Training Log Archive: Bash

Phatty, Leanimal, Weeanimal and Ewen arrived in Chamonix on Thursday in time to eat pre-race dinner with me and welcome 'Bent to the finish line. They headed home today after a relaxed morning. Tomorrow is the first day of school. Weeanimal was *not* pleased.



Then we met Benoit Letourneau, Richard Turgeon and Guy Doiron for lunch before they head to Italy for the 330 km Tor des Géants trail race. There was a slight breeze so I used that excuse to wear my CCC finisher's vest (as did half the people in downtown Chamonix!)



Benoit was loading up on calories since he often can't stomach food during long races.



I'm writing this entry in mid-September so Tor Des Géants has already taken place. All four Québecois runners finished it in 4-5 days: Benoit, Richard and Guy, as well as their friend Eric Deshaies. They all did well, finishing between 60th and 125th places out of 930 runners. Several hundred runners did not finish.

Since this was our last night in the Land of Cheese, 'Bent and I went out for a celebratory fondue.

CCC (Courmayeur-Champex-Chamonix) at Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc

France, Switzerland and Italy

101 km trail run with 6100+ meters (20,000') of elevation gain

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CCC was more than just another race for me. My journey to this finish line started eight years ago when a few of us became interested in Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc (UTMB). I loved the idea of running a spectacular, mountainous loop on trails around the highest peak in the Alps starting in Chamonix, France and passing through Italy and Switzerland on the way back to Chamonix.



This is the UTMB race route with the start/finish at Chamonix in the bottom centre. Runners go counterclockwise. It's about 170 km and 10,040 m of elevation gain. Winning times are typically around 21 hours (men) and 24 hours (women). You can click on any photo to see a larger version.





UTMB is the world’s largest trail running event, attracting almost 10,000 runners to 7 races that take place over a week, ranging from a youth race to a 300 km unmarked route for experienced teams. Most racers travel to Chamonix with family or friends so the town is crowded and buzzing with excitement. Dozens of shops sell specialized trail running gear and offer discounts to racers. People wear compression calf sleeves around town, load their groceries into running packs and pose for photos under the finish arch.





It's a great area to visit if you like cheese, chocolate, duck confit, gelato or wine - just to name a few.





Thousands of spectators line the race courses, ringing cowbells and yelling "Allez Allez!" for runners from 100 countries. This festival week is known as the World Summit of Trail Running, and there's nothing else like it in our sport.



The UTMB races are so popular that entries are awarded through a lottery. To be eligible, runners need to finish tough qualifier races and must keep racing regularly to remain qualified for the lottery. It can take a few years to get a place on the starting line.

When this all began, I had done one 50 km trail race as a spinoff from my adventure racing, and I had no plan to become an ultrarunner. But with UTMB as my goal, I ran long qualifier races in beautiful places and went on trips with friends that were the best part of this adventure.



In 2013 and 2014, I attempted the 170 km UTMB race – the full loop around the Mont Blanc massif. In my better attempt, I made it 123 km, three quarters of the way around Mont Blanc. I stopped in Champex-Lac, Switzerland after struggling to stay awake on narrow cliffside trails during the second night of the race. One third of UTMB runners fail to reach the finish line and I was among them. Twice.



I've now completed about 20 ultras including several long mountain races in the Alps and Dolomites but I don't think a UTMB finish under the time limit is within my grasp at this stage. I decided that CCC would be a good way to complete my loop around Mont Blanc and cross the elusive finish line in Chamonix. At 101 km with 6,100 meters of climbing, this challenging race from Italy to Switzerland to France starts with a huge climb then joins the UTMB route and follows it 88 km to the end. There would be some overlap with my previous races but I would get to run the last 46 km of trail that I hadn't seen.





It took three years to get into CCC through the lottery. I’d planned six months of focused training before the race but life went in a different direction when Mom fell ill and passed away. With all the emotions and sad tasks, I felt unmotivated for months and didn't train properly. I became more of a weekend warrior, fitting in some long runs but skipping most of the weekday running, biking, strength training and yoga that had prepared me for other races. I showed up in Chamonix with low expectations and a weird pain in my knee.



Richard finished CCC in 2013 and dropped out of UTMB with stomach issues in 2014. This year he ran the 56 km OCC race from Orsières, Switzerland to Chamonix. It roughly followed the last part of the UTMB/CCC course and gave him a chance to see the scenery in daylight. Our friends Pete Cameron, Leanne Mueller and their children Mari and Ewen arrived in town in time to help me cheer him across the finish line.











He made a great video of his race.

OCC 2019 from Richard Ehrlich on Vimeo.

