Ultra Trail cancelled

Endurance event ended due to severe weather

One of the toughest endurance events in the world has been canceled part way in.

The North Face Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc was stopped 31 miles in due to severe weather on the trail, particularly at higher altitude.

The athletes are all being shuttled back to Chamonix. The UTMB is an ultramarathon that takes place annually crossing through the Alps and covering more than 100 miles, and passing through France, Italy, and Switzerland. It routinely attracts some of the best long-distance endurance athletes in the world, and is considered one of the crown jewels in the ultramaraton schedule each year. The trail is a loop around Mont Blanc that typically requires about 20 hours to complete, with the bulk of the racers finishing in the 30-40 hour range

From reports from the race, it seems that many of the racers are upset with this turn of events. I'm sure that the race management team only has their best interest in mind, but after training for months to prepare for the run, it can be quite disappointing to have it end like this.

Kraig Becker writes at the Adventure Blog: www.theadventureblog.blogspot.com