UTMB 2018

On September 2nd, I finished the race I had been working towards for 3.5 years:

• in 2015, I ran my first 10 and 42 km and learned about UTMB;
• in 2016, I ran my first 100 and 170 km and earned the necessary points for the UTMB lottery, which I won immediately;
• in 2017, an unsuccessful attempt to run my first 170 km with 10,000 meters of elevation gain. Won the lottery again;
• in 2018 – finished UTMB in 44 hours.

UTMB is a race around Mont Blanc. Total distance is 170 km with 10,000 meters of elevation gain. Number of participants – 2,500. Despite the fact that there are no random people at the race (due to qualification requirements where you need to run 3 races of certain difficulty), the dropout rate is quite high. In 2018, 782 people did not finish – that is approximately 31%.

The race itself did not particularly interest me, I knew nothing about it except the distance and elevation, but what caught my attention was that there are people for whom this race is a goal, and I decided to achieve this goal. I did not really understand what 10,000 meters of elevation meant, and 170 km did not seem particularly scary.

I first encountered elevation gain on Konzhak, where we used to hike as students. Climbing the mountain and seeing signs with distances, we discussed: what kind of crazy people also run up this mountain… A few years later, I became one of those crazy people. Several times, reaching the boulder field (large rocks, ~17 km and 900 meters of elevation), my legs gave out and I could not climb higher (and Konzhak is only 1,500 meters high). I would turn back… In the region where I am from, there are no mountains, and at university, due to various knee problems, I was in a special group where we only trained our tongues.

Anyway, I somehow got into this hell and there was no turning back.

Preparation

After an interesting journey in 2017, where I:

• took a taxi 7 km for 80 euros
• booked a transfer while the plane was taking off and because of that my name was Armet instead of Artem (I was rushing before losing connection)
• wandered around at 2 AM looking for a hotel in the mountains
• was the last person to board the plane several times
• communicated with drunk French people and did not understand why they could not understand me, since I was speaking English with them.

In 2018, I prepared more thoroughly and in advance:

• booked a room in the center of Chamonix before the lottery results were announced (200 meters from the start this year vs 7 km in 2017. At half the cost and for a longer period). After all, it could easily be resold if I did not win the lottery.
• bought and tested food/gear in advance (although there was a nuance here. I cut my shoes on sharp rocks 2 weeks before the start and had to buy new ones).
• chose a vacation destination that both my family and I were happy with: Tekirova in Turkey. From the hotel to the summit (Tahtali) is about 20 km with about 2,500 meters of elevation, where I trained actively for 3 weeks. After that, mountains stopped being something scary, although we did not become completely comfortable with each other.

One downside compared to 2017 was weight. That year 77 kg. This year – 81. The all-inclusive vacation really took its toll. The Russian soul defeated any thoughts about having to drag it up the mountain later 🙂

The Race

The race started on August 31st at 7:00 PM. It was very nerve-wracking. I wanted it to be over quickly and to be home already. I had no desire to run and enjoy the beautiful views. Before the race, I realized for myself that there was no point in all this suffering, and I just needed to do it without looking for any meaning. I have always preferred flat distances and pavement… I stood at the very back. I saw no point in pushing to the middle.

The start was given. Everyone slowly walked. Sometimes they stopped and then continued. This year the number of stops was much less even though I was running in later positions. Crowds of people formed a tight corridor for about 5 kilometers, and then for the remaining 165 km people were frequently encountered along the course and constantly cheering us on. Even at night, running into some village, people with children stood there cheering us on. Sometimes helicopters flew by and filmed. Very interesting feelings of some big and major event.

Before the race, I planned out where and when I should be at each point. This was needed both for me to understand if I was within the time limits or not, and for my support crew. This year, my friend @rocketstas and his wife came with me and helped me along the course. Thanks to them, I was able to reduce the weight of my backpack and they had spare things in case something happened to mine. Looking ahead, I will say that I am very grateful to them. With them, the race became much more interesting + before the race we managed to visit Geneva and drive around the Chamonix area. As it turned out, we partially walked along the final part of the course, which really helped morally at the end of the race.

