The final run-in….
The descent was tough. Not because it was particularly steep or ‘technical’ but it weaved it’s way down though the woodlands. More woodlands. And my legs were tired. Just a final 765m descent, then flat to the finish…
I remembered the last time I had an 800m final descent in a race and loved it, overtaking so many people, but this time I stuttered along. This time I had an extra 65ish K in my legs, plus a chunk more ascent. And no sleep. But finally, it was done…… I hit the last checkpoint and as the clock struck noon I set out on the final ‘flat’ section.
In my head it was 5k, then I heard it was actually 8 (urgh!), but I started running and this was the home stretch of a ‘journey’ that perhaps began around 6 years previously, when I had DNFd at 2/3 race distance along with many others, as we had been soaked to the skin for hours before.
Almost straight away I started to catch people, and then a guy I overtook sprinted back past me. That was annoying! Not because I wanted to beat him, I just didn’t understand why he sprinted. Then he walked and I started to catch him. Then he sprinted. Then he walked…. I just wanted to run at my pace and try to keep it going for that final slightly less than 8k….. He was annoying me…..
As we hit a gentle climb he started to run again, and I joined in, and caught him, and pulled clear, and he sped up and ran alongside me….so I switched to walking. And so we ‘jostled’ (read; he annoyed me!) but I didn’t want a ‘race’ I wanted to do my own thing, as I had done for the previous 28 hours…
Then, I decided I was just going to drop back and let him go ahead. But he wouldn’t. He slowed and sped up…. So I had another go to pass him as we approached 2 others walking. I drew level and passed, and as I was about to pass the 2 walkers he was alongside me again, and I just stopped dead, gesticulating for him to just go on…
Then he surprised me. He put his arm around me and we traded some incoherent blurb in a language neither of us understood, yet both of us understood. It was odd. In that moment I felt like I connected with him. But I didn’t want to run with him, I wanted to do my thing……
Moments later, before the dust had settled on our exchange and we worked out how it was going to pan out, the track turned gently downhill and I found myself letting my legs go and I ran away from him. I was flying and not stopping! Where that energy came from I have no idea, but I was gone. And I wasn’t stopping, not now. Now I had a chance to come inside 29 hours.
I’d anticipated completing in 27-30 hours, but allowed myself to rest for as long as I wanted at every stop, not worrying about an overall time. And through the night we had rain and muddy ‘slurry’ descents that left you with no control whatsoever, but which curiously, I seemed far better equipped to manage compared to everyone else I overtook – I loved that section! But here I was, with maybe 6k to go, I could beat 29 hours….. And so I ran.
The path rose more than I had expected so some walking was in order, but as Chamonix approached I overtook more and more runners, all walking by now. And with that came words of encouragement from the ‘everyday people’ our for a walk, ‘allez allez’ and ‘well done Chris’ (it’s strange when strangers know your name, it caught me out every time it happened, even though I knew it was printed on my race number!) and ‘Bravo’. ‘Can’t be far now, surely’ I thought, and ‘I’ll know if I’ve missed 29 hours if the clock strikes’ (I have no idea if a clock would strike, I just had the midday chimes ringing in my head as I left Les Houches…)
And suddenly, as always happens, out of the blue, I came out on the road and met the marshals, and it really was the final run in.
It was fantastic! I ran along the pedestrianised street lined with cafes and shops, and all the way people clapping, shouting ‘Bravo’, or ‘well done’, and kids held their hands out for low ‘high fives’, and people sat outside restaurants having their lunch joined in too, and it was amazing! Then the final 100 or so metres. I had imagined it so many times, but not allowed myself to believe it until I had hit that last checkpoint at Les Houches. The barriered section where people cheered, and clapped, and banged the barriers, and I stopped to take a photo of the finish line, then jogged the final 20m and put my arms in the air as I crossed the line, in 28:58:33. Wow, I had done it……………………………. So, although finishing in a time was never my goal, I have thanks to give to the annoying guy who I never saw again. Strange, how in that moment we seemed to bond so much, then I blew him away and felt a little bad. But boy, did I enjoy that finish! The amazing support from the bystanders and people made me feel like I had I won. Made me feel like the winner. Which of course I was, I had won ‘my’ race’…
Summary:
Hours 1-7: went as expected, steady progress, feeling OK.
Hours 8-15: getting increasingly tough, struggling, feeling sick for 3 hours, feeling low before sickness passed and my mood and pace picked up.
Hours 15-23: the night section; following a good rest headed out into the wet and misty darkness and loved it! Overtook loads of people, a number of whom were sleeping on the side of the trail which only made me feel more energised!
Hours 23-28: started off feeling good, then the final ridiculously steep 500m ascent to the last col, followed by a rocky and woodland descent to the final check point. I had, effectively, made it!
The final hour: totally loved it!
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The UTMB races are always affected by weather to some degree, and relatively this year was a fair one. But 12 hours before the start of my race (the TDS), just as I was about feeling set to go, the message came through saying tat the route had been changed, and start time delayed by 2 hours due to ‘tough weather’. Around 500m ascent had been removed and a few K added, to make it around 123K and 6,800m ascent. The UTMB itself had predicted temperatures of -10 to deal with. In the end it had mostly passed by the time I reached it, with just a few distant rumbles of thunder and about an hour of rain. Nice rain though, if you know what I mean….
All organised and ready to go….
Chris Henty