Pages

Tuesday, June 24, 2014

Outrun the sun: a race around Mont Blanc

A relay race pitting two teams against each other, and the sun, around Mont Blanc could it possibly be completed between sunrise and sunset on the same day?

Only in the ultra-running community could the notion that two teams race each other, and the sun, the entire way around Mont Blanc between sunrise and sunset be viewed as a sensible suggestion. The route of Outrun the Sun is broadly that of the notorious Ultra-Trail du Mont Blanc (the UTMB) for which the course record is just over 20 hours. The teams lining up in the Alps last weekend had 15 hours, 41 minutes and 35 seconds to circumnavigate the tallest mountain in Western Europe.

There's a strange relationship between athletic achievement and global recognition. The world's most famous footballers even some athletes, such as Usain Bolt or Mo Farah are household names. Yet some of the most astonishing feats go virtually unreported. The great names of ultra running, who have performed feats worthy of a rather over-the-top Greek myth Kilian Jornet, Scott Jurek could walk unrecognised through pretty much any major city in the world.

Continue reading...

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.theguardian.com