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better a late race report than never I guess...

having spent the entirety of august this year training in the alps around Chamonix. on august 30th, I finally toed the start line of the famous Ultra Tour du Mont Blanc in Chamonix along with one of my best friends. the culmination of years of training and a though year gathering enough lottery points to qualify for the race.

I started the 176km race (with 10K of elevation gain) at a fairly quick pace in order to outrun the crowds before the first narrowing of the course after ~35km. the first night would be a rough one, as I got nauseous and was unable to eat from around 11pm to 7am. the enormous calorie deficit I ran into that first night made my original goal time of 36 hours virtually impossible. but having survived that first night with the help of a fellow dutchie I ran into, I was confident I would still be able to finish.

the sunrise pictured here was what brought me out of the rut I was stuck in during the first night. and while the following day and night were rough, I was still able to enjoy the race. I tried, unsuccessfully, to take a few short naps at the major aid stations on the 2nd night. until just after the second sunrise my exhaustion finally caught up with me and I spent a solid hour sleepwalking on the course.

after tripping on my sleep walk, and not being entirely convinced I wasn’t dreaming instead of talking to actual fellow runners, I found the first picnic table along the course and laid down for a quick 5 minute powernap. feeling refreshed as if I had slept 5 hours instead, I started the last big climb to La Flegere.

arriving there entirely wrecked, I rested at the aid station a bit to eat & drink before heading down the final stretch to the finish back in Chamonix. early in this decent a couple of brand representatives who were also headed down were breathing down my neck. which, while to some might have been annoying, woke me all the way back up. and upon realising I had nothing left to lose, I started legging it down the mountain, even giving the fresh legged brand reps a run for their money.

flying down the mountain and entering Chamonix again, I ran into my dad again at the start of the big river stretch leading into the city centre, quickly outpacing him as I spent everything I had still left in my mental reserves, my body being long since spent. at the end of the river I ran into my sister who ran along and cheered me on all the way to the finish line, also guiding me along a few turns in the city centre where the directions weren’t entirely clear to a fatigue addled mind like mine.

while I did not achieve my initial goal of 36 hours, I still finished ahead of the predicted time based on my UTMB index. and most important of all : I finished! in one of the toughest mountain ultras in the world, where around 60% of starters DNFed (did not finish) this year, that was always my goal first and foremost. and to my amazement I achieved it without even the slightest injury.