With a fine group of runners from Estonia, Germany and UK we enjoyed another great trip out to the French Alps. With every kind of weather, night runs, sunrises (without the sun), tackling sections of the UTMB and watching the start and finish of the UTMB, we left the Alps tired and inspired.
Day 1.
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| Drinking wine and talking running in the company of Jez Bragg |
Day 2.
The night run.
In preparation for the night run we had an easy start involving a masterclass from Andy Mouncey on trekking poles and running kit followed by a shopping trip to the local running shops.
In the early evening we headed out for the night run from Chamonix out to Les Houches (where we met the support crew with Eccles cakes!) and then over the Col de Voza under a clear Alpine sky. Up on the Col we switched off our head torches for a magical moment in complete darkness.
We rounded off the night run with a quick, but muddy and slippy, decent into St Gervais jus before midnight.
Day 3.
We had a fantastic day in the Aravis mountains on a 13km route with 2000m of ascent. The views were jaw-dropping looking back on the Contamines valley, into the Chamonix valley taking in the whole of the Mont Blanc Massif.
We were putting our new-found running pole technique to good use on the steep climbs and descents which, thankfully, saved the knees from too much punishment.
That evening we had the pleasure of welcoming our Guest of Honour, Jez Bragg, the UK’s top ultrarunner to dinner. The chat revolved around the UTMB, clothing and the latest kit from The North Face that Jex gets his hands on long before us mere mortals!
Day 4&5.
A big day in the mountains with an overnight stay in a refuge. We headed up the Col du Bonne Homme (a section of the UTMB) and stayed overnight at the Croix du Col de Bonne Homme refuge at 2600m. Some of us were running in Hoka One One shoes and they proved pretty popular.
Overnight in the refuge the weather closes in with fog, thunder and lightning. Needless to say the early morning rise to see the sunrise was little rewarded! The weather didn’t let up, so we headed back down into the valley at top speed and were finally rewarded with an easy afternoon relaxing after long, hot showers.
Day 6.
Heading out on a new route for us, we went up through the Nature Reserve (France’s highest) past the Regue de la Truc, on to the Refuge de la Miage and then up the Col de Tricot and back down into the valley. We took it in turns to route find as we concentrated on navigation in the mountains.
We finished sharpish so we could take in the start of the UTMB in Contamines. For the third year in a row the route and start was affected by the weather. This year saw the route cut from 166km to 100km, the big cols taken out and, therefore, the removal of Switzerland and France from the route. The diehards aren’t happy and the debates are still ongoing!
After cheering on Jez Bragg & Lizzy Hawker (female winner) we followe the racers out of Chamonix before hightailing it back round to Contamines to watch them as they came through the village.
Late into the night and an early Saturday morning we headed back out to see some of the finishers coming across the finish line. Great stuff!
Day 7.
We treated ourselves to an easy day with only a small jaunt into the mountains in preparation for the big days to come.
Day 8.
Big day! Running from Courmayeur to Champex and overnighting at the refuge in Champex we covered 55km in around 9 hours carrying all our own kit. Exhausting but stunning.
Day 9.
Heading from Champex to Chamonix via the high route (more scrambling than running) the views were stunning. We made it back to Chamonix early enough for a quick beer before heading back to Contamines for a well-deserved rest!
Pure running fun…! Can’t wait to do it all again in 2013! Fancy joining us?
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