Crazy? I’m not entirely sure I’d say that of the race itself but the organisation in the lead up to the weekend was certainly a little crazy. Every communication and online form filling assumed you, the participant, was signing up and paying extra to have a tent. Well, I wasn’t. So, when I was hassled for not completing my form correctly and not providing details of when I was arriving to set up my tent I had to keep sending emails to the organisers. Then, as a self-supported runner I had no idea where I was allowed to place my own setup of food, chair and gear so that once more required an e-mail to get clarification. The post race survey followed the same theme. How was your tent? Etc… Honestly, it really took the edge off of what I expected to be a professionally organised event, especially the Marathon des Sables brand.
Anyway, let’s leave that rant behind and get to the race itself.
Two weeks prior to the race weekend the course map was revealed.
I’ve visited this part of the French Alps many times so the area and route were familiar to me. The height gain cited in the map happens in the first 2KM of the loop which equates to a 12.25% angle. Most runners know that anything over 6% it’s advisable to switch from running to walking as the efficiency of gain is lost with energy burn.
The official start time was 10:30am on Saturday for all 3Hr, 6Hr, 9Hr, 12Hr and 24Hr runners with bib collection being available from Friday afternoon. I chose to collect mine on Friday while it was quieter and was surprised to find that no mandatory kit checks were being conducted. I asked if the team wanted to check my kit list and was told they weren’t doing it. So, what’s the point of having a mandatory kit list and sending email reminders about this? Again, crazy eh?
The forecast was changeable throughout the coming 24 hours. The sun was shining when I arrived and I set up my patch near the tents.
The race briefing was scheduled for 10am and everyone gathered near the start line and waited. Patiently. At 10:15am we were provided with lots of information in English and French about the format, the roles of the staff and the overall logistics. Some brief statistics revealed around 240 runners in total for all time formats with 15 countries represented and 13% of participation were repeat customers. Clearly, the MdS brand is carrying kudos for many.
A few minutes before crossing the start line music burst out of the speakers and everyone was encouraged to follow the lead of the people on stage. It was fun. There was lots of energy and eagerness to get the race underway.
A few minutes later we were off and like a herd of cattle we trotted to the first corner, the first incline, the first piece of meadow of which we’d all be seeing many times in the coming hours.
Many people deployed their poles from the moment the start line was behind them and with good reason given the gradient. Others, just charged off without seemingly a care in the world! It was my intention on the first lap just to take it steady and see what the course felt like.
After a few bends the height gain was already noticeable, the camp below already seemed fairly small.
Nearing the Lac de Nyon the pack of runners was already beginning to thin out as we approached the 2nd KM of the first loop.
The sun was shining and upon arriving at the lake it looked spectacular as the water was sparkling and shimmering from the heat.
Leaving the lake signalled it was time to leave all that height gain behind and return to the base camp. I really enjoyed this section as the descent wasn’t too nasty. The ground was firm and while there were loose stones, jagged rocks and awkward gullies everything was passable. There was now a sense of speed compared to my slow march up to the lake. Being able to see the path and fire road ahead helped boost that sense of achievement too.
The final section of fire road was steeper and for the first few loops I took my time stepping slowly. After this I found a route that was smoother which allowed me to break into something faster than a trot. As you can see in the second photo I was literally running down it by loop 10.
I should mention that not only did the event offer multiple time windows to run in but also included canicross and wheelchair (team assisted) participants.
I should also mention that there were two ‘Crazy Points’ where staff stood by and shouted encouragement to every runner, while curating beaty tunes from their mobile phones plugged into large speakers. These stations were fun and how the level of energy remained consistent all day I do not know. Some of staff were in costume and in this photo below 3 runners stopped to dance around to a french rap tune with them. It was great to watch.
After my first 3 loops I headed to my rest area, grabbed some food and took a break. I rested while taking in the view of Morzine and Avoriaz in the distance while my jam and peanut butter sandwiches settled.
The weather forecast was holding true and not long after I set off on my 4th lap I felt the odd drops of rain. Thunder was clapping and rolling around the mountains. The sky was darkening and rain could be seen falling from the clouds in the distance.
Arriving back to village having completed my 6th lap the sky had truly deepened.
Uncertain whether I should set off again, I headed back to my chair for another break and ate (a lot of) watermelon. At that point my wife (aka Race Director) had also arrived and kindly moved my gear away from the field to a lift station close by. It wasn’t in service and provided cover the perfect amount of cover for the up and coming rain showers. The forecast looked ominous so I took the time to grab some more rest and wait out the dark cloud and thunder.
When the deep darkened cloud looked liked it’d passed I set off again. The rain decided to fall and as good fortune would have it just as I approached the first Crazy station. The clouds let go and I quickly ducked under the cover of their gazebo. Along with the staff and a few other runners I waited for the worst of the deluge to pass.
Light rain continued to fall interspersed with rumbling thunder. The laps ticked on by and I kept topping up my fuel. Sunset had passed as I clicked onto my 10th lap and by 21:40 it was time to switch on the head torch. To conserve my batteries I opted to use low power for the fire roads as I didn’t need much assistance for that terrain.
