Race Report: Marathons du Mont Blanc 10K

My first international trail race! (aka “the Mont Blanc Intro to Nature Running Fun Run” or something like that, lol)

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I’ve officially run a race in Europe! I’ve officially run a race in the Alps!!

McCrae and I had already planned a trip to France for the FIFA Women’s World Cup in June/July 2019 and we planned a side trip to Chamonix, not even realizing we would be there during the Marathons du Mont Blanc. Most of the races were sold out by the time we realized it, but the 10K - billed as the “intro to nature running” - still had spots available. So, eager for adventure, we signed up to race! Sure, a 10K seems a little silly now after running ultras, but I figured any chance to hit some trails and scout out the Mont Blanc area has to be a good decision. 😉Plus we were technically on holiday, so might as well take it kinda easy, right??

Packet pick-up was a little disorganized. The race organizers and volunteers don't speak much English even though Chamonix as a whole has a lot of English speakers. The emails leading up to the race and race info packet were all in French with the very basics run through Google Translate. I understood most of the French, but there were a few details that were hard to figure out - like what all I needed to bring for packet pick-up. Photo ID, check. Race bib number, check. But required gear?? Apparently the longer races had to show their gear (such as water bottles) but not for the 10K. On top of that, McCrae got the wrong size shirt in his packet but when we realized it and went back they were out of his size. (Update: They actually took McCrae’s name and correct shirt size and mailed him his shirt. Yep! Trans-atlantic shipment of a race shirt for a 10K and they handled it!) My shirt (women's medium) was very small, so fyi you should size up. All in all packet pick-up was straightforward - if you don’t count my overwhelming sense of imposter syndrome looking up at all the high mountains and looking at all the crazy fit European trail runners.

As for the race expo, it was awesome! It was fun seeing some of the European brands and the expo was huge!

The start line was a little crazy. It took a while to figure out where exactly the bag drop and start line were (but I think part of that might have been a certain man with me who thought he knew where he was going when he didn't 🙄) But once we got there we slipped into our corrals (dossards) based on bib color. The corrals were released in waves with a couple minutes between each wave to try to space out the runners (the 10k is capped at 2000 runners and it feels CROWDED the whole time).

While in the corral McCrae encouraged me to run ahead and not wait for him, so when our corral was released I took off. It had been hot as heck in Europe that week - some winds from the Sahara rolled in to create a massive heat wave - and the race organizers sent an email saying they recommended runners bring a liter of water (not just the required 500mL) on the course and that runners were allowed to accept water at places other than the aid station. And whew! You definitely needed water.

I never found a course elevation map prior to the race, but the night before the race I figured out that the runner handbook said the 10k had 1000 feet elevation gain. Ooooooh fun! But during the first mile I puzzled over where all that elevation came from - mile one was a a rolling gravel access road which meant a decently fast first mile.

We started hitting some hills on mile two which I tried to push through and run but whether it was the heat or the elevation (the runner handbook says the start elevation is 1036 meters, so that's 3400 feet) or just dead legs from walking around Paris every day for the past week, I was feeling the course a fair bit. I kept pushing until the end of mile 2 though where we ended up on a real steep climb that got pretty much every runner to walk - though I was pleased to find I could still manage power hiking just fine while most of the other runners slowed down considerably.

The double track persisted all the way to mile 3, past a bridge crossing a rushing glacial river and past an aid station at mile 2.7 with full bottles of water and water sprayed from a hose (oh volunteers, you are life savers!) but I was eager for some singletrack. And I got it eventually - a straight climb up steep switchbacks to cover the majority of the elevation gain in mile 4. The 10K is capped at 2000 runners, but for a trail race (even with wave starts) that’s a lot of runners and it felt like a death march with just one long line of runners nearly stepping on each other as we hiked up the hills. The trail wasn't super narrow, but it was steep enough that you really couldn't get that half-step opening at any time to pass someone, so we were stuck with the pace of the person in front of us. Ah well.

But the best part about a looped course with elevation gain is there is always elevation loss, and the technical downhill was at times fun, but mostly we were still stuck doing the pace of the person in front of us. I found a couple openings for some fast breakaways and glorious downhill stretches, but nothing really to write home about. It was decently technical - some rock hops and roots but still a lot of dirt - but nothing crazy. I'd probably enjoy running it again without the crowds.

After only about 1 or 1.5 miles of singletrack we popped back out on gravel double track and the crowd support surged. People read my name on my bib and I flew along to shouts of "Allez, Liz!" About 3/4 of a mile from the finish line I saw Paul and Emma (our Airbnb hosts who prior to buying their chateaux in Chamonix had travelled all over Europe in an RV with their dog and wrote a book about it*) and they cheered loudly and snapped some pics - it's so invigorating to have someone you know (even if you've just met them) cheering you on!

I surged with the crowd support and relaxed a little to enjoy the views - Mont Blanc stretched high and snowy before me - when suddenly BAM! I tripped and went down. Ughhhhh go figure I would trip on GRAVEL. I tried to roll with it and I feel like I had a decent recovery, but I didn't stop to assess damage so I didn't realize I had blood streaming down my leg until later. I just knew that it stung a little. Ah well, that's what I get for gawking on a trail run and being a trail run tourist.

Besides one kid saying "you're almost there!" when I was still a mile out the last mile or so wasn't too bad. Rolling gravel double track, decent crowds, and great views took the edge off the heat and tired legs and my low supply of water. One spectator even commented, "That Liz is quick!" 🤩

The final stretch finished in the grassy open area near the start line - up and over one final hill in front of all the crowds and through the finish, yay!

The finishers area had medals, a water spray that was bliss to walk through, Coke, and some fruit and other things in which I didn't partake. It took a while for McCrae and me to meet up again because I wasn't paying much attention after I crossed the finish line, but then we headed over to the medic tent to clean up my knee. There were definitely people with worse injuries - one guy looked like he'd sprained an ankle - but I had blood everywhere so everyone cringed when they saw me 😆 Yayyyyy go me! Who knew I'd need to learn to say, "Can you please help me clean out the rocks from this knee?" in French this summer. I haven't fallen on a trail in over a year but I get to the Alps and start gawking and this happens! 😄

All in all it was a really fun race.

Pros: Scenery!!

Cons: crowds, heat, organization