WATCH: UTMB from the mid-pack with Canadian ultrarunner/filmmaker Jeff Pelletier
Pelletier and his partner, Audrée Lafrenière, documented their experiences at ultratrail's most iconic race
Do you dream of running UTMB some day? Now you can race vicariously, thanks to Jeff Pelletier, a Canadian ultrarunner and filmmaker from Vancouver who’s just released a film about his experience at UTMB 2022 (Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc).
Earlier this year, Pelletier, who started running 13 years ago, made a nine-part series of films about a stage race in Namibia (formerly South West Africa).
The beauty of Pelletier’s film lies in the fact that it shows significant portions of the race (and its incredible scenery in France, Switzerland and Italy) from the point of view of a regular participant, rather than the race at the front of the pack–in this case, an experienced and well-trained runner in his early 40s with race goals that do not prevent him from taking in the spectacular mountain vistas of the UTMB course. Pelletier takes time to admire the scenery, encounters runners he has met at other races, comments on his fuelling at aid stations and receives good wishes from spectators throughout the race. Pelletier finished a very respectable 390th out of 1,789 finishers, in 34 hours, 35 minutes, 12 seconds. His partner, 2021 Quebec Mega Trail winner Audrée Lafrenière, also shot video throughout her race and figures prominently in the film. (Lafrenière finished as 47th woman and fourth Canadian woman, in 38:08:43.)
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Lafrenière seems to struggle more with the race’s punishing climbs and altitude, and at the end confesses she considered dropping several times–but she is moving more quickly relative to her female peers, even though she falls behind Pelletier at some point during the first night of the race. No doubt both were thinking about the film, which provided an incentive not to quit.
The film does drag a bit in the middle, as both runners struggle with the nighttime portions of the race, trying not to fall on the rocky trails and complaining about how difficult it is to keep food down. In this sense, it’s like every other race film you’ve seen. (But you’ll still find yourself rooting for them to do well.)
A couple of weeks before the race, as preparation, Pelletier and Lafrenière fast-packed the Tour du Mont-Blanc (TMB) over four days and nights, running during the day and sleeping in huts with other hikers. (Pelletier made a separate film about that experience, below.) The route follows a similar route to UTMB, the main difference being that significant portions of the race (which starts in the evening) are run through the night, in the dark.
Spoiler alert: of course they both finish. And the scene in Chamonix is emotional. So make a date with yourself to curl up after your long run this weekend, watch Pelletier’s film and fantasize about racing UTMB one day (if you haven’t already).
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