Start line of the adventure
Without UTMB looming, I was able to pick a big, challenging,
scenic race while on the family summer trip to the Alps. This time around it was the Gran Trail
Courmayeur 105km. With over 23,000 feet
of vertical it looked plenty tough! I
was also very excited for the course. I’d
get to see some of the scenic sections of UTMB that I did at nighttime, explore
some new areas, and see a bit of the course for my new unicorn race, the Tor
des Geants.
I was a bit beat up after the Hellbender 100 and took it
easy for a while to heal up my hamstring and achilles. Then one day I woke and realized I had only 6
weeks left until a very big race in the Alps!
I knew what had to be done and crammed in the training, which was fun by
itself and included some great running in the Shenandoahs.
I prepped much less for this race than previous ones in the
Alps. Don’t spill your drink, but I didn’t
even memorize the entire course! But I
was confident and pumped to run in gorgeous mountains.
Start to Mile 21
We ran through town for a bit before winding our way about
1,000 feet down through a nearby town before the first trailhead around mile 4.
As we climbed up the steep trail, you could glimpse views of Monte Bianco in
the morning light (practicing my Italian for those paying attention). I was steadily
passing people and moving up the field, and I felt like I was running very conservatively.
About halfway up the climb we popped out into fields with
big vistas of the Mont Blanc range and the first aid station. I refilled bottles and started back up the
forest trail. We soon got above
treeline, and the panorama views were incredible! There was a lot of rocky, technical
traversing high up, and we hit the first snow crossing. There was an unseasonable amount of snow up
high, so we ended up having dozens of snows crossings. The mountain guides were kind enough to put
ropes on some of the sketchier crossings, which was much appreciated! The race required we carrier crampons the
whole time (last minute purchase in Chamonix), but I never felt like I needed
them.
Anyways, we had some stunning but technical trail until we
finally got to the last ascent up to Refugio Deffeyes. Side note that this first section is all
along the TDG course. Much to Jen’s
chagrin, I have to say it only amplified my desire to run TDG!
Refugion Deffeyes was breathtaking. It’s nestled in this high alpine area with
big peaks and glaciers all around and an alpine lake down below. I got here a bit after I had hoped but knew I
was running conservatively so wasn’t too concerned.
We started the steep downhill to La Thuile. After a technical, cable-assisted section I
passed a bunch of people quickly as I didn’t want to run slower than my normal
pace down the mountain. The first part of
the trail was technical and rocky. When
it got smoother, I unfortunately started to feel like garbage. I felt bloated but dehydrated and behind on
calories (pretty great combination). It
was also really hot as we got into the valleys, and I was overheating. Fantastic.
No problem.
I ran fast in the last section through town despite feeling terrible
and got to aid where I hoped to work through some stuff. I was behind pace by more this time, which
was a bit worrisome given I was already struggling. But I’d certainly feel better on the next
5,000 foot climb, right? Right?!
Morning view of the Mont Blanc Range climbing up through the trees
Halfway up the first big climb
Mont Blanc face in the middle of the picture
Getting above treeline and jaws dropping!
We ascended the snow field on the far left up the keyhole middle top left.
High above and alpine lake with a massive glacier / snowfield in the distance
Coming to Refugio Deffeyes
Alpine lake and the view from Deffeyes. Not too shabby.
Mile 21 to 48
I felt a bit better after the aid station, but it was still really hot down at lower altitude. The next couple thousand of feet of climbing were uneventful. The climb was largely gradual with a few short, steep sections. We popped out above treeline, and I started having a better time of things. It was cooler, and the scenery was much improved.
I stocked up at a farmhouse aid station, and we continued on our way to the highest point of the course at 9,400 feet. As the trail turned steep, some nasty weather came in. Temperatures dropped, the wind kicked up, and it started raining hard. I threw on my new Ultimate Direction Ultra jacket, and was very pleased. It kept me warm enough and dry, and it fit well over my pack. Sweet!
The conditions were a bit wild, but I was loving it. We ascended up to a col, across a sketchy snow field, scrambled up to another peak, and then traversed along the spine of the next mountain. This next section was wild, remote, and stunning. Miraculously I actually felt pretty great. Usually I feel terrible at the high altitude sections of these races, but I was loving life. The altitude was no problem, and I felt good in the cooler temps.
The weather started to clear a bit, revealing incredible, sweeping views of the Mont Blanc range and surrounding mountains. We traversed and hit a remote aid station on the top of a mountain over 9,000 feet. The next section was net downhill with interspersed climbs, so we’d be up at high altitude for a while. The stretch of trail may be my favorite I’ve ever been on. The views were epic, there were marmots running all over the place, what’s not to like?
I also continued to feel stronger and stronger. I had been passing a few people but really started moving up the field from here. Soon we hit Col de la Seine (hit at nighttime during UTMB) and started a long, downhill stretch. It was steep and technical at first and then mellowed out. I felt great and clicked off 9 minute miles. We hit Refugio Elisabetta, which is nestled in right by a gigantic glacier. After a pitstop and tons of food, I was off. We had a steep descent and then a relatively easy mile or two before the next climb.
