2026 UTMB Race Report — Will to Run

After a two-hour delay of the start until 7:45pm, I stood smushed in at the Place de L’Eglise. A steady rain came down, but it cleared 20min before the start. I wrangled my rain jacket off and back into my pack with the help of some nice runners around me. A beautiful sunset appeared over the mountains, and I was excited to run through the night, my favorite part of the race.

With my good friend Giorgio, 4x finisher of TOR!

Start to Notre Dame: surviving the chaos

Conquest of Paradise hit its crescendo, and we were at last released into the streets of Chamonix. In my 5th running of UTMB, the novelty of the packed streets had worn off, and I was frustrated by the slow pace and jostling. After half a mile, we left the main downtown area, but the crowds were still thick.

I finally got enough runway to open up the legs and clicked off 6:30s on the gradual downhill. A runner inexplicably darted left just in front me, and we narrowly avoided collision. I tried to settle in as we diverted to the re-route over to Les Houches following the avalanche 2 years ago that closed the main route.

I bumped into buddy Charles Cai, and we settled in to work together. The new route to Les Houches added more time than I had expected with a significant mile long climb along the way. It was around an extra 10-15 minutes to get to Les Houches. All was good though, and we merrily rolled along as the sun set over the Aiguilles Rouges.

Headlamps came on as we descended to the pandemonium of Les Houches. I needed to go # 2, which was disconcerting this early in the race. I couldn’t find a bathroom, so I deferred the problem until later and started the climb.

In past years there were big crowds in the towns, which was part of the magic of UTMB. This year though the crowds never stopped. Crowds were thick lining the 2,500 foot ascent to Col de Voza. There were smoke bombs, blaring music, cowbells, and screaming crowds. I also noticed the field wasn’t thinning out like past years. I was climbing well, but I was in 400th at the top compared to less than 200th in previous years.

With the two-hour delay, it was now dark on the steep 3,000 foot descent to Saint Gervais, and I kept it dialed back a notch. I wondered if the crowds would be smaller in Saint Gervais given it was now past 10pm. Wow was I wrong – the town was utter madness. Crowds were crushed in, screaming. I still wanted a bathroom, but if there were any there, I couldn’t find them in the chaos. I refilled bottles and set off for Contamines.

I probably got a bit behind on fueling in the madness of the first 14 miles, so I set to work on catching up. I finally had to pull off the trail to go to the bathroom and found a spot. I kept it steady from there and ran my best split from Saint Gervais to Contamines.

My friend Adam Copeland, who I also coached for the OCC, was there to crew me. The aid station was packed, and he had just been let in 30sec before I arrived. Nonetheless we had a great transition, and I set off into the night feeling great.

I ran well to Notre Dame de la Gorge but had to find another bathroom. While my energy and legs were good, my stomach was rumbly and just not settling. Notre Dame featured the craziest crowds yet. People lined both sides of the trail. They crushed in, screaming in your face and literally pushing you up the climb. It was too much for me. After over four hours of nonstop crowds, I desperately hoped it would soon be a quiet night as we approached the big climbs.

Notre Dame to Courmayeur: A Beautiful Night in the Italian Alps

We hit the section that required red light mode only for the first time this year. I will refrain from commenting on what I think about this new rule. Much of this climb is runnable, which I found a bit tougher and lower going with the dim red light. I did a quick bottle refill at the fountain by Nant Borrants. Filling bottles at fountains along the course was a new strategy for me this year. It would allow me to carry a bit less out of some aid stations and hopefully have faster aid station transitions.

At La Balme I filled two more bottles and bumped into Charles again! We worked together on the rest of the climb up Bonhomme, both feeling good and picking up places. It was quiet on the course with a full moon illuminating the surrounding Alps. I was finally in my element and having a great time.

Suddenly my headlamp died and went into safety mode. That was way earlier than it should have happened, but I think the red light filter made it burn battery faster. I heard this happened to others also. Luckily we were on the steeper, slower part of the climb, and the full moon gave enough light.

It got chilly up high, but Charles and I both stayed in tee-shirts. I didn’t know if the red light mode ended at the Col or at the Croix du Bonhomme. I hoped it was the former as the traverse over is fairly technical. Fortunately, that was the case, and I dug out my other headlamp.

We made great time to Bonhomme and started the descent down to Chapieux. I felt strong and was right where I wanted to be at this point. At Chapieux I zipped through the aid station but had to take ANOTHER pitstop. This was all too reminiscent of 2023, when I ended up running with Covid and significant GI issues. I still felt good though, so I tried to stay in a positive mindset.

