Yesterday, at the "Triangle de l’Amitié", the competitors of the CCC (Courmayeur Champex Chamonix), the TDS (In the "Traces" of the Dukes of Savoie) and UTMB (Ultra Trail du Mont-Blanc) arrived, sometimes mixed together, but all appearing healthy as they shared the joy of having pushed it to the limit, as well as the pain suffered by the body. And everyone had legs covered with a second skin... of mud.
If these competitors had had a hard time racing at altitude in the night, rain, fog, wind and cold, many were sorry not to have covered the full, original courses.
Eric, a UTMB runner, regretted that the race has been shortened due to the weather. "I would have liked to try my luck on the full course.
After all, that's what I came to do. But hey, I understand that the organisers did not want to tempt fate with so many people out in the cold. But it's a shame ... "
If some people think it regrettable to find the race "sanitised" since 2006, others believe it would have been careless to allow poorly equipped runners to follow trails covered with nearly 30 centimetres of snow.
Undoubtedly, over future years, this great race will find its final equilibrium and the rules will become set in stone.
