Thank you for your post!…

The few course notes I can add to anyone interested in addition to the observations on http://fartherfaster.blogspot.com/2007/08/utmb-training-camp-trail-review-for.html (which I thought was a good review) are from training for the CCC last year and this year on the course.

For that section of the course, I think the best/fastest downhill is from the top of Grand Col Ferret (which last week had snow on it btw due to cold/rainy/snowy weather recently) to La Fouly - you can really fly on a lot of that section as the trail is not rocky and widens out a bit.

The climb to Bovine requires a lot of concentration (esp if you hit it in the dark) as there are some big boulders and unavoidable very high steps through tree roots required when it gets steep, but a nice traverse and good downhill through the woods to the Col de la Forclaz above Trient follow just after.

From the Col de la Forclaz to Trient is a short downhill, but wooded sections of the trail there are very very steep and muddy/slippery/ treacherous to descend in wet weather. They have thrown some wood chips on it to try to help.

Also just past Les Tseppes, from the top of that climb, coming down into Vallorcine it can become a big mud pit in rain (and we’ve had rain here for many days now) and there are some steep drop offs, so watch your footing as you get into the descent where you hit tall weeds in the marshy section if it’s raining. Also on this section, the road book is wrong. It’s following the 2006 course. I ran the trail 2 weeks ago and they had posted signs already with corrections to the road book - apparently the building of a new MTB course is requiring the course to follow last year’s descent route into Vallorcine rather than what the course planners had hoped (ie you will take the ski run (dirt road) earlier and cross the border into France at a different point than indicated in the road book that was mailed out.

After Vallorcine, all the tough bits are truly over.

You can listen to live coverage of the race in the internet radio station Radio Mont Blanc: http://www.radiomontblanc.fr Of course it will mostly be in French but if they interview anyone who speaks English you’ll hear them speak, and a translator.

To follow runners on line, you need to look up the the dossard number by runner’s name. Scott’s number is 3612 and you can follow by SMS messages or online on the home page on the day of the race - SMS’s are 5 euros and can be pre-registered at http://www.ultratrailmb.com/sms.php?page=sms

GO USA!!

Scott, I very much hope you read the tips I gleaned last month and compiled in my blog:
http://fartherfaster.blogspot.com/2007/08/utmb-training-camp-trail-review-for.html while training with Karine.
And I had of course talked about your exciting Scott/Karl rematch already!

Go for it, Scott, your win is much expected overthere, as long as you don’t get surprised by the differences with the US ultras. But Hardrock seems to have some common features with UTMB, this will certainly help. I’ll check your progress online before and after our short 50K USATF championship. The suspense will make us run faster!

Good luck!

Jean.