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C.C.C/UTMB
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they've altered the course of the CCC to cut out the higher passes and stay more at valley level
"En dernière minute, les organisateurs de l'UTMB ont décidé de modifier le parcours de la CCC. C'est une perturbation orageuse menaçante qui a conduit la direction de course à effectuer ce changement. Départ à 10h d'Italie, monté directement au refuge Bertone. Le parcours évitera aussi Bovine, Catogne et la Tête aux Vents. Les coureurs passeront plus directement dans les vallées."
and UTMB will now start at 11:30 tonight and not the usual 6pm. forecast is for it to be colder, lots of rain, possibly some snow.
Brilliant race, incredible course and awesome support, I'll be back again for the full course next year. Cheers again for your advice fb
I don't have all the points needed for UTMB 2012 so I was planning to go for either the CCC or TDS instead. Does anyone have any recommendations as to one over the other? And if so, why?
Cheers
I couldn't agree more fb, I knew this was going to be tougher than any of the UK races I had done of comparable length but I had no idea how much tougher it would be. The climbs were brutal and just interminable, hours of just putting one foot in front of another with fale summit after false summit, followed by almost unrunnable downhills.
If anyone is considering this or any of the other courses I STRONGLY recommend a recce weekend before the race.
and Killian Jornet coming close to breaking 20hrs in the UTMB is pretty phenomenal.
Well done on your efforts - There are some good vids on youtube of Kilian finishing and there was a programme on Eurosport that lasted 30 - 40 mins following mainly the front guys and also Lizzie Hawker. Worth a watch if you can find a repeat of it or find it online. It was just called Adventure. Kilian was pulling ahead and then sitting at the aid stations waiting for the other guys to catch up and setting off with them again.
Cheers
And very good idea about the mountain running
If you haven't got much mountain running experience I'd recommend starting with CCC rather than TDS. I didn't find the terrain on CCC any more technical than e.g. the Lakeland 50 or Fellsman. The big difference is that the climbs and descents last much, much longer. And bad weather can have a much bigger effect.
[disclaimer: I haven't done TDS]
it's in the Sub3 thread in the Spring Marathon section if anyone's interested
I've done the CCC in 2009 and the modified CCC in 2010. It's a great race with amazing scenery. From what I've heard (friends who have done the TDS) the CCC course is less technical so definitely a good idea to do it as a first Mont Blanc race.
I did this years UTMB which was incredibly tough - weather conditions to start with were horrific with rain, cold winds and snow (on Col de la Seigne it was more like being in Siberia). Also the chnges in the race course after the race had started were really confusing. It was difficult to get any information on where we were going (from Champex on), how long it was etc. and it wasn't because of any language problem (I speak Italian and French), it was because none of the course volunteers had a real idea. The diversion down to Martigny and back up to Col de Forclaz was long, difficult and for those like me who did it during the day, hot (those who did it in the night said it was difficult and the descent was very steep).
It seems (various GPS readings) that in the end we ended up doing something like 170 - 175km instead of the original 166km while the total altitude meters remained about the same.
Any UK residences wishing to do the UTMB should really concentrate on getting their climbing and descending strength and abilities at a high level (not talking about elites who are obviously used to that).
Definitely worth doing but be warned it's tough.
Elite Ironman, Ultra Trail Runner
I'll send in mine for the UTMB this year, I enjoyed the CCC so much this year and as FB said that was only half way....
I would put the chances at 50/50. I think there's going to be a lot of applicants this year as it is the 10th anniversary. Also the popularity of ultra trail races is growing all over Europe.
If you get turned down for the UTMB they give you the immediate chance to sign up for one of the other races (CCC or TDS) as long as there are free slots in those, so you still have the possibility of doing a great race.
I'm going to sign up directly for the TDS so that I can complete the triple (already done CCC and UTMB) and then follow a number of friends who will hopefully be doing the UTMB.
Will be getting my entry in for CCC tomorrow then the long wait till January to find out - can I wait that long!! Will be my first >50miler - think I'll be training with a few long weekends in the lakes...... here's hoping!!!