SwissPeaks Trail organise races with a range of distances, from a half-marathon all the way up to an unbelievable 660k. Their main race week is always the week after UTMB, and whilst the races start in different places depending on the distance, they all finish in Le Bouveret on the shores of Lake Geneva. I had chosen to enter the 100 km race with 6230m of ascent and a quad bursting 7093m of descent. The discrepancy is due to the point to point nature of the route, starting from Finhaut, up (1240m) in the mountains of the Vallée du Trient, down to Le Bouveret (373m). Almost identical with regards to distance and elevation to the CCC (by UTMB) which I ran last September without too many difficulties in a shade under 24 hours, I thought surely this wouldn’t be much harder? And hopefully quieter with considerably fewer runners. Well, it was definitely quieter, which I really appreciated, but it was to also prove a lot harder as the terrain turned out to be much more technical in many places than on the CCC. I had sort of been told this by a couple of people, but only half believed it or shrugged it off. Now I know! Another significant clue would have been that the winning times are significantly slower than the CCC.
Registration and getting to Finhaut
After UTMB week, where I had run the 15k ETC as a warm-up race, I had moved on from Vallorcine and was staying in Châtel, where I have been coming on holiday since 2015. The SwissPeaks 100 route runs closely past Châtel, though determinedly staying on the Swiss side of the border, whereas Châtel is in France. The halfway checkpoint is in Morgins which is only 2 miles up the road from Châtel. Earlier in race week I recced a few miles of the route here, all on terrain which is pretty familiar to me. During the race this section would definitely be in the dark, so I was glad to be able to have another look at it.
Registration, bib collection and kit check took place the afternoon before the race, at the event village in Le Bouveret. I was a bit concerned to see a very long queue outside the marquee, especially as it was a cold and wet day. Thankfully I had brought my umbrella from the car as I ended up queueing for an hour, 45 minutes outside in the rain, then another 15 inside the tent. It was somewhat tedious and unpleasant and not the best start to the race experience, basically there were far too few volunteers for the task at hand. They were all very friendly and helpful though once I got there, and I counted my blessings that I wasn’t running in this as competitors on other distances were. I knew the forecast for Friday and Saturday was much better and thanked my lucky stars in anticipation. We had been told to bring our mandatory kit as well as both hot and cold weather kits to registration for checking, but the only thing which was actually checked is whether you had downloaded the EchoSOS app with the race organiser’s emergency number in it. Oh well, I guess if they had checked the kit I would have had to queue even longer so mustn’t grumble. I drove back to Châtel, up the hairpins hidden in the clouds and mist, clinging to the white lines on the road.
On race day morning, Friday September 6, the sky had cleared, and my Châtel-based friend Nick very kindly drove me down to the nearest railway station in Monthey and waited with me until I had safely got onto the 05:43 train. Nick would support me during the race together with my Ilkley Harrier friend Andrew, out here for a stay around UTMB week as well, and who had just run the CCC the week before. The race entry fee included travel to the start in Finhaut on the train, and we had been assured that our race bib would function as our train ticket. I changed onto a very smart InterCity (so smart I worried that I was sitting in first class by mistake) at St. Maurice and felt slightly anxious when the conductor came, thinking he might say my bib wasn’t valid on a mainline service (that surely would happen in the UK!!), he had to look it up, but then thankfully all was well. I got to Martigny where there were a large number of runners on the platform already, and we all squeezed onto a very small train that very slowly grinds its way upwards into the mountains. There were 3 different trains (including an extra one laid on for the race) to choose from, as we wouldn’t have all fitted into the one train. This is the line to Chamonix, though we were getting off before then, in Finhaut. A young Finnish woman came and set next to me, we had we had a halting conversation via Google Translate about the drop bag logistics, she was very quiet and totally unassuming. Later we sat next to each other on a bench in the Finhaut station waiting room whilst waiting for the start, and we compared pole quiver fastening techniques. She seemed unhappy with hers and kept adjusting it. Only after the race would I find out that her name was Pirjo Saukku, a member of the Finnish Salomon team, who ran an amazing 16 hours and won the women’s race.