My first checkpoint was Les Chapieux (50 km). There I was surprised to find that I arrived 1 minute earlier than the previous year. I was surprised because that year I overtook many people both uphill and downhill, but this year we all moved quite spread out and relaxed. Happy that I ran no worse than that year, calmly snacking and throwing away trash (that year I tried to do everything quickly, but not this year), I calmly ran on to meet the sunrise. From memories of the previous year, I meet the sunrise at the top of the mountain. The point is Col de la Seigne. Arriving there at 5:30, I realized:

1. There is no sunrise, which means either I remembered wrong or I am running faster.
2. I should have taken more water, because there is no water at this point, and the next one will only be in 7 km, as I was told…

Running from the summit, I constantly watched other runners. Many of them I easily overtook uphill, but now they were calmly overtaking me. I tried to hold on to everyone who passed me, but I could not move my legs that fast. It is easier for me to take longer strides. On flat sections, I overtook them again. So we reached Courmayeur (80 km). At this point, organizers deliver drop bags. Someone had food, someone had clothes, and one Chinese guy standing next to me – had a razor… He calmly shaved and ran on, although he had nothing to shave )). I went to the toilet, where my eyes went dark. They sat me on a chair. After sitting for a while, I walked to my backpack and lay down. The nausea would not go away. There was no vomiting, although I tried to induce it. My coordination was impaired. I did not want to eat anything. After some time of this suffering, I decided to continue and was surprised to find that I had been at this point for 2 hours. Remembering that I had a large time buffer, I ran on. Running was easy. I felt a bit sorry about the lost time, but oh well. Apparently my body needed it. During my stop, 360 people passed me, whom I would only catch up with 16 hours later…

After Courmayeur there was a steep climb. That year I constantly stopped and let runners pass. This time, despite bouts of nausea and attempts to empty my stomach, I kept moving constantly, without stops. Halfway up the mountain, I remembered one of the reasons why I do not like poles: I have weak wrists and after some time they start to hurt. I started holding the poles differently, which strained other muscles that were not ready for such load. As a result, I was left with one pole, and simply put the second one in my belt. Descents also began to cause discomfort. Placing my foot at an angle, the shoe pressed on the outer part of the foot or on the Achilles, which began to cause discomfort. I had to twist my foot or use my right leg as the main one, which is not typical for me.

I was at La Fouly (110 km) after 25 hours from the start of the race. Last year I was here in 24:30. That is, despite losing 2 hours in Courmayeur, I managed to almost fully rehabilitate. Moreover, that year I could no longer run or walk due to leg muscle pain, but now I felt a lot of strength and from the last point I overtook 76 people on the descent very comfortably.

After snacking on some sausage and once again realizing that I should not eat it + drinking some sweet coffee, I ran into the unknown. According to participants from previous races, ahead was a long asphalt descent. This is what I love, and by the next point (Champex-Lac 125 km), I overtook another 90 people, surprising runners with my speed.

In Champex-Lac, Stas was waiting for me with gels. After restocking, I decided to use a free option – massage. I was not sure I needed it, but I was hoping for a miracle that I would become fresh and quickly run the remaining 3 hellish hills. An hour and a half flew by unnoticed in the massage… It was good, but it was too early to receive pleasure, and next time I will probably postpone it until after the race.

After Courmayeur, I stopped drinking isotonic and salt tablets, leaving only 1 gel every 30 minutes. Towards the end, it was very interesting to watch how I stuffed the gel in, but my throat spasmed and it came back out of my mouth. I pushed it back in.

Until Vallorcine (154 km) everything went more or less as usual. Everyone walked slowly, and no one particularly stood out. My legs were trashed and I could no longer bend or straighten them without pain. I could not run downhill, on flat ground I tried to run, but it hardly looked like running. And at the Vallorcine checkpoint, it hit me. By that time, 39 hours of the race had passed + I had not slept since morning before the race + the sun started to warm up. I walked swaying from side to side. Two runners who passed me said that at this pace I would not make the cutoff (I later passed them). After about 10 more minutes in this stupor, I poured part of my bottle over my head and washed my face. And decided to start eating caffeine gels regularly again. After some time, I came to my senses and started slowly catching up with everyone. I remembered that if you endure the pain, it might become dull. So I did. After passing another group uphill, I thought that my pace was probably too fast. The heart rate monitor had already died by then, so I got behind a runner who seemed to be moving fairly quickly, and sat behind him all the way to the top of the last mountain.

