Underslept and Overcaffeinated

Six shots. Let me repeat. Six shots of espresso this morning along with a breakfast full of fresh fruit, hearty bread, salami, and cheese finally got me going after a long night with little sleep.  Jet lag mixed with a potent dose of excitement for being here kept me from getting much quality rest these last 12 hours.  After a full day yesterday of traveling my good friend Kelly (who will be my support crew for the race) and I arrived in Chamonix just after sunset.  As we drove up the valley from Geneva we began to see the flanks of Mt. Blanc in the fading light. Jagged rocky ridge lines kept rising and rising until they became shrouded in clouds.  Below,  glacial Tongues spilled down drainages almost to the valley floor. This may be the biggest Mountain I have ever laid eyes on, and in a few days I will be running, crawling, climbing, sliding, falling, and hiking around it!  At 15,770 ft, Mont-Blanc rises literally 12,000 feet above Chamonix.  To put things into perspective Mt. Sentinel in Missoula stands just 2000 ft above town.  That should help wrap your minds around it a little better.

Anyways, we arrived in Chamonix around 9:30 p.m. and dropped our bags off at the hotel before running over to the see race start of the PTL, one of the 4 races being run this week.  The PTL is the longest event weighing in at around 300k and 25,000 meters of elevation gain!  (for you uncultured Americans out there, that is about 190 miles and 80,000 feet!  Sheesh.

We stood in the town center with a few thousand spectators, and cheered on the 300 or so racers (who run in teams of 2-3) as they headed out of town into the darkness. All the while, dramatic instrumental music was blaring out of an impressively loud sound system with an announcer screaming over it to get the crowds excited.  The energy was insane and unlike anything I have ever experienced in the United States.   To help you feel like you were there last night at the start with me I have attached the music that carried the runners out of the streets of Chamonix and into the Mountains for their multiday adventure. Just close your eyes put on some bright colored spandex and feel the moment!   Startline music (last of the Mohicans)

To truly embrace the experience to it's fullest we then walked to the nearest Gelato stand for a little night cap before returning to the hotel where we ate a chocolate bar and drank sparking water.... No I am not making this stuff up.

Well, that's all for now. Today is a day of rest, organization, and seeing some fellow US running buddies.  I'll leave you this round with a cool little UTMB trailer that The North Face put together starring our good friend (and my roommate for the week!) Mike Wolfe.  Isn't he dreamy! UTMB Trailer