Conquérir le Mont-Blanc : sur les chemins de l’UTMB – Documentaire (2023)

Ce film de 52 minutes invite à suivre la préparation et l’aventure de 6 athlètes internationaux à l’occasion des premières Finales des UTMB® World Series. Dans un format original, alliant histoires sportives et tranches de vie, le long-métrage permet de découvrir le trail running autrement et de contribuer à mieux incarner la discipline à travers ses héros.

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Oh my God I just want it to start Now what am I doing here why do I do this to Myself This race just constantly keeps hitting you completely physically destroyed but mentally More Alive than you’ve ever felt in your life this race is so Hard it’s special for sure it’s a it’s a very big race the UTMB is the greatest racing week in trail running in the year and uh it culminates with three finals races with the Queen Race really being uh the complete circle of mon Blanc the rooftop of Europe very busy feels like shamany

Fever all the runners are here you can feel feel it UTMB is in the air Already my name is Tony mccan I am a professional Trail Runner and I am from Cape Town South Africa seven days to go 7day countdown one week I’m excited that it’s here I’m nervous obviously it’s exciting I’m ready for the atmosphere and the event and Faun to come And can you imagine just the street lined with so many people Tony McCain who’s recently relocated to Europe she’s on the trix’s team and this has really become a second family to her she’s a rising talent in the trail running scene right now I love running it’s obviously takes

Up a lot of time I’ve chosen this profession where I get to spend a lot of time in the mountains which for me feels like a dream best is probably my biggest supporter he’s not the reason I moved to France but he’s definitely a reason I want to

Stay I feel very lucky to have him in my life um he’s been with me through some challenging moments this year and has been very supportive through it all Cafe preparations for OCCC this year have been less than ideal and then I transitioned into the running season and

Was feeling great and obviously had a good race at trans volcania um so was all doing good um but unfortunately I did come away from that race with an injury um quite painful the cycling also resulted in a broken collar bone so I ended up having to sit on an indoor

Trainer the specific training for OCC has definitely been lacking this year um so in some ways I feel quite underprepared Mery meryon Ed I’m Ali McLaughlin and I’m from Colorado in the US and I’m a trail runner for Hoka Ali mlin is a terrific athlete incredibly talented Trail Runner she is an uphill specialist she’s won the Pikes Peak she was at the world championships this year representing the USA just a great personality TR running is my main sport but I do a lot um as hobbies and I

Wouldn’t necessarily call them sport Sports um I see Sports as like being competitive and um so the activities I do I’d say more like are art or um Fringe activities we call them sometimes the danger of it just is really attractive of like learning how to be super responsible for yourself and

Attentive to detail and so it’s just like that accomplishment of getting over something that’s scary and getting better at it and and it’s pretty fun in the Process it’s not my typical preparation no however um I mean I SK ey for years and I thought it it’s always fun yeah I just want to do it all and um and especially Europe is such a great place for the airports and so I’m like oh I’m

Going to Europe I’m taking all my toys and the OC stands for orer champak shamine it’s got 3,500 M of climbing it’s a tough race probably the toughest 55 km race in the World I am extremely nervous um there’s a lot of excitement in the air and I think we are all in the same boat feeling the the tension of the stline after hearing a lot of talk the last few days one specific for um comment came to mind that someone

Said Ally didn’t go out that fast last year that kind of stuck with me so I’m going to do what I did last year if not not faster and but make sure I feel good and waiting for the gun to go [Applause] Off the start line at OC is always wild it is so fast and the road is so narrow so everyone is trying to hustle and push for position and you don’t want to get caught in the back because it’s really hard to claw your way back if you get caught behind People well the race starts with a with a massive climb up to uh champe lock and then there’s a small flat section it climbs up uh the legendary climb of the bovine which is a rhythm breaking climb and the course recently change it Dives down into the small little village of

Triamp and then it clim climbs out of trium climbs over the C de bomb with a spectacular view of the mon Blanc and then it descends down into artier and climbs across above the hillside the mountain side and Dives back down at feser into Shaman a very very difficult Race I can see Ali ahead of me and I can see her charging but there’s a group of us and we’re all kind of running together and sit sticking at the same pace and I remember thinking that this was comfortable and then I could hold this and feeling like my breathing is in