Finhaut to Auberge de Salanfe – 17 miles
We set off at 08:30, I placed myself right at the back as I would be hiking this first ascent up to the Col de Fenestral, which was just under 5 miles in length gaining 1200m in height. I had reccied this a week earlier when I was still staying in Vallorcine, by taking the train from there to Finhaut and doing an out and back to the col. Whilst the race starts on the road and then follows a good 4×4 track for a bit there is absolutely no point running uphill for someone of my pace and ability, considering there are 100k to go. I didn’t hugely enjoy this first section, by the time we were on the single track I wasn’t quite at the very back anymore as I had overtaken some people earlier with my fast hiking, so I was stuck in the typical long ‘train’ of runners ploughing upwards. It felt too busy for me, but I knew it would thin out soon enough though. As it did on the descent. It was very rocky and technical, for certain bits I definitely needed my hands, and there were even some fixed chains and ropes to help us. It wasn’t a surprise as I had watched some YouTube videos about the race. I was soon at the back of the field once more, which was fine by me. I was together with a (Dutch speaking) Belgian woman for a bit who had fallen earlier and hurt her leg which was covered in blood. Together we struggled down some unpleasantly wet, rocky and muddy paths until we reached the valley bottom where I was able to press on a bit. The next main target would be the Col de Golette to take us over to the Lac de Salanfe, a large artificial lake with a hydroelectric dam. The path went into the woods and after a while I noted my garmin indicated I was off the route. The SwissPeaks flags were very clear though, there was no doubt in my mind that I should follow the flags rather than the gpx. I reached another 4×4 track and met a runner coming the other way, he was keen on retracing his steps. After some confusing backwards and forwards in French I managed to persuade him that we should just press on along the track. Another French runner joined us, we all felt a bit confused but the flags thankfully kept appearing. Eventually the Belgian woman caught us up and she said the route had been changed due to the torrential rain of the day before. This was news to me and I wondered how I could have missed that bit of information. Perhaps it had been announced at the start and I had not heard? Anyway, we ran on and eventually we came across an interim small checkpoint which had been set up in a lay-by. We were told the next checkpoint would be at Salanfe, and not to worry about the cut-off time. On my schedule this had been at the 13m point, but when I eventually arrived at Salanfe I had covered 17m. The volunteer there pointed back at the Col de Golette and said that’s originally where we would have come over, but there had been landslides. So we had made a long detour to go around it. Extra miles, value for money! You have to look on the bright side after all. I was impressed that they had flagged this entirely new section so thoroughly, that must have been done overnight.
The detour had taken us through the Gorges du Dailley which involved an interminable sequence of stairs. I was glad the stairs were there, at least it was safe, but it was tough work, apparently there were more than 650 steps. As I climbed I wished I had spent even more time on the stair climber in the gym.
Auberge de Salanfe to Barme – miles 17 to 28
From the checkpoint next to Lac Salanfe (1900m) I set out for the climb up to the Col de Susanfe, the highest point on the course at 2494m, it was about 4pm. The mountains looked bare and stark, and reminded me of the Dolomites, even though I have never been there. The sunshine and blue sky did give it a brilliant beauty. The climb was tough but I managed to enjoy it. There were a few other runners around me, but we had thinned out so much by now that it felt comfortable, not entirely alone but with plenty of space around me. I gave some salt capsules to a runner suffering with cramp. Getting to the top and looking at the stunning view was exhilarating and one of the highlights of the event for me.
The descent was quite easy, not technical, and though I am never fast I managed to make decent progress for a while. I had forgotten a rather scary looking section which I had seen on YouTube and rather imagined we had missed that out by our earlier detour. Turned out I was wrong! The Pas d’Encel was very much on our route to Barme. It wasn’t fun, it’s narrow and exposed with quite a drop off to the side. Thankfully there are a lot of chains to hold on to. I was never terrified but I didn’t exactly enjoy it either, there were a couple of spots where I had to sit on my bum to get down, sadly on muddy and wet bits of rock.
