I raced the UTMR Mischabel 60k a few weeks ago. UTMR (Ultra Tour Monte Rosa) is probably best known for its 170k loop around the Monte Rosa massif, which you can run in one go or as a stage race. The race was started by Lizzy Hawker, UTMB legend (and five-time winner), who splits her time between this part of Switzerland and Nepal. It was a super fun weekend.
Covering ~40 miles and ~12,000 ft of elevation gain, the 60k is pretty stout. The race starts with a short climb above town before dropping 3,000 ft to the valley floor in under 2 miles, a pretty rough way to start the day. From there, there’s a steep 4,000 ft climb followed by another extended grind up the valley to Almagelleralp. After a technical downhill and a crossover to Saas-Fee on the other side of the valley, the route returns to Grächen on the Balfrin Höhenweg, a rocky up-and-down trail (but mostly up) for the last 20k.
By all accounts, it went about as well as it could have, especially living and training in London. I hit the first aid station 29th overall and finished 17th in 10:39. I felt good the whole time and closed strong over the last 20k. I haven’t raced in close to three years, was coming off a knee injury, and UTMR is not an easy course, so I was pretty happy with that. With a bit more time in the mountains I think I could have handled the downhills a lot better (I lost a ton of time, especially in that first steep descent). Legs were absolutely wrecked the next day.
I did get some mountain time in with a trip to Chamonix and Courmayeur in June, Norway in July, and trips out to the Peak District and English countryside around London (I’m basically an expert in trails within an hour of London by train), but it’s difficult to be properly prepared for this kind of race without easy access to elevation.
Highlights:
La Sportiva Prodigio Pro. Don’t think I could have asked for a better shoe for this race. No foot issues, and they ended up being ideal for this course, which was more technical “running” than I expected. Did the majority of my on-trail training in these, and then raced on a slightly “fresher” pair. Now that I’ve had more time on them, I think my KipSummit Max would have been a good shout as well.
I wore some things I’ve had for a while. A Saxx shirt, a pair of Roark shorts, and Injinji socks (as always). My Salomon Adv Skin 12 is a few years old and has seen better days but it’s still kicking.
I ate SIS Beta gels the whole way. One flavor (orange) the whole time, like a completely psychotic person. I supplemented with a few snacks and Coke at aid stations. I had no stomach issues, so no complaints.
Some friends from Colorado were out doing the 170k and crushed it. They somehow managed to finish 16, 17, 18 despite one of them having stomach issues and only drinking Coke for most of the race. Ridiculous. It’s an ungodly amount of elevation gain (~38k).
The volunteers were fantastic, and this was a common refrain amongst all the participants I talked to, regardless of what race they participated in. They were helpful, engaged, and many of them spent days on little sleep driving around to different aid stations to support the 170k and stage races that were happening at the same time.
Overall vibe - amazing. Friendly people, everyone excited, low-key. There’s no expo or big finish line production, just a group meal and a short prize ceremony in the village square.
There’s always a lot written about UTMB; it soaks up a lot of the attention at the end of the racing season. But UTMR is a week later, a couple valleys over, and a much different experience. Small, no hype, no brands, no lottery, no detailed shoe analysis of every race. That’s not a knock on UTMB at all. Plenty of people at UTMR had previously raced UTMB, had a great time, and were looking for something a bit different. There are all kinds of options out there; you can run whatever feels the best to you.
I’m happy I did it. I needed a goal to get training consistently again (it worked). But at the same time, I’ve been thinking a lot about what racing costs me.
I spent a lot of this summer saying “sorry, I need to…” run 20 miles today, or go to bed early, or plan around being able to spend X hours a day running, or whatever. At one point I thought about taking a vacation to sit on a beach in Crete for a week, but the thought of hot days making it difficult to get training in was always in the back of my mind. I love running, but I won’t lie and say it didn’t suck a little bit of fun out of this summer.
A few years ago I posted on social media that I was looking for races to do in Europe. Dan Patitucci (running photographer and co-creator of AlpsInsight) replied, saying something along the lines of “why are you looking for races? Those trails are always there.”
It’s something that has stuck with me. He’s not wrong. The Balfrin Höhenweg is there all year and nobody needs a bib to go up to Hannigalp. Despite that, sometimes having a race on the calendar is what gets me fit enough to actually enjoy being up there the rest of the time.
I’m definitely moving more toward the “it’s just fun to run in the mountains” vs race. But the reality is, I’ll probably sign up for more races down the line. If nothing else, UTMR proved that while I’m not quite as fast as I used to be, I can race a tough course and finish strong. And, I’d kinda like to maybe do OCC one day, so I need those stones 😂.