Check and listening to the breathing of the girls around me and and noticing a few who who weren’t breathing super Comfortably I get nervous sometimes when I’m following so off the start I kind of like to like like to be in the lead so I’m going to take a few steps here and now I’m I’m all with the guys and I actually can see the leaders which but it feels like a comfortable

Pace we are in mirin this is my third time here but first time as a bass jumper um the reason I heard about it six or seven years ago was it’s a big Basse jumping spot and a lot of friends come here from the

US to base jump so I hear about it all the time and so to finally be back this year as a bass jumper finally is really special it’s a base jump off a parag glider so James is going to pick me up tandem it’s about finesse so we’ll see how we

Do and when I’m base jumping it’s like The Matrix you’re just I’m so focused I’m so in the moment um I’ve really put all the noise of different aspects of life kind of aside and yeah that’s actually when when I’m in a race it’s very similar or when I’m on a long run

Or a workout I do think it helps with nerves at the start of the race um you know over like a base jump is a lot scarier in my mind it takes a toll and um you know there’s stuff called adrenal fatigue and like I mean I haven’t like

I’m not quite there but I think there’s been times it’s like oh wow I have been jumping a lot I think like I’m going to definitely have to learn how to balance it [Applause] All I’m coming up to champe lck back I’m already like feeling a little burn and uh I just noticed that Jennifer and Tony are right here with me I remember thinking it was maybe a good time to catch her and try and hang on they actually just passed and oh gosh We doing really well until um we hear some pounding footsteps coming up behind us and meow yaow um flies past us she was she is Flying I see our team manager Robert and he comes up to me and he starts is running beside me and he tells me be confident that’s not a gap yet that’s not even a gap come on super I think the tri’s management have done something magical with the tri team

Um we get along so well and they’ve definitely become an extension extended family for me you know within the team we’ve got such a range of experience um and I definitely think I was one of the least experienced in the team which is why having someone like Peta you know all of

These athletes have such amazing experience and have so many more years in the in this sport than I do so to get to spend a good amount of time with him you learn so much it’s been so cool to follow her journey and like seeing her Progressive in the like the mountain

Terrain of course I give I’ve raised OC before so I can give her some tips of course I think when you’re training there’s only so far you can go on your own and when you have the team support and their knowledge and their experience that you

Can draw on and help push you it’s you know the possibilities are Endless if I can keep with her I can pass her later on I know I can and it was that positive reinforcement in my head throughout the race you know I know I can I’m feeling good my legs are feeling good I’m not feeling tired these climbs are still feeling easy you’re

Fueling well you can do this you’re confident be brave yeah it was those voices running through my head that kept me going that Day we’re a mile into the downhill from cord Blum and I’ve been past I think maybe four times and this kind of [Applause] sucks so on the climb up to up to C the bomb I can see that I’m making ground on her and I can see that I’m moving better

Than her I didn’t push super hard I just kept going at the pace that I was going at knowing that if I didn’t catch her on the climb I’d be able to pass her on The Descent and um halfway up the climb just before we reach the Contour up to called

The bomb I I passed her so I was like I’m good I’ve got this so I pushed a little and uh yeah I just I I didn’t see her again minutes you are safe no worries just relax and be smart okay that’s your day The Descent from fer I was calm I

Knew no one was chasing me no one was right behind me so I could the trick to descending is to not be tense you’ve got to let loose you’ve got to like you know be calm and it’s almost like dancing you can’t be stiff when you dance same with running downhill

It it’s not a feeling you get very often in in a career so I rarely tried to soak it up but at the same time I also just wanted to get to the Finish as quick as [Applause] Possible it’s it’s a surreal experience I don’t think I’m ever going to have anything come close to that unless I would here again let’s celebrate uh another finisher from United States another finisher from H Team Ali Mlin I have a lot of friends like cheering and I want to smile for him but I’m like also heartbroken so I don’t have regrets particularly but I question am I trying to do too much um between just like traveling partying base jumping um paragliding but bottom line I’m not changing a [Applause]

Thing of Thec I can feel very lucky if I’m just waking up and smell the coffee it doesn’t need to be like grandios to to be something that matters and forsberg’s one of the greatest trail running athletes of of all time she’s truly a legend of the sport she’s a leader of the sport and uh

She is both uh a huge personality but at her core a really simple and pure person after her two pregnancies come back to racing and uh come back incredibly strong and fierce as a competitor and here I planted some apple pear and cherry trees it’s old Apple Tree old Apple

