UTMB/UTMR

My final adventure of the summer has come to an end, and with it, my final year at university has begun.

Monte Rosa - early morning sunrise

It's strange; it has been one week since returning to this "fairy tale" campus, and although everything is familiar, nothing feels the same. I felt so at home living out of a suitcase for the past three-and-a-half months that it took me the entire week just to unpack it, as if I should be ready to leave again at any moment. But I'm not leaving here any time soon (or not soon enough), and so I've finally shoved the empty 50L duffel bag under my bed, and put up some posters on my bedroom walls like any good college kid. 

Just like it took me so long to unpack and move in to my space for the year, I know that it has taken me a long time to write this post. It's not that I don't have a lot to say. In fact, the past several weeks have been incredibly overwhelming, and if anything, I probably have too much to say. I won't bore you with the details, in fact, if you're still reading these posts at all, I thank you. Just like any other writer, I am at my most vulnerable when I share my thoughts with the world, and so it means a great deal to know that it doesn't go unnoticed by those I care about.

Although about a month has passed since the last blog post, I'll focus here on the week-and-a-half spent in the world of ultrarunning.

UTMB: Ultra Tour du Mont Blanc. A grueling, 170km (105mile) race starting and finishing in Chamonix, France, but crossing through France, Italy, and Switzerland! In 2015, my mom (Ann Ongena) ran this race after "winning" the lottery to get in. She finished after two days and two nights of running up and down the mountains. I was there, along with my older sister and younger brother as her support crew. Even though we only spent the second night entirely awake, it was exhausting. I can't imagine what it must be like spending two consecutive nights awake, on top of running a hundred miles! Needless to say, I've gained a lot of respect for ultrarunners, and for my mom, in the past few years.

This year, 2018, was my mom's comeback year. For those of you who don't know her, she had a pretty serious stress fracture in her hip almost two years ago. Despite the doctors' suggestions for surgery, she refused and managed to heal the injury with lots of hard work, a healthy, whole foods diet, and physical therapy. I may not have witnessed her journey on the road to recovery, but if this year's UTMB is any evidence of it, she did a fucking amazing job, and I'm so proud of her and her crazy dedication to this sport.

Her 2018 UTMB support crew included her best friend Patty Duffy (who had just finished hiking the Tour du Mont Blanc, read about it here), myself, and my aunt, Klaartje (my mom's younger sister). Both my aunt and I were late additions to the crew, but in the end it was a good thing there were three of us to keep track of everything over the course of those two days of running. 

A wet start to the race (indicative of the cold weather to come)

After seeing my mom off at the start, we began following her around the course by hopping on buses and getting shuttled from one checkpoint, back to Chamonix for the first night, and then to other checkpoints. The bus system this year was disorganized, dizzying, and once I was nearly trampled (!) trying to get on a bus behind Patty and Klaartje.

The traumatic bus experiences ultimately sent the two of them back to bed in Chamonix, while I stayed out through that second night (and the cold), waiting for my mom to pass through the checkpoint (Trient). I waited with two guys awaiting their own runners, and we chatted about random things trying to keep the cold (and sleepiness) at bay. I finally couldn't handle it any longer and started waiting around the tape at the entrance point, pacing back and forth, sometimes even heading a bit down the path to look for her. Twice I returned to the other guys to see if their runners had arrived, and twice I returned to wait. Finally, I see a short, determined figure approaching and I know she's arrived. It's time to crew! 

The Trient checkpoint camera catching me wishing my mom well on the next leg of the race

This was repeated a number of hours later at the next big checkpoint: Vallorcine. By then the sun had risen, even though it was still numbingly cold out, even for those of us not actually out there running an ultramarathon. 



Although I knew my mom was exhausted, beat up, and emotional, it was clear that she was going to finish, and going to finish faster than her time in 2015. In the end, she beat it by 20 minutes, which I like to think we (Patty and Klaartje rejoin me at the start) helped by running the last bit of distance with her to the finish line. What a ruckus! It must be an otherworldly experience to finish to the whooping, cheering, and ringing of cowbells after running for more than 40 hours... 

So she finished, and my aunt had to go back to Belgium to work the next day. Our ultramarathon days in Europe were far from over, though. From Chamonix, we headed to Grächen, a little town in the south of Switzerland, the start of the UTMR: Ultra Tour de Monte Rosa. Unlike UTMB, this race is smaller (fewer racers), more technical, and (from what I hear) much, much, much more grueling. You have to be really crazy to run 170km along that route!

The three of us arrived in Grächen and I immediately sought out Lizzy Hawker, race director and world-famous ultramarathon runner herself, to see how I could be of help. Patty and my mom disappeared; they know better than to sell themselves off for more free labor. Meanwhile I figured I was there to volunteer, and I would make the most of that and do as much as I could possibly do to alleviate the stress from Lizzy and Richard!

From that moment - until after the finishing ceremonies - I felt like I was working pretty much nonstop. And I felt great. It was only at the Monte Moro Pass (checkpoint 12) where I started feeling a little useless. Whereas last year it was just a few of us (my mom and myself included) manning the aid station for two days, this year a whole group of young On Running employees were there to add life to the party and help out with the checkpoint. They didn't leave us a whole lot to do!

... except cheer on runners (keeping everyone up during the night, I suppose...), and take some cool pictures:

Looking down from Italy into Switzerland at Lake Matmark (we hiked up from down there)




(another sunrise photo)


I did also get to practice my Italian with the employees of the Rifugio as well as with the two mountain guides that came up for one day (in case of rescue). One of them had been there the year before as well. I clearly remember telling him that I would return the following year having learnt Italian, and I did! It was very fun to be able to prove this to him. 

our wonderful Italian mountain guides, and an On Running rep!


There is really so much more I could write about in regards to both of these experiences (I haven't even mentioned working checkpoint 2! Sorry, Vince!). 

CP2: Täschalp, with Vince

I've learned a lot and met a ton of great people (and scores of crazy ones, no doubt about it). More than anything, though, I feel invigorated. Years ago, "running" seeds were planted in me. This summer, they have sprouted! In October, I'll be running a half-marathon. Maybe soon I'll be out there as one of those crazy ultrarunners, too. 

With love to all,
Helena.



Comments

  1. Weeral zo ongelofelijk mooi geschreven Helena! Heel veel succes en geluk in je ' laatste' jaar? Je bent een prachtmeid!
    Tante Greetje

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  2. Incredible memories were made once again and I cherish them with all my heart. Things are only things, experiences are so much more important, a stuffed duffel on your back can definitely help with that. Thank you for sharing the summer ultra scene with me, I can’t wait to trade places one day, me cheering you running. Good luck with your last year at college, I have a feeling it’ll be a blast as well! Love you so much ❤️ XXX -Mom

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