This is my mountain - UTMB

So this is it, there is no turning back now.  The training is done and the flights are booked. Three years on from the finish line of my first ultra at The Race to the Stones, next week I take on the challenge of a lifetime at the Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc, the most iconic foot race on the planet.

When I first heard about this race I was more inspired than by anything I can remember. The more I learned from the Youtube films I watched and blogposts I read, the more fascinated I became. Awesome in the truest sense of the word. I was amazed by the race, the challenge, the landscape, and the stories of the champions.  It was easy to see why along with the original legendary 100 miler at Western States, the UTMB is a race which seemed to be on more serious trail runner's bucket lists than any other.  Last year, Bobby and I walked the route and were there to cheer on the runners, I was inspired and moved even more having seen it first hand.

Back in 2014, having just bonked to the finish of my first 100km, the UTMB seemed to be so mighty, that the runners were almost superhuman to me.  To run 108 miles through three countries, to climb 10,000 metres, to tour the highest Mountain in Western Europe all in one push was mind boggling to me.  Just qualifying looked hard enough, every single runner who starts the UTMB has to show dedication and grit to get there by running three tough races over two years.  Even then, you have to enter the ballot for a race bib unless you are seriously quick and then maintain your qualifying if unlucky in the draw (which I was the first time round).

Yet from the RTTS I had my first qualifying points and with them a chink of light at the end of a very long tunnel was beckoning.  Perhaps one day, even I could stand in the footsteps of the legends by toeing the line in Chamonix.  I even wrote a little post about it at the time here.

Since that memorable day on the Ridgeway I have had some incredible adventures on what has been a long road to Chamonix.  In the process I have taken on some of the UK's toughest races which I've written about here.  I have run almost 6,000 miles, nursed injuries, experienced some big highs and crushing lows.  There's been some long, lonely mornings in the North York Moors and shared epic adventures with good friends old and new.

Me and my heroic pacers at the Hardmoors 110 - May 2017

So now the big dance approaches, I still can't quite believe this is going to happen.  Wish me luck and "Bon Courage".  Of the 2,300 starters, over half of us won't make it to the finish.  Two things are for certain, its going to hurt me bad but I'll leave it all out there.  This race is my reward for three years of commitment after all.

If you'd like to follow the race, the UTMB website will host a live broadcast during the weekend.  To follow my personal progress your best bet is to use the Livetrail website.  I'm bib no.1956. There's also a free livetrail app found easily in the app store which slices and dices all the data on your phone.

I don't really have a time in mind, I'd take just finishing in one piece right now.

At the sharp end of the race, its set to be the most competitive UTMB ever with the King of Mountain running Kilian Jornet returning to competition in force this summer.  The best of the best are coming to test themselves against him and the mountains (and me obviously!).  You can find a nice preview of this year's race here.  

You won't have heard of the runners mentioned, but dig a little into their stories and you will see why I believe they are amongst the finest athletes on the planet.  There are people out there doing incredible things before most of us have had our cornflakes, often just for the challenge and going largely unheard of.  In a world where there seems to be so many question marks over athletic performance, there is something very special about that to me.

Maybe you'll be inspired like me to set a big hairy ass goal and see just what you are capable of.  Trust me, from experience, I can tell you it is probably more than you think.

See you on the other side....