UTMB 2013?

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  • I think its a little unfair calling it shambolic, I was there in 2011 and this year and the differences in weather were huge, for them to comp!etely re route and get any race on in  2011 I think was some achievement. 

    I get that you've lost a season through I injury but how many points do you have from 2012? It may not be your dream race but the TDS is a worthy substitute in anyone's book

     

  • If I do lose my place in the UTMB application process then i might as well use my 3 points from 2012 and apply for TDS. At least then I will be accumulating more points and gain more experience in the alps.

    I cant really comment about 2010's race but better runners than I were pretty disgusted with the handling of it all. At the very least it should have motivated them to get their contingency plans sorted so that 2012 was better handled.

    I was there in 2011 and despite challenging conditions on the Friday night/Sat morning it was all handled pretty and it wasn't really a re-route, 95% of the course was the proper UTMB course. Conditions in 2012 were MUCH worse than 2011 so I appreciate it was a pain the ass for the organisers but....

    ...the organisers should have had a contingency 100mile race up their sleeve. With more or less an equivalent number of metres to climb/descend. I think they have since announced that they do have this in place now and quite right too.

    UTMB means a lot to a lot of people and much of its magic is circling Mont Blanc/beautiful views/3 countries and that it's 100(+)miles. The race they provided in 2012, contained NONE of these things.

  • I wasn't there in 2012 so I can't really commentate on what the weather was like but as you say now there are a variety of contingency plans for all parts of the route so they can avoid problem areas.

     Though I haven't done the TDS I have heard it's an absolute beast, more technical than the UTMB with more climb per k, it's certainly no the easy option and as you say it's accumulating the points for next time

  • To be honest, I am thinking about starting a black market trade  un UTMB points!   

  • Dan ADan A ✭✭✭

    BW - take GKD's advice and enter the TDS.  I did it last year and thought it was fab.  Scroll back a page or two and another runner has posted his race report.

    I finished the UTMB both in 2010 (amended) and 2011 (lengthened) although had to miss 2012 through injury, and have no complaints, despite the bitter disappointment of the 2010 cancellation/reprise.  Running conditions in the mountains are by their nature variable and you have to accept that sometimes the safety of the participants takes precedent and late changes can occur.  The organisers don't take those decisions lightly and to their credit, each year their contingency planning improves.

    Besides, there are plenty of other races around Europe that offer very similar distance/profiles if you shop around.

  • Dan A wrote (see)

    Besides, there are plenty of other races around Europe that offer very similar distance/profiles if you shop around.

    There are a few fallback options for an overseas race worth looking at, if you are disappointed in the UTMB ballot. 

  • Bee - I did the TDS this year and it was great - I'd recommend it to anyone. A link to my race report is a couple of pages back on this thread. 

    The other plus point with doing any of the UTMB / TDS / CCC races is that your points last for 3 years rather than 2. So you can for example use your TDS points from 2011 to qualify for entry 2014; likewise your 2014 points should be good for the ballot in 2015, 16 and 17. Unless the rules change of course.

    If not then as above there are plenty of others that need no qualification at all - for a start the Swiss Iron Trail (various distances), Swiss Alpine (various shorter distances), and various others that grace the RW forum from time to time.    

  • Does anyone know if UTMB has a deferral option ? I can't see it on the site, but I have a work issue with about a 1 in 3 chance of clashing with the date and very reluctant to just walk away from a fully paid place so wondering whether I should even bother with the lottery or pick something which I can decide on at shorter notice.

    On UTMB points, I note that the elevation the UTMB site shows for St Peters Way is wrong by a massive margin. Good for me, but there is no way a shorter race across Essex is significantly hillier than the SDW / NDW - and my Garmin track makes that very clear ! I think that has got StPW 2 points rather than the 1 point it should have if you see it as more comparable to the Thames Trot, etc.

  • Kevin you can't defer places for any of the utmb races unfortunately, I think you can get a percentage ofyour money back up to a month or two before but that's it.

     The utmb relies on RD's applying to be added to the list of approves races, if they're not accurate with their distances then the points may be calculated wrongly, some may be cynical and try to get qualified for !ore points than they deserve

  • Thanks GKD - that's what I suspected. Might leave it and hope there are Ring o Fire places left once I have the work schedule.



    The stats on St PW are so far out it has to be a major cock up. It has more elevation than the ultra tour of the Peak District despite finishing across the Essex coastal marsh. Comical image
  • Dan ADan A ✭✭✭

    You only get your money back if you take out the insurance. About 10-15 euros I think. 

    In 2012 I had to withdraw through injury and even then they made it very hard to get the cash back. They rejected the bona fide letter I sent them from an orthopaedic surgeon. Made me send it back with his written signature & official stamp before they'd pay up. 

  • I have got two pieces of paper in the hat this year. 

    Perhaps 2014 is my year!

  • A person who looses in the ballot one year, gets two pieces of paper in the hat the next. 

    I understand that if you loose twice, you are back to square one.   

    Basically ,this is probably the best shot at it that I will get!

  • I would definitely ask the organisers to clarify their poosition cragchick. 

    Probably it would not be an issue unless you plan on winning it. 

  • All I want for Christmas, is a place in UTMB in 2014!

  • 2 days to go until the draw. Fingers crossed. I'm going to be blogging about my UTMB CCC build up this year.

    http://mattsmiles.wordpress.com/

    Hopefully as I build the page out there will be useful information for people here! Good luck everyone!

  • Thanks for the replies I was feeling pretty bitter about the whole thing a few weeks ago! Despite having not run for 6 months i nearly took some drastic action to clock up the additional 4points I needed with various trips across Europe. Re-injury worries brought me to my senses though!

    I have entered TDS and will collect my 7points during 2014 and enter the ballot for 2015. If i am unsuccessful (highly likely) I will go drop €2k on a charity place. This race means everything to me and I'm not getting any younger.  

    Appreciate the replies.... and yes I was pretty surprised that the St Peters Way is a whopping 2 points as well! Fortunately, it is very local to me!

  • WiBWiB ✭✭✭

    What days are people flying over? Just sorted flights out for Wed and back Mon.

  • Last year I flew out Wednesday evening and back Monday evening which worked pretty well. Though I may fly back Tuesday this year and spend another day sight seeing and one more night getting drunk in Chamonix post race image
  • WiBWiB ✭✭✭

    That sounds similar to what we have planned. Looking forward to it already!

  • Yep WiB flying out on Wednesday and back on Monday.

    This race is costing a fortune already! Best train extra hard to make sure I finish it.

  • WiBWiB ✭✭✭

    Where are you flying from Dill? 

  • Heathrow. What about you?

     

  • WiBWiB ✭✭✭

    Going from gatwick.

  • I had considered getting the train but thought flying would be cheaper. Now adding up flights, parking and transfers I'm not so sure.

    Anyway can any previous utmbers tell me what packs they use? Successful or not? I have just ordered the 12ltr Salomon adv skin lab but it is going straight back. I cannot believe anyone gets the mandatory kit in that. I do have an old raidlight one that will do if It had to but I just fancy something new.

  • Dill the mandatory kit will fit into the Salomon pack easily, depending on how bulky your kit is of course.

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