Pre-Mont Blanc

Scott Corsie sent me this quote the other day, "Some men storm imaginary Alps all their lives and die in the foothills cursing difficulties which do not exist." Edward W. Hore

I thought this was weirdly appropriate as I'm about to take on probably my biggest trail challenge to date. I definitely am worried about getting through it all because being in the longest race where I haven't been supported by a crew, there are a million things that could go wrong with no way to correct them. On the other hand, I like the way you're not allowed to have pacers and every runner has to carry a certain number of items in a backpack, even the ones with crew. Kind of puts us all on the same level playing field. Of course, the only level field of this whole run is a few hundred metres at the start and then the pros will be gone.
Some 100 milers are won in 14, 15, or 16 hours. This one is usually around 20 or 21. To make the top 100 out of over 2,000 entrants, I would finish in about 30 or 31 hours. I was hoping for the 24 hour barrier to be broken but I can't see me going much less than 30 hours. I'm prepared for 30 hours and if it takes me longer I'll be relying totally on the supplied aid stations for food and energy drinks.
Anyways, not to run on with my fears and worries, the race starts at 9:30am on Friday the 28th, BC time. I should be done hopefully by 3pm Saturday the 29th if all goes well or better. There's around 20 time checkpoints along the way to follow the runners. Here's the website

Ultra Tour de Mont Blanc

Another cool website with videos and more info on the race, along with a Google flyover of the course can be found at:

Trail Running Soul

If there's video of the start I'll be the guy in the white hat, yellow shirt, and red backpack.

Au revoir, mon amis.