Tree I have a grandio plan for the garden when I stop run the farm it’s it’s a lot of work and I’m I I love being like a farmer if I if I didn’t get tired from the work outside I I would do it uh all the hours I’m not

Running um but it’s hard work that too so to live a a life where it feels like first I’m in respect with nature and also like close to Nature and and to be able to give something to the world which which can be small or big or something in

Between I think it’s like the anchor and that the family can bring you that can help but I’m not sure that like everything like it’s it’s still like I want to be very present with them and I want to have energy with them and sometimes I prioritize that instead of a

Hard very hard training because I know that if I do this I will not be able to do this with the girls uh so it’s a priority but uh for me it feels like that’s it’s really worth it and I’m I’m very grateful to to be a mother and the

Family means a lot lot to me I I think she’s in in the best shape that she has ever been uh like when you see the times that she’s putting on training it’s uh yeah it’s the best that uh she’s been then like she she is a long race and long race is

Like everything can happen it’s uh it’s hard to know that but uh I think the preparation is there so then it’s more on the execution and having a good day so uh now it’s uh it’s on that and it will be exciting to to be following the Price come John my name is Jonathan Alban I’m from the UK but I live here in Norway and I’m a trail Runner where but it’s hard to back down because it’s so runnable yeah it is runnable there and then when you do this contouring Emily is I guess a friend uh

She’s married to Killian they both live just 20 minutes away so we’ve done a lot of training together we’ve been on some trips together I can learn from Emily and I’m guessing there’s some stuff Emily can learn from me I raced CCC last year she has raced previously but I

Think she stopped a little bit early so I don’t know we’re going to make a little bit of a a team and then we’ll be both heading down to to Shamy to see if we can both do the best race possible have you done me a feel little no I

Heard it’s really vulnerable it’s really nice I love it it’s just the last part where where you can in the a bit steeper yeah yeah is it important to share experience yeah it’s it’s always fun to talk with like uh with other Runners their experience and yeah especially when you

Do the same course because everyone has a different experience but you were on the exact same Trail good luck and uh see you on start yeah good Luck so Jonathan Elin is an incredibly talented Trail Runner he’s an OCC Champion he was second place last year at CCC and uh just an incredibly meticulous and strategic uh Trail Runner he leaves nothing to Chance in his preparation and so we would expect him to have a

Terrific race this year at the CCC a simple person I just like to be out in nature moving running that’s where I’m happiest I’m a little bit shy I still just like to be myself just out There I wouldn’t say I control everything I certainly don’t control the weather a lot of my training isn’t very specific but I really have to try and make some workouts extremely specific with CCC it’s probably the longest race I’ll do this year so I have to do some

Some longer activities and that’s really important not just to build yourself up physically but also to test things like nutrition strategies because nutrition is such a massive part of ultra running so actually that’s probably the thing that I’m weakest with so just being able

To go out long enough so you can sort of like really get into that state where your stomach isn’t very happy anymore and see what foods work and and see how you can overcome that discomfort is really important so this is how many hours i’

I’ve used use the machine since I got it and then this is the altitude take it down it’s really hard to train for the exact climate um that I’m going to be racing in a few weeks time also the altitude I live at sea level we’re going to be racing up to

Maybe 2,000 M or so so that’s a that’s something that it’s really hard to train for that’s why I have the altitude tent to try and have a little bit of adaption so I can sleep in that I think I can win I think I should

Be able to win and I think I’ve always always tried to tell myself why shouldn’t I be able to win because if you think you can win then normally it’s a lot easier to Win well the CCC is a beautiful race and it of course that acronym stands for corer shampe shamani and the race essentially is a half circle of the UTMB course this really is a 100K race with 6,100 M of climbing last night I’m definitely not a people person

And usually on start lines I end up tucked away in the corner just sort of like trying to stay as relaxed as possible I’m very excited to be out for a whole day of running and that’s what I want to keep in mind and I see many

Familiar faces friends and Runners and I I I’m just feeling very happy to be there I’m not stressed because I’m my main objective was to to finish and have a good day out there so I I just wanted to embrace all the moments in the long day Ahead it’s really surreal when then they say go and then you start running and all of a sudden you have to concentrate on how how many people are around you where you are uh whe there’s people in the way filming or the crowd and it’s from the very first second really