Early the next morning, I walked through the dark streets of Chamonix to catch my bus to the CCC starting line in Courmayeur, Italy. More than 2,100 runners milled around the centre of Courmayeur until it was time to enter our assigned corrals for the opening ceremony.



To reduce congestion, racers are split into three waves 15 minutes apart according to our ITRA (International Trail Running Association) performance ratings. I was assigned to the second wave, which started at 9:15 a.m.





The atmosphere was electric. We ran 2 km through narrow streets with spectators lining the route and standing on hotel balconies, clapping and yelling encouragement. For a tough mountain race where only the top 10% of the field would finish under 17 hours, most runners started surprisingly fast.







By the second kilometre, the road started to tilt upward. We ran out of town on a narrow road, gaining 100 meters per kilometre until we turned onto a trail.



This was the beginning of the steep 1,000 m, 4.3 km climb to Tête de la Tronche at 2584 m - the highest point in the race.

I was excited to do this climb on fresh legs but we came to a complete stop a few minutes later. There was major congestion where the trail narrowed into single track. No wonder some people had gone so fast out of the gate! It took 15 minutes to get moving again. Everyone remained calm but no one needed a break after only 5 km.





Finally it was my turn to join the conga line snaking up the mountain.







Check out all the runners below!



We rose above the treeline. This ridge was our destination.



The views of the Aosta Valley were stunning and I risked spraining an ankle while I tried to watch both my footing and the scenery.





While walking uphill in the days before the race, I'd felt inner right knee pain that sometimes became excruciating. I had wondered whether that might end my race - maybe even before it started. Whatever it was (MCL and meniscus is the best guess), it didn't flare up during the race and I haven't felt it since. Maybe my knee just needed 101 km of pounding on steep trails to fix itself!

We reached Tête de la Tronche at 2584 m after climbing 1429 m in the first 9 km of the race. Now *that's* a warm-up.

I only realized it later but the man who scanned my race bib there was Richard Turgeon, a talented Québecois runner we'd met through Benoit Letourneau. (He's the one with the beard and cap on the far left.) He volunteered at CCC as part of his preparation for the 330 km Tor des Géants trail race the following week, where he finished in the top 10%. Benoit and their other friends also finished near the top. We had lunch with them two days after this.



The woman at the right side of the photo is Gabriela Pocsa. We met 22 hours later when we ran together for 5 km during the final hour of the race. In a race with 2,132 participants, it was amazing to discover that I had taken a photograph of her.

We had reached a long green ridge with stunning views of Mont Blanc and the Aosta Valley on either side. After almost 3 hours of slogging uphill, I was tempted to skip around like Julie Andrews singing, "The hills are alive with the sound of music..." Alas, we couldn't relax because this was an ideal place to make up time - 4.3 km of good trails with 600 m of descent and lots of room to pass. Even though it was my fastest section of the race, 80 people passed me here - yikes!









The first aid station, Rifugio Bertone, was very familiar from my two UTMB attempts. I topped up my hydration bladder and soft flask, drank some Coke (from the cup I had to carry as mandatory gear) and grabbed a few snacks. UTMB aid stations are different from most North American ones. They feature sausage chunks, cheese cubes, baguette slices, honey cake and European packaged sports nutrition products. There are also more familiar aid station foods - bananas, oranges, cookies and drinks. I wasn't picky at this point although I carried my own packaged snacks to make sure I always had food with me that I liked.



The trail to Rifugio Bonatti parallels the Mont Blanc massif across the Val Ferret valley, staying close to 2,000 m in altitude. It's one of the most spectacular trails in the world and is relatively flat for the Alps with 303 m (1,000') of climb in 7.5 km. When I ran this section in UTMB, I'd already been racing for more than 20 hours so it was a treat today to feel relatively energetic. Even with my dubious training, I took half an hour off my time from UTMB.









The results say that I passed a few dozen people on the 5K stretch between Rifugio Bonatti and Arnuva but that didn't happen on the trail, where I just held my own. I must have passed people at the Rifugio. In adventure racing, we try to minimize stops, including at transition/aid areas - a habit that has been helpful in ultrarunning. Before I arrive at each aid station, I make a mental list of planned tasks in sequence. For example: throw out empty food wrappers, get food and eat it while refilling a water flask, get more food and reapply sunscreen, take snacks and go. I walk back onto the race course while still eating and drinking. It's easy to get comfortable at aid stations. Friendly volunteers and racers are chatting, there is free food and drink, and if it's raining out, it's dry and warm inside. I saw some racers resting in the sunshine at Rifugio Bonatti but I knew our part of the pack would be close to the cut-offs later so I couldn't risk joining them.



