Ultra Trail Races - Simple but not Easy

What a downright wonderful sport this is

It’s been over a week now since I crossed that legendary finish line in Chamonix. While my body recovered very quickly (not necessarily what I expected and wanted), my mind is still processing the hundreds of impressions that I got from running the CCC at UTMB.

In lieu of a proper physical preparation I might have overdone the organizational part… maybe a bit. In my defense, I simply LOVE planning, organizing and thinking things through. When I’m not running, I’m literally standing in front of a whiteboard. So I regard the non-athletic part of my 10 weeks preparation for CCC (especially the last 2 weeks) as one of the biggest treasures of this whole endeavor. It was awesome.

Although I learned a lot during that phase, I can proudly say, that it did not help me very much while actually running around Mont Blanc, haha! The sheer number of things that can possibly go wrong during an ultra trail race by far exceeds everything one could ever prepare for in advance. It’s absolutely unpredictable and this is exactly what makes ultra running so exciting.

On the other hand, the task at hand could not have been simpler: "Start in Courmayeur, follow the path markings, stay hydrated and warm, fuel well and you will eventually make it to Chamonix." 

So after all it’s both: Highly unforeseeable and still very simple, albeit not easy. What a downright wonderful sport this is.