UTMB Post Race Report

Team Honey Badger Pre Race Photo

Well it's only taken me 2 1/2 months to get around to posting to my blog on the race in Chamonix.  The word of the race was "WEATHER".  The weather turned sour the day before the race making certain of the mountain passes...unpassable.  As a result the course was modified and instead of racing 104 miles the course was shortened and we only ran about 70 miles.

The race start was delayed and we began the race in the congested streets of Chamonix at about 6:30PM.  Ray, Tim, Scott, Francisco, Patrick and I attempted to stay together as a group which was nice in theory but hard to execute to.  After the first 7 miles or so, I stayed back with Francisco, while the rest of the group pushed on.

Francisco attempting to look tough at 5 foot 2 inches

The weather went from bad to worse.  After night fall it began to sleet and snow on us which turned back to rain and dense, dense fog.  The climbs and descents were all they were made out to be and more.  Because the course was essentially a mud pit, it created a lot more stress on the quads as you tried to maintain your balance.

Chamonix Checking In

Making cutoffs became uncertain at about 25 miles in and it became more apparent that getting Francisco to the mile 38 cutoff looked bleak.  I made the decision at this point to go on without Francisco as he told me to go on without him.  In hind sight this was a mistake and I should've waited for him at the cutoff aid station.  He actually made the cutoff, but feet were wet and cold and caused him to DNF.  At this point I decided to begin to push it hard to try to catch the rest of the group that was about 2.5-3 hours in front of me.  I really thought that I could catch the guys as I had been holding back with Francisco for the first half of the race.

Oh no INS!!!!

By 10:30AM the next morning I made my way through the streets of the village where we were staying where I met up with my awesome crew.  They had a dry pair of shoes, socks and food.  The weather had broke and the sun came out.  It was a beautiful morning after a night from hell.  The remainder of the day was just as nice and the trails cleared up and it was a nice last 25 miles.  As I worked hard to catch the group I passed a lot of other runners and was feeling pretty good.

The 3 Amigos post race

I ended up making it through the course in a little of 24 hours and there is no question that I could've done the entire course.  It was interesting that my forced early course management with francisco had allowed me to be very strong late in the race.  Other 100's that I've run I've raced too hard too early leaving the late stages of the race at risk.  This was a great lesson.



The rest of the guys finished 3 hours or so in front of me, except for Patrick who was forced to drop from the race due to an injury.   It was a great finish running through the fan filled streets of Chamonix.  My crew (Daley & Laura) did a great job and look forward to more races with them.  I definitely want to go back to complete the entire course next year.

Post race in Italy

Overall assessment:  No injuries.  Quads were cooked due to the downhills and unstable trails.  Need to train more on downhills and building of quads.  Nutrition was good, never really had a bonk as i was able to rest quite a bit during the first 38 miles which really set me up for the next 32 miles.  Crew was very very important, not so much for nutrition but for gear due to the challenging weather conditions.  The house that we rented was great, just outside of town.  Got to chill out pre race.  It would be nice to take the family back there for the race.


Next race in the queue was the Berlin marathon......

Cheers!