UTMB – Ready for the off!
In less than 3 hours the 7th Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc will be underway and around 2500 “trailers” will be pounding their way through the streets of Chamonix in the opening stages of this unfeasibly tough mountain race. As always, the 166km route encircles the entire Mont Blanc massif and takes in 9400m of positive altitude change, 3 countries, 7 valleys, 71 glaciers and 400 summits! This intensely gruelling race is the equivalent of doing 4 marathons back to back before the runners finally returning to Chamonix sometime between 3pm Saturday and 4.30pm Sunday.
The maximum time allowed to complete the course is 46 hours but last year a new UTMB record was set by 20 year old Killian Jornet of Spain, who completed the race in a staggering 20hrs 56mins 59sec. Back again this year, older and wiser and with a few more “ultra” event wins under his belt, all eyes will be on the young Spaniard to see if he can snatch victory again from the more experienced Ultra Trail favourites such as Marco Olmo, Julien Chorier and Dawa Sherpa. In the women's event, Elisabeth Hawker will be flying the Union Jack again and hoping to retain her top spot from 2008.
Whilst the Ultra Trail is certainly the main event this weekend, there are 3 other equally challenging races taking place:
- CCC – 98km from Courmayeur to Champex and then finishing in Chamonix (2000 runners currently underway)
- Petit Trot a Leon – 245km non-competitive team event for teams of 3. These people set off on Tuesday evening......and are still running!!! Only 5 out of the 75 teams that started have been forced to retire and the first trio could arrive back in Cham around midnight tonight (Fri)
- Sur les Traces des Ducs de Savoie – the brand new event for this year which follows a 106km route from Chamonix to Courmayeur, but round the other half of the Ultra Trail course to the CCC.
Friday 28th August
09.00 – 21.00: Ultra Trail Salon – Place Mont Blanc
18.30: Ultra Trail sets off from Chamonix centre
From 22.00: Winner of the CCC arrives back in Chamonix
During the evening: First finishers from the Petit Trot cross the finish line in Cham
Saturday 29th August
05.00: TDS sets off from Place du Mont Blanc, Chamonix
09.00 – 21.00: Final day of the Ultra Trail Salon – Place Mont Blanc
12.00: Final finisher of the CCC
14.00: CCC prize giving
From 15.30: Winner of the Ultra Trail arrives in Cham
Sunday 30th August
12.00: TDS prize giving
15.45: Ultra Trail prize giving
16.30: Final Ultra Trailers arrive back in Cham (have your tissues at the ready – it's very emotional!!)
17.00: Petit Trot a Leon prize giving
Undoubtedly one of the most enjoyable (if you're not running obviously!) and well supported events of the Chamonix summer calendar, the town will be awash with cheers and applause, tears and sore feet and an overwhelming sense of achievement for the next 48 hours, so if you can't be here to enjoy it yourself, check back again over the weekend as we bring you news and video coverage as events unfold.
Good luck to everyone taking part, we're all cheering for you!