I went through mandatory gear check and filled a few bottles at the fountain on the way out of town. The first part of Col de la Seine is gradual and requires a lot of running. I caught myself starting to bonk a bit but righted the ship quickly with some calories and caffeine. On the top of Col de la Seine everything started clicking, and I felt the best I had all race. I rocked the top of the climb, zipping past people, and ran smooth and fast down to Lac Combal. We skipped the Pyramides section due to the storm, so the aid station came quickly.

I made another quick stop, filling bottles and grabbing a bit of solid food. I had to use the porta-potties yet again – huge sigh. I felt absolutely incredible though, charging up Arret du Mont Favre. This was my fastest split ever up the climb, and the downhill came easily. With the delayed start, pre-dawn light glowed above the Aosta. I was flooded with memories of Tor and having the time of my life.

I teamed up with an Aussie on the long descent down to Courmayeur. The bottom part is never easy, but I managed it well and felt strong. I made my way through town, arriving at the aid station in 10h58min. This was my best split ever to Courmayeur and not a bad time by itself for 50 miles with 14,000+ feet of climbing.

I also felt better than I ever have at Courmayeur and charged in to Adam. I was stoked to bump into Charles, just one table over. He left a few minutes before me and had an unreal second half of the race, absolutely nailing it and finishing in 24h55min!

Adam cleared the pack and refilled bottles and gels. I ate a bunch of a backpacker meal, chugged soda, and took a salt pill. I put on sunscreen and geared up to head out. It was my fastest transition in Courmayeur, and we were in and out in 5min. I tried to stay in the moment, but it was hard not think about the possibilities of the day given how things were going.

Courmayeur to Champex-Lac: Can I Quit Yet?

I ran through town and up the road climb on a stunning morning. The steep climb up to Bertone is usually my jam, but there was trouble in paradise. My stomach was rumbling and physically painful, like it was tied in knots. It was strange as I was still able to keep fueling, and it wasn’t a bonk or nutrition issue. But whatever had been going on with my stomach since the start caught up to me, and I felt sapped of power on the climb.

I got to Bertone, filled bottles, and tried eating some solid food. I began the balcony section, and my stomach was in rough shape. I could manage the flats and downs but had no power on the climbs. I had to pull off the trail to go to the bathroom yet again. My stomach didn’t feel any better afterwards. A second Imodium didn’t seem to help.

I trudged up to Bonatti and somehow had still managed reasonable splits since Courmayeur. While it was slower than I could have run, fitness was carrying me through. But after Bonatti the wheels well and truly came off. My stomach felt terrible, and I was in a lot of pain. I resolved to stop for a while and regroup at Arnouvaz. I couldn’t even make it that far and had to lay down on the trail for a few minutes to try and settle my stomach.

People passed me left and right as I made my way to Arnouvaz at a pitiful pace. Since nutrition wasn’t the problem, I wasn’t really sure what to do. I figured it would help to stop there for a while and lower the heart rate. Maybe eating more solid food would help settle my stomach?

I found a nice little bench and got some soup, bread, and crackers. The calories were going down fine, and the focaccia dipped in soup tasted good. I wasn’t feeling much better, but I hoped everything would settle and turn around, which often does happen 10 minutes after a good calorie bomb. I used the bathroom again and set off for the climb up Gran Col Ferret.

This is another climb that I usually love, but I still felt terrible after the regroup at Arnouvaz. This was where thoughts of dropping first set in. I sat on a rock on top of Gran Col Ferret, feeling sorry for myself. It was a cloudless, cool, perfect morning, but I struggled to enjoy it.

I started down the long descent. I expected to be crawling but was surprised to see I was able to manage a decent pace. Downhills didn’t feel as bad on my stomach, and I mustered a reasonable split to La Fouly. I filled bottles in the filled bottles in the fountain before the aid station and then tried eating some solid food, but nothing was appetizing.

I set off on the rest of the descent, now in the heat of the day at lower altitude. My stomach acted up and started hurting again. I wanted out. I was tired of the stomach pain and couldn’t see any path to solve it since it wasn’t nutrition related. I had UTMB four finishes in my pocket, and I couldn’t think of any good reasons to suffer through another 35 miles. I devised a plan to run down to Orsieres instead of up to Champex-Lac, quit, and take the bus back to Chamonix.

This was the danger of too much knowledge. There is something beautiful and beneficial about being on a course like this for the first time. But I knew all too well how hard the last 50K would be, and I knew the easiest way out and back to Cham.

I knew there was only one person to talk to and called Jen. As always, she had the right words and convinced me to just go to Champex-Lac. Coach Fitz and Adam also said all the right things. I hit the climb, trying hard to reframe my mindset before I saw Adam.

Champex-Lax to the Finish: So We’re Doing This

I was excited to see Adam again. I tried to shut my brain off and just stay in the moment. We refilled my pack while I ate half a pizza, chugged ginger ale, and took a third Imodium. I was only there for 10 minutes, but we accomplished a lot. I was still low on motivation, but I left the aid station before I could think too hard about it.

