UTMB (173km, 10k D+)

I probably should have known in 2019 when I started ultra trail running that it would come to this. Still, despite over-commercialization, huge crowds that I'm typically not a big fan of and Dacia as main sponsor, UTMB's starting line had something magical. On September 1st, I joined almost 3000 participants who were setting out to run, hike and crawl anywhere between 19.37h and 46.30h around the Mont Blanc massif.

My brother P., my girlfriend and I had arrived in the area a couple of days earlier to get acclimatized in the Bauhaus skiing resort of Flaine that was closing down for the off-season. And they were serious about closing down, with no open supermarket, bakery or restaurant remaining on the last day. The weather was fairly cold and rainy, which created snowy conditions for the PTL and TDS that took place a couple of days before the UTMB.

The day before the start, we moved to a small flat just 100m from the finish line in Chamonix, which also turned out to be right across a night club that closed at about 5am. Fortunately, I did not have to sleep there most nights thanks to being out on the trail, unfortunately, my brother and girlfriend did. Bib collection went without hickups, but I misunderstood a guy taking a survey about how often one was planning to change shoes during the race, and said 5 times - don't trust any statistics coming out of 2023's UTMB.

After a bad night's sleep, P. and I went to the starting corral about 1.30h before the 6pm start, so as to not have to make it past hundreds of "runners" who were hiking right from the get-go. Still, we ended up quite far back - some people seemed to have been bivouacking in the corral since the day before. With a not quite healed recent shinbone stress fracture, P. had decided to still give UTMB a spin following the medical advice of his ultra running savvy orthopedist ("you really shouldn't, but it's the UTMB, so go for it"), but only run as far as the pain wasn't indicating that things were really going south. Spoiler: He would drop out after the first climb in Saint Gervais after 21km, which is still quite a feat I probably would not have tried. This may also have been his most expensive race, with a price of about €25 per completed km.    

While waiting for more than an hour in the blazing sun, I tried to spot not so fast and famous people like Ben Parkes who was attending UTMB for the second time after dropping out on the first 40km after a fall the year before. Spoiler: This time, Ben Parkes would time out before Les Chapieux.

For the last 30mins before the gun went off, the organizers read out some motivational stuff that completely missed the mark for me, and there was a weird rendition of El Condor Pasa by Shenge Sherpa on the Nepalese equivalent of a pan flute that would also have nicely worked as a second-night hallucination for the people who would be on the trail for 46h+. 

Chamonix

 

And at 6pm sharp, we were off for an "adventure of a lifetime" (^TM, I guess). I had prepared a timetable for a 30h finish, but was mainly aiming to actually complete the race and collect the Hoka fleece finisher vest I had missed out on in 2022's TDS, rather than to hit a certain time. To preserve phone battery, I also took it easy on taking photographs, hence I'm shamelessly recycling some of my 2020 TMB fast-hike pictures here - besides, a fair share of the UTMB is run in the dark which prevents photography, anyway.

Chamonix -> Col de Voza - 1:40h / 7:39pm
For the first km, it was stop and go amongst amazing crowds and an atmosphere like the start of Lavaredo in Cortina D'Ampezzo cranked up to 11 ("Ecstasy of Gold" > "Conquest of Paradise", though). One spectator was holding up a "TDS is harder" sign, and in hindsight I tend to agree given that I had run out of steam during TDS the year before. Leaving Chamonix, very crowded trails at least prevented overpacing, and the conga line after Les Houches up to the Col de Voza wasn't too bad. At one point, there was a very short wait, and a race marshall reminded some impatient runners that their finish time was not determined by waiting in line for 10 seconds.

Col de Voza

Col de Voza -> Saint Gervais - 2:30h / 8:30pm
After the col, we tackled a steep downhill to Saint Gervais, enjoying a nice sunset amongst great views of the Mont Blanc massif.

I met a fellow German runner, K., whom I knew from a couple of other races such as Lavaredo. He complained that he had blown out his quads on a training run one week earlier, so he would take the downhills slow - I would still see him next in Champex Lac, 20h later. The crowds in Saint Gervais were almost as impressive as in Chamonix, and lots of highs needed to be fived both in and out of the aid station.