The head torches really began to stand out and reflect upon the water.
A loop later and the head torches were the only way to see the remaining runners on the mountainside.
Not only was the route uneven but the dampness had transformed elements of simple trail into a few hazardous slippery areas. The local cows were keen to get front row viewing at times on various sections and often wandered on the walking trail.
The lower section added a new dimension of challenge for a head torch. Dust. The route peeled off from the fire road to a walking path with dense tree cover which had prevented the fallen rain finding its way there. A fine mist of dust hung in the air and the bright beam bounced straight back – much like driving a car in the fog with its full beam lights on. I adjusted the pitch of the torch to divert light further down rather than forwards.
The darkness by now had truly enshrouded the mountain and to my surprise I saw 2 runners without any lights, clearly they must have eaten a lot of carrots during the day!
At 23:17 I’d completed lap 12 and was very much in need of food and a lie down. I headed back to my setup, pulled on warm layers, sat in my chair, opened a container full of watermelon and ate the lot. I closed my eyes and zoned in and out while the occasional person passed nearby on their way to the nearby toilet – one of the local restaurants offered their facilities throughout the event. My Race Director (wife) was grabbing her time on the roll mat so I remained seated nodding off and waking up to the noise of passers by.
Around midnight my RD and I swapped sleeping kit and I immediately went to sleep. I was woken by the sound of heaving rain drops landing on the nearby metal lift station roofing. We grabbed our gear and set off to the nearby restaurant. My RD had noticed that past the toilets beneath the restaurant was a children’s play area. Great. We were now inside and able to make use of a soft floor. We laid down and tried to sleep. While it was an amazing find we hadn’t factored in that runners would come into the downstairs area, swing the squeaky door open and let the door crash back into its frame!
Around 01:00 a storm came in and delivered a phenomenal amount of rain accompanied by thunder. It was such a relief to be indoors. Other runners soon sought refuge in the area around us too. Perhaps their tents weren’t up to the job or they preferred to be in a building but either way it wasn’t exactly quiet.
I woke just before 05:00 and got myself out of my warm clothing ready to get outside for my final loops. We gathered our sleeping gear and headed back to the shelter of the lift station. A quick check of the weather forecast on the phone revealed a period of heavy rain was expected in around an hour. I was confident I’d be back before then so I set off once more crossing the start line just after 05:30 with the plan to complete a single lap and review the weather again.
Looking down to the event village the early light permeated the clouds.
Slight rumbles of thunder could be heard and apart from the occasional cow bell chimes it was incredibly peaceful. I took the lap slowly, choosing to walk to allow my body time to digest food and water. I didn’t want to over stress my body having only just woken up. After 59 minutes lap 13 was now complete and the weather had lifted, the daylight was returning and after grabbing some more food from my bag of supplies I pushed on for another lap.
Crossing the line, starting lap 14. I was close to achieving my goal.
I kept the fuelling going too as I knew I was in deficit from the previous day and my stomach was rumbling!
Lap 14 took 1 hour and 2 minutes to complete. After leaving the fire roads the track sections had become even more slippery as the rain continued and other runners compacted the mud further. To avoid any chance of a fall I chose to walk and made full use of my poles for stability. At times I just let my feet slip down the slopes and used the poles like a skier. It was genuinely fun and I was laughing to myself of how out of control I was.
My goal distance was now in sight. One more lap. That’s all I wanted. The rain forecast for a heavy downfall had fortunately been delayed although it was apparent it was nearing as the rain had become heavier.
I added a little more momentum at the beginning of lap 15 as the rain was landing harder now, especially at the lake where the surface of the water was quite turbulent. The final push and psychology behind it being my last chosen lap meant I churned it out in 52 minutes.
That smiling face was me done! My goal was 15 laps and I’d achieved it. That’s 63.15KM, with an overall height gain of 3675m.
I’d left my Garmin running throughout the race to capture the entire start to finish however, while I slept it seemed to record another 14.31KM so the number in the photo below is wrong.
Rather than handing out medals runners were presented with toy marmot. During the loops the local marmots could often be heard calling to each other so it was the perfect reminder of the race.
This was my first ‘loop’ event and what I’d hoped would pan out differently. When I first heard of the race and reviewed the website the graphics showed a picture of Avoriaz and talked of 5KM loops. Knowing the area I had an idea of the terrain so signed up on the basis of that. When the route was revealed months later (2 weeks prior to the race) I was somewhat surprised to see that Avoriaz was no longer featured and it was purely a Morzine hosted event. Another aspect that I had hoped to be different was the loop. The first 2KM for the total height gain was quite brutal. I had hoped to be able to run more but that wasn’t the case for my ability.
Would I enter into this race format again? No, not based on this last experience. Would I enter a Marathon des Sables event again? Yes, if I knew the pre and post event organisation was better.
A Runner's Highs 