UTMB – CCC 2018: race reflections

Rewind four years to the same race on the same day.  A debilitating mixture of blisters and stomach problems saw me pull the plug on the CCC at Trient after around 17 hours in 2014. I could justify it to myself; I wanted to finish then, but it wasn’t that important; the physical discomfort was ridiculous and I couldn’t fuel myself, so it was only a matter of time before I ground to a halt; it was only 28km to the finish, but that could be another 9 hours and I just didn’t have it in me.  I wasn’t sure I would want to return or even get the opportunity; I did.

31 August 2018, 9am, I stood at the start line at Courmayeur. The crowds, the music, the atmosphere was familiar, the nerves. I don’t remember a camera drone in the air in 2014, but otherwise I’d been here before.

This is a story of how it was different.  Why did I finish this year and what did I learn?

I did a post on preparation for the CCC here after my first go.  Hills, hills, hills.  The only thing that mattered.  I was right and I still believe it.  But there’s also race management.

So I prepared for hills.  There’s a little 60m vertical hill near home.  I went up and down it hundreds of times in the six or seven months leading up to the race.  There’s a 250m hill an hour or so away and I went up and down it many dozens of times.I measured my training weeks by time running and vertical metres gained; distance covered didn’t really matter. 

As the race drew closer, I was strong enough to run up almost any hill.  Not fast, but not walking.  It was a matter of pride not to walk while I trained.

There are long runnable sections in the CCC.  Between Bertone and Arnouvaz on the Italian side, from Grand Col de Ferret through to Praz de Fort on the Swiss side and a few bits after the major aid stations before the big climbs in Switzerland and France.

But it’s all about the five hills.  The first 1460m hill to Bertone and the four 800m hills to Grand Col de Ferret, to Le Giete, to Les Tsepes and the final hill to La Tete aux vents (the last hill was slightly different this year, with similar vertical).  All steep, all technical going up and down.

I did gym work once or twice a week for the last four months, focussing on my legs, but also on the upper body (poles require strong shoulders, upper back etc).  And speed work.  I did sprints, fartleck, lots of intervals.  Building strength, as well as running economy.

On race management, I concentrated on the two things that tripped me up last time.  Blisters and nutrition.  I had six pairs of Wrightsocks that I used during the race.  I changed socks five times, every 20km or so, and applied Bodyglide liberally to my feet.  No hotspots.  I didn’t see anyone else doing this, but whatever, it worked for me.

For nutrition, when it gets hard for me to eat anything after about 10 hours, I would eat small amounts of bars, gels, other food and sloshed it down with liquids.  It meant I got through a lot of liquids, meaning I had to carry a lot.  Which, on the plus side, also meant I didn’t get dehydrated.

I would eat every hour and, for about 20 minutes after eating, I would need to reduce the intensity as the food digested, but could then build it up again afterwards.  I also used Tailwind for liquid nutrition.  That got me through the first half of the race, but was harder in the second half, where I used more water and solid foods for calories.

Possibly the most important thing I did in preparation was a three day training camp on the course, about a month before the race.  As well as being a solid pre-race workout, it was huge for my confidence.  I knew every step of the five hills, I knew how hard they were, but also not as hard as I had feared.  I knew when they ended.  I trialled my nutrition, my pace, my gear. I learned new tricks, especially going downhill. I found out where the springs were, where I could top up on my water. It helped with the night section of the race, having done it during the day, knowing the surroundings. 

The photos on this post are from the camp. 

I arrived at the last aid station, La Flegere, at 9.30am on the 1^st, 24 hours after the start.  I was going to make it.  I had 2.5 hours to finish the final downhill 8km stretch into Chamonix.  Waves of relief were surging through me, I smiled so much my face hurt.  I floated down the hill, thanking people for their congratulations.

As I entered Chamonix, I was deliriously, deeply happy, winding through the town centre towards the finish line, the cheers, the smiles matching mine.  I never want to forget that moment.  I met with my son, Callum, on the last 100m or so and he videoed me coming into the finish. 

25 hours, 24 minutes.  Done.  

With grateful thanks to: my dear wife Fiona, for everything; Callum and Kirsty, for crewing me at Champex Lac and Trient and celebrating with me at the finish; my other son Hamish for his long distance support; my coach, Martin Kern, for getting me there; Victor and Liz who never gave up on me; my other friends and family for their strong support; Eric, Christophe x 2, Florence, Olivier and the others I had the pleasure of meeting at the camp.