Col de Voza

 

Saint Gervais -> Les Contamines - 3:50h / 21:49pm
Shortly after Saint Gervais, an inofficial aid station was handing out beer which I decided to forego for now. 

Now was the time to slowly settle in for the long haul, and I was not feeling as fresh as hours earlier anymore. At Les Contamines, the aid station was crowded even at about rank 500, and navigating this must have been a nightmare for runners further back, as also shown by some cut-off chasing video bloggers who arrived in the thick of things.

Saint Gervais (2020 TMB)

Saint Gervais -> La Balme - 5:11h / 23:11pm
At Notre Dame de la Gorge, Hoka had put up a weird tunnel of light with psychedelic music that was just... weird. I guess most runners would have preferred the blazing bonfires of previous years over this fairly misplaced display of light and sound effects. For the first few hundred meters of climbing to Col de La Balme, the trail was lined by a Zegama-like crowd, including a guy with a chainsaw (not a hallucination, yet). Everybody went way too fast for a bit, which probably contributed to my mild nausea at the La Balme aid station.

Refuge La Balme (2020 TMB)

La Balme -> Croix du Bonhomme - 6:29h / 00:29am
During the steep climb to the Col de La Balme and Croix du Bonhomme, I talked to a German runner who was declared permanently disabled after a car crash, but managed to make a ultra running come back despite medical advice. Compared to the many tales of people overcoming addiction and serious illness before picking up ultra distance running, my back story that's summarized by "run some, then run some more, scope creep sets in, and before you know it's the UTMB" is really boring.

Col du Bonhomme (2020 TMB)

Croix Du Bonhomme -> Les Chapieux - 7:01h / 01:01am
After the Croix du Bonhomme, I had a pretty good, slightly muddy downhill down to Les Chapieux. As it was 3h+ to the next aid station from here, I tried to make the most of this stop and took some additional soup and crackers on the way. I had made it to the 365th position at this point, being well on track to beat the bib (470).

Col du Croix du Bonhomme (2020 TMB)

Les Chapieux -> Col de la Seigne - 9:07h / 03:06am
Welcome to the suck. The 1000m climb to the Col de La Seigne is long and relentless, and there are at least 5 false summits towards the end. By the time I reached the summit clouds had closed in, so low visibility and very cold and windy conditions didn't make things more enjoyable. I talked to another runner who claimed that he prefers listening to the wind over music - your mileage may vary.

Les Chapieux (2020 TMB)

Col de La Seigne -> Lac Combal  - 10:22h / 04:22am
After the suck came the suck. The Pyramides Calzaires section is the part of UTMB that competes with the Tête Aux Vents -> la Flégère bit for being the worst stretch of the UTMB. For a brief initial downhill with low visibility and muddy trails, I put on my waterproof gloves but then overheated quickly - at least I got to use some of the mandatory gear. Then, the climb resumed up to the Pyramides Calzaires and down to lac Combal on blocky terrain with lots of mid-sized loose rocks. It was impossible to overtake others on the downhill without causing a rockslide and general mayhem, hence I was taking my time down to Lac Combal. The general mood mood at the aid station was fairly somber, and a couple of people were "already" giving up after 10h, 68km and 4200m of climbing. Hobbling and puking was on full display here.

Col de la Seigne and Pyramides Calzaires (2020 TMB)

Lac Combal -> Mont Favre - 11:29h / 05:29am
After a quick soup and cracker break I continued through the flat valley I had raced and hiked several times by now. The course was now the TDS in reverse, and with Arrête du Mont Favre being the last climb before a 1200m descent into Courmayeur, one could look forward to a different type of pain soon.

Lac Combal (2020 TMB)

Mont Favre-> Col de Checrouit - 12:02h / 06:01am
At the Col de Checkrouit, there was the same pretty pointless aid station just like for the TDS (~5km from Courmayeur), but someone seems to be really invested in keeping this station running. Did not stop, ran through. While it was getting brighter by now, the headlamp was still necessary during the dusty and steep descent through the woods next to skiing slopes.