I had thought this would be a climb I hadn’t done, but turns it out it was Arret du Mont Favre, which is the last climb in UTMB before Courmayeur! It was nice to be on familiar trail during daytime and able to enjoy the views. I felt like money going up and then started flying down the trail after the Col. I again started passing tons of people and texted Jen she needed to get to Courmayeur soon if she wanted to see me!
I fueled up at Maison Vieille and quickly took off. In UTMB it is a very steep but steady downhill from here. Not so much for GTC, where they added some totally unnecessarily difficulty for the heck of it. We had a few steep dirt road sections before some gnarly, technical trail that finally spilled us out on the main UTMB trail, which is still super technical and steep. I fell twice in this section. No harm done, but I was covered in thick dust and looked like what I can only assume was a zombie.
I figured my two young boys would be terrified by the sight of me, so I washed off some in a fountain before going down to the Courmayeur aid station. After some navigational challenges I got there and was able to see the family! It was awesome to see Jen, Liam, and Connor. Liam in particular was so excited. I was super grateful to Jen for watching the boys all day / night and for bringing them out to watch daddy in the race. Liam is still talking about it!
Heading out of La Thuile
On the way up to high country and finally above treeline in cooler temps!
Wild section of the course above 9,000 feet. We end up ascending the spine of the mountain in front of us.
If you zoom in, you can see the trail ascending across the mountain face.
Popping out at 9,400 with big views all around
Val Veny in all of its glory
Mont Fortin aid station that was hiked up to above 9,000 feet. It was freezing up there and I felt bad for the poor volunteers! But also very happy they were there ...
More of Val Veny. Weather was clearing, and it was stunning.
This is about where I started feeling awesome and picking off tons of runners
Looking down Col de la Seine
Happy dude up in the mountains!
Looking back at the mountains and glaciers surrounding Refugio Elisabetta
Ascending Arret du Mont Favre to killer views
Looking out across the valley. The exact inverse of the picture I got from the ascent of Col de Ferret at UTMB on the other side of the valley!
Courmayeur down below and about to start the screaming descent down to town
Mile 48 to Finish
After a slightly longer stop, I started up the big, bad climb to Bertone . I was still feeling really strong and knew the finish was in the bag. The question was just whether I could squeak in under 20 hours.
It was a bit tough navigating the route out of town, but I found my way to the facemelting steep trail. Along the way I realized I forgot my bib when I took it off outside the bathroom in Courmayeur. Sh*t. Would they let me continue? I had a chip around my wrist and a GPS tracker, so I figured they’d let me go through. And if they didn’t, I planned to keep going regardless and finish what I started. But it was still a bit difficult mentally to have some uncertainty at this late stage.
I was climbing OK, but my stomach was off again. I pounded my way up and got to Refugio Bertone. I had some glorious Tea Caldo here with about a pound of sugar. Then I didn’t have the greatest time on the next section between Bertone and Rifugio Bonatti. During UTMB this was just after dawn with world class views across the Val de Ferret. Now it was dark, my stomach felt terrible, and the trail was just a long stretch of pointless up and downs. It was tough to build motivation.
I hit Bonatti 1h25min after Bertone, which was slow, though I also was not passed. I’d been expecting an aid station here but was disappointed not to see one. I knew I needed a reset though so I created my own aid station! I sat down on a bench, forced down food, drank a bunch, and refilled bottles from the fountain. Then I popped in some tunes. Back in action.
Next up was the last major climb up to Col Malatra. Miraculously I started to feel pretty good again! I was moving well and pleased that the aid station was only partway up Malatra and not at the top. With a second aid station shortly after my impromptu self aid station, I was getting things back together. ACDC came on during the final climb up to Malatra, and the switch went on. From here on out I was on the Highway to Hell, and anyone in front of me was Thunderstuck. I passed almost 10 people between this point and the finish, each time flying by them.
We crested Malatra and could soon see the lights of Courmayeur over 4,000 feet below. The descent was steep and tricky, and then we had a climb up to Col Sapin. There was a checkpoint here (no aid) and then more steep descent following by a short climb to last aid.
I didn’t spend too much time here and quickly got back to cruising down the mountain. It was looking like sub 20 was in the bag, which I was super pleased with. The trail stayed technical and tricky, including some last sketchy snow crossings. When the grade leveled off, I started bombing down in 7-8 minute miles. My legs felt fantastic, which was pretty inexplicable at the end of a race. I felt like I had a lot more in me and felt better than I did at this point in UTMB!
But sadly the fun was about to come to an end. I flew through town and twisted and turned my way to the finish line. I crossed in 19 hours 2 minutes feeling just fine.
I really loved the GTC 105K. The course was majestic, and we explored some wild and incredible places. I really enjoyed the style of the race as well. Not a lot of fanfare, but clearly there was a respect and love for the mountains.
I was overall pleased with my effort. 19 hours is a solid time on this course. I started conservatively and steadily moved my way up the field. But it was an interesting mix of feeling like I was moving really well sometimes and struggling with nutrition other times. I never went off the cliff with nutrition, but I do feel like I had legs for more and was capable of a faster time. But no race is perfect! I’m still very satisfied, though I’ll be thinking more about how to get enough calories for future Euro races.
I hope to come back to this race, and it certainly whetted my appetite further for Tor des Geants. Thanks again to Jen for watching the boys and making this possible!
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