Intense the difficulty of the CCC is just the enormous amount of climbing in the race one is the grand Cole Fay but it’s a big climb it’s the high point of the race it’s the crossing between Italy and Switzerland the area of the race that’s always a real difficulty is the Boven

Climb just after shampe lock you’ve got a lot of kilometers in vertical in your legs and that’s usually where there’s a definitive move that’s made in the race I wouldn’t say I had a strategy for the start but I knew I couldn’t start too hard and I think by the first top I

Was something like 5 minutes behind the lead and it back in 27th Place I think so that was a little bit far back than what I would have liked but there’s no there’s no panicking I mean you just have to run your race hope things will come back to you manage yourself and

Just see what happens uh I’m in the first climb and I’m feeling really good and under control and I’m I know I’m a strong climber so I wanted to be um close to the top there with the top woman but I I didn’t think that I would be the first One then I had planned for the flat sections to take it a bit easier as it’s not my strength Jang xang is coming and we’re running together it’s very nice at the moment I don’t have like a a race that I want to win I just know that how

I want to perform on it and I want to do it like well so that’s how where I am at the moment as you see it will be special because I don’t feel like an ultra Runner and 100 kilom feels horrible long like 10 years ago I could run a

Couple of hundred kilometers per summer like races during my two pregnancies um that were pretty close I kind of lost a lot of training and endurance after the pregnancies I haven’t done any ultas and now I feel terrified for the distance so I will um I will just do my best I I

Really I really don’t know how it will go really love it up here it’s very wild and peaceful let’s go down I want to finish your race of course now of course I I would like to fight for a good position but it’s hard to know where I’m at at that

12 13 hours race when I haven’t done it for 6 Years I was always gradually catching people throughout the entire race so that’s a real morale ra booster and it made me realize that there is still a possibility uh but later on in the race when I got told that I was 9 to 10 minutes behind the lead I have to say I

Did kind of think that’s that’s a big a big ask to try and close that Gap and then manag to push forwards and win so to be honest at halfway I didn’t think uh it was really going to be possible but there’s no way I was going to give

Up so I was always going to push on and and give it my all After four or five hours I started to feel a pain which I have had before in the foot and it just increased and increased increased so the hardest part was to try to let those thoughts go and just keep going [Applause] [Applause] when I came into the age station was down to business I knew what I wanted I wanted to get it quick and I wanted to get out of there and that’s exactly how me and Henrietta ran the a station I came in I got out what I wanted and I

Left so I think it was like between 15 and 30 seconds at the Aid Station that water which is Water uh he seemed like he was on a mission to be honest he wanted to get quickly in and out he didn’t seem like he wanted to sit down although I told him to sit down so he was just like d so yeah he’s on a Mission when I say I wasn’t a competitive person I’m becoming one I think that’s very much henrietta’s personality rubbing off on me she was always the really serious one she wants to repair perfectly and I think being around her made me push my limits and

Made me win more races and made me a better [Applause] athlete the main reason I did come to Norway was because of H she uh she was the love of my life I mean um as soon as we met it’s kind of things just clicked and we’ve been together a long time now

And when she said I want to move back home to Norway do you want to come I immediately said yes because obviously I was going to follow her wherever she went in the world not a lot of trunners seem to know about the boiling trick it’s like an old school norian is very

Much my coach in in lots of different ways uh I’ve never actually had a coach I’ve just bumbled along finding my own way with Sport and that really worked for a certain amount of time I’m getting ready it was from that point that I had to start making my own philosophies for

Training and coaching myself and having hemorr as a sounding board uh to give me or to have a look from the outside was invaluable and she is a big part as to why I have been successful as an athlete so I think um if there was ever

Two people that were meant for each other it was me and Hima and it’s not been uh not been dull one day since uh since we met and I would have changed [Applause] anything I’m coming into champ and I see Mara from my team there and I’m I’m going um to take a lot of water on Me and going out uh it’s a pretty fast uh aid station W I knew that Emily hogood was behind me uh so I thought that we could run a bit together but then it started with a a bit of runable section and then a bit downhill where the my foot started to hurt more and more so it’s it was hard

To like go fast there and from there it was a a little fight with the Pain can just about see the leader I’m running past him and I’m trying to run really strongly so I look strong and try and break his wheel a little little bit and I kept that going um for quite quite some time after and uh I get that kick of you’re now leading the Race so I’ve come into the valtin Aid Station I’ve got 500 Mig of boiled coke which was the plan and I’m putting 500 Mig of water into my race vest which jumps out of my race vest before I’ve I’ve left so I’ve left the a station

