Written by Tony Trundley - http://keepontrundling.blogspot.fr/
On race day I was up early, cup of tea, porridge, and a quick stroll down the road to join the queue for the buses, which were to transport us 30mins through the Mont Blanc tunnel to the race start in Courmayeur. I chatted to another English runner on the bus, and soon enough, we were walking from the bus drop-off up to the race start.
I was in wave 2 of 3. I had plenty of time, so I positioned myself just behind the front guys in my wave, sat on the ground, and soaked up the atmosphere. This race was my main focus for the year, and it was not like anything I had done before. All my training and racing in 2016 had been geared specifically towards this. With training days in Snowdonia, Brecon Beacons and The Lakes, a weekend recce in the Alps, and hundreds of reps up and down Box Hill, I felt ready. Nervous. Excited. But ready.
The 3 waves start at 10min intervals, and with approx 700 runners in each, my starting position would be around 800ish. The first 11km climbs 1,400m mainly on single-track, and I had read and heard a lot about bottlenecks and queues forming, so was determined to not get caught too far down the field at the start. After the obligatory 3 national anthems and Vangelis, we were eventually off, trekking poles out ready for the first climb. 2 miles of gentle uphill on tarmac passed quickly, before we hit the trail proper. It was then a 2hr single file march up to Tete da la Tronche, the biggest single climb, at 2600m. I was not held up significantly by any bottlenecks, and only stabbed once by an errant pole, but was forced to travel a little slower than I probably would have liked – not a bad thing, as it stopped me from starting too quick. You don’t know your position at the time, but I reached the top, feeling good, in 2:21hrs and 636th position.
The sun had now emerged from behind the mountains, so the temperature was building up. I was surprised to see quite a few people stopping at the summit. There’s only a water station, and I still had plenty, so I pushed straight through and onto the rolling descent to Refuge Bertone. This was quite a quick section, only 5km or so, and it felt good to be running properly. At the Refuge, I had a quick water top-up, an energy bar, dunked my cap in a water trough and was off again. Again, some people seemed to really be enjoying the aid station hospitality, and hanging around a bit longer than we tend to in UK races.
 |
| Mont Blanc - Italian side |
The next section of 10km to Refuge Bonatti, gently rolls through beautiful Alpine meadows, with stunning views of Mont Blanc and the Grand Jorasses, and for the first time, I could trot along at my own pace, with not too many runners around me. There were plenty of hikers on this section, and they all made room as you passed, giving plenty of ‘Allez, Allez’s’ and ‘Bravo’s’. I was going to hear plenty of that over the next 18 hours. A short uphill to the Refuge, water top-up, bit of cake, dunk of the cap, and I was off again.
 |
| after 3hrs or so, some space to run |
A couple of miles later we approached the Grand Col de Ferret, the 2nd big climb of the day, and the Swiss border. But, before that, we had to descend 800m to the next aid station at Arnuvaz. Technical descents are not my strong point. I tend to be a bit tentative/careful. But I had worked a lot on this recently, and came into this race considering myself at least able to ‘hold my own’. However, the French/Italian/Spanish boys showed me. As they flew down to the aid station at breakneck speeds, I couldn’t keep up, and was passed by a few. I was fine with that though, as you can only go as fast as you are comfortable with, and I embraced the fact that it was still early days, and I was saving my quads for later in the race. My time to Arnuvaz was 5:02, 667thposition.
Arnuva was the first aid station with real food. Approx one third distance, so I decided to hang around for 2 or 3mins, grab some coke and a bit of food. I didn’t fancy the noodle soup which was so popular, so headed for the bread, cheese & charcuterie counter. Lovely local fare. They had to virtually push me out the door to allow other runners to get some, so I threw some orange segments into a bag to munch on the next climb, and headed out, trying to not focus on the runners heading for the ‘Abandonment’ tent.
The next big climb was what I considered the crux. No shade, in the hottest part of the day. I figured if I could get over this one, I could probably walk the rest and still finish inside the cut-offs. I settled into a steady rhythm on the endless switchbacks, concentrating on using my arms/poles to propel me forward. Thankfully, there were a couple of troughs en-route with running fresh water for top-ups and cap dunks. The climb seemed to go on forever (actually 1:20hrs), and I was working extra hard in the heat. I was very pleased to see the marshals at the top who swiftly topped up my water. How did they get the water all the way up there? Helicopter drop maybe.
Once over the top, there was a nice downhill stretch on good paths, reminiscent of UK hills, just with a more dramatic backdrop. It was nice to be running again, and an hour later I emerged into the pretty village of La Fouly and the next checkpoint. 628th position. I had been on the move for nearly 8hrs, and was starting to tire. I needed to eat, so decided to try the noodle soup. Just what I needed – salty and easily digested, so I ended up staying long enough to have 3 bowls. I also, inadvertently, drank some sparkling water, instead of regular water. I discovered it was actually rather refreshing, with the added bonus of being loaded with minerals, so filled one of bottles with it and set off.
10mins later I was aware of my chest getting particularly wet. It took me a while to figure out that the gassy water was forcing itself through the thread in my bottle lid, so made a mental note to only half fill my bottles up with it in future. I was able to run at a decent pace for the next few miles, passing through a couple of small villages, where it seemed the entire population was out cheering us on. Small children even set up impromptu aid stations, offering drinks and sweets. A short uphill hike brought me into the busy town of Champex. 557th position in 10:09hrs. I don’t remember passing anywhere near 70 people since the last checkpoint, so a lot were either loitering at the checkpoint, or had dropped.
