Where there's a will there's a trail

Okay, here’s the story...

Imagine:?You have trained for 8 months to run an ultra trail of 90km with 6330 vertical meters. The race starts at 04:00 so you go to bed early. And then, the evening before the start of the race you get a message from the race organisation; "?? Cancellation of 90km du Mont-Blanc ??" . Reason:?“Extremely bad weather incoming the next day.” .

What would you do?

Race day

The next morning I wake up at 6. Still in disbelief that I’m in my hotel room and not out there in the mountains. Standing on the balcony I look outside and see the peak of Le Brevent, the first climb of the race.

There are a lot of people who are following the race, they are going to, or have already made donations for this sponsor-run... It's not raining, the weather looks good so I decide to go anyway. I have to. I am on a mission: finish the ultra trail and raise money and awareness for Road Trip for Life foundation .

Road Trip for Life is a non profit foundation that builds and rents out wheelchair accessible campervans.

(donate via link above ????)

It's 7:30 and I am on my way to the start of the course. I have uploaded the .gpx file to my Garmin watch in case the organisation has removed the signs. Yesterday in the afternoon, in anticipation of the bad weather, the organisation had notified to bring a beanie, gloves and rain pants as additional mandatory clothing for the race. I put all the clothes in my backpack in case the weather turns bad, I ask mom to inform Guy who supports me, and leave the hotel.

The trail starts with a climb of 1500 vertical meters from Chamonix village to Le Brévent (2471m). After a two hours climb I reach the top, still not raining but it’s getting misty. The flags and signs are still up so it’s easy to find the route, although the fog at the top makes it harder to see the next sign. I follow some other runners who, I assume, also went despite the expected weather.?

The first downhill starts with wide and steep rocky road - a ski slope in winter. It leads me to Planpraz (2016m) and from there to La Flégère (1865m).?The trail to La?Flégère?is flat-ish, the path is on the side of the mountain (traverse). The mist is getting thicker…

My support team awaits me at La Flégère with a dry shirt, water, an apple and some sports bars. The support team consists of my mother , brother Stefan and his girlfriend Orianda , and my friend and neighbour Guy and his two sons Tobias and Quirijn.?

I stock up on food and water and continue on the course. It is 11:30 am,?I'm at 18,6km after 3,5 hours.?

Bad weather coming

The second climb of the trail takes me to Tête aux Vents (2120m). It starts to rain and I have to put on my raincoat.?Just when I start the descent the rain turns into thunder and lightning with gusts of wind and hail flying by horizontally…???????.?

There is a small barn in the field where I see four other trail runners sheltering. I join them. They talk French, too fast to understand what they are talking about but all of the sudden they go. Running fast downhill. Instinctively I decide to follow them and catch up on the last runner. I ask him where they are going. "To La Flégère where we will take the lift down" he replies. I think… that’s the wrong way…?

So, I turn and go back to my shelter. I put on my long rain pants and continue on the course. It’s only downhill from here to Le Buet (1347m).

All that rain has to come down and thus the trails turn into streams and into rivers the further I go down the mountain. No point in jumping over pools of water anymore, I am walking in water and my shoes are soaked.?

I am on the phone with Guy, he sounds concerned. The weather is really bad and he suggests to meet down the mountain where the course meets the road. Guy picks me up with his car and brings me to an auberge where the rest of the support team is having lunch. After 5 hours, 27km and 1950m the race is?over…

Considerations

Back at the hotel I take a shower. I am weary, my hip is bruised from a fall on the rocks this morning and I have not finished the course… And on top of all this misery I look outside and the weather has completely changed - the sun is out.?WHAT?!?

During that afternoon I went walking with my mother in Chamonix. We talked about the events of last night and the run this morning. My mom learned me to listen to my inner self. This was such a moment, how would I deal with this situation?

We spoke and I?asked her how to deal with this situation. How to deal with this unfinished race and the fact that I started something I hadn’t finished. I felt I’d?let all people down who were following me on the race and who were sponsoring Road Trip for Life foundation. I?felt I had let myself down.?

What wants to happen??

By asking asking myself "What’s the opportunity here?” and “What wants to happen?”. I opened the perspective forward. (one of those things my mom thought me).

Instead of staying in the drama I was able to look at the situation and see what choices I had given this situation. I made the choice to continue and found new opportunities within: 1. Finish the trail in better weather conditions and 2. Create more (a second day) awareness with all our supporters and followers on the social media for Road Trip for Life foundation.

Dealing with situations in this way, by asking "What wants to happen?" is based on the 4 Levels of Awareness & Engagement model by Alan Seale.

Guy also noticed I was struggling with the unfinished race. He assured me he was ready to support me the next day “I’ll bring you back to the point where I picked you up and I’ll support you as we have planned”.

Onward with the mission. Finish the 90km and raise awareness for Road Trip for Life!

The second day

I wake up at 6:30, my legs are stiff and my hip is sore from the fall the other day. Unlike the previous morning I have not really prepared my gear. My running shorts are still wet and mom is quickly drying them with the hairdryer from the hotel and I scramble my stuff together. The sky is blue. It’s a beautiful day for running!???????

Guy and his son Tobias bring me back to the trail, back to where they picked my up the other day. My watch indicates I am back on course, it tells me there is 64km left to go. I feel good and look forward to running! It's 7:30.