Arrête du Mont Favre (2020 TMB)

Col de Checrouit -> Courmayeur - 12:39h / 6:39am
I made it into Courmayeur with first daylight after 12.30h, having moved up to 340th position.
I had a change of socks, shoes and shirt, and apparently I looked so fresh that I was mistaken for a supporter when I tried to get some food without having my bib pinned on ("only runners!"). After a 40 minute stop, including brushing my teeth, I was on my way again. The time lost on aid station stops was really starting to accumulate - I spent about 3-4 times more time in Courmayeur aid station than the pro runners over the entire duration of the UTMB.

Col Checrouit (2020 TMB)

Courmayeur -> Bertone - 14:36h / 08:36am
During the 800m climb up to the Refuge Bertone, I was getting pretty tired. As a desperate measure, I tried some thin filter coffee at Bertone, but that did not quite do the trick. With the sun up, I was confident that I could do without a paid espresso stop in one of the other refuges, though. 

 

Views were unfortunately a bit limited by thick cloud cover. We were now back on the CCC track, and I'd been here a couple of times - familiar territory always helps. Refuge Bertone is the halfway point, so from now on I was counting km down rather than up.

Courmayeur (2020 TMB)

Bertone -> Bonatti - 15:43h / 09:43am
Just the usual water refill stop at Bonatti. We were now cheered on by more and more Trail du Mont Blanc and day hikers, which helped a bit to propel me forward. While mid-morning was exactly the right time to do the most scenic part of the UTMB from Refuge Bertone to the Col de Grand Ferret, it wasn't exactly a bluebird day.

Refuge Bonatti

Bonatti -> Arnouvaz - 16:34h / 10:34am
Despite more soup and crackers at Arnouvaz, I was not too psyched for the next 800m climb up to Grand Col Ferret. Temperatures were fairly manageable, fortunately.

Refuge Bonatti

Arnouvaz -> Grand Col Ferret - 17:56h / 11:56am
During the climb, I was mingling with some TMB hikers who were the real heroes for carrying big backpacks up the col. The admiration appeared to be mutual, though.

Grand Col Ferret (2020 TMB)

Grand Col Ferret -> La Fouly - 19:15h / 1:15pm
Just after the col, I did a short stop to pick some blueberrys (power food!), and decided to switch to hand-carrying my poles as my makeshift backpack fastening system was slowly and nicely rubbing my lower back raw. Note to self: Buy a pole quiver. The downhill from Grand Col Ferret to La Fouly was very runnable, and this time I also successfully relied on the inofficial water stop at the La Peule wayside refuge, rather than carrying additional water bottles up to the col.

Grand Col Ferret

La Fouly-> Champex-Lac - 21:44h / 3:44pm
After La Fouly lay my third least favorite section of the UTMB. The course is mainly downhill until a final climb to Champex-Lac, but has both lots of tarmac and uneven terrain. My feet started to really hurt so running became difficult, and runners around me also were not looking particularly sprightly. 

 

La Fouly (2020 TMB)

For the climb, I managed to latch onto a hiking train that pulled me up fairly well. By now I had figured out that focussing on covering the time between checkpoints rather than the distance was working very well, as thinking "only 1h to go until Champex" was more motivating than thinking "only 4km until Champex, but this will take me 1h". Then, I arrived in Champex after almost 22h in 288th position, with only one marathon and 2600m climbing to go! 

 

The remaining stretch will basically run itself, I thought. Going uphill was still fine, but everything else was getting a bit tedious at this point. The German runner I had met near Col de Voza entered the aid station just when I was about to leave, and was having about as hard of a time as I had. He would add another 3h on top of my time over the next 45km.

Champex Lac (2020 TMB)

Champex-Lac -> La Giete - 24:21h / 6:20pm
For most of the climb, I followed a female pole-less Greek runner who kept a very steady yet fast pace and pulled me up the mountain in what felt like no time. She may have felt my added weight, though, as she seemed a bit piqued when I thanked her for doing the leading work when we reached the top. We had some beautiful views of the Rhone valley below, but my right knee was starting to act up on the downhills.

La Giete

La Giete -> Trient - 25:08h / 7:08pm
As opposed to the CCC, I found the Trient aid station right away this time, and spent a couple of minutes chatting with a Swiss-German volunteer and a German supporter. Hanging around in aid stations was becoming very attractive at this point, and my less-than-optimal refuelling setup that required me to empty my backpack every time I wanted to refill my bottles with isostar provided a welcome excuse.