At 54km, this is pretty much the halfway point. It is also the first point where you can meet your support crew. Along with hundreds of others, my loyal crew were somewhere here. I heard them before I saw them. Enthusiastic would be an understatement. But, after 10hrs on the trails, it gave me a massive boost to see and hear them. Mrs. T accompanied me into the massive marquee which served as the aid station, and I told her not to let me stay longer than 15mins. She fetched soup, bread, orange segments & coke for me, while I sat down for the first time all day. Refuelled, shirt changed, quick cuddle and I was raring to go again.
The 3 of them walked with me for a couple of hundred yards, which was nice, but had to leave me at their bus stop, so I forced my stiff legs into a run along the shores of a beautiful lake. I ran the next couple of flattish miles, until we swung onto the next big climb, up to Bovine, stopping briefly to don my headtorch. I was glad it was cooler now, but the climb did seem endless, and my energy levels were dropping. Around every bend I was met by a series of torch beams stretching hundreds of vertical meters ahead of me. I eventually crested the top, alone, without another headtorch in sight. For the first time, I had to really concentrate on my route finding, but quickly found my way down to the next checkpoint, at La Giete. I moved quickly past the inviting bonfire, and onto the long downhill towards Trient. This was a lovely trail, but I’d hit a real low point now, and it was a long, slow run down to the next aid station. 504th, just under 14hrs.
At Trient, I got a bit disorientated, and wasted a couple of minutes wandering around looking for my wife. She was stood right by the entrance to the aid station the whole time! I needed to sit for 5 mins and recharge. I knew I needed to eat, but really couldn’t face anything on offer. In UK races I often have rice pudding at the times like this. But we couldn’t find any in the French supermarkets, so I had asked my wife to buy anything she could find. So at this point she pulled a carton of Ambrosia custard out of her bag! I got some strange looks as I drank it cold, straight from the carton, together with a can of Red Bull. Probably not very healthy or calorific, but it went down a treat.
The next section was really tough. I hadn’t eaten enough and I struggled on the 5km climb up to Catogne. It was slow going, and I had to stop and sit on a rock a couple of times just to close my eyes and reset. I felt like I was just in survival mode, and it took all my will power to just put one foot in front of the other. Passing runners enquired as to my wellbeing, but I could barely mumble an answer. I breathed a big sigh when I finally reached the top. I had been passed by a few, but was past caring. The next 5km was all downhill into Vallorcine, and I somehow managed to latch onto a couple of other runners and run, albeit slowly, all the way to the checkpoint. 485th in 16:50hrs.
This checkpoint resembled a field hospital more than an aid station. Runners were sleeping/passed out everywhere I looked. Some were carted away on stretchers! I sat for a minute while my wife fetched some soup, and promptly nodded off. But with just one big climb to go, I needed to get outside to get this finished. 10mins and 2 pro-plus later I was wandering sleepily up the gentle incline to Col des Montets. Very runnable, but I was struggling to keep my eyes open, so it took all my effort just to not fall into the river alongside!
At the start of the final climb to Tete aux Vents, looking up, I could see dozens of lights impossibly high up. For a moment, I hoped they might actually be stars, and not the headtorches of those ahead of me. By this point though, the pro-plus had kicked in, and I actually felt quite sprightly again-well relatively. I set off, power hiking up the hill. After 30mins or so, I realised no-one was passing me anymore. In fact, I was passing them. I fell into step with a couple of Italian guys, and was happy to stick with the pace they were setting, and not make tough decisions, like where to put my foot next. After about 45mins of continuous climbing, I thought we must be nearing the top. But when I looked up, the headtorches in the sky seemed as distant as ever. However, when I looked back down, there were even more of them stretching all the way back to the valley. After a couple of false summits, and a tricky traverse, we eventually did reach the Tete, and I could see the distant lights of Chamonix. It was all downhill from here!
I had assumed, wrongly, it was a quick jaunt down to the last aid station at La Flegere from here. In fact it was a tricky, technical descent on very tired legs, and an equally tired brain. I was struggling to decide whether to step around, on or over rocks. And by the time I had decided, my legs had already made the decision for me. Still, I arrived at the checkpoint an hour later knowing the job was almost done. I tend to pick up the pace once I feel I’m almost finished, so the switchback section through the trees passed quickly, past the lovely Floria café , and onto the final wide track all the way to Chamonix. I probably passed 20 runners on this section, some of them in a pretty bad way. I soon hit the tarmac on the edge of town, headtorch off, and cruised through the streets, cheered on by a surprising number of people considering it was 6.30am. Buoyed by the sight of my 3 loyal supporters, I crossed that famous finish line in 21:28hrs. 464th position out of 2100 starters, and 26th V50.
 |
| Me - finish line. |
Considering the number of things that could have gone wrong with the heat, altitude, terrain, etc, and that it was my first significant mountain race, I had no particular issues. Taking it easy on the first couple of descents really paid later, and I didn't get any cramps. My feet were absolutely fine – NB Leadvilles are like slippers with a rockplate! Also, unusually, I wasn’t sick at all. I put that down to hydrating so well, so will be trying to do that more in future. However, I probably didn’t eat enough, and suffered at times for it.
Overall, I was over-the-moon with my run. I had a vague target of 20-22hrs, and top 500, so ticked that box. For me, the superb atmosphere, support and location made for a fantastic experience, and I'll certainly be back.