At the top of the mountain, I saw a paraglider. Time 12:30. “Probably Stas,” I thought and ran on. Around this time, he was supposed to be flying in these parts.

Finish

After sitting for a few minutes at the checkpoint, the pain in my muscles when walking and running returns, and ahead is a steep descent. One runner showed me that you need to descend at an angle and then running will be easier. I tried it… and as a result I then passed him and many other runners. Descending from the last mountain, I jumped over rocks, jumped off high ones instead of climbing down, as I usually did, and many others do. Before, I was afraid my muscles would get even more trashed, but here there was nothing to lose. The muscles were already trashed. It was a very interesting and pleasant feeling. 2 kilometers before the finish, Stas met me. Running with me for a bit, he said he would put a stabilizer on the camera and catch up. “Ha, try to catch me,” I thought. A few seconds later, Stas easily caught up with me, and I realized that I was only racing in my own world, while in the world of others I was crawling, even though I was passing other runners )

While passing, I managed to hook one runner and he ran behind me all the way to the finish. I could not see him, but I felt him, and so I tried not to slow down. He finished 3 seconds after me 🙂 I am glad I did not give up the position + I was still ready to accelerate.

Planned finish time was 42-46 hours, depending on the stomach situation. I fit into this interval and am very happy about it.

After finishing, we went for a massage where they massaged my legs and back. The runny nose and cough that started before the race went away. My leg muscles did not bother me much, but I was afraid to use them, so I helped myself more with my hands. The most damaged were 2 big toes and one ring finger. But now they are getting regular alcohol compress treatments ) After the massage, I asked Stas to look at my legs and said: see how interestingly the dust has settled on my leggings, various letters and numbers are visible. He looks for a long time and says he does not see it. I: exactly, but I do see it. I also see numbers and letters on the ceiling and floor ) The hallucinations were very stable and I absolutely could not see the floor, ceiling, and dust without them. After a short nap, everything passed. Women in white, gnomes, and other supernatural creatures that I saw during the race in Altai were not there this time ))

The race made me look differently at running itself, technique, fatigue, pain. I see where to grow, I believe that 38 hours is quite achievable for me without much strain.

In 2017, I was very surprised by the number of people who followed my race. Thank you to everyone who rooted for me and worried. I know from experience: worrying is harder than being in the race itself. Special respect to Stas for helping on the course. To coach Dmitry Mityaev – for preparation and endless search for nutrition solutions for me. To Oleg Silkin for the flashlight, convertible gloves/mittens (two in one) – (very convenient!) and “advice.” Oleg tracked my delays at checkpoints and called directly during the race, but I ignored him 🙂

UTMB hosts a series of races of different lengths. In total, it amounts to 1 week. For this week, Chamonix transforms into a paradise for trail runners with a large expo and numerous elites. It is worth going there just to see all this madness and how high the level of organization is.

Key Takeaways

• Nausea is not vomiting. You can keep pushing food in.
• Trashed legs are nothing. You need to endure.
• Do not be afraid to jump off rocks and over rocks with big strides even with trashed legs.
• 1 liter of water for UTMB and slow runners is not enough. You need extra bottles for some sections.
• While you eat, you have energy. Stop eating, no energy. But my stomach cannot digest such volumes.
• Caffeine works well on me.

Useful Tips

That year I sewed small elastic bands to my gloves. So first I put on the elastic, then the glove. Very convenient. You do not have to worry about losing the glove and do not have to think about where to put it, because it stays hanging on your hand. If you do not need gloves for a long time, you can roll them up and hide them behind the same elastic. They will be like wristbands.

I used plastic bottles (regular 0.5L from tea/juice with a wide neck and a sports cap to drink without opening. + they are lighter than Salomon ones and easy to insert into pockets). That year, 2 of my soft flasks tore and I had to get plastic 1.5-liter bottles from the organizers and run with them.