UTMB Race Report 2017 - Needs More Cowbell

The UTMB is one of, if not the most well known mountain ultra in the world. Granted, that is a fairly niche category in which to find yourself at the top of the heap. However, find yourself in Chamonix or any of the villages surrounding Mont Blanc at the end of August during the UTMB festival of running, and you might think that you had stumbled upon a big city marathon nestled away in the mountain valley. The atmosphere is, quite simply, electric, with the sounds of cowbells and shouts of "Allez!" ringing out day and night. And the finishing chute in Chamonix, where runners pass hundreds of cheering supporters high fiving kids as they go, is teeming with energy no matter the weather or time of day (or night).

Race week consists of five main events; the titular UTMB (Ultra Trail de Mont Blanc - Chamonix to Chamonix, 171 Km, 10,000 m ascent), the CCC (Courmayeur to Champex-Lac to Chamonix, 101 Km, 6,100 m ascent), the TDS (Sur les Traces des Ducs de Savoie, 119 Km, 7,200 m ascent), the newer OCC (Orsiéres to Champex-Lac to Chamonix, 56 Km, 3,500 m ascent), and the team based PTL (Petitie Trotte a Léon, 290 Km, 26,500 m ascent). They are spaced out so that there is always something going on around Chamonix, with the main event of the UTMB concluding proceedings.

Hey guys, remember me?

Dear diary,

It's been a long time since I wrote anything. You're probably wondering what the hell happened to me! 

No? Anyone? 

Well, okay, probably nobody really cares, but it has indeed been a really long time since I blogged anything. There's two main reasons for this silence: 1) I've been busy, and 2) I haven't done anything worth blogging about.

The last year has kind of sucked in terms of running. I injured my foot over a year ago, and still haven't got to the bottom of what it is or how to get rid of it. The most annoying part is that it wasn't  even running related - it happened while walking around the Natural History Museum. It's manageable, I can still run, I just can't train like I used to. I've seen various people, had a rather useless few months going through the NHS, and still don't really know what it is. So I'm just cracking on, and it's okay - it's just not right. I miss just going for a run and not having to think about things.

Anyway, the point is it sort of put a damper on last year. I was still able to run, and managed the first two races of the Centurion Running Grand Slam; the South Downs Way 100 which was great fun (unlike the year before), and the Thames Path 100 which I finally finished after 2 botched attempts. But the week before the North Downs Way 100 I developed some worrying symptoms that freaked my doctor out and led to a whole barrage of tests (all negative thankfully). I could barely stand up straight, never mind run and things were still a bit iffy for the Autumn 100. So another year, another failed Grand Slam. Sigh.