The trail to Arnuva starts with a climb followed by a long downhill to the bottom of the valley.



During the descent, I got caught behind a mule (donkey?) carrying luggage for hikers. I didn't dare pass him on the narrow trail but eventually the group leader kindly pulled him off to one side so I could pass.

I took a longer 11-minute stop in Arnuva to visit the porta-potties, eat, drink and load up on food and water before a remote 14 km section with no aid and a lot of climbing.



When I left Arnuva in UTMB 2014 on a cooler day after 95 km of racing, I felt surprisingly strong on the next section, which included the steep climb to Grand Col Ferret on the Italian-Swiss border at 2537 m.



Well, that sure didn't happen today! As I started the uphill march, I began to feel strange - a bit lightheaded with no energy reserves. I slowed down to lower my heart rate, worried that my body might have reached its limit for the amount of training I'd done. I was only 27 km into a 101 km event and if I felt this bad already, there seemed to be little hope of finishing. I was discouraged and a bit concerned.



My one consolation was that some runners clearly felt even worse so I might not be dying after all. A few people moved off the trail to vomit while others stopped to rest. I kept moving uphill slowly and stopped for a few seconds whenever I felt unsteady. A few people passed me but it wasn't a stampede.

I've heard other runners say that the climb to Grand Col Ferret was the most difficult part of the race for them so I guess it's not unusual. In hindsight, I wonder if the hours of effort above 2,000 meters altitude finally got to me. It had been a sunny day and I'd been working hard with less oxygen to fuel my legs and brain. Even though I'd been drinking, maybe I was mildly dehydrated too.

I'd promised myself a short break at the top to regroup but the skies darkened and there were a few rolls of thunder. I've been caught in thunderstorms in two other ultras and did not want to be on a high mountain pass in lightning. The volunteer scanned my bib and I took two quick photos before heading down at an easy pace.



Hat is backwards because it was really windy on the climb.



On the Swiss side of Grand Col Ferret, we descended 1,000 m to La Fouly on 10 km of good, runnable single and double track. Some runners flew past me on the way down.



After the first couple of kilometres, my mind and body felt normal again as my blood oxygen levels improved. (At least, that's my best guess on why I felt better.)



This was the start of a 20 km (mostly) downhill section where we could gain some time after the slow climb. However, too much pounding along this stretch can end the race for runners who damage their quads, knees or hips with more than half the race course still lying ahead of them. About 15% of the CCC field withdrew from the race during or shortly after this section.

I reached La Fouly aid station, the halfway point of the 20 km descent, an hour before sunset and an hour ahead of the cut-off. It had been 3.5 hours since the last aid station but I didn't want to waste daylight so I only stopped for 4 minutes to refill water and get a snack before the 14 km stretch to Champex-Lac. We dropped another 500 m over the next 10 km with a few short climbs to keep us on our toes. We ran paved roads and rooty trails, and followed narrow streets through the village of Praz-de-Fort. As darkness fell, I got out my headlamp.





In the last few kilometres to Champex-Lac, the trail climbs 500 m and travels beside some steep drop-offs. In UTMB 2014, this was where the wheels came off for me during the second night of the race. I kept falling asleep on my feet and stopped at Champex-Lac. This year was a happy contrast. I moved up 161 places between La Fouly and Champex-Lac, partly because I was passing people and partly because because racers ahead of me dropped out.



At the 54 km mark, Champex-Lac is the major "halfway" aid station for CCC - the only one that serves a hot meal. In a race that can take more than 24 hours, many runners plan to take some time to recharge here. It's also the first of three places where runners can meet their support crews. I walked into the large tent and was discouraged to see most of the seats taken, some of them by support crew members.

I prefer not to use a support crew but it would have saved time here. With a crew, I could have rested while they brought me everything I needed. Instead, I waited in line to refill my hydration pack then dug out a camping bowl and spoon from the bottom of my pack. (Which my crew could have brought. Organizers don't provide dishes or cutlery so those of us without crews have to carry them for the entire race if we want the hot meal. Yes, I have an opinion on this!) After finding a chair and scarfing down yummy pasta, I rinsed my dishes and drank my first coffee of the night. I spent 20 minutes there and left at 10:24 p.m. - a longer stop than I'd hoped but probably shorter than most racers in my part of the pack.

Note: For anyone who thinks there have been too many photos so far, I have great news. I took almost no photos in the second half of the race! It was dark for 10 hours so there wasn't a lot to see anyway.

