Utmb

[Alan Lucker]

There were certainly quite a few people up on the hills on Sunday who were wearing 2010 t shirts

I was spectating / doing a bit of hill running this year, and on Saturday morning as I climbed through the mist to La Flagere (on my way to L'index, Col De La Gliere, Planpraz, Le Brevent and back to Cham) there was a lot of Runners coming down through the woods on the descent line to Chamonix. Making the most of it I suppose. On a run on Sunday I met an English guy who never got the text in time and missed out on the chance to do the re-hashed race. It was his first attempt at the race as well I feel really sorry for those guys, for which it was there first go at the race. They should definitely be offered a guaranteed place in the 2011 race (maybe all of them should). I am still undecided as to whether to enter next year, but if I couldn’t get a place because the race was full from this years unlucky participants, I would understand. Same goes for the CCC and TDS.

It was probably the right call to cancel the race. My only criticism is that when they did so they should have been aware of an improving weather forecast, and on that basis said that they would review a possibility of a race re-start in 12 (or however many) hours time.( Even if it wasn’t looking good they could have still done this and then formally cancelled it after a specified time ) If the competitors were told this at the CPs it would have got rid of speculation and given everyone an idea that their was a possible race re-start, communication would have been much easier when you have them all at the CPs rahter than sending texts to people that may be in the pub or asleep not expecting a re-start.

[Fellmincer]

This would of been my fourth UTMB. Great Race, I think they did well with the evacuation from St Gervais. BUT... I never received a text about the new race..and so did a lot of Americans.. This upset me..I beleive they started the new race so their would be no comebacks with refunds, race carry overs etc.. dont get me wrong, its a great race.. but I got a text about the weather the day before from them, but no text about the replacement race. I collected my drop bag on that same night, no mention.
I wont be going back, L100 and Hardmoors for me next year.
On a lighter note, I hear Jon Steele the Hardmooors 110 race director is giving £10 off entry fee for this years race for any UTMB runner who didnt run, or ran the replacement race.

i received the text at 0230 saturday morning. I had slept a little already and knew i had no dry kit ( that was all in Courmayeur i assume in my spares bag) then got another text at 0430 stating the race was only limited to 1000 places from Cham. Pretty much knew there would be no space left. Still had nothing from the organisers no email. My partner went into Chamonix yesterday to ask about a refund for the buses. Ended up going to the tourist info office and the lady stated they have had hundreds of enquiries but the organisers are uncontactable. They've grabbed the cash and legged it. How Catherine Poletti can say her conscience is clear i don't know. Likewise i don't know if i want to try again with this race, which is a shame as my partner was born here, her family are Chamoniards and obviously support the event they just cannot stand Mrs Poletti.

[MorganW]

Just received an email from the UTMB organisers as follows:

Hello to you all,

The 2010 Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc® will remain engraved in our memories for a long time.

Indeed, we had, very suddenly, particularly difficult weather conditions which forced us to make essential decisions to avoid the worst possible outcome.
The disappointment, frustration and a lot of questions were the logical results of a weekend, anticipated for so long and which was so disrupted. We wish, at first, to remind you that the organisation of this event is above all a passion, not only for the steering committee but for all the volunteers and all the Communes. We are all bitter that the weather conditions brought months of preparation and hope to an abrupt end. At the same time we are very happy that the outcome was not a grave accident to be regretted later.

All the urgent decisions which were taken during this complicated night were concerning the respect of the runner’s and the volunteer’s safety on the ground, while also at the same time trying to ensure the possibility of your participation in a race.

In such a crisis situation, in the middle of the night and with a very fast evolution of information, communication is extremely difficult to organise. We are aware that many runners and volunteers lacked information, and we would like to apologise for this.

We receive very numerous testimonies of support, but we also know that your expectations are great.

You will understand that it is not possible for us to answer completely as soon as the end of the event. The passage «at the wrong moment« of this large disturbance is also a clear reminder, that nobody can guarantee that an event, in the mountains, can take place as expected. When registering for it, one also has to accept there is a risk that it might not take place.

However, we can already announce that the runners of the CCC® forced to stop their race at Vallorcine or Triente will nevertheless receive qualification points: 3 for those stopped at Vallorcine, 2 for those who were stopped in Triente. The finishers of the UTMB® which restarted in Courmayeur have acquired 3 points.

Concerning requests for refunds which have been formulated, all the expenses have to be taken in to account, so it will only be possible for us to answer when we have all the necessary elements. Questions have also been posed concerning registration for 2011; these will also be answered as soon as possible.

Thank you for your comprehension and we will be in touch soon.

For the Comité Directeur de l’Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc
Catherine Poletti, course director

[runningfool]

Attachment 3944

Just in case anyone hasn't seen the great photo of Jez. I don't know where it originated, I blagged it off Facebook.

[ZootHornRollo]

Attachment 3944

Just in case anyone hasn't seen the great photo of Jez. I don't know where it originated, I blagged it off Facebook.

what's that pack he's got on? TNF obviously, but not seen one before - looks quite nifty.

[BritNick]

You're not the first one to notice, ZHR. Check out the comments on Jez' blog, where you'll find the Q&A.

[Ronin]

Hi Guys

Becareful with the pic as its tnf property and Jez can get in a bit of trouble about it, please do not take this the wrong way and any offense, I would of done the same, but he did mention something to me about it being TNF's property ( I dont give a flying f... about TNF, just dont want Jez to get in trouble if hes pasted it somewhere) His pack is I think is the Tnf Enduro Boa, looks good but like all TNF packs still heavy compared to say an omm/Go-lite/Terra Nova/Salomon etc bag, but more durable then the mentioned. Cheers

[stonewaller]

Things to remember for next time. 1 Mobile phones only work if they are turned on. 2 learn the French for" Could you please tell me whats going on". 3 Remember there is a reason why my" Mac in aSac"cost only £10. 4 No matter how disasterous your trip away has been Dont expect your landrover defender 90 to still be in the airport carpark when you return . 5 Dont expect Liverpool airport to care........And finally sometimes the weather in Keswick is better than that of Chamonix.

[MorganW]

Latest email from the UTMB organisers makes it clear that there will be refunds for those UTMB and TDS runners who didn't chose to run in the Saturday 10.00 am 88km replacement race. 100 Euros and 80 Euros respectively.

There will be no priority entry in 2011 for anyone as a result of the cancellations/stoppages in 2010.

Morgan

[craiga]

New information received from the UTMB organisers (we get a partial refund from 147€, but no priority entry to 2011 race).

Greetings everybody,
At the beginning of September we gave you only some answers to the questions that you had asked. We needed to collate all the information to answer correctly
We can now give you the decisions that have been taken in order to close the subject of the 2010 Ultra-Trail of Mont Blanc®. The runners of the UTMB® and the TDS, who did not participate in the restarted UTMB® on the Saturday, will be reimbursed with the sum of 100€ for the UTMB® and 80€ for the TDS.
Those runners concerned may, as from October 15th 2010 and before November 15th 2010, consult their personal page (runner’s file) at www.ultratrailmb.com. They can then study the reimbursement conditions before filling in the internet form requesting reimbursement.(*)
We consider that the cancellation, or the interruption of a race, on safety grounds, does not create a reason for modifying the registration regulations. This means that we shall not give any compensatory priority registration and that the conditions of registration, in the terms of qualification points, remain unchanged.
We would like to thank you for your patience and understanding.
For the director committee of the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc®,
Catherine POLETTI