North FACe Endurance Challenge

2013 ended pretty nicely with The North Face Endurance Challenge 50 mile run in Marin, north of San Francisco. With the UTMB in particular (and 100s of miles of mountain running) 2013 has been a great running year for me. The TNF50 was a good cherry on the cake since it was a beautiful cold day in the Marin Headlands and I also got a PR on that course (by 1 hour and 25 minutes no less!).

I first ran the course in 2011 and it was my first ultramarathon. It was fantastic and although I was a little slow (and I was hurting at the end quite a bit!) I pledged to come back. I went back in 2012 and the weather was so awful that they shortened the course to 46 miles (I finished in 9 hours and 58 minutes and I was very happy with that). I got so wet that sometimes by the ocean it seemed someone was throwing buckets of water at me! This year the weather was very cold but dry and sunny and, with the right equipment, it was a great pleasure!

Continue reading “NFEC 50 + 2013 in Review” →

ULTRA TRAIL DU MONT-BLANC

“It is not a pristine mountain experience, but rather, it’s a spectacle of the sport of mountain ultra running. I happen to like this aspect of the race. For a sport that is often niche and very grassroots and an activity that I spent a vast majority of my time doing alone, almost everything about the race is an over-the top, at times kitschy, experience; a true celebratory event.” — Adam Campbell

While it’s always fun and beneficial to write a report after every event I run, doing so for the UTMB seems just as daunting as finishing the course. It’s definitely the hardest ultra marathon I ever ran – 105 miles (168 km) in high mountains, 31,000 feet of steep climbing and descending, semi-autonomous mode – it took me over 42 hours, having to stop for 15 to 45 minutes at aid stations to fuel, rest and occasionally take a 15 minutes power nap. It was hard but it was an adventure like no other and also a dream come true: running around the Mont-Blanc!

I finished 1039 out of  2469 participants (only 223 Women). 1686 runners finished (68% of participants).

Continue reading “Ultra Trail du Mont-Blanc 2013 Race Report” →

UTMB NewsCAST 03

Last update before the race which is now in less than 24 hours (about time!). The weather forecast has turned to something very positive (but the weather is still unpredictable anyway!). It’s going to be rather hot for French standards which are going to be just fine by California standards. I think we are really going to be able to enjoy the views and hopefully, the night won’t be too cold. It’s been a while that the UTMB hasn’t been run in optimal conditions so it should be a lot of fun! A lot of pain and hard too – definitely should expect that. People around the race have a tendency to turn it into a myth. Check out the iRunFar interview of Anton Krupicka if you think some drama should be taken out of it!

Today I went early to the race HQ to get my bib and have my gear checked. I thought I was early but there was still a big line! It took about an hour to get through and have my drop bag. Waiting wasn’t to much of an ordeal because I met a guy from Minnesota who was here the CCC. Then the volunteers are pretty nice and it was a breeze to get the gear checked (they can’t check everything so they pick three random items).  The volunteer checking my gear was impressed by my packing technique (clothing is all in zip lock bags to keep them dry) but also told me that sometimes people have stinky dirty clothes in there!

Continue reading “Ultra Trail du Mont-Blanc Newscast 03” →

UTMB NEWSCAST 02

I was hoping to post some nifty video podcasts to cover the pre-race week in Chamonix. Not really happening for a couple of reasons: the bandwidth at my hotel is very limited, there is really not that much going on and I’m spending a fair amount of time resting and getting last details sorted out. I also did a try with my GoPro and I sounded like a total idiot. So here’s more of a journal format. It seems a little more humble… It is a treat to spend time here in Chamonix. During the last three days I’ve established a routine: get up at 8:30, have a huge breakfast at the hotel, go for a one hour run on the nearby trails in the woods (so green) or an hour swim at the magnificent Chamonix Olympic pool looking at the Mont-Blanc. Then lunch in town, shopping for last race essentials, socialize a bit (the town is full of runners so it’s easy to just pick a victim and chat!).

Continue reading “Ultra Trail du Mont-Blanc Newscast 02” →