I was hoping to get to Barme before nightfall but didn’t quite make it and had to stop just above it to get my headtorch out. I reached the checkpoint at quarter to 9, with the cut-off, which was loosely being maintained, at 9pm. No time to waste then. I refilled my soft flasks, had some bouillon, cheese, chocolate, and took a banana with me for the road. The volunteers told me the checkpoint at Chaux Palin had been scrapped, but there would hopefully be water for us. Next proper checkpoint at Morgins, 13 miles away, with a cut-off at 3 am. I turned to leave and found my poles had gone!! Disaster. I have them labelled with my name and Dutch flag stickers as well to avoid this scenario. I briefly despaired about the rest of my race. I realized someone must have picked them up, most likely in error rather than as an act of pure theft. The volunteers helped me look, to no avail, and managed to find a single spare pole from somewhere for me. It would have to do, better than nothing. I sent a quick message to Nick and Andrew, who would be at Morgins to support me, to bring a set of poles if possible.
Barme to Morgins – miles 28 to 41
I set off up the hill with my borrowed single pole. Thankfully the first runner I came across had my poles, it was Indranil, a runner from India whom I had been swapping places with quite a few times over the recent miles, as he struggled on the ascents but was quicker on the descents. He was sitting next to the track having a rest, so I wrestled my poles off him! No, he had his own in his quiver but didn’t realize it, and had picked up mine in addition by mistake. As I had met him earlier I knew he wasn’t feeling well and was struggling to eat, so I didn’t hold it against him too much. After the race I was delighted to see he finished too, taking 38 hours as the last runner to come in. A good lesson for me though to not let my poles out of sight. I sent another message to my support, ‘scrap the poles’.
I really quite enjoyed this night section. I love the peace and quiet of running in the dark. We continued to be lucky with the weather, it was dry, not cold (I had just added one thin merino layer), and the stars twinkled in the clear sky above me. Apart from one small section below Lac Vert there wasn’t anything too technical, and there were even substantial runnable sections, flat or downhill, where I managed to indeed run and overtake quite a few people. The highest point was the Portes de l’Hiver at 2023m. Shame it was dark as I know there are some beautiful views. We reached Lac Vert where I have been on runs and walks before, so it all started to feel familiar. I had never been on this particular descent into Morgins though, and there was a tricky section with slippery rocks which I definitely did not enjoy and which took me forever. I managed to fall once, no harm done, but could have been nasty, as my legs stayed on the path but the rest of me sort of hung upside down, over the hillside in the vegetation. It took a bit of effort against the forces of gravity to get myself back upright. Thankfully my poles had also been stopped from rolling down by the shrubbery. No more incidents after that and I got down to the Vallon de They, a nice flat runnable woodland trail along the river and over countless wooden bridges into Morgins. It is a nice stretch which I know. I reached the checkpoint at 2:30am. Andrew and Nick were there waiting for me outside and it was a great boost to see them. I had some food and drink and a bit of a reset for half an hour, picked up new supplies from my drop bag, and was out by 3am.
Morgins to Chalet de Blancsex – miles 41 to 54
I set off in good spirits from Morgins. There was never any temptation to call it a day despite my bed being only 2 miles away down the hill. I knew Andrew would be waiting for me at the next checkpoint at Blancsex, quite a difficult place to get to for support crew, so there was no option to give up on my part. I felt fine anyway, tired, but I wasn’t injured, I was eating and drinking fine, my feet felt good, and the weather was great. What’s not to like?! There was what felt like a bonus checkpoint at Conche, only 4 miles away from Morgins. A steep climb up and in less than 2 hours I was there. There was the best variety of food on offer, I grabbed 2 mini crepes, put Nutella in between and carried on upwards whilst munching on this lovely snack. I had also picked up some more water. As mentioned before, I know this section quite well and it was largely easy, apart from the short climb and descent of Pointe Ombrieux which is far too technical for my liking and I found it tough on my now tired legs. I was rewarded for my efforts though with the first light appearing, and the most beautiful view from de Tour de Don, with the orange of the daybreak behind the mountains and the matching orange lights of the towns in the valley stretching out towards Lake Geneva below us. I stopped for a bit to take it all in and take some photos, I was there with another runner, it was actually nice to share the moment with someone else.
