A little run in the Alps
So this year’s much-anticipated Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc had a totally unexpected outcome. The bad weather that settled over the Mont-Blanc range during the last week, and specifically on Friday evening, created a couple of situations that forced the race organization to put it into a temporary halt, barely 3 hours after the race begun at 6:30 p.m. on Friday.
Official reports said that winds at Croix du Bonhomme (km 45, 2443 m) were above 70 km/hr and that some mud slides took place at Col de la Seigne (km 60, 2516 m), 2 of the 9 important mountain passes along the UTMB course. The organizers considered that it was far too risky to let a couple thousand runners go through such dangerous zones in the middle of the night. It sounded like a wise decision, although painful.
The CCC (of 98 km) and the TDS (of 111 km), 2 of the UTMB’s sister races, were totally canceled. The CCC, which started at 10 a.m. on Friday, was stopped in Vallorcine, only 18 km away from the finish line at Chamonix. The TDS, whose start on Friday midnight was postponed for 2 hours to wait for an improvement in the weather, didn’t even start. Runners were bummed, heartbroken actually.
After a little more analysis of the weather, the forecast looked better for Saturday afternoon and Sunday on the Italian and Swiss sides of the massif, so the race organizers “called” the UTMB and TDS runners (2300 and 1200 people respectively) for a restart from Courmayeur (km 78 of the UTMB) on Saturday morning. There was a minor glitch however, this new “race” was limited to 1500 people, so the first runners in Chamonix to make it to the designed buses to Courmayeur would be the “lucky” ones to actually run something.
Here are the UTMB course map and profile. The blue line represents the sections of the course that what we actually ran (109 km), the red line is the section that we didn’t (57 km):
The above text was just a brief summary of the UTMB weekend, now onto my (also brief) race report…
Chamonix to Saint-Gervais – km 0 to 21.3
Friday 6:30 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.
The crowd of runners started gathering at the Place du Triangle de l’Amitié since 2 hours before the race start. The weather was still rainy, just like it had been for most of the week. We were warned to bring clothes for cold & rain, as that was the forecast for the weekend. Some runners were a little nervous while others looked calm despite the bad weather. My friend Joan arrived 30 minutes before departure and was able to get into the crowd and close to where I was. We greeted each other, chatted a little and wished luck for what was going to be a great and unknown adventure. This was our first time running the UTMB.
Around 6:15 p.m. the rain stopped for a bit, there was a speech from the race organizers and the French national anthem was sung. Everyone was very psyched, months of hard training and lots of sacrifices were done to get to that very moment. Then the final countdown arrived and the race begun. A giant pack of about 2300 runners started moving along the Rue du Docteur Paccard and the Route des Gaillands, heading Southwest to the town of Les Houches. A lot of people gathered in the streets and roads to cheer the runners, it was a great party for everyone. After a couple of kilometers we entered the first section of trail at Les Gaillands and it started to rain again, heavily.
The trail to Les Houches went by without any trouble, except for the dense pack of runners which made running impossible at some places. Once we got back to the road and into Les Houches the pack started to flow better while we were greeted by a bunch of people in the streets. The rain ceased a little and I was able to enjoy the beauty of the town, then the first aid station appeared. I grabbed a cup of water and quickly downed an energy gel while I continued running though the town and into the next section of trail. That was the first climb of the course, up to Le Délevret.
Night caught us during the climb as well as some more pouring rain. I was happy I brought a waterproof jacket instead of a windbreaker. Legs and shoes were completely wet and the trail had transformed into a mud path. The pack of runners tightened at some narrow points but we made good uphill progress until we reached Le Délevret. I had a last glimpse of the Chamonix valley and headed downhill to Saint-Gervais. The trail went down some grass-filled ski course, which was so muddy and slippery that fast running it was out of the question. After about 1000 meters of descent we reached Saint-Gervais. Once I got to the aid station I noticed that a lot of runners were chatting and hanging around. It was strange to me, as we had only covered 21 km of the course and everybody seemed to be taking things too slowly. Then I received a phone call from Joan…
J: Mauricio, where are you?
M: I’m in Saint-Gervais, at the aid station… And you?
J: I’m here as well… I’m already in the line to take the bus back to Chamonix…
M: What?! Are you OK?!
J: Haven’t you heard? The race has been canceled… It’s over…
M: What??!! Why??!!
