UKC

Morning all,

Last weekend Chamonix saw the influx of over 7000 trail joggists and their 14000 friends, family, and support crew, as people came to the valley for the Mont Blanc Marathon and its various sister races, the 80km, the half marathon, the 10km, and the brutal Vertical KM.

This time seven days ago I was (checks map quickly) crawling my way up to the Col de la Terrasse, 30km deep into the absolutely horrific 80km race, along with over a thousand other enduro-masochists. In the days that followed, seeing as I was unwilling and almost incapable of moving any further than the fridge, I sat down and scribbled a few thoughts about the whole thing. If you're the kind of person who enjoys reading about the suffering that people endure whilst on an unnecessarily-long run, or if you are looking for some good excuses as to why you shouldn't enter this race next year, then this is the story for you.

https://altitudinalnoodles.wordpress.com/2015/07/01/trail-running-mont-blan...

Cheers chaps, have a smashing day.

Pete

In reply to Pete Houghton:

Enjoyed the write up!

In reply to toasted:

Thoroughly enjoyed the account - makes me want a go actually...

I managed to snort cheese sandwich at this bit:

"I haven’t puked the energy gel back up, the ibuprofen has kicked in, and I’ve accidentally necked the whole damn bottle of liquid caffeine. I nearly died on the climb up from Switzerland, but now I’m f*****g invincible, my legs are a blur, and I’m screaming past everyone that appears in front of me like a fighter plane.

In reply to london_huddy:
That bottle of liquid caffeine is a fearsome product, I've used it before and actually grew a little scared of it, and I only had it with me that day because I accidentally ordered a different energy gel to the one that I usually use with a little caffeine in it, so I had to find something else to perk me up a bit.

If anyone is interested it's called Energy Stack by a company called +watt, and as well as having 180mg of caffeine in each 25ml vial (dangerously strong!), you also get the added bonus that their logo looks a little bit like "twatt", so there's that to keep you amused on a long run.

The reusable screw-top plastic vials also make great lightweight whisky containers for high-altitude bivvies.

In reply to Pete Houghton:

I swear by the powershot caffeine gels for longer runs but the 180mg in your vials is seriously punchy...
Good emergency kick up the proverbial though, especially when combined with ibuprofen as you did!

In reply to Pete Houghton:

Thanks! I enjoyed that

In reply to Pete Houghton:

Very enjoyable writeup - glad you ultimately found it rewarding. I've toyed with doing this event and am more tempted than ever to enter next year.

In reply to yorkshireman:


What?! Didn't you listen to a word I said?!

In reply to Pete Houghton:

Great blog, very entertaining in a voyeuristic, sadistic sort of way - thanks !

In reply to steelbru:

Cheers, there's nothing like hearing about someone else's (self-inflicted) discomforts to brighten your day!