UTMB Starts Today
Hello from Chamonix,
It's UTMB morning at the crew house — coffee is on, pastries are served, and (most importantly) the runner is awake. The sun is out, the skies are clear, and the feeling in the air reminds us of Newfoundland — the mountains are just a bit bigger, but if we squint it's almost like we're in the Humber Valley!
Kelsey is "excited to run up and down, and up and down, and up and down some mountains."
At 6pm local time (1:30pm NT, 1pm AT, 12pm ET, etc.) Kelsey begins the UTMB, 173.4km of mountain trail running with over 10,000m of elevation gain. The race takes the runners through the French, Italian, and Swiss Alps (Kelsey is disappointed that she won't get a passport stamp when she crosses the border) in times ranging from 20 to 46+ hours.
When I asked Kelsey how she was feeling she said a version of the following:
"I feel it in my chest, it's like my heart is expanding. I woke up in the night thinking about the race, feeling like it was Christmas morning. I'm in awe of the size of this event. I'm feeling connected to a lot of people — friends, family, and everyone who has shared their UTMB stories with me. Gratitude, that's what I feel, I'm grateful."
Here's how to follow Kelsey's progress at the UTMB (it's pretty simple this time):
This page is your hub for coverage. You'll find a live Youtube broadcast, leaderboard, and live cameras at some aid stations. Click around and figure out what works best for you.
It's fun to follow the race with friends, so use this link to join Kelsey's Crew on the Telegram app.
Kelsey has divided the race into four sections because fun names make you run faster!
The Warm Up (Start to Les Contamines)
The 50k (Les Contamines to Courmayeur)
Feelin' Groovy (Courmayeur to Champex-Lac)
Three Bumps (Champex Lac to Finish)
During today's race, Kelsey will be supported by an on-site crew of Jane, Noel, Adam (that's me!), and Stef. Stef crewed for Kelsey previously at the Ultra-Trail Gaspesia and Québec Mega Trail and took on an even bigger role for the UTMB, joining us as a logistics lead.
As you're watching, keep an eye out for some of the following athletes (this is a totally non-exhaustive list):
The Canadians (Krista Keirstead, Ailsa Macdonald, Anne-Marie Madden, Claire Heslop, Flora Wing Yee Ching, Joffrey Laurin, John Adams, Brandon Lewis-Tremblay, and more)
The Norda runner (David Hedges)
The speedy runners (Sabrina Stanley and Courtney Dauwalter)
We want to extend a big thank you to the team at norda who has provided the shoes for Kelsey's 2023 race season. We've been able to spend time with them here in Chamonix and we're grateful to be getting to know them. Kelsey is running today's race in the norda 001 RZ. This shoe is special to us because it was designed in partnership with Ray Zahab (Kelsey's coach), who got her into ultra running through Impossible2Possible, an organization he founded to provide adventure based learning programs to educate, inspire and empower young people all over the world.
Thank you, as always, to everyone who is cheering along and following the race. That's all for us, for now.
— Adam (on behalf of Kelsey and the on-site crew — Stef, Jane, and Noel)
