Two women are posing for a picture together at a race

A man wearing sunglasses and a green hat is holding a medal in front of a mountain

A man wearing a red shirt with the word sport on it

A group of people are running in the woods near a restaurant sign

A crowd of people are gathered in front of a salomon sign

Mont Blanc Marathon Results

featured in News & Reviews Author Alison Shayler, Chamonix Reporter Updated 20 October 2022

Phew, it has been a scorcher of a weekend in Chamonix and quite typically coincided with one of the biggest sporting events of the year with three days of races taking place.

Friday afternoon was the first year for the KM Vertical event; a 2km “dash” up the Brevent hill that involves 1000m of ascent up a 50% gradient. It's a hard enough hike, so for winner Emmanuel Vaudan to sprint it in 36 minutes is unbelievable. There were 197 people crazy enough to attempt it and they all made it to the top.

The KM Vertical got the weekend off to a good start and the atmosphere was already building in town on Friday evening, with stands set up, big screens to show live footage and plenty of people milling around.

There was a good turn out the following morning at the start of the Mont Blanc Cross; a 23km half-marathon that follows much of the same gruelling trail as the full marathon. Not exactly a gentle run but there were 1361 brave people who turned out to attempt it! Crowds gathered at various points along the way to cheer, one of the best viewing points being on the bridge at Montroc. The weekend was forecast to be sunny but the day got hotter than expected as it wore on, making the final sections up to Flegere and on to Plan Praz a real mission. There was a great atmosphere at the finishing line as runners pushed themselves up the last stretch to claim their medal and celebratory beer at the end!

Brutal finish to the Cross

Congratulations to Guillaume Fontaine who won first place at 01:55:27, Damien Piquemal who came hot on his heels at 01:56:17 and Candide Pralong (last year's winner), who must have been breathing down their necks at 01:56:55! The first woman over the line was Mirea Miro from Spain who was not far behind at 02:08:23. Even the mayor took part, coming in at a respectable 03:27:11 – well done Eric!

Happy Cross finisher!

There was a crowd of us who gathered at Plan Praz to cheer the runners over the line as we do every year and, as always, it was good fun. Marathon weekend is always a great event; loads of cheering spectators, over-excited commentators on the tannoy, music blaring out, etc... It is almost always a scorchingly hot day too, which is fabulous if your plan for the day is to claim a spot on the grass, lie back with a few cold drinks and clap as runners go staggering past. However, if you are actually running it is a whole different story.

This year two of us from the Chamonet.com office though it would be a splendid idea to enter the marathon ourselves. Matt and I spent the last few months running around the valley in training, got some lovely Salomon t-shirts printed up with the Chamonet.com logo and turned up on Sunday morning at Place Balmat all keen and eager to get going. The atmosphere in the centre of Chamonix was great; you wouldn't think we were all there to commit ourselves to a long day of physical torture. There was much shaking of hands and well-wishing between strangers of various nationalities and then we were off. The first village that we passed through was Le Lavancher, where we were greeted by lots of excited locals who turned out to cheer, whistle, shout and dance as we ran past; it was only about 7.30am and they all seemed like they had been hitting the genepi for breakfast!

Bridge at Montroc

There was then a gentle ascent through beautiful alpine meadows followed by a pine forest trail to Argentiere and then Montroc, where there were more lovely folk waiting at the bridge to cheer us on. Our legs got a little rest as we cruised down a slight descent to Vallorcine, where we made good use of the first fuelling station. This being France there was none of your energy bar nonsense, instead there was a good spread of bread, cheese and dried meats to see you on your way. As well as flags, balloons, steel drums, and lots of crazy people who seemed to be having some sort of carnival in our honour. It was a bit bewildering but certainly made me smile as I carried on to one of the hardest parts of the course.

Climbing up to Possettes

From Vallorcine the route climbs up the Col des Possettes to the top of what, in winter, is the Le Tour ski area. From Vallorcine at 1260m there is a 941m climb up to Aiguillettes des Posettes at 2201m – it's only about 5km in distance, which doesn't sound very far but feels like it will never end. The feeling of getting to the top was pure relief, aided by the incredibly cheerful man who was playing a guitar and belting out songs as we staggered past!

