Frásögn Ástralans Andy Dubois - 2007

Andy er þrautreyndur þríþrautargarpur og búinn að taka þátt í Ástralíu-Ironman í nokkur skipti og tvisvar í Ironman Hawai.  Hann varð í 74 sæti.

Úrslitin í fyrra:  

 

The North Face Ultra-Trail du Mont Blanc is a 163km race that circumnavigates the entire Mont Blanc massif, starting in Chamonix, France and passing through Courmayeur in Italy, then Champex-Lac in Switzerland and finally back into Chamonix. It involves 8900m of ascent and descent and competitors have 46 hours to complete the course. I had been to Chamonix before and loved the mountain scenery and so was drawn to the challenge of the race.

I lined up at 6.30pm on Friday August 24 with 2319 other athletes who dared to think they could complete this race. Last year only 40% of the field managed to make it back into Chamonix so the odds aren’t good. We left the town to the cheers of the large crowd and I set a comfortable pace of just over 8 minutes per mile.  After an undulating 8km I passed through the small town of Les Contamines and set up the first big climb of the race the to La Charme. Everybody walks the climbs – they are just too long and steep to be able to run up. Most people including me use lightweight trekking poles, they help you go faster up the climbs and help take the stress of the quads on the descents. The views across the valley to Mt Blanc as the suns sets, alighting the clouds a fiery pink and red are breathtaking. One of the best reasons for doing this race is the scenery – it is simply awesome. The first descent is down a skislope and is very steep. I lack the technical skills to run quickly down something this steep – even the steepest hills in Hampstead heath where I did endless hill repeats in training is nothing compared to this. I decide to make sure I don’t fall on the really steep bits and stride out on the not so steep bits. This strategy preserved my quads and I was able to pass most of the people who passed me on the technical parts of the course.

The next 10 hours is spent ascending three more major climbs – the Croix de Bonhomme at 2479m, the Col de la Seigne at 2516, the and the Arete du Mont-Favre at 2435m with of course  the large descents between them and passing through a few small villages along the way. The villages are great to run through even at 2 in the morning – large crowds all enthusiastically yelling out calls of “allez, allez, allez”. This is another feature of this race – the support from volunteers and spectators is amazing – everyone is so friendly and encouraging, it really does lift you.

Running at night in the mountains is a surreal experience. The sight of a windy trail of headlights reaching up to a nearby summit, then looking down and seeing there is a trail of headlights stretching far down the mountain as far as the eye can see is  unforgettable.

 The moon was almost full and illuminated the enormous bulk of the Mont Blanc massif. It is an awesome sight. The glaciers could still be seen under the reflection of the moonlight and on any normal night I could have sat and stared for hours taking in the majestic scene.

View from Courmayuer at sunrise

I felt great up the first two climbs but started to struggle on the last one and was very relieved to reach the top. The descent was unbelievably steep but not as technical and I managed to pass a few people. As the sun rose and brought the finer details of the mountains back into focus I reached the first major checkpoint of the race at the 75km mark in the town of Courmayeur after just over 12 hours since the start. You could fill two bags with whatever you wanted before the race and the organizers had it ready for you at Courmayeur and Champex. It is a chance to change clothes, fill up energy supplies, you can even have a massage, see a physio or podiatrist.They put on a big spread of food, fruit, cakes, chicken noodle soup and god knows what else. I didn’t eat a thing during the run so didn’t pay much attention to what was on offer. I used a mixture of a fuel called perpeteum (high carb with small amount of protein and fat designed for ultra-marathons) and hammer gels. I mixed this with water into a 600ml water bottle and it forms a runny paste similar to a banana smoothie in consistency. The bottle contained almost 2000 calories and it was just about empty by the time I reached Courmayeur. I also used a three litre camel back for water and electrolyte tablets to keep my sodium potassium levels in check. I had spent about 20 minutes at the checkpoint by the time I changed socks, tops, filled up water bottles, etc. After a quick chat with my wife I was on my way again. The organizers put on buses that transport spectators to various parts of the course so Catherine was able to see me in half a dozen villages throughout the day.

I left Courmayeur in 224^th place having passed over 400 people since the checkpoint at the 20km mark. I was hoping to finish in between 30 to 34 hours and according to the race splits I had downloaded off the race website I was on track for around 32 hours.

The next section of the run to Champex-Lac is around 50km long and whilst is not as brutal as the first section it does have two major climbs including the highest point of the race – the Grand Col Ferret at 2537m. It is also the most remote section of the race as it doesn’t pass through any towns or villages and the only spectators and people who just happen to be hiking along the path or the volunteers at the aid stations. I struggled up the first climb due to not consuming enough calories on the previous descent so I stopped for a few minutes at the top at one of the15 or so aid stations the organizers had set up along the course and knocked back about 4 cups of coke, 4 cups of maxim, a dozen jelly beans, a gel and some of my special drink and left feeling much better but with a very full stomach.