Lac de Champex glimmered with reflections from streetlamps and cozy chalet windows. Sarah Elliott from the U.K. caught up and introduced herself. She's a stronger runner than I am but became sick on the climb to Grand Col Ferret. We stuck together for the next 5 hours and had a great time chatting and passing tired boys. :)

We climbed almost 1300 m to La Giète and had some nervous moments because the only people we saw at Plan de l'Au didn't look like official volunteers so we wondered if we'd gone off course. We hadn't. Plan de l'Au was a cut-off location but not an aid station or timing point so maybe the officials weren't set up when we passed by.

When Sarah and I reached the high alpine meadow, we had lots of bovine spectators ringing cowbells for us. The farm yard smell of urine and poop started to get to me. As the granddaughter of a dairy farmer, I normally wouldn't be bothered by that but ultrarunning does weird things to your body. The pasta began to feel heavy in my stomach. I wondered whether I might break my perfect record of never throwing up in a race. The aid station at the top was inside a small cattle barn where we had to duck to get through the door. The smells definitely didn't improve in there but volunteers were serving hot, salty soup, which tasted amazing and somehow solved the problem. I didn't have much appetite for the rest of the night but that's typical for me. There is plenty of fat available to fuel my body!

Sarah and I descended 5 km on rocky trails to the aid station at Trient. We started the next 700 m climb to Les Tseppes together. I'd connected my Ambit GPS watch to a portable battery and tucked it into my pack to recharge while continuing to record our route. When I stepped off the trail to put it back on, I fell behind Sarah and the steady stream of racers marching uphill on the narrow trail. Without our conversation to keep me mentally engaged at 4 a.m., the rhythm of climbing lulled my brain into sleepiness. It was cold higher on the mountain but I purposely didn't add layers, hoping it would jolt me awake. That didn't work so I stopped on the windy pass after Les Tseppes to eat a caffeinated gel and put on arm warmers and a light jacket.



Heading downhill on the steep, rocky trail, I was just barely holding it together in my foggy state so I stopped again to take a 100 mg caffeine pill (equivalent to a cup of coffee). Between that and the brightening sky, I was wide awake by the time I reached the valley and the last major aid station at Vallorcine. Somewhere on that descent, we passed from Switzerland into France - the third and final country in the race!

Sarah was just leaving and we wished each other luck. I stayed 5 minutes and started walking while eating. I was also tapping away at my phone, trying to get the Live Trail app to estimate my arrival times at upcoming checkpoints to confirm I was on track to meet the cut-offs. Cell coverage was poor so I texted Richard and asked him to do it. (Lucky guy - it was still before sunrise!) Although I was currently more than an hour ahead of the cut-off, the final two cut-offs were tighter than the earlier ones so I didn't feel safe yet. I packed away my headlamp and warm layers and started the tough 900 m climb to La Tête aux Vents - the sting in the tail of the race.

Many of our climbs were steep but this was the only one that involved some rocky scrambling. I pushed as hard as I could; it would be heartbreaking to get cut off at the final aid station with 8 km to go. (This happened to the only other Canadian woman in my age group.) The sun rose, the sky was clear, the views were gorgeous and I had good energy.

Yup, that's the trail.



I passed through the last high checkpoint at La Tête aux Vents and saw the panorama of peaks and glaciers across the Chamonix Valley.



I expected an easy downhill run to the valley floor but the 3 km trail to La Flegère ski station was slow and rocky and finished with a short climb. I hurried while trying to watch my footing and my watch simultaneously. I got to La Flegère an hour before its cut-off and finally knew I would finish the race. Apparently, my sense of urgency was swept away on a wave of emotion because it somehow took me 10 minutes to complete a few simple tasks - apply sunscreen, text Richard, grab a snack and refill a water flask.

The next 5.5 km was a downhill run on forest trails with occasional glimpses of our destination in the valley. I caught up with Gabriela Pocsa of Romania (who appeared in my earlier photo) and chatted with her until the final 2 km stretch through Chamonix.

Running through town felt like a dream. I've cheered on hundreds of runners in Chamonix but now people were cheering for me - spectators lining the barricades and random people walking down the street. Our names were printed on our race bibs so it wasn't unusual to hear, "Bravo, Barb! Go Canada!" anywhere along the race course. So when a man started running along and calling out encouragement to me, I didn't look closely until he identified himself as Peder Jensen, a runner I'd met during UTMB 2013 who is a friend on Facebook. I thought he was away supporting UTMB runners but they had withdrawn and he kindly came out to help cheer me in!

Two blocks from the finish, I looked for young Mari and Ewen. There they were with arms outstretched, waiting for their high fives. :)



Pete cheered, Leanne took photos, strangers applauded, and Richard chased me with a GoPro.



