It’s one of the most exciting weeks of the ultramarathon calendar.
The Ultra-Trail du Mont Blanc, considered one of the most prestigious ultramarathons in the world, goes off Sept. 1 in Chamonix, France, and climbs more than 10,000m along the way.
Sound daunting? It should.
The race circles Mont Blanc, the tallest mountain in the Alps, with much of the terrain at high altitudes including a maximum of more than 2,500m above sea level.
Here’s a briefer on the course.
Interactive course map
Elevation profile
Video with 3D route preview
There are 16 runners who list Canada as their nationality on the start list including four elites, Alissa St Laurent, Jeff (Jean-Francois) Cauchon, Tara Berry and Melanie Bos.
After the rain ??❄ Aiguilles de #Chamonix from our office #chamlive pic.twitter.com/oK7JJ7jJQU
— UTMB® (@UTMBMontBlanc) July 26, 2017
Stats (from the UTMB technical data)
Start: Sept. 1, 6 p.m. local time (12 noon EDT)
Elevation gain: 10,068m
Distance: 171K
Start/finish: Chamonix, France
Direction: Counterclockwise
Max altitude: 2,565m
Time limit: 46.5 hours
Field size: 2,300
Pass-through countries: France, Italy and Switzerland
Plus, there is inclement weather in the forecast which could make the course more challenging. The UTMB is currently monitoring the forecast, with the possibility of snow, and will adjust the course accordingly, if necessary, in the hours leading up to the Friday evening start time.
For #UTMB and #CCC, as the confidence index of the weather forecast is low, we will inform 10h before the start which route will be used.
— UTMB® (@UTMBMontBlanc) August 29, 2017
Stay tuned for Canadian Running pre- and post-coverage all week long leading into the race and on the weekend.