After that onwards towards Chalet de Blancsex. I turned off to the right at the Col de Reculaz, this is where I left my familiar territory around Châtel behind. An easy descent on a 4×4 track, then a nice path traversing along the mountainside. Nature had fully woken up by now and there was a lovely cacophony of cowbells rising from the valley bottom. I was getting too warm though and was also in need of my sunglasses. I didn’t want to stop and ‘faff’ as I hoped to do the changeover from night to day gear at the checkpoint. About 2.5 miles away from Blancsex I was convinced it would appear imminently. Due to the earlier diversion I wasn’t quite on top of the mileage anymore. I had actually messaged Nick and Andrew in our support WhatsApp group saying I thought I was almost there. I dragged myself up a very steep slope under a ski lift and had a building in my sights which I was sure would be Blancsex. And low and behold two of the runners in the race were sitting there at a table on the terrace having breakfast. Yay! I asked the woman there, ‘where is my friend Andrew, is he inside?’ upon which she told me this wasn’t the checkpoint but a private house. I had a little sense of humour failure in that moment but didn’t let it show. The two runners were a bit naughty as outside support is not allowed other than at specific checkpoints, so they should not have been sitting there getting fed by what I assumed was a friend. Anyway, I let it go of course, none of my business. The woman told me the checkpoint was ‘in the next valley, around that mountain there’ pointing to a big lump in my way. I was not a happy bunny but on I trotted, sending another WhatsApp saying that my arrival wasn’t so imminent after all. I also stopped to change my gear over. After a bit more slow jogging along I was delighted to see Andrew appear who had come to meet me. He had been there for hours of course and the kind checkpoint volunteers had even given him some rösti for breakfast. A very nasty tree root strewn descent which even Andrew found quite unpleasant, and then we were on another good track. I reached the checkpoint just after 9 am, the cut-off being at 9:30. I had bouillon and lots of watermelon and topped up my water.
Chalet de Blancsex to Le Bouveret – miles 54 to 72
At the checkpoint they had a handy white board on which they had drawn the distances, climbs and descents in detail, between there and the finish, which was very useful, I made sure to take a photo of it. So, a little ascent, then 450m of descent followed immediately by 400m of ascent, all within 4 miles to reach the Taney checkpoint. That was obviously going to be steep. It was hard work, the ascent, it was warm by now, and I was being overtaken by ‘tourists’ fresh from the car park near this renowned beauty spot, Lac Taney. It was a Saturday after all. They all smelt delightfully of shampoo and soap and I was hyperaware of my own rather overpowering sweaty smell. I encountered a rather hyperactive and enthusiastic instagrammer who videoed me and did a sort of impromptu interview. I guess I consented, mainly because I didn’t have the energy to find a way to say ‘no’ that wasn’t rude. Thankfully, despite my tired legs, I could still outclimb her so I managed to pull away.
After the Taney checkpoint there was another 400m to climb to the Pas de Lovenex and the Col de la Croix. This was quite pleasant and on nice paths. I was now being overtaken by the front end of the marathon race. This was fine whilst they were very spread out and we were on wide paths. However, by the time I was facing the 800m descent off the Col de la Croix they were coming thick and fast. Whilst the descent wasn’t hugely difficult, mainly scree and loose rocks in endless little hairpins, a terrain I can cope with fine, I am slow and these were a. fast runners with good trail running skills and b. on fresh legs. It was very tedious having to keep stopping to let runners past, and it was a long way down. The descent completed there was one more checkpoint at La Freney, 6 miles from the finish. We were on a perfectly good little tarmac road, only to be sent into the woods again for more of what I had come to call ‘narrow woodland path hell’ in my head, endless stretches of small paths over rocks and tree roots (much narrower paths than in the Chamonix valley) and after the torrential rain of the previous day these were often now muddy and slippery to boot. This stretch was relatively short, only for us to return to the same road. It felt utterly unnecessary. I was getting a bit crotchety now, with the marathon runners in an unceasing stream behind me. Anyway, I refuelled at the checkpoint with more watermelon, cheese and chocolate, sorted my soft flasks for the last push, and off I went. Not before I had seen Courtney Dauwalter who was running the 70k race (she won, and came second overall) as she flew in and out of the checkpoint. There were huge cheers from everyone as she grabbed some water and sped on to the finish.