My stomach mercifully settled down. I ran the 3 miles well out of Champex-Lac and refilled bottles at Plan de l’Au. I could generally move well on the flats and downs, but my uphills never came back. These climbs are usually my strength, but I felt like I didn’t have power and couldn’t get into high gear. I suffered on the climb up Bovine.

I tried to make up time on the descent and ran a decent 2h48min split from Champex to Trient. This was no longer a crewed aid station as of this year, which actually worked out fine. I did a quick turn and brought 3 bottles with me on the next section, knowing the climb would be hot.

This is the steepest climb in the race. I continued moving up the field though I was again slower than I wanted. We had a nice group working together on the downhill, which helped distract from tired legs and hurting feet.

My split to Vallorcine was ok again. My tried brain starting doing some mental math, and it seemed like it might be possible to go under 28 hours. That had seemed impossible during the depth of my despair from Bonatti to Champex-Lac, and it was motivating to have a meaningful goal to chase.

Burn Down the House

I ran into the aid station and told Adam we were doing a quick turnaround and then I was going to burn down the house to go sub-28. We filled the pack, checked my headlamp, and I grabbed a piece of pizza for the road.

I ran much of the gradual climb up to Col des Montets, making great time. I finally needed to turn on my headlamp again. Around Col des Montets my stomach starting acting up again. Sigh. Fortunately I found a porta-potty, but it cost me a bit of time and stopped my momentum.

I ran towards the climb and was surprised and delighted to see Coach Fitz out cheering! I hadn’t expected to see him on course, so it was a really nice boost. He knew how close I was to pulling the plug and told me I was moving great.

I pushed up the steep climb, again feeling like someone was pulling on me from behind. We hit the nasty downhill section, which was just as terrible as I remember. This is literally the worst trail in the Chamonix valley. With so many options, why do they pick this route? No one knows. But man do I miss the old route that climbed up Tete aux Ventes. Maybe they can bring it back someday.

I felt like I managed the descent well and started the traverse towards the final climb. I bumped into a nice British runner. He told me he was shooting for sub 30. I assured him he was way ahead of that and said we should work together.

With my climbing not being great, sub 28 would be awfully close. I finally crested the climb to Flegere, drank a bit of Coke, and filled one bottle. There was enough time for a 27-hour finish, but I had to move well.

We came upon a few other runners on the descent who joined our little group. We got to the technical section in the forest that I’ve run probably 50+ times. I took the lead, pushing the pace and finding the best line. This descent always hurts at this stage, but there is nothing to do but push through it.

We did our job and made good time to Chalet Floret, transitioning to the wider road for the rest of the way down. I told my crew of about 5 runners that sub 28 was in the bag, now we could relax and enjoy the rest.

I wasn’t in a rush and tried to enjoy the rest of finish, soaking it in. John joined me for the run in., and I crossed the line in 27h52min.

The Aftermath

I came away from this year’s race with very mixed emotions. UTMB has inspired and motivated me for 12 years. The quest for UTMB has made me a stronger runner and opened the door to many other adventures I couldn’t have imagined. It has woven into my family’s life, and we now spend a month in the Alps every summer.

Each prior UTMB experience was deeply meaningful and largely enjoyable. Kissing my wife in 2019 after crossing the finish line in 28 hours and 72nd place is something I’ll never forget. I am honored to be just the 4th American to finish the race 5 times.

This time I did not feel butterflies at the start, and I didn’t feel a lot of emotion at the finish. To be fair, that would be true at most any race now and is at least in part a function of having done this for so long and having 26 finishes at 100 miles or longer.

I enjoyed parts of the course, and the section from Bonhomme to Courmayeur captured some of the old UTMB magic for me. But I did not enjoy some parts, primarily the start through La Balme.

I’m proud of the result and running 27 hours is a good day for me at UTMB. But I also felt I couldn’t achieve to my level of fitness in the second half and suffered more than I would have liked.

Part of me wants to go again in search of that perfect race where it all comes together. I know how rare that is though, and the more likely outcome would be disappointment. It is also logistically difficult to get into the race, and I know how many people still are trying to get their first shot.

I think it is time to set aside UTMB and instead support and coach others. I need to find the next challenge that motivates me and scares me. Some of those challenges may even be part of the UTMB week – I could see giving TDS or PTL a go.

I’ll close with a thank you to UTMB for this chapter of my life. As the biggest race out there it can get a lot of negative press, but it is a beautiful loop around an iconic mountain. It brings people across the world together and inspires them to do their best. And thank you to everyone who supported me over all those years – my family, my crews, my coaches, my friends. I truly couldn’t have done it without you.