Running along the flank of the valley with the Mont Blanc massif on one side and several mountains over 2500m on the other the scenery is never anything short of spectacular and certainly helps take your mind off the pain. I felt ok on this section – still able to run the downhills and the flats but was worried how my legs would cope with the next big climb. When I reached it I tried to get into a rhythm at the bottom and hoped it would keep me going to the top. About half way up I noticed that instead of losing ground on other runners I was starting to make up some ground, a nice feeling after struggling up the last two climbs. Once the top is reached there is a long descent down to the town of Praz d Fort in Switzerland. My legs felt great as was able to run down the non technical sections in under 8 minute miles and made up quite a bit of time.

Only one more climb remained before the next major checkpoint at Champez at the 122km mark. The sound of cow-bells ringing became more and more prominent as the course passes through Switzerland and the number of spectators increased. I felt even stronger up the climb to Champez and arrived there back on 30 hour race pace and in 127^th position. I had been going almost 21 hours and amazingly, felt great. Catherine met me and we had a quick chat. She was receiving text messages from the race organizers every time I passed through a checkpoint and my Mum in Australia was following the race on the net and was texting Catherine what position is was in so I had a good idea where I was in the race. At the checkpoint I decided to get rid of some of my wet weather gear and warmer clothes. We had perfect weather conditions, although some might have said a little hot; blue skies, sunny and in the high twenties when you’re in the sun. Was much colder overnight but not anywhere near the freezing temperatures it can get down to. Apparently last year it rained for the whole second night making it a very muddy and miserable. Thankful it’s not like that this year.

From Champex-Lac there is only a marathon to go! Unfortunately it also crosses two passes of around 2000m so it’s not exactly an easy finish. I am still managing to run the flats at around 9-10 minute miles and the downhills at 8 minutes per mile so make good progress. The last two major climbs were the best climbs of the race for me. My conservative start was starting to really pay off as I was passing more people and found only on the technical descents could anyone keep up with me. By the time I reached the second last checkpoint in the town of Vallorcine Catherine told me I was now in the top 100. I couldn’t believe it. I was hoping for top 200 at best.

The last sections are through heavily forested areas and although the organizers had hung foot long reflective strips every 100yards or so it is still difficult finding the correct path. I was on my own by then – no-one in front of me and no-one behind and lost a bit of time choosing the wrong path every now and then. Finally the path emerged from the forest into the outskirts of the town. For the first time my legs didn’t want to run anymore. I had been amazed that I was still running after more than 150km but they are not that keen anymore. I gave myself a bit of a talking to and forced my legs to stop walking and start running again.

The last kilometre through the town is something I’ll never forget – every person I passed applauded and acknowledged me enthusiastically. I started to smile as I realised I had done it. As I ran through the streets, the crowd thickened and the cries of “allez” and “superb” got louder and louder. I had a grin from ear to ear as well as a tear or two trying to escape. Crossing the river Arve for the final 200m I was waving my arms in the air happy beyond belief. Rounding the last corner I saw the finish line and with both hands in the air I crossed the line in 28hours 48 minutes in 74^th position.

At the presentation the next day I learned the winner was Marco Olmo from Italy. What’s special about that you might say? Well the man is 59 years old and he was 45 minutes in front of 2^nd place! He won it last year and this year every big name in Ultramarathons from Europe and America was at the start line to challenge him. He was behind until the 130km mark just setting his own pace and then just ran away with it. What an unbelievable effort.

As happy as I am with my placing it is not the placing that will stay with me in my memory, it will be the view of the mountains and glaciers at sunrise and sunset, the sight of the long line of headtorches disappearing down the mountain, the never ending cries of “allez, allez allez” and “superb” from spectators, the sounds of cow bells ringing out support,  the support I had from Catherine and my parents and in-laws, the feeling of insignificance that being surrounded by these incredible landscapes brings about, that feeling of mind and body working together for the whole race, finishing what to any sane mind seems to be an impossible task, the cheers and support as I crossed the finish line, a thumbs up from a fellow competitor, seeing the slower finishers joy in their faces after being out there for more than 42 hours – these will all stay with me much longer than my time or placing and these are the reasons why people do these kind of races.

For anybody considering this race I can’t recommend it highly enough. The organization is superb and the course whilst extremely challenging (this year with better weather conditions just over 1400 out of 2319 finished) is extremely beautiful. The atmosphere it what sets it apart from other races though. The French, Italian and Swiss people are extremely generous with their support and it gives the race an incredible atmosphere.

As far as training for a race like this- simply put – hill, hills and more hills. In the four months before the race the only flat runs I did were Tuesday night track sessions, everything else was either hill repeats, stairs, step-ups or uphill treadmill walking. The key is getting your legs strong enough to handle the descents.