UTMB Wildstrubel 70km - 15,090ft D+
My first international race in Switzerland and my second UTMB event, a point-to-point Ultramarathon starting in Kandersteg and ending in Crans-Montana.
I kept asking myself if I've done Snowdonia covering 104km and 7000m D+ then why does this feel so tough?!The race was a real struggle for two reasons, firstly I entered this race not feeling 100%. In the build up to race week, I returned from a trip to London with Gem feeling a sore throat and cold coming on. I knew what I'd likely got, but was putting it to the back of my mind as much as possible so it did not affect my run. Looking back it's certainly the reason it felt ten times harder than it should have, I was sweating out more than usual, couldn't eat enough and was fatigued easily.
Secondly this race included one of the biggest single climbs I would attempt with a whopping 1700m of elevation gain over 11km which was incredibly steep and seemed to go on forever. I knew once I reached the top of this mountain then it was all downhill to the end, so shuffling one baby-step at a time avoiding my quad from cramping up, I made it to the top.
I was close to throwing the towel in a few times, but the goal as always was do whatever it takes to get to the finish line. When I did reach the finish I saw a little girl who I thought looked a lot like Sophia, thought I'm just seeing things where I was so tired, but it turned out Gem had caught multiple trains to surprise me at the finish which was amazing! I completed the race in 15hrs 20mins and collected 3 more UTMB running stones to bring my total to 6.
Overall Switzerland is a beautiful country, so quiet, clean and full of friendly people. We crammed in so much over the weekend covering 1200km of driving and very little sleep, but I always like to make the most of being somewhere. Travelling is not just about getting to your destination, but everything you see along the way.
Thank you to all my usual supporters