Pro and amateur runners team up to race the sunset on French mountains

Col de Balme

Col de Balme

Col de Balme

Runners getting bored of the road can look towards an ASICS adventure race in the French mountains for inspiration. The ASICS Beat The Sun Relay is sure to have fulfilled the trail dreams of dozens of runners this year as eight teams headed to Chamonix, France to battle steep mountainous terrain and outrun the sunset.

The race, called the ASICS Beat The Sun Relay is simply this: eight teams, a mix of pros and amateurs, 130 kilometres, mountains, gorgeous views and a timer of 15:41:35 (from sun up to sun down) to complete it. It’s beautiful, it’s tough, and it’s a lot of running.

It’s also a chance to regular runners from all over the world to compete on a team with their favourite elites athletes– Ryan Hall perhaps being the biggest household name to have participated in the event. Along with him in France was Deena Kastor.

Hall seems to be enjoying retirement more than ever recently. In France this week, he was even spotted testing his abilities in mountain climbing.

First leg of #BeattheSun was the most beautiful and fun 2 hour run I’ve ever done. Stunning! This is me “running” pic.twitter.com/qQAKr79Il3

— Ryan Hall (@ryanhall3) June 21, 2016

The race, which takes place during the sunlight hours as a nod to the summer solstice– or longest day of the year– is definitely the sort of running event experience that wanderlust-prone trail sorts would envy. 

This year’s event happened on June 21 with Team Europe North placing first and beating the sunset by nearly an hour.  The team came across the finish 51 minutes before sundown. Second to them was their fellow European team– Europe South arrived to the finish just 12 minutes before sunset.

Conditions were definitely tough in sections. As Ryan Hall posted to Twitter, leg one of the race was plastered with icy downhill sections which were not run-able for most on the course. Temperatures on Tuesday evening in Chamonix hovered around 13 C however as mountain-savvy runners know, weather on the slopes is much more harsh. 

As for Canadian representation in the race, David Le Porho was present bring the Canuck vibe to the French mountains. Le Porho has represented that nation before having competed in two mountain running world championships and was the snowshoe world champion in 2011 and 2012. 

Keen to see what today’s race looked like? Check back for our upcoming feature on our experience there or check out the best shots in the slideshow above and social media below. 

They Beat The Sun!!! Team Europe North comes in 1st and beats nature to complete the challenge #BeattheSun pic.twitter.com/LMivwmk43R

— ASICS UK (@ASICSUK) June 21, 2016

Half-way point! @DeenaKastor hands off to Vicent Torrent and she has 1 more leg left for Team Americas 2 #BeattheSun pic.twitter.com/kd22J67oec

— ASICS America (@ASICSamerica) June 21, 2016

The sun may have set but it is still a race to the finish for Team Americas 1 & 2, and Team Africa. #BeattheSun pic.twitter.com/0JbFbk4qnM

— ASICS America (@ASICSamerica) June 21, 2016

Esperamos al equipo campeón en meta #BeattheSun para 20.40 aprox. Tiempazo de EU Norte https://t.co/bfmuV3hSQF pic.twitter.com/RjdCJIB2eL

— Carrerasdemontanacom (@CarrerasMontana) June 21, 2016

It’s going to be a close race! The teams are approaching the finish line. Follow along to see who will #BeattheSun. pic.twitter.com/bdqCVHaUw3

— ASICS Europe (@ASICSeurope) June 21, 2016

Europe North makes their way through a downhill section on their way to leg 10, Notre Dame. #BeattheSun pic.twitter.com/ztZrY2C2pd

— ASICS South Africa (@ASICS_ZA) June 21, 2016