From Le Buet (1347m) the first climb of the day takes me up to Refuge de Loriaz (2020m), a settlement of around 10 stone walled houses looking out over the Chamonix valley and on to the Mont Blanc.

The downhill from Loriaz is very technical, but with the legs still fresh it was a great run.?

At La Vilaz (1316m) I started on the second climb of the day to Barrage Emosson (1979m), a huge man made dam. By now the organisation had removed all the flags and signs from the trail course, so now I had to navigate with the gps of my Garmin watch.

So... on the first part of the second climb, in the Forrest, I got lost. I missed a fork in the?trail and stayed on the wrong course too long. I noticed I was wrong but I also saw I on my watch I was "only" 200 meters away from the course. So I figured to just move on and gradually move back on course. Easier thought than done… at some point my path ended, I had to climb over trees and jump over rocks. Then a?gorge, unable to cross... ?? I track back and find a way to get down the steep mountain side and find the trail again. Luckily I got down safe and found the trail. ??

Out of the woods, I look up and saw a huge man made concrete - perfectly flat wall in between organically formed mountains. The Dam of Emosson.

About 30 minutes before I reach the top I could see figures walking on the the Dam. And knowing my support team would be there to get me my water and food.

I shout “Quirijn”, the name of one of Guy's sons. It echos and someone returns my shout. Quickly after that Quirijn was on the phone. “Is that you?!”. Knowing my support team was at the top made the climb lighter. I reach the dam at 11:00.

Count down has begun!

Only two more peaks; three downhills and two climbs. The countdown has begun. From Emosson I start on a very long decent to Chatelard (1148m) to make the crossing down in the valley to the mountain range on the other side. Running through the village of Chatelard I hear music pumping from a car stereo. There is only one car on the parking, it's the support team again.?It's 12:00 and I need to bring extra food and water for the next long climb.

From Chatelard I am going to Tête de l’Arolette (2333m). During that climb I am on the hillside directly opposite of the Emosson dam I had passed a few hours earlier that day. Far across the valley I can see the man made wall. Then, when I get higher up the mountain I notice that I can see the water, I can look ‘into’ the basin behind the dam. This is when it dawns on me, the enormous distance I have covered becomes clear to see. An amazing feeling, step by step by step, covering distances.?It is 14:00 and I have covered 30km and 2600vm.

The next section is a path over the ridge of the mountain. It takes me to Cole de Balme (2195m). The view from this spot was the best view of the day. All around me where I look I see mountaintops. I see Mont Blanc, I see my trail winding down and I see the vast space across the valley I have covered so far.?

Two more downhills and one more climb. Let’s go! The downhill goes to Le Tour (1470m), where my support team is waiting for me again. The sun is high and hot. We find the shade and I drink and eat and stock up for the final climb.

From Le Tour to Les Bois (1082m) is a moderate downhill. This part of the course is known to me. It’s the same route - opposite direction - of the 42k I ran last year. At Les Bois I am soooo close to Chamonix, Only 4km… but, the course wants me to go up one more time. One last push up the mountain.?

The final climb to Le Signal (2200m) is a tough one. I notice I am hungry, haven’t been eating as much as I should. Stopped adding sugars to my water because I wanted normal water, not the smartest choice. But I have to push on. When I reach Montenvers (1904m) I see an aid station that is going to be used for another race, by the same organisation (the Duo étoilé).

I approach the aid station and ask for something to eat, “Can I?”. “No.” Is the reply. Shit. I point to my backpack with the bib from the 90km race and walk over the time measure plate. A “Beep” can be heard.?The vibe changes, “Sure you can! Take what you like”. I start eating, cheese, chocolate, oranges, Coca-Cola, TUC biscuits (too dry to eat). Feeling better, I start to feel more energy.?

Only another 300 meters and I am at the top of the last climb. From Le Signal it’s 3,5km to?refuge de plan de l'Aiguille (2191m). This was around 52km into the course. Something I ate was bothering mee, I felt sick in my stomach. I was on the phone with Guy and told him I was having a rough time. “So there is a breaking point” he jokingly said. No, not that, I’m just not feeling right.?

Walking on the ridge to L’Aiguille was kinda flat-ish. Guy arranged a group video call over WhatsApp and there I was, talking to my wife Gerke , daughters, support team, Barbara and others. A mental energy boost!

Arriving at L’Aiguille my stomach was fine and then there was?only one more downhill.?Knowing this was the final decent I could use up all my energy. A super fast and super fun downhill to Chamonix. Running fast, jumping over rocks, I was flying. At the bottom of the mountain, coming out of the forest I heard people shouting, calling my name. Here was Guy, Tobias and Quirijn cheering me on.

The boys guided me into the village of Chamonix. Cheering and making way through the Saturday evening shopping crowds. Tobias and Quirijn gave me a champaign shower, beer and a self made medal???at the finish line.

It's 20:23, today I ran 12:48 hours, climbed 4212 vertical meters and covered 64,74 kilometers. My first ultra is ?

Special thanks

A special thanks goes out to all the people who made donations to our foundation and who were following me on Whatsapp and Instagram. YOU supported me during this epic trail!

And off-course my support team who helped with mental and physical support.

Looking forward to a new fundraiser challenge....

Donations

If you haven't already, please make a donation to for Road Trip for Life foundation via: https://roadtripforlife.nl/en/donate