There was more ‘narrow woodland path hell’, it seemed to go on for miles, with me hanging on to trees to let marathon runners go past, muttering ‘bravo’ a million times. Eventually the path became easier, then it became actually runnable, and finally it turned into a nice 4×4 track. At the bottom I saw Andrew and Nick who had driven up from the finish to come and cheer me on and provide encouragement for the final few miles, they also caught a glimpse of Courtney for their efforts.
I finally came out of the woods and hit the road in Le Bouveret. Despite it being a small place there were almost two miles to go along the road, which felt like an interminable task ahead. I forced myself to run all the way, as despite reassurances from volunteers that the cut-off (5pm) wouldn’t be maintained I was still a little worried that I would arrive at the finish to be told I was timed out. I reckoned that if I ran this final stretch I would at least know that I had done absolutely everything in my power to make it. I reached the shore of Lake Geneva, boats bobbing about in the marina, children jumping into the water to swim, I ran past the lake side cafes where people were sitting outside enjoying the sunshine, cheering me on even though I was running like snail and my form had totally gone, I entered the event village, more cheers, and finally saw the finishing arch and Nick and Andrew there waiting for me. It felt so good! It was exactly 6pm and it had taken me 33 hours and 30 minutes.
After collecting my medal and finisher’s t-shirt I sat down in a deck chair looking out over the lake. Whilst Nick supplied me with beer I asked Andrew if he could find out where I had come in my ‘Master 3 Femmes’ category (women over 60), as I knew there were 3 entrants in it, and the tracker was completely unclear as to the outcome. I had also read that prizes could only be claimed at the event and would not be posted out, so it seemed wise to at least check. Andrew did a thorough job and eventually tracked down the RD who came down very apologetically with my prize: a litre (!) bottle of beer, another t-shirt, and amazingly, a pair of Raidlight carbon running poles. These retail at €120, so well worth having, on top of the joy of being the category winner (as well as the oldest woman taking part in the race!). The other two women in the category had sadly, for them, DNF’d, though both had been ahead of me. Well, slow and steady wins the race (category) on this occasion.
I should add that in overall terms I was right at the back, 256th out of 261 finishers and the last (42nd) woman to finish. There were however 92 DNFs (26%). It had taken me 33 hours and 30 minutes, the winner Ian Dargaud did it in 15:18. The female winner was Pirjo Saukku whom I mentioned earlier, a member of the Finnish Salomon team, who ran an amazing 16 hours and came 4th overall, more than 3 hours ahead of the next woman. The last runner came in after 38 hours. Results
Post script
After the race Nick kindly drove me back to Châtel where I received a kind of hero’s welcome from the family! As I write this almost a week has passed, the legs have almost recovered and I am feeling good. I am very pleased I had the chance to experience this race and am delighted with the outcome. Still, I would not do it again nor would I do something similar. The technical nature of some of the course just does not play to my strengths and I do better on less demanding terrain where I would generally not be right at the very back of the field and chasing cut-offs. Not that I minded it on this occasion.
I was delighted to have the wonderful support from Nick and Andrew, it really made a difference, probably mostly at the finish. I am quite a self-sufficient person but like any human I do benefit from encouragement and help, and finishing a big race and being all by yourself can be a bit of a comedown, so this was bliss.
I am so grateful to have not sustained any injuries. A couple of minor falls and slips but no ill effects. I had one blister which I had not even noticed until I took my shoes off so that was no bother. I wore Hoka Mafate Speed 4’s. Nutrition and hydration worked very well, I relied on Precision Fuel and Hydration products with electrolytes only in my water, and energy supplied by their 90g gel pouches and chews. I also had 2 pouches of baby banana food and ate a further 2 real bananas. From the checkpoints I took bouillon, some bread (in the bouillon otherwise it is impossible to get down), lots of cheese, watermelon and chocolate. I also had some coke on a few occasions, a chocolate milk, and one smoothie fruit drink.
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