Utmb 2014

[karen nash]

Hope there is not already a thread.
Does anyone have any experience and advice for a supporter ie a spouse following a runner
Eg how easy it is to get to the various points around the course using the buses they put on for 30 euros?

[johnnietboy]

Karen
Me and my wife went out for the 2008 utmb. She said getting on a bus was a contact sport, so much so that she only came to Cormayour. We stayed in Chamonix and got a free rail pass to use within the valley ( nothing to do with the race, just some general tourist thing) We used it to go down to St Gervais and up as far as Vallorcine during the week we were there.

[Derby Tup]

Best of luck to anyone having a run out this weekend

[Tussockface]

Which forumites are out there this year?

[IainR]

Which forumites are out there this year?

Doesn't seem like a great day for the Brits..

Paul Giblin and Donnie Campbell DNF'd.

Robbie Britton 26.48 hours, solid run but think he'll have wanted to be closer to the front..

Jezz fairly consistent in 20th or so just over 24 hours..

Not sure who else was there who would be hoping for a top finish.

Thought Robbie and Paul would be up there after their WHW run, certainly closer to if not under 24 hours.

[Derby Tup]

Martyn Price 'Northern Exile' is doing well. #659

[Yaks]

Iain, as someone who has raced with the top guys in Europe, do you think that this is an indication that the top UK guys are still a long way off the pace of top Euro guys, or have the Brits just all had an off day at UTMB ( like the US guys seem to have every year - again Anton, Timmy, Dakota all talking up their chances before in the irunfar interviews, but not contending ).

If you think the UK guys are well off the pace of the Euros, what does that say for Paul's 14:20 whw record ? How low could it go I wonder, what would someone like D'Haene do it in do you think, low 13, or even sub 13 ?

[IainR]

Iain, as someone who has raced with the top guys in Europe, do you think that this is an indication that the top UK guys are still a long way off the pace of top Euro guys, or have the Brits just all had an off day at UTMB ( like the US guys seem to have every year - again Anton, Timmy, Dakota all talking up their chances before in the irunfar interviews, but not contending ).

If you think the UK guys are well off the pace of the Euros, what does that say for Paul's 14:20 whw record ? How low could it go I wonder, what would someone like D'Haene do it in do you think, low 13, or even sub 13 ?

no, tbh I doubt many of this guys could run much quicker than Paul's WHW record.. I think that was truly top level, well not by much anyway, that's what? 90 mins quicker than Jez's WHW record, admittedly that was early on in Jez's career but he has competed against the best and held his own, he's very consistent in and around the top 10 in major races.

Not sure. The one thing about Jez is his consistent finishing.. he has a nack of making bad days solid performances.. he rarely seems to have stinkers and even rarer DNF's..

Some of the top US runners are out to win or suddenly its huge issues and they DNF, then 6 weeks later they win a race again.. TBF Tim O battled it out at Hardrock, and I just wished we saw more of that from others.. Anton K also battled on to finish this year..But again the UTMB is very different to WS, Leadville courses which have records more in line with the WHW of 14/15 hours.. But these guys ar trying to make it as full time runners so they have to talk themselves up as much as possible for sponsors.. its just part of their job..

The UTMB and WHW are very different courses, many of the guys who do well at the UTMB aren't that good at the actual fast trails, its the huge ascents and descents they excel on. Even KJ, when it comes to a race like Zinal, he's just nowhere near as dominant, he's just very good.. (if that makes sense.. :-)) Possibly some of these guys could run low 13's at the WHW but I'd fancy an all out fast runner like Steve Way to really knock a chunk off the WHW over them because the WHW is so fast and fairly untechnical.

Last year the french in particular were (and still are) annoyed by the non-technical nature of the forest trails for the world trails course.. they ITRA have continued to complain.. they picked a team of strong alpine runners who struggled with the fast running on quick forest trails and was why the GB team won. On a course like the CCC we'd never have won.. it's horses for courses.

I think our guys are as good, well certainly not as far off as results suggest, but they are trying to compete on foreign terrain.. Robbie's come along way in a short time but he's still pretty inexperienced at big alpine races and is learning as he goes this year, even though he's done the UTMB before I think this is his first year where he's really gone to try and do a lot of the the mountain ultra's.. The guys who get out there a lot and have a long history in mountain running, Ricky, Robbie S, Tom Owens, Andy Symonds et al are right up with the top guys on the shorter distances.

Run of the day was Andrew Tuckey from Australia 6th, he was based in South Wales a few years back and competed for Australia at the World Trails, lovely guy and a class runner, he's having a superb year. He did that with no support today where a lll the top guys would have had support at the aid stations, that's worth a lot time wise.

[that_fjell_guy]

Dave Troman of Keswick is going well, and Shelli Gordon of New Marske Harriers/Bar9

[Deadlegs]

C'mon Shelli.