Good Morning! đđťââď¸
Did you all watch the UTMB races? I tried, really. But it turned out that I had other things to do in the 19 hours it took the leader to finish. I love the sport, but watching it on Youtube is really not such a great experience. Mostly you see people with cowbells and then somebody running along, then nothing, then somebody else. Runners running into an aid station are also not that spectacular a view and I do not get all giddy about the way somebody refilled his water bottle. Trailrunning is such a fantastic sport and I am glad more and more people are picking it up, but it is not really made for TV. The exception are documentations. I love watching those, but obviously that means compacting a whole race into 30 mins, including the days and weeks of training before and the aftermath of the race. Thatâs always fun to watch. But watching a 100er mile live? Iâm not tough and resilient enough to endure that.
Read on, my dear. And then go running! đđťââď¸
Fundraiser launched for Jeff Browning after heart attack at UTMB
On Wednesday, American ultrarunner Jeff Browning suffered a heart attack during the TDS race at UTMB in Chamonix, France. According to TrailRunner, the 55-year-old was 129 kilometres into the 145-km (90-mile) race when he needed medical attention, before being taken to the hospital by helicopter. On Thursday, friends of the Browning family launched a GoFundMe campaign with the familyâs blessing. The fundraiser reported that Browning had regained consciousness and was alert, and said the funds will help cover the initial costs of his rehabilitation and recovery. Browning won Hardrock 100 in 2018 and finished second at Cocodona 250 in 2024, and heading into UTMB, indicated on Instagram that he had always wanted to run TDS.
Jeff Browning is about my age and his performances over the years were really impressive and inspiring. I hope he fully recovers from this. I am glad that so many people support him with the GoFundMe campaign, but I really think universal health insurance would be a much better option in such a situation.
âIt Was Magicâ: American Ben Dhiman Dominates UTMB to Become the First Runner in History to Break 19 Hours
After failing to finish the race in 2023 and 2024, Dhiman was on his game last year when he finished runner-up to British runner Tom Evans. Following the same aggressive style of running that he and Evans engaged in last year, Dhiman built a lead through the middle of the night in Italy and never let it go, outrunning a deep field of international runners while covering 33,000 feet of vertical gain and loss in 18 hours, 16 minutes, and 29 seconds to claim the biggest title in trail running.
While itâs technically not an official course recordâa section of the traditional course in Italy was removed the past two years because of weather concernsâhe still surpassed Evansâs winning time from a year ago (19:18:58) by an hour while covering the course more than 90 minutes faster than he did last year (19:51:37).
This is crazy fast for a race that is not exactly short and flat. Impressive. How fast will runners be able to run the UTMB race in the next few years, how will runners optimize even more?
Exercising Patience And Adjusting My Relationship with Running
It was the first time I showed up at a race wondering if I belonged out there. Iâve never felt that way at a race before. Usually, if Iâm not in shape I simply donât race. I hate having bad times on my rap sheet.
Iâm used to being on the starting line, legs shaking nervously, in 1â split shorts, singlet, and BreathRite strip, stomach cramping from 6 trips to the porta potty and 200mg of caffeine. This time, I âlined upâ at the very back of the 3:30 pace group, near the broom wagon, who kindly told me I could step off at any point. It was funny being nervous for a different reasonâwould I make the cutoff? Instead of placing or hitting a PR, my âAâ goal was to beat the broom wagon. I didnât feel like a veteran of 20 years. I felt like was surrounded by other people who were more prepared than me, even though it was their first time racing a half!
Thatâs the cool thing about running. We all do it for different reasons and we all get something out of it, we can be an individual even in a mass event organized by a brand.
The Cost of Fashion.
There are a ton of new, niche running brands emerging because so many people have taken up the sport + it means something different to everyone; if there wasnât a brand that resonated, someone decided to create their own. I love that UNNA doesnât take itself seriously; their motto is âfinish in a good placeâ because you donât have to have a podium finish to feel better physically + mentally from a run. The brand is an expression of itâs founder, and when I buy a piece of their apparel, I am buying into what the brand stands for. OYSHO on the other hand, is merely an expression of whatever trend someone determines important that season in a hopes at driving sales.
It must be crazy hard to be an innovative running apparel brand - so many opportunities as the market is growing, yet it is so easy to get copied by the competition that can then outsell a small brand. Iâm rooting for the little guys, always.
Keep Marching
Death marching downhill into the aid station made me think of a time when I had run this section fast, or at least faster or at least, had run it at all.
That was a different day, and a different version of myself.
Amazing runners, some almost twice my age, rushed past. Dust diffused through the windy morning air, and I thought of the front pack that must be on a tear on this peculiarly cold race day. The energy in the aid station below was palpable from a half-mile above. I could hear music, cheers and cowbells. The excited noise made others increase their pace. Somehow, it slowed mine. I smiled, but it wasnât ironic. It was simply hard to believe how much Western States had grown since my first time running it. The circus is fun, but itâs still the circus, and my back hadnât come to play.
The circus might be fun, but it is also an extremely tough circus. Still, Iâd love to get a chance to run there. It must be amazing, even if you do not finish.
If you missed last weekâs edition, you can read it here:
Now, go running!
â Nico
đđťââď¸