UTMB

Starting UTMB this year was going to be hard.  Just a week before the start I was off work with a stinking cold.  I tried to do everything to recover but I did not quite do it and it resulted in me DNFing at Courmayeur. 

On Friday of the race I was in 2 minds whether to start as I was still blowing my nose and had the occasional cough, plus I didn’t feel 100%.  If there is one thing that I have learned from starting UTMB, you need to be 100% fit if you are going to finish.  With my my cold I wasn't fully focused and forgot a number of things, I also didn't come to Chamonix early enough so was rushing to sort myself out and I prefer the calmness to get myself ready.  These were signs that I neglected and in hindsight were indicators it wasn’t going to be my race this year.

Looking back now, even though the cold had not fully disappeared,  I am glad I did start.  It gave me the experience of what UTMB will be like and how hard the full race will be and that it should not be considered lightly.  I want to come back with full focus on this race and finish. Crossing my fingers I get in for 2015!

As help for others and to remind me for next year here is what I took on the race with me:

·         Salomon S-Lab Advanced Skin 12 litre backpack

·         Water bottle : one raid light with feed tube and one soft flask from Salomon

·         Black Diamond ultra distance trekking poles.  They are super light and fold up nicely so can be tucked away, although I think I would use them for most of the race as they help both on the up and down especially when the quads are finished with the steep downhills.  

·         Lights Petzl TIKKA XP²- used the first night.  I had forgotten to change the batteries from the West Highland Way race and they quickly died, so ending up changing batteries on top of Col de Siege. Not the best idea and another indicator I wasn’t myself. I used this headlamp the whole night and with the new batteries it was sufficient.  The first night you are still fairly close to all other competitors so you have shared light. 

·         Lights Petzl Nao - I was planning to used my Nao  for the 2nd night when I thought I would be more tired and would need more light to guide me, but didn’t get to test this.  I might ensure that I have a second rechargeable battery so I can ensure continued bright light                 

·         Hoka stinson

·         Socks: drymax

·         Forgot the vaseline

·         Salomon 3/4 lengths tights....decided to wear these for the whole race.  But it was hot and I think I would have been too hot to wear these during the day.  They were perfect at night (around 7c)but if the weather is fairly warm 24c during the day I would opt for shorts as you can put on the longs for night as you have to carry them anyhow!!! 

·         Started in long sleeved pink Laufuma top thinking it would be easier for night.  If nice conditions are expected I would start with a short sleeved top.

·         Raidlight long sleeve top

·         Mountain Hardwear dryQ waterproof

·         Mountain Hardwear ghost whisper :  I wore it but it got quickly cold so I but on my waterproof

·         Waterproof trousers :  Marmot

·         Mountain Hardwear warm hat

·         Mountain Harwear stretch gloves.  They got wet a little and I was very cold so I just covered them with my Raidlight waterproof gloves.  These are amazing...lightweight thin at 40g.  I haven't tested in wet conditions, they are so light that I think in wet conditions they might not be so effect.  They are however great lightweight gloves when the weather is good. 

·         I wore a buff and carried a second

·         Carried a spare pare of socks which I did not use.  If dry conditions are expected I would not take these again. at least not for the 1st half.  Maybe I might take them in the second half.  If it is wet I would certainly carry a spare as I experience in WHW, blisters come easy in wet conditions.

What did I eat

I had a bounce ball, nakd bar, energy gel x2, baby fruit packet, cliff jot jelly strawberry x 2, GU energy drink.  At every drink stop I had soup at the aid stations, coke and some bread and salami.  I had a great cuppa tea after Col de Siege which was great.  I had no stomach issues but was only out for 16 hours so early days

What I took to Courmayeur

And would bring again :

·         Tube of chocolate desert from the super U...amazing treat and makes you smile

·         Fresh Nectarine

I should have had but didn't pack :

·         Electrolytes

·         Salt tablets

·         spare clothes - a definite if the weather is unsettled , both long and short

·         change of shoes

 What I would want from Crews at Vallorcine or Trient

·         Some fruit - pineapple, Melon, tinned peaches

·         More choccie desert

Manaslu Trail Race – Part 1

Its 5am in the morning, it’s dark, cold, and I am not really sure where I am going.   I am following the headlights of the person in-front of me hoping they know where they are going and that they can see the path ahead.   My head is thumping, my stomach churning, I am cold, I feel nauseas and I am tired.  I haven’t had a good night’s sleep for the last 3 or 4 nights and I am dreaming of a soft bed with fluffy pillows and a big cosy duvet.

The trail just after the sun came up

I am slowly putting one foot in front of another, although not making much progress.  The air is thin at this altitude, making every step an effort.  The sun is about to rise but until it does the air remains cold. I’m thirsty but my water hose, from my camel back, is frozen so can’t get any water and I didn’t fill up my water bottle.  I feel weak and the landscape around the path is fairly barren with large rocks making the trail technical at times and doing little to motivate me to be positive and strong for the long trek and run ahead.  It’s one of those paths, where you can’t see the summit or the route that you are following.  Around every corner or summit reveals yet another summit to aim towards.  It seems, and is, never ending.

 

 Further up the trail, before the Larkya La pass 

Ahead and behind me, spread out over miles, are dozens of other runners making their way up to up to Larkya La at 5160m.    I am taking part in the inaugural 212km, 7 day Manaslu Trail race.  Its the final, the longest, and the highest day before we reach the end in Tilije which is some 36km , 760m ascent and then 2,860m descent away.   