Fittingly, the final 100 meters of the road sloped uphill so we had to work hard to look good for all the cameras. :) After 25 hours 52 minutes - plus 8 years - I crossed the famous finish line in Chamonix.





So many feelings flooded my fatigued, overwhelmed mind - happiness, relief and pride along with sadness that Mom and Dad, who enjoyed following our races online, never got to see me finish here. It was a moment I'll never forget.







I’m grateful for my UTMB experience, which provided so many adventures over the years while it turned me into an ultrarunner and helped me grow as an athlete and a person. All our outdoor racing and wilderness trips gave me the knowledge, skills and endurance to finish CCC in spite of a sketchy training season. Now that I've finally made it around Mont Blanc, I'm excited to move on to whatever comes next. Any ideas? :)

GPS track for CCC at Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc

I spoke too soon about how well I’ve been sleeping. I was awake from 2:30 to 6:30, then managed to get another hour of sleep.

Mostly, it was a great day: Phatty, Leanimal, Weeanimal and Ewen came to see us in Chamonix, and ‘Bent ran the 56 km OCC. (Yes, he threw up.)

Photos to come - but not of the puke. I need some sleep!

One good thing is that I’m sleeping a lot better this week than I usually do before a European race!

‘Bent is racing tomorrow so we did a short trip up to Glacier des Bossons on the side of Mont Blanc. Thanks to climate change, the glacier is now well above the Chalet du Glacier des Bossons at the top of the lift. The views up to the glacier and along the Chamonix Valley are still nice.





Unexpectedly, the “nature walk” from the chalet included a little information about how the glacier has changed and a lot of information about planes that have crashed on Mont Blanc over the years. There were various pieces of different planes on display; they had emerged from the glacier in this area years after the crashes.

We had a nice lunch there including my first vin chaud in a long time - yum.



Then it was time for the long race checkin process. Considering there are about 10,000 runners racing this week, the process went very smoothly - more efficient than the last time we did it. It still took the better part of an hour by the time we went through our passport check and mandatory gear check, got our non-removable bracelet put on, and had our timing chip zip-tied to our pack.

‘Bent races OCC tomorrow!

‘Bent went over to the North Face Store this morning for a 1-hour “shake out” run with Zach Miller, a couple other elite runners, and several dozen others. He ran with his friend Alan Li, whom he met at Ultra Tour Monte Rosa.

I had a headache overnight so I skipped the run. My knee pain is still off and on so we’ll see what happens. I plan to start the race for sure.

Today ‘Bent and I took the bus through Mont Blanc to Courmayeur, where we could see the other side of Monte Bianco, as one calls it in Italy. When I attempted UTMB, I passed through this town twice. It’s a major aid station at 80 km, approximately halfway around the loop. It took me about 18 hours to get this far so I appreciated this beautiful area - but maybe not as much as I could have.

This year Courmayeur will be the starting line for my 101 km race, CCC. I’ll take an early morning bus to get here. We’ll be sorted into waves at the last minute. I’m guessing I’ll be seeded in the last wave so if anyone is watching my checkpoint times, they’ll be even further back than one might expect.



We took lifts up to Col Checrouit, which is the last UTMB aid station before the 5 km, 800 m, quad pounding descent into Courmayeur. I remember Browner phoning me on the trail near here in 2013 to tell me to run faster, lol! That year I was close to the cut-off in Courmayeur so I did my transition activities after checking out. In 2014, I had more time.



‘Bent and I hiked up to Lago Checrouit, which I didn’t notice during my races and didn’t photograph this time either. It looked more like a storm water management pond for the ski area.

There is an interesting art project in this area where they’ve installed mirrors to let visitors take selfies with the mountain range behind them. They’re distorted like in a hall of mirrors.



Other than the “lake”, there was plenty to photograph! Here’s the view west toward Col de la Seigne, the spectacular pass where I crossed from France into Italy at first light in UTMB.



And this is looking east toward Grand Col Ferret, the high point of the race course where we entered Switzerland. If all goes well, I’ll be repeating that part of the race course in the first part of CCC.



Of course we needed proof that we were at Monte Bianco!





After enjoying the views much more than we ever did in our races, we ran down to the lift (no knee pain going downhill) and headed back to Courmayeur for a nice Italian lunch at the same place where ‘Bent ate dinner with Mrs. Gally and Meg-eh before his CCC in 2013. Then we wandered the narrow streets in the pedestrian area until we found the best gelato place.





We found proof that a famous runner has been in town - as if all those videos hadn’t proven it already!