergrat at 3130m straight out to test my reaction to the altitude. Initially, I felt a bit lightheaded as I stepped out onto the trails so I took it slow, taking my time instead to enjoy the surrounding glacial landscapes. Without having planned any specific routes, I just hiked and explored various paths, only looking for signs to the closest bahn stop once I felt suitably acclimatized to the environment and was ready to leave. In fact, only mental discipline based on the fact that I had a race the next day kept me from spending more hours on the trail. It was incredibly relaxing to just move at my own pace with no pressures of time or place.
But I digress…the next early morning it rained and I started to get slightly worried about race conditions. Fortunately, the 16km started at 10am, a couple hours later than the 30km and 40km races so by the time I had packed, moved to my next hotel and walked down to the race site, which was situated conveniently by my new hotel, the sun was high and the skies were blue. Going solo, I didn’t know anyone at the race, so I just milled around enjoying the clear views of the Matterhorn in the distance and nosily listening in on a conversation of what to expect on the route until I suddenly realised 15 minutes before the start that I had left my water bottle at the previous hotel! Ooops! Luckily the hotel was also quite close so I zipped back just as they were doing housekeeping and managed to retrieve it. By the time I was at the race start again, the runners were already lined up. I was thinking it would be a bummer to be stuck in the back but fortunately we were placed in carrels based on bib numbers and I ended up somewhere in the middle pack.
As a result of the last minute panic, I had barely enough time to catch my breath again before the countdown began and we were off! The first few kilometers were a steady and gradual uphill after running through town, all on concrete road where it was easy to go a little too quickly only to find there are no flat sections to recover. I tried to not focus on the effort of my calves and instead tagged my peripheral vision to a few runners that appeared to be similar to my pace and made sure I didn’t lose sight of them. This tactic allowed me to push just hard enough without blowing up but it also made sure that I didn’t slow down too much. I had also overheard during my nosey episode that once we turned into the trail, it would be difficult to overtake as it was quite narrow.
We entered the forest trail after about a 4km relentless uphill and despite my already heavy thighs I was able to follow the traffic flow and move into the rhythm of a run as the trail flattened out. It was nice to finally have some relief and keep moving along or a couple kilometers before we hit the next ascent. This was the push up to Sunnegga at 2,260m, which brought everyone near me to a halt. The ascent was fairly steep and several poles were being unraveled for the haul up, including mine. Luckily, the weather was staying dry and we were now getting eye level views of the top of the Matterhorn, which was amazing. I forced myself to keep moving and managed to overtake a few people during this section of the climb and was finally able to celebrate with an endorphin high as the Sunnegga checkpoint came into view.
I did a little internal “whoop” and skip as I ran into the checkpoint but did not stay for long as I was feeling rather fresh. I only refueled with a few orange slices and a cup of coke before heading off again. A slight downhill from Sunnegga led us through a small village and across a bridge before the next ascent towards Riffelalp. I noticed that some of the runners I had kept in sight were still going at around the same pace as me and I didn’t feel the need to slow down yet so I kept a steady pace while also consciously sipping away at my nuun solution. What I’ve discovered during an ultra is when I’m feeling quite good in the middle of the race, I start forgetting to look after my nutrition and once I do that, things start to go downhill, so this time I tried to make sure I was getting the intake I needed, even if I didn’t feel like I needed it.
However, the one big mistake I would say I made during this race that I was only mentally prepared for a 16km when the final mileage was about 20km. After Sunnegga, my mind was already ready to finish up the race and as such I almost have no clear memory of reaching the next checkpoint at Riffelalp. Additionally, I started to get a bit distracted as we started to run into those that were doing the 30km as the routes merged near the end. So for me, the second half was just a blurry mix of more strenuous climbs before a long descent that kept my still recovering left knee under quite a bit of stress. I was able to mostly run the downhill but some of the hairpin turns made me nervous and held me back from going too quickly. I was also starting to feel the fatigue of the additional mileage and as a result was no longer so disciplined in fueling myself anymore, hoping instead to reach the finish line faster. In hindsight I should have been more patient because all that got me was into cramps during my last couple kilometers and almost crippled me as I ran into town again. After all, there is a bit of pride involved and everyone wants to look good and strong finishing right? I literally had to bite my lip and force myself to ignore the cramps as I sprinted the final 200m across the line!
It felt as though I had just finished my first trail race again…it had been so long since my knee had left me broken and unfit. I was elated and more so to find out I had finished ahead of many local/regional participants, as well as a Taiwanese and two Japanese runners in my race (we were the only international runners for the 16km). It may still be a while to go before I’m in top form again but it’s important to start somewhere and rebuild confidence on the trails and in the mountains again. It’s frustrating to have to constantly hold back in fear because of injuring my knee again but at the same time I don’t want to risk being torn away from one of my biggest passions again and as such, it’s better to be safe than sorry. Sometimes I’ve realised that you need that “me time” to recover and conquer the demons in your head. There are no friends to support you, no one to care and only strangers on the journey with you. It is then that loneliness becomes your freedom. For me, the race and time alone in Zermatt did just that, making me whole again and making it an experience in my life that I won’t ever forget.