With 500 mil less water than I wanted to yeah it it’s really high risk uh I knew there was a river that I could fill up in so I’m running along up the climb I’m coming towards the river I’m thinking okay thank God I can finally fill up and

Get some get some water the river is bone dry quick jump and now it’s really red alert this could end drastically it’s just very hard to run like 4 hours with sharp pain and then know that you have at least 3 4 hours to go like it’s always really hard to take

A decision to stop aquaa running along the river with 1 km left is when you start thinking okay I’ve done this now it really is a case of you look over your shoulder along the river there you can see back 300 400 m and then I think okay this is this is mine

Now I’ve won but then the the crowd is there and they really sort of expect something of you and it is really fun to then go and say thank you to them and the win isn’t just for me it’s for for her as well so

It was cool that she was at the Finish Line it was fun that I saw her along the course it’s actually the first time that she’s crewed me properly in a race like that cuz she wasn’t racing herself so to share that with her is uh quite Special [Applause] Mat blard is a a real incredible emerging Ultra Runner he’s really only been Ultra and in trail running uh and Racing for the past 5 years and he’s a really solid athlete like if you look at him he’s not a really uh thin athlete he’s got strong muscular he’s a fast

Runner at the Marathon distance but he also is an incredibly talented and tenacious runner for that 100 mile plus distance he was third in the UTMB in 2021 he was second last year in the UTMB just 15 minutes behind killing Jette this could be his year at UTMB for It [Applause] for [Applause] I feel so excited that the race is finally starting and that I’m with my teammates and uh we’re walking towards the start line we didn’t forget our gear our shoes are tied and we are all ready to Go my name is Courtney dter I live in Colorado and I like running really really far well Courtney dwalter is an incredible athlete she’s really a generational athlete she’s a legend of the sport already and she’s still in the prime of her racing career and uh she’s obviously the greatest of all

Time when I went into this summer my goal was to do two 100 mile races three weeks apart Western States 100 and then the Hard Rock 100 and I would have been very happy to finish both of those and call it a season um but the opportunity

Was there to add one more to the summer and we decided we had to try and see what was possible yeah we will see what one more 100 mile race feels like and my biggest goal is to finish [Applause] It it is so loud at the start line people are cheering um and going crazy and it’s feeling the air with electricity which uh I feel it on my insides building as just excitement and ready to go like let’s do this [Applause] thing [Applause] the UTMB is the ultimate finale race of the UTMB week UTMB stands for ultr trail Dumont Blanc the race has 170 km of racing over 10,000 M of elevation gain and there are about 10 big clim times of a th000 m brings you back to Shaman completely

Physically destroyed but mentally More Alive than you’ve ever felt in your life I love this race gives you these huge towns full of a big party of people celebrating trail running and cheering you on and then you go out into the trails and the mountains and you are

Just by yourself listening to your breathing and your feet and uh it becomes very simple in your headlamp [Applause] Overnight [Applause] thank You [Applause] Ene [Applause] [Applause] As I’m climbing Grand kfay my legs are feeling really tired already which uh is makes me a little nervous because there’s still a long race to go [Applause] [Applause] spee [Applause] [Applause] [Applause] for For that’s great good job wonderful come on come on I am [Laughter] dead this race is so hard this summer has been so hard and I am feeling completely empty of any power left in my leg when I arriving into for CLA it is the biggest and craziest crowd I’ve ever

Seen at a running event this is insane I can’t believe all of these people are out here cheering I’m so thankful for all of those people giving up their day to be out supporting all of the runners but um the like son and everything that was for

Me specifically is it just it filled my heart and filled my it gave me a it’s giving me a boost to keep [Applause] going [Applause] Mery [Applause] I have never given so many high fives in my [Applause] [Applause] life as I’m crossing the line I have an overwhelming feeling of disbelief I I cannot believe that I made it here and the summer is done and uh we completed our Challenge and uh immediately I am looking for Kevin and my family and uh just wanting to hug [Applause] everybody what’s next for you next for me is to fully relax and recharge and start scheming on what a new idea could be for 2024 I am always looking for a new Challenge yesterday I I told the team that okay I’m retiring now today I feel much better than yesterday maybe uh to step up to the full course would be the next Challenge