A couple of weeks ago I was invited to participate in this classic race taking place on the 25^th June – that’s just a month to get on shape aiming to finish the race in a decent while enjoying the scenery.

There are a number of distance races from 10km to 80Km taking place during the 3 days this festival of trail running last. I am running the classic distance of the marathon, leaving Chamonix (1035m) running up to the village of Argentiere (1,250m) to start the ascent to the Aiguilles des Posettes (2,201m) where we will be rewarded by a panoramic view of the full range of the Mont Blanc.

Facing the ‘Aiguille Verte’ and the Mont Blanc range, the route follows the ridgeline of the ‘aiguillette’ gradually descending in the direction of Tré le Champ. From here a killer 13 kilometers to the finish line located at an altitude of 2,000m. This is how it looks on paper:

So in order to arrive to the 25^th in an optimal form, my PT prepared an intensive training schedule for the 8 weeks we had to prepare the race and I am confident it would deliver. So legs and lungs being more or less in place for the race the other challenge to overcome is the altitude. The race starts at around 1,000m and rising to over 2,200m without acclimatising properly this could be the main issue I am facing. I am planning to spend a day in the Nid Aigle hut located up by the Midi cable car at 2,412 m.

So the plan is spending Friday’s night up there to get as much time in altitude to thickness the blood as much as we can ahead of the race. Saturday morning I am planning a traverse to the Torino Hut from the top of the Midi station but we might just go back to rest in a Chamonix hotel to rest the legs depending how we feel when we wake up.

The latest news is that Killian Jornet confirmed his participation in the race. I can’t wait to hear about his Everest record!!!

You can follow my training in my Suunto profile.