J: There has been a mudslide at Col de la Seigne… The organizers have shut down the race…
M: NOOO…
J: Yes, this is crazy… Buses will start taking runners back to Chamonix in about an hour…
M: So what do we do now? Are you sure this is true?
J: Absolutely, ask the people around you… Get some food while I go there to meet you…
M: Sure, I will…
So I started asking what was going on. Everyone around me had the same news as Joan, the UTMB was canceled. Most of us were stopped at Saint-Gervais while the front runners were stopped at Les Contamines (km 31.1). Until then I started noticing the real atmosphere at the aid station: runners were confused and in shock. Some of them were angry, while others were crying… I didn’t know how to feel, except as if something was stolen from me. Deep inside I felt like something broke… I was heartbroken but inexpressive. I called Odi to tell her what was happening so she could inform everyone in Mexico that we were fine. Joan joined me after a few minutes and repeated what he told me in our phone conversation. I was still in shock…
We walked out of the aid station and met Eduardo, a friend of Joan who was in the same situation as us. Joan told us that he called his father and wife, who were staying in Les Houches and who were coming to pick us at Saint-Gervais. While we waited for them to arrive, we sheltered from the rain under some building’s porch. I started to get cold so I changed my wet clothes for dry ones. Once in the car, we talked about the incident and started building hypothesis of what could have really happened. We couldn’t find any answers reasonable enough to made us accept the fact that the UTMB was over…
Joan offered me to stay with his family at their hotel as I didn’t have a room for the weekend (I was supposed to be running in the mountain). We dropped Eduardo at his hotel in Chamonix then headed back to Les Houches. Once at the hotel, each of us had a warm shower and put on some clean clothes. We chatted a little more until we agreed it was enough for the day and went to bed. But we couldn’t really sleep… It was almost 2 a.m. and my mind continued wandering around ideas and I couldn’t define how I felt. Then our phones received a message…
I whispered to Joan, who (just like me) was barely asleep. I told him we just got a SMS from the UTMB organizers, but half of it was written in English and the other half in French and I wasn’t able to fully understand it. Joan quickly translated into something like: “UTMB restart from Courmayeur at 10 a.m. Buses will depart from Chamonix at 6:30 a.m.“. We were a little skeptical about the info so we put our shoes on and went downstairs to the hotel’s lobby, looking for a computer with Internet connection. No news were posted at the UTMB website, but other sites like Ultrafondus and iRunFar.com were confirming the news. Despite our previous disappointment, we decided to go to Chamonix to find out what was going on…
Joan woke up his wife and father and told them the news, then asked for another ride back to Chamonix. Around 4 a.m. they dropped us at the Place du Mont-Blanc. We headed to the Sports Centre and asked the race officials, who confirmed the news but advised that buses to Courmayeur were going to be limited to 1500 people and that TDS runners were also coming since the TDS start never took place. Buses were going to depart from the Sports Centre so the best we could do was to hang around there until 6:30 a.m. We went to the gymnasium where I left my drop bag the previous morning. Fortunately, the drop bags were never sent to Courmayeur due to the prompt cancellation of the race. I exchanged some wet clothes with dry ones in the bag then headed with Joan to the dinning room to get some food. It was still raining but the news from race officials that weather would be good on the Italian side of the massif created some hope within us.
Meanwhile, we got news that the CCC had also been canceled a couple of hours back. The CCC started at 10 a.m. on Friday and (apparently) runners faced horrendous weather and trail conditions all along the course (which is basically the same as the last half of the UTMB, except for its first 10 km). Most of the CCC runners were stopped at Vallorcine and were being shuttled back to Chamonix by bus. Only the front runners made it to Chamonix but through dangerous conditions at La Tête Aux Vents. And we were hoping things would be really better for the next day…
Courmayeur to Refuge Bonatti – km 77.7 to 89.6
Saturday 10:15 a.m. – 12:59 p.m.
We rode the first bus to Courmayeur in the middle of more pouring rain. We got some sleep during the short trip and, fortunately, were welcomed by clear skies and no more rain on the Italian side of Mont-Blanc. Optimism was coming back on us while we entered the Courmayeur Sports Centre. We had more food, attended some minor details with our equipment and got 2 more hours of sleep in one of the improvised sleeping pads. At 9 a.m. we woke up and changed our warm clothes for our (still wet) day clothes, then headed outside the Sports Centre and walked towards the Place Brocherel. A bunch of runners from both the UTMB and TDS were already there, something around 1200 people.