As much as a descent sounds like a welcome break after such a steep climb, it was possibly one of the hardest parts of the course; a narrow, twisting path with ankle-breaking rocks, steep drops and unrelenting pressure on already tired legs. You had to keep full concentration all the way down to avoid tripping, as even a little stumble would have caused you to completely lose your footing and go plummeting down the side of the mountain. However, it was all worth it as the fuel station at the bottom had chocolate flapjacks. There were lots of weary trembling people stumbling about at this point, trying to gather themselves before tackling the next big climb up to Flegere.

I was escorted safely across the Col des Montets by a very enthusiastic gendarme who chanted my name as I staggered off into the mountains once more – you know it's a popular event when even the gendarmes enter into the spirit of things...

The climb up to Flegere is a beautiful hike and even quite a nice trail run when done under normal circumstances. It is an alpine trail that passes through forests, occasionally opening out to give incredible views of the full length of the valley and of the glaciers on the other side. This is also one of the most likely places to spot mountain goats and ibex. However, the unrelenting heat and steady climb was a real test of willpower at this stage. The temperature had soared and people were dropping like flies as the sun beat down, there were lots of dazed runners looking like they were carrying on through determination alone. The mountain streams were a godsend by this point; lots of people were splashing themselves down and dunking hats into the cold fresh water. I soaked a large cotton handkerchief and wore it on my head, in the style of British holidaymakers from the 1950's. By that point I wasn't concerned about looking ridiculous, I just didn't want to pass out...

Flegere lift station was the last stop before the end; lots of water and encouragement from the lovely marshals helped us find the motivation to carry on. Most runners keep a fairly steady pace over such a long course, so you tend to find yourself seeing the same faces all the way around. This last fuelling station was where we all started to encourage each other now that the end was in sight. If we had made it this far together, we could make it to the finish!

Flegere to Brevent

We set off for the final push up to Plan Praz. You convince yourself at this point that it isn't very far. You can see the lift station, you can hear the music, you can almost taste the cold beers that are waiting just beyond the finishing line. However, it quickly starts to feel like when you try to go “up” a “down” escalator - kind of like a really long version of the Travellator on Gladiators. No matter how much closer you get, the higher up and further away the finishing line looks. It is actually 5.26km and 399m of ascent from Flegere to Plan Praz but it feels like Everest. The final bend in the track is when you eventually feel like you might actually make it – people start cheering and running up the side of track beside you, giving you that last little burst of energy. I found it all a bit overwhelming really, I had no idea what was going on and when I stumbled over the line I had to stop myself from hugging the lady who put a medal over my head. Instead I did what every proud athlete does and burst into tears...

Stephanie Jiminez

I'm sure that the winners composed themselves with far more dignity. The first finisher in fact has done it all before, as it was last year's champion Nicolas Pianet who cruised in at an almighty 03:56:42, beating last year's time by 15 seconds. He was quickly followed by Raymond Fontaine at 03:57:28 and Maxime Durand at 04:00:27. The first woman over the line was Stephanie Jiminez who made it look all too easy by coming in at a strong 04:39:36.

Race delirium setting in

1941 people started the race and an incredible 1815 of them made it back within the allotted 9 hours; only 100 people dropped out along the route (impressive when you consider the extreme heat that many people weren't anticipating) and 251 of the runners were women (I didn't realise it was such a male dominated event until I checked the stats – come on ladies, let's have more of us next year!).

It was an emotional day all round really; the incredible support from friends and organisers, the enthusiasm and slightly mental cheering from onlookers, the camaraderie between the runners... I heard so many people say that they could not have got through the day without the atmosphere to keep them going and I have to agree. It was without doubt the hardest physical challenge I have ever done, but I also don't think I have ever laughed, smiled and waved so much before. Entries for next year's marathon open in December...!

Find more information on the course and all runner's results on the Mont Blanc Marathon website >>

Mont Blanc Marathon Results

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