This weekend saw thousands of trail runners take part in the Marathon du Mont Blanc - a series of different length races around the Chamonix valley.
On Friday 1200 80km runners had to contend with a change in the route thanks to a lot of snow still present on the trails above 2000m which deemed some of the route too unsafe to run across. On the day, searing heat upwards of 30 degrees C presented punishing conditions for everyone involved and saw some people dropping out as a result. Swiss runner Diego Pazos finished first with a time of 10:52:45.
The Vertical kilometre race saw the best of the weather on Friday too, with around 800 participants slogging it out up the steep front face of the Brevent mountain in really hot conditions. The winning time was set by Norwegian Stian Angermund-Vik in 35:51 minutes.
On Saturday around 2000 participants in the 23km race were treated to not only a change in course which saw them running back to Chamonix from Flegere over a slightly longer distance, but also biblical rain and thunderstorms. You can see some of our office team, friends and other runners in the photos above. British runner Robbie Simpson crossed the finish line in 1:59:10 to take the win.
Sunday saw 2600 marathon (42km) participants racing in relatively good conditions compared to the day before. French runner Cedric Fleureton finished first with a time of 4:04:23. The 10km race was won by French runner Gael Reynaud with a time of 39:51.
Full results for all the races can be found here.
If you missed out on taking part this year, and would like to take part in next year's events, registrations & draws will open again for individuals and groups in September 2016. You can also register to become a volunteer too.
