The prestigious Marathon du Mont-Blanc I completed on 25 June was one of my major objectives of the year. This marathon is arguably the world’s most difficult with 2730m of positive elevation gain and 1700m negative over treacherous terrain.
Here is the route and profile:
My wingman, Thomas, and I were back to Chamonix for our second run of the race. We completed it in 2014 in cold, rainy weather. Because of the conditions that year, the course was changed to finish in Chamonix. This year, the weather was just about perfect. The organizers kept the finish high in the mountains making the course more challenging. Improving on my time of 7 hours in 2014 became a formidable challenge.
The race starts in the center of Chamonix at 7 AM. The course winds it’s way up the valley over some relatively small hills. We started out slow and towards the back of the pack of 2300 runners. At the village of Vallorcine, 18km into the race is the first fully-stocked aid station. We came in still feeling strong in about 2:15.
My garmin ran out of battery. I plugged in my battery pack but the recording did not restart so I ended up carrying the watch, the cord and battery pack for nothing.
At Vallorcine is where the real race starts. Coming out of town you attack the long ascension with more than 900m of vertical to the Aiguille des Posettes. It took us about 1:45 to get to the top. At several places near the top we crossed snow pack. The descent was very technical, steep and long as well. We were in heavy traffic with runners all around us making it hard to concentrate on simply not falling head over heels. Our knees, feet, and hips took a serious beating. The aid station in the valley at km 31 was more than welcome. We were 5 hours into the race with three major climbs remaining. I started out on the long climb toward La Flégère while Thomas took a 10 min rest.
I was able to grind through the last 14 km which was mostly uphill over rocky terrain. I used running poles which helped on the climbs. This is the first race in which I used them and am kind of disappointed because they often got stuck in the mud and came apart as I pulled them out. Then I had to fumble around with them to put them back together while still trying to concentrate on the trail ahead.
I had a backpack with a 2L hydration pack which I emptied about 3 times. About every 1.5 hours I took salt tablets and I think that helped avoid cramps. The aid stations were well stocked and I had a few gels with me to keep the energy level up. One thing to note for future races in the mountains: put on some sunscreen. I wasn’t in the sun very long but did get a slight burn on my arms and back of the neck.
The last few kilometers were on the ski trails leading up to where the gondola lets out at Planpraz. It was a struggle, but I got there. I finished the race with an official time of 8 hours 49 minutes and immediately collapsed in the grass to wait for Thomas who came in about 10 min. later. He measured 44 kms on his watch so I’m saying it was longer than official marathon distance. I finished in 1792nd place out of around 2300 participants and in my category was 206th out of 247 finishers.
It was an awesome race and am glad that I was able to pull through without any mishaps. Looking back at a race like that, it’s just amazing that at one time or another you don’t trip, fall, twist an ankle or tumble down a ravine.
This race was good training for the OCC on 25 August which starts in Switzerland, passes thru some of the same trails and ends in Chamonix 55 km later.