We joined the pack at the very end and did our last gear checkup. The atmosphere for the re-start was kind of weird. While some runners (mostly from the TDS) seemed happy of having the opportunity to actually start some race, others (those from the halted UTMB) were still doubtful of what this shortened course (and the weather) could bring. Joan and I simply shook hands and wished luck to each other. Deep inside we knew that no matter what happened, we were not going to stop until the finish line. At 10:15 a.m., the much-smaller pack of runners departed the town of Courmayeur with the hopes of completing a great run (mostly) around Mont-Blanc…
Right after leaving Courmayeur we entered a wide trail which after a few hundred meters turned into a single track. The climb to Refuge Bertone looked a little strenuous but, the pack of runners was so tight and moving at such constant pace that there was no way of really getting tired. Once above treeline the Refuge Bertone came into sight. I made a quick stop to drink some water and shoot some pictures, the day was a little cloudy but really nice compared to the previous night. The views of Valle d’Aosta reminded me why I prepared for months for this race, because I wanted to enjoy that beautiful natural scenery.
A short climb above the Refuge Bertone took us to a small pass where the trail became almost flat but with an incredibly high setting. We resumed running almost immediately, enjoying the amazing view of the valley along the Italian side of the Mont-Blanc massif. The highest peaks, such as the Grandes Jorasses and Dent du Géant were not visible because of some persistent clouds. This was one of the most incredible trails I’ve ever run in my life. After 7 km we reached the famous Refuge Bonatti.
Refuge Bonatti to Arnuva – km 89.6 to 94.6
Saturday 12:59 p.m. – 1:54 p.m.
I made a quick stop to refill my water bladder and eat a gel, then headed out again to the beautiful single track trail. There was a lot of people around the Refuge Bonatti, mostly hikers which briefly stopped to encourage runners along their journey. The weather continued to be good, still cloudy but with enough sunlight to shoot pictures of the amazing scenery. The trail went down after a couple of kilometers, heading us to the Arnuva aid station. I ran as fast as possible.
Arnuva to Grand Col Ferret – km 94.6 to 98.9
Saturday 1:54 p.m. – 3:21 p.m.
A light rain started when I arrived to the aid station at Arnuva. I grabbed a cup of noodle soup and took out my rain jacket while I waited for the soup to cool. A bunch of runners gathered inside the little tent to do the same. I quickly downed the soup and some cheese and went out of the tent. After crossing a little river, the trail headed up a gigantic hill whose summit wasn’t visible. The climb up to Grand Col Ferret (2537 m) was just ahead.
The rain got worse with every hundred meters of altitude gained, the trail became a slippery mud path which required a little more energy and focus. I reached the checkpoint at Grand Col Ferret in the middle of a rain storm. It was so cold and windy that anyone could get hypothermic in a matter of minutes. I quickly checked in and immediately started running down into Switzerland.
Grand Col Ferret to La Fouly – km 98.9 to 108.5
Saturday 3:21 p.m. – 4:48 p.m.
The long trail down to La Fouly was a really fun experience. To get the picture, you could think of me sliding down on a very long mud path while in the middle of the mist. After a few kilometers and river crossings, the trail joined a dirt road which eventually led me and other runners to the little town of La Fouly.
La Fouly to Champex-Lac – km 108.5 to 122.6
Saturday 4:48 p.m. – 7:09 p.m.
The rain ceased while I had some food and refilled my water bladder at the aid station. 14 km were left to Champex-Lac and most of them were downhill according to the course profile I carried in my pocket. I ran most of this, which consisted of dirt roads that constantly connected with small sections of pavement. The sun came out again and the scenery was stunning. As you can imagine, any direction you look at in Switzerland can easily be a postcard.
The paved road ended after crossing the beautiful little village of Praz de Fort and a short climb along single track headed towards Champex-Lac. This section of the course is known as Le Sentier des Champignons and consists of a thematic trail with an interesting assortment of wooden sculptures. The climb wasn’t strenuous but I started to feel a little dizzy and nauseous. I made my best to get to Champex-Lac as fast as possible.
Champex-Lac to Bovine – km 122.6 to 132.2
Saturday 7:09 p.m. – 10:19 p.m.
