Unsung Heroes
There are many different reasons to participate such a challenging race. But what unites EVERYONE who stands at the start line in Chamonix, is the willingness to sacrifice unconditionally. Eventually,
While still struggling to rediscover my own 'running-why’ after Western States, I had a rather rough week at UTMB this year. However, I was lucky to see two very different, but deeply revealing approaches towards the biggest race of our sport.
On the one side, I witnessed first hand how a tremendously dedicated elite athlete prepared for and then carried out UTMB in an unbelievably professional manner. I shared the apartment with our friend Eva Sperger who finished the race in 10th place with a blazing time of 28:15h. A phenomenal result that rightly positions Eva among the best ulta-athletes in the world. It was interesting to see with how much focus, thoughtfulness and determination she handled both, the last days before the event and the race itself. Her result was more than deserved.
On the other side I happened to share the trail with the unsung back of the pack for some hours. The very last runners of UTMB were still on course, while the elite athletes had already slept, showered, eaten and were on their way to the award ceremony.
I ended up among the group of runners who were just minutes ahead of the cut-off, when I went for a run on the last section of the race course, the steep climb up to Tete aux Vents, the technical passage to La Flégère and the last downhill to Chamonix. I was cheering along and even chatted with a few runners who replied to my uplifting words.
But they didn’t need my encouragement. Their determination and hunger to finish the race was just the same as that of the elite athletes. Each time an official updated them on the cut-off times, they dug even deeper to find another grain of strength.
These runners had been out there for 44-46 hours and still relentlessly went after what they had come for: becoming an UTMB finisher. Quite honestly, this was a truly inspiring experience.
There are many different reasons to participate such a challenging race. But what unites EVERYONE who stands at the start line in Chamonix, is the willingness to sacrifice unconditionally. Eventually, we’re all the same.