10 days ago, before the race began, approximately 40 runners from around the world gathered at the Manaslu hotel in Lazimpat , Khatmandu.   This is where I first met the other racers who represented 13 different nationalities, with a wide range of experience.   As we got to know each other, stories of some iconic races such as Gobi,Badwater,  Tor des Geants and UTMB were shared.   These are big challenges and if the competitors had completed these I was beginning to question my ability and experience and was wondering if I would make the challenge.  

At the start in the grounds of the Manaslu Hotel

 

As I listened and got know the other racers I found out that there were some very experienced racers like:

·         Lizzy Hawker 5 time winner of The North Face Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc (UTMB), world record holder for 24hrs (road), and  the 2006 100km (road) World Champion 

·         Holly Rush road marathoner, having represented England at the Commonwealth Games in Dehli and forming part of the bronze medal winning marathon team at the European Championships in 2010

·         local runner Upendra Sunuwar having finished top in many of Nepals mountain races  and eventual winner of the race

·         New Zealand ultra runner Lisa Tamati who has completed numerous races such as Marathon des Sables, Gobi, La Ultra-The High. 

The runners at the race briefing

On the other side of coin, there were many slower or less experienced racers, some of whom had only completed a marathon.   As we took it in turns to stand up and introduce our self these were the runners, who outwardly said that they were “shitting themselves”.  Their fear was not without warrant as we were planning on covering approx 212 km during our race days with thousands of metres ascent and descent.   The majority of the race route follows the Manaslu trekking trail which circumvents Manaslu, the world’s eighth highest mountain.   Lonely planet says the route should take 18 days and is ranked “medium to hard” and states that is harder than most in Nepal.    We were covering the trekking route and more over 7 race days.   This was going to be one tough race.  

The experience of the race started when I left Khatmandu and took the 7+ hour bus ride to the Arughat where the race starts.  This was my first time in Khatmandu and, while I have experienced 3rd world countries, I had not taken a bus and I was amazed as I experienced the journey.  The sudden stops, constantly falling forward, bright coloured trucks, goats atop of buses and this is the only the start of the experience, we haven’t even started racing yet.

Our buses to take us to the start

Driving along the roads here is a bumpy experience; it is almost like a fairground ride where you are thrown around.  Up, down and forwards I go with every the braking movement that are made to avoid collisions, while others overtake and pull back in just at the last minute.  I have a seat at the back where I see right the way through the bus to the road ahead and I am constantly braking hoping our bus will slow down and miss the oncoming traffic, the bike to the side of us or people going about their day.   In Switzerland I am a bad passenger, in Nepal I am almost screaming in fear but need to appear strong in front of my fellow racers.

As we slowly rumble up the road I love seeing how life is lived here,  2 girls sitting outside brushing their hair, the drying of grass and corn, colourful wares for sale at the roadside.  I am starting to adjust to the pace, after winding down from budget season at work.  This is something as the race progress you quickly get used to.  When a time is given for departure, this can mean that we will leave somewhere in approx. of 1or 2 hours.  Swiss time does not have a place here!  I have left that behind.  Now it's Nepalese time, which can mean anything.

In the days before the race we have been asking each other why we came to do this race.  I wasn't quite sure but I think it is so many reasons.  I guess I wanted to do something special on my birthday.  I like to celebrate my birthday and wanted to find an experience I could do while doing it.  I searched for a race in November and came across the Nepal trail running site.  From there the manaslu trail race.  It looked amazing I my interest was quirked.   The thought of taking part wouldn't go away.  I thought the aspect of being in the Himalayas, a place I always want to go, was amazing and that I could take part in a run at the same time was the cherry on the top.  If i am honest with myself I think from the first time I read about the race I knew I was going to do it.  The only problem was that it was in the middle our busiest time at work ...budgets! Somehow I managed to convince my boss that I would be able to make it work and got the time off to participate.  

Stage 1 Arughat (600m) to Machha Khola (900m) – Distance : 25km   Time: 4:07

Our bags waiting to be transported by the porters

Nice clean shoes

 The start of the race was very unusual. It was Tihar,( also known as Diwali in India  and popularly known as the "festival of lights”) and the villagers wanted to bless us before we started.  A group of men from the village played music and all racers walked together behind them to the holy place.  Once there, each runner was blessed and given a scarf and a red dot or tika as it is called, which is a bright red mixture of rice, yoghurt and vermillion powder.   From there we walked back to start, one group photo and with a bang of the gong, we were off.  The run out of Arughat was relatively easy, flat runnable trail but it wasn't long before it turned more technical.   This was a shock to a number of people as they had not expected this type of terrain, for me it was very similar to the terrain of the Swiss Alps where I had done most of my training, so I felt at home and it was great to be running again after so many days travelling.

The trail goes through amazing landscape, following the Budhi Gandaki River.  Although relatively flat the trail does have some small steep ascents and descents, it passes forests, a few waterfalls, crosses many suspension Bridges and in the horizon the beautiful Mount Shirangi/Sringi Himal  (7187 m) appears.    I ran through beautiful little villages where the whole village would be outside to cheer us on and the little kids would run with us, some for a good 1km or so.  Very often the kids could speak some English and I remember having wonderful conversations with them as we ran along the trail.  These were special fun moments!

Another special moment was getting to wash.  After I finishing the run, of what I had initially thought would be 18km, but later learned it was at least 25km, I was lucky to go to the river by the village and have a wash.   Jumping  in the cold glacier river was amazing and washing off all the dirt and sweat of the day felt fantastic.  Little did I know that this would end up being only one of the 3 washes I would have on the entire trip!