I entered the Champex-Lac aid station with haggard eyes. The tent was huge, a lot of runners came and went without control. I sat for a moment to catch my breath, my hands were cold and my stomach upside down. It took me about 10 minutes to be conscious of what was happening around me, everything felt like a movie in slow motion. I realized I was having hypothermia symptoms, as chills and tremors became apparent. I tried my best to avoid any race official notice the bad time I was experiencing. Slowly I took off my backpack and started to take out the dry clothes I had in it, it was going to be dark soon and those were long clothes. After 10 more minutes of full concentration, I finally managed to change my clothes, once again I was dry and starting to regain body heat.
However, my stomach was still screwed up, without much thought I realized it was rebelling for all the gels that I had consumed during the race. I had planned on eating a gel or energy bar every hour throughout the race, that way any caloric deficit would be out of question and I could concentrate on moving as efficiently as possible. My stomach didn’t seem to like the idea. I re-evaluated my eating plan and decided to increase the consumption of salty foods in aid stations and reduce the number of gels eaten along the way. Fortunately there was no need to vomit, because after eating a good plate of noodle soup, some cheese and cold cuts, my stomach felt a lot better.
I left the aid station warm and recovered, just as dusk was approaching. I enjoyed the beautiful view of lake Champex while walking around it and the sky changed colors. I moved as fast as possible, I took out my headlamp and also phoned Odi to tell her about my brief crisis. It was great to hear her words of love and encouragement even though we were thousands of miles away. With great spirits I left the town of Champex, fully ready to continue my adventure for the rest of the night.
Total darkness caught me in the middle of the woods, on my way to Bovine. The first part of this section consisted of a slight, long descent along a dirt road, followed by a steep climb up to the next aid station. A couple of kilometers before Bovine, an almost full moon began to emerge from behind the mountains, I was almost 700 meters above the valley floor and the view was simply spectacular.
Bovine to Trient – km 132.2 to 138.6
Saturday 10:19 p.m. – 11:52 p.m.
The Bovine aid station consisted of a small tent with some drinks and soup. Making a long stop wasn’t an option because it was raining lightly and it was quite cold, I had no desire to cool down again after what I suffered in Champex-Lac. The trail continued to climb for a little more, until it surrounded what seemed to be the top of the mountain, from there began another long descent to the valley floor. I had some minor slips and falls because the trail was extremely muddy, but nothing very serious. In fact I enjoyed a lot that part of the course since I was alone for a long period of time, occasionally passing some runners on my way to Trient.
Trient to Vallorcine – km 138.6 to 148.3
Saturday 11:52 p.m. – Sunday 2:55 a.m.
I ate some more noodle soup at Trient, as well as other salty foods. I felt pretty good, because my body had recovered quickly, the night was beautiful and I was enjoying the great atmosphere of the race. The crew at the aid station was very kind and helpful, which made it almost impossible to avoid taking a few minutes to chat and exchange smiles. I re-supplied as fast as possible and got out of there ready to face the next leg of the course.
As soon as I left Trient, a long climb marked the way, another 700 meters of climb to a place known as Catogne. After an hour and a half of many switchbacks and stream crossings, I went along this site, where there was no aid station as it was right in the middle between Trient and Vallorcine, merely 5 km from each other. Another steep descent took me to the town of Vallorcine, once again at the bottom of the valley. The rain had stopped and the sky had finally cleared, the view toward the Northeast side of the Mont-Blanc massif was spectacular. Glaciers were moonlit and every second I was reminded of why I’m so deeply bonded to the mountains and nature.
Vallorcine to La Tête Aux Vents – km 148.3 to 155.7
Sunday 2:55 a.m. – 6:00 a.m.
Reaching Vallorcine I briefly stopped to take care of a toe in my right foot which started to show signs of blisters due to being wet for so long. After wrapping it with some duct tape, I refilled my water bladder and had another cup of soup. I felt ready to attack the final stretch of the course towards Chamonix.
A long dirt road to the side of a river took me out of Vallorcine and slowly worked its way up to Col des Montets, where the last climb of the course began. At its base, it was impressive to see the full length of zigzagging trail illuminated by the runners headlamps gradually vanishing into the sky. It looked so steep at such hour of the night that it reminded me of the perilous stairway to Cirith Ungol, one of the entrances to Mordor from The Lord of the Rings book. A couple of days later, I realize that my mind was probably exaggerating due to exhaustion.
