Susan Donnelly Ultramarathon Trail Runner. Motivational Speaker. http://www.susanruns100s.com
Waiting To Start Mont Blanc Date : August 28, 2009
Just a few hours and Rob and I will start the North Face Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc here in Chamonix, France. I’m nervous. Maybe you never get over that in big races and this one is extraordinarily big – 2300 runners in the 166k race alone! As our friend Mark Barnes aptly noted yesterday, it’s a spectacle. As far from paying a few bucks for an RD to stash some water jugs on the side of the road as you can get. It’s hard to avoid soaking up the general nervousness in the air. I couldn’t sleep worth anything last night. Thought of a million things I needed to do. Worried about not sleeping. Repacked my pack in my mind at least thirty times. Now I’m groggy and stressed. But it will all be ok when we start. We’ve finally seen good friend Jon Steele (who will finish this year) and will hopefully get to share some trail time with him. Mark says the downhills are easier than the one we did Monday. The hills – 9 major climbs – are all between Massanutten climbs and Mt. Sterling in the Smokies, which we do regularly. In short, much of the unknown is now at least partly known, and that removes a lot of the real stress. So now all we need to do is go enjoy the breathtaking scenery. We’ve been reading about it and looking up at hills from here in Chamonix for so long now, that it’s time to go see it!
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