Immediately after the aid station, I stopped again to pet a fluffy cat - life was good and spirits were high! Then, a really steep but, at least for me, enjoyable climb up to Les Tseppes followed.

Trient (2020 TMB)

Trient -> Les Tseppes - 26:31h / 8:31pm
I managed to pass a couple of runners on the way up to Les Tseppes who were beyond even pretending to be feeling well. When we reached Les Tseppes, it was beginning to get dark, and I had also reached my high water mark position-wise at 253th - it was (not quite) literally all downhill from here. Downhills were becoming more and more of an issue, so people I had effortlessly passed earlier were now flying by.

 

Les Tseppes (2020 TMB)

Les Tseppes -> Vallorcine - 28:04h / 10:03pm
After 28h in total, I had reached Vallorcine. The aid station was packed with runners in various states of disrepair. What I had not expected was that my teeth were really sore at this point, so getting down both Isostar and gels was hurting quite a bit, and even breathing through my mouth was unpleasant. 

Vallorcine

 

Yet, I discovered that Snickers were great comfort food and took a couple of bars. As I could not manage more than a hiking pace downhill, I advised my "crew" waiting in Chamonix to not wait up for me, as I could not promise a definite finishing time at this point. Brave souls that they are, they still showed up at the finish almost 5 hours later, though.

Vallorcine (2020 TMB)

Vallorcine -> La Flégère - 31:09h / 01:09am
It was getting quite cold so I put on my rain jacket when leaving the Vallorcine aid station,only to stow it again after a couple of mins as I was overheating when running. "Running" was probably a fast hike at this point, but I still felt that the slightly ascending but runnable section from Vallorcine to the next col deserved an honest effort. I took some cold pizza from volunteers hanging out near the col, which was pushing my luck a bit but I still felt all good digestion-wise.

Given a route change this year, we did not go up to Tête Aux Vents, but followed the OCC trail to La Flegere. This was probably even worse, as it added another intermediate summit and descent before La Flégère, and some of the downhill trails were not what one would want to run in the dark after 30h time on feet. Also, it was not clear how far it was to La Flégère at any given point. I joined a group that was going at a medium pace, as 30h was definitely off the table and slow but steady was fine at this stage.

La Flégère (2020 TMB)

La Flégère -> Chamonix - 32:49h / 02:48am
The cable car station at La Flégère at 1am is nothing to write home about, and the final steep climb up a skiing slope was a nice coda to all the climbing of the last 32h. I was running low on water and tried some Näak sports drink at the aid station - not a fan, Näak tasted like the Dacia of isotonic drinks. Carrying my own isostar powder for the entire race had been a really smart idea. 

La Flégère

 

On the last downhill, my knee really locked up and I would get passed by another 21 runners. It took me 1.40h to get to the finish line from La Flegere, as opposed to less than 1h during the CCC. I was joined by my girlfriend and brother on the last couple of hundred meters, walking it in in style with a stuffed pet to keep me company. 

Chamonix

Despite the ungodly hour, there was still a big party around the finish line, with the crowds reaching peak drunk. I passed the finish line with some more high fiving and the usual "OK, I can stop moving now, no idea what I'm supposed to do next" feeling.

 

Finisher vest and finisher sandwich collection went well, despite some communication issues around getting a tuna sandwich (atun? tonno? tuna?), but maybe I only felt coherent at this point.

I finished UTMB in 32:49h, placing 286th. While I had missed my inofficial 30h A-goal, I could fairly well bridge the gap by the knee disfunction during the last marathon and the 2h+ that I had spent lollygagging in aid stations.

While it probably did not turn out to be the adventure of a lifetime for me, UTMB is still a beautiful, well organized race that is worth doing even if only for the Hoka finisher vest and the "been there, done that" aspect of it. I never thought about quitting, and despite the late race knee issues it never felt like a death march.

Would I do it again? Naaaah - however, the running stone qualification points I'm collecting through other UTMB series races need to go somewhere, after all... And my next attempt at finishing the TDS is just around the corner. Would I go for even longer distances? Naaaah - yet, TDG is supposed to be a one-of-a-kind experience...

Actual timetable if somebody wants to replicate a 33h UTMB: