UTMB stopped due to bad weather

UTMB (as well as CCC and TDS) was stopped for security reasons due to bad weather on the mountains only three hours after the start on Friday.

At the time of hearing the sad news the competitors were doing fine and found it difficult to understand why they were not allowed to continue the race. Just see their faces in the video below!

The last dispatch – the runners react to the race cancellation. | The North Face Blog

At a press conference on Saturday, Aug. 28, at 1 am, Catherine Poletti, the race director explained the motives that have led to the decision to stop UTMB (roughly translated from French).

"We discontinued the UTMB for security reasons. The weather forecast predicting heavy rain continued into Saturday morning and there was a significant risk of fog. There was also a lot of wind and snow at around 2500 m altitude.

We have stopped the race in order not to risk that some of the competitors would be lost.

We mobilized a helicopter, but the weather remained unfavorable and didn't allow us to continue.

We are now trying to find a solution for the competitors who have traveled thousands of miles to run here. [Edit: UTMB and TDS starters have received a text message about a chance to run the last 99 km of the UTMB course on Saturday. It is the CCC-route (Courmayeur - Champex -Chamonix).]

Sectors of the course have been swept away by bad weather.

We have found solutions to fetching the 2,300 runners, mobilizing buses and trains to carry the participants to Chamonix. We have also opened facilities and provided blankets to accommodate people without accommodation."

(Edit: There was also another reason to cancel the race: the signs marking the course had been stolen between Col du Bonhomme and Chapieux (40-50 km).]

UTMB 2010 recon videos

UTMB (Ultra Trail Mont Blanc), the biggest mountain running race of the world will start on Friday, August 27th, at 6:30 PM, in Chamonix.


>>>TNF Ultra Trail Du Mont Blanc>>pre-race_dispatch from camp4 collective on Vimeo.

I won't be there with those 2,300 lucky lottery-winning runners tomorrow, but perhaps I'll be able to participate in this mega-event in the future.

This year's race will be exciting to follow, as there are so many competitors who might win: Kilian Jornet (Bib No. 1; has won two previous UTMBs), Geoff Roes (Bib No. 2028; beat Kilian at Western States, has never lost an 100-miler), Scott Jurek (Bib No.19; the best vegan ultra/trail runner), and so on.

There are strict doping tests at UTMB. For example, Geoff Roes has already been tested to be ok.

These are the four new magnificent trail recon videos covering the entire 166 km (± 9,500 m) race course.


UTMB : Reconnaissance du parcours Chamonix - Chapieux from OVERSTIM.s on Vimeo.


UTMB : Reconnaissance du parcours Chapieux - Courmayeur from OVERSTIM.s on Vimeo.

Part 3 is of special importance to me, because I ran the same trail between La Fouly and Champex in July - only in reverse direction. Nice!


UTMB : Reconnaissance du parcours Courmayeur - Champex from OVERSTIM.s on Vimeo.


UTMB : Reconnaissance du parcours Champex - Chamonix from OVERSTIM.s on Vimeo.

The competitors will have to carry a lot of stuff in their backbags.

The list of obligatory material is longer than before:
• mobile phone
• personal cup or tumbler 15cl minimum (water bottle not acceptable)
• stock of water minimum 1 litre,
• two torches in good working condition with replacement batteries,
• survival blanket,
• whistle,
• adhesive elastic band enable making a bandage or a strapping (mini 80cm x 3 cm),
• food reserve,
• protective raincoat for bad mountain weather,
• running trousers or leggings (covering the knees),
• cap or bandana
• identity papers.

In addition to this, many will carry sticks. According to the rules, if poles are used, they have to be carried all the way from the start to the finish.

Paleo means old, but old does not mean bad in my book

I think Paleo Runner (the name of this blog) should be understood simply as an old(-ish) runner. After all, the original Greek word παλαιός [palaiós] means just that: old.

There are paleo diets and so on, but I'm not referring to or practising them anymore.

Old does not necessarily mean negative consequences; on the contrary, I believe old runners can enhance the positive aspects of life like health, happiness and humor.



I'd like to finish by quoting from my favorite running book, Born To Run by Christopher McDougall (p. 14):

"In Tarahumara Land, there was no crime, war or theft. There was no corruption, obesity, drug addiction, greed, wife-beating, child abuse, heart disease, high blood pressure, or carbon emissions. They didn't get diabetes, or depression, or even old: fifty-year-olds could outrun teenagers, and eighty-year-old grandads could hike marathon distances up mountainsides." 

U2 found what they were looking for in the best country of the world

Bono revealed last night at the Helsinki Olympic Stadium that U2 found something they were looking for in the best country of the world: Jussi!

According to Malibu Healing Center, Mr. Jussi Lomakka "is a well-renowned Certified Massage Therapist, whose reputation and expertise is legendary, in the Unites States and internationally. He has worked on patients with minor, self -limited issues to high severity injuries including but not limited to gymnasts, athletes, and swimmers, using myofascial release techniques and manipulations."

See the video below to hear the testimony from the horse's mouth.



U2 will perform again tonight in Helsinki. A record audience of 104,000 is expected for the two concerts. I hope they are paying Jussi well for helping the band be at their best physical condition during their 360 Tour.

My LFRV days are over

It's official: my 4-month Low Fat Raw Vegan experiment ended on August 1st. The main reason for this was my alarmingly low weight. On July 31st I weighed 59 kg (130 lb) only.

I totally freaked out when I realized that:

• this was my lowest adult weight ever (as far as I know),
• it resulted in Body Mass Index of 18.2 (anything less than 18.5 means you are way too underweight).

It was measured at 5 AM, fully loaded/rested/tapered/recovered, 3 hours before the start of Swiss Alpine K78 trail run. By the way that particular race was my main fitness test for this year, and I didn't achieve my goals. My time was 55 minutes slower than last year and I felt weak right from the start. Also my earlier extreme trail race experiment failed with a DNF largely due to lack of energy.

I'm crazy enough to try new lifestyles, but I'm not stupid enough to continue with them if the expected results are not there.

Also about the same time, I happened to read Denise Minger's life-changing critique of The China Study.

What's more, her ashtonishing example of the Tuoli people of China shows that dairy, meat and wheat are not necessarily unhealthy, as long as they are not spoiled by the Western food industry. The Tuolians also seem to lack the Western concept of food variety. For example, Tuolians don't eat vegetables, fruits, legumes, nuts, plant oils, seafood, and so on. It's really just dairy, meat and wheat, which results in the following macronutrient breakdown: 46% fat, 35% carbohydrates, and 19 % protein. Yet their total mortality and disease rates are lower or similar compared to the other counties in China.



I used to be on a high fat low carb diet before this stint with low fat high carb - I guess I'll be a medium fat medium carb paleo runner in the future. After three weeks of reduced intake of fruits (compared to a frugivore diet), I'm happy to report that my weight has normalized around 64.8 kg (143 lb), which means a 20.0 BMI. That's probably quite perfect for a marathon/ultra trail runner.

However, unlike quicker and younger dudes like Tynan, I won't start eating meat just yet. I fully accept that The China Study may not scientifically prove that animal protein is the cause of disease like cancer. Still, even bad scientists can sometimes draw the right conclusions. I believe that people changing their diets away from animal-based processed foods towards plant-based raw foods will continue to enjoy great health benefits.

According to UN and mostly anyone paying attention to our environment, a major shift like that in our lifestyles is a must, if we plan to live on this planet for much longer.