Wednesday 3 September 2008

Mont Blanc Ultra Trail 2008 - to finish is to win!

Lots of people told me not to do it again, but I ignored them and ran the Mont Blanc Ultra Trail last weekend. It proved to be a success, but what a tough event!!
This race goes around the Mont Blanc massif, taking the trail of the famous Tour du Mont Blanc long distance hike. Generally walked in about 10 days, runners in the event have 46 hours to complete it. 166kms and 9400m of up and the same down - not to be underestimated!!

We left Chamonix at 6.30pm Friday evening and ran through two nights and one day. The weather was very hot which was good for the nights but hard for the days.

Many people abandoned (largely due to the heat I imagine).

I battled on and arrived back in Chamonix at 9.09am.

I suffered badly from blisters in the last 8 hours but was thrilled to succceed in this my second and last time on this race.

The winner was a young Spaniard who blitzed the course in just over 20 hours!! Lizzy Hawker from the UK was the first woman in something over 25 hours.

Many famous names dropped out - who knows why - but to all the folks who reached the finish line, Well Done!!

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