After 600 steep meters and a couple of technical sections, the trail eased and I gradually got closer to La Tête Aux Vents. Dawn was approaching, as the horizon on the Eastern mountains began to brighten.
La Tête Aux Vents to La Flégère – km 155.7 to 158.7
Sunday 6:00 a.m. – 6:41 a.m.
Dawn began when I arrived to La Tête Aux Vents, a place that honors its name due to the strong wind that blew there. After a few seconds to pass the aid-less checkpoint, I began the descent to Chamonix.
That part of the course was mostly covered with rocks, so it was not easy to move fast and even less with the accumulated fatigue in my legs. Moreover, the Mont-Blanc massif began to glow and the views were simply stunning. It took me 40 minutes to cover this 3 km almost-flat stretch because I constantly stopped to take photos of the landscape. I knew that being there in that very moment was a gift of life, so I wanted to treasure it in my memory as much as possible.
La Flégère to Chamonix – km 158.7 to 166
Sunday 6:41 a.m. – 7:54 a.m.
I didn’t stop to eat or drink at La Flégère, just checked-in and continued my way to Chamonix. I knew there were still 7 km to go, but still had enough water in my backpack and the excitement of being so close to the end, as well as the beauty of the landscape, motivated me to make a last effort to finish in good time.
The first part of this section was a rather tedious dirt road, but once I got back into the single track, the fun came back. While I ran at good pace through the forest my phone rang. It was Beto, who was following my progress via the race webcast and called me from Mexico to congratulate and cheer me up. It was fun to continue running while I put the phone on speaker and had the typical hilarious conversation with my cousin. We hung up after a few minutes and with great joy I fastened my pace to get soon to Chamonix.
I remember passing many runners along this stretch, who were going very slow or were injured and who didn’t bother to step aside to let me fly past. Then the trail became a straight dirt road and after some curves it finally connected to a street. It was about to be 8 a.m., so I kept speeding up because I wanted to cross the finish line before that time.
It was early for people to hang around the streets of Chamonix, but those who still went out didn’t hesitate to encourage me and give directions to the finish line. After a few streets down, I finally turned at the corner of the Sports Centre. A short stretch along the Arve river took me to the touristic Rue Joseph Vallot, where the few people walking by wouldn’t stop applauding and shouting “Allez! Allez!!”. After crossing the main square, I made another turn and finally found the finish line at the Place du Triangle de l’Amitié, where the adventure began almost 2 days earlier.
I improved my pace in the last 200 meters and by 7:54 a.m., after 21 hours and 37 minutes at this second part of the race (88 km), I crossed the finish line with a big smile in my face. I raised my arms and turned around, silently thanking the mountain for every moment that we gave to each other. It was a moment of total communion.
I received congratulations from the people who was there, they took me a few pictures and gave me the award for completing the race, a nice black vest with the race logo and the embroidered legend: Finisher UTMB. Definitely there is no better award for me than the personal satisfaction for the great effort and sacrifices made. Just thinking that of a couple of months ago I had my foot in a cast and now I just finished this dream race was difficult to describe. Sometimes it’s definitely good to hold on to some dreams… 
I re-hydrated and had some food at the finish line aid station while I called Odi and my parents. Odi saw on the race webcast that Joan finished the race just 1 hour before me, I was very happy for him too. I sat there for a while to watch more runners arrive and to enjoy the wonderful feeling of serenity that overcame me. I felt complete and at peace.
A little after, I grabbed my things and walked towards my hotel at the small village of Les Gaillands, about 2 km out of Chamonix. I quickly reinstalled there, had a warm shower and slept like a rock for 8 hours straight, missing the awards ceremony. I woke up in the evening, hungry as a castaway, so I ate 2 giant salads, a huge steak, lots of French fries, a couple of beers and a triple chocolate and vanilla ice cream. My body hurts today but nothing spectacular as it was in my first 100 miler a couple of years ago, there is no need for a wheelchair this time 
Doing some numbers and adding to the “official” result what I did in the first part of the race, the totals were: 109 km, 25 hours and 7 minutes, ~5,000 m of ascent and ~5,500 m of descent. The bad weather still owes me: 57 km, ~4,500 m of ascent, ~4,000 m of descent and a good amount of hours enjoying the mountain. It will be the next time and know it will be soon…
Rest of the photos are here or in the slideshow below:
