By Mathias Eichler
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After OCC I felt so great that I thought I had one more race in me before the winter. And I had so much fun in Chamonix that I wanted to get some more Stones to try to get back there again. Sorry to disappoint, but this system is working for suckers like me. Whistler is close – I can drive there, as supposed to having to take a plane + rental car – which is a big plus in my book. For a sea level dweller like me the trails are at reasonable elevation so I can run them without dying – hello Kodiak. And lastly, man Whistler is an awesome destination to hang out for a few days – I love this place.
Of course, as a first year UTMB event with all the kerfuffle baggage from the past year I also felt someone should report on the event and not just ignore it and snicker at it from a distance. Clearly many of the pros stayed away and the event’s fairly low signup numbers showed that it wasn’t just the pros that avoided the event. Having said this, comparing it to other North American UTMB events, the numbers at Whistler weren’t that bad. They just have a lot of room to grow given the town, the hotel rooms and restaurants, and the distance to a major airport and metropolitan area. So, what does a brand new UTMB event look like?
Man, Whistler oh Whistler, I love this place. After my first Squamish50 race back in 2016 I took the family up to Whistler for some vacation time and fell in love. For a European this town/resort/place is as close to home as it gets. A walkable mountain town with reasonably priced hotels (thank you Olympic Games!) and gondolas, and views, and gelato. Yes, three weeks after leaving Chamonix I acknowledge the difference, but that also feels like a bit of an unfair comparison. Whistler is a fantastic place for a trail running event. Ultra Trail Whistler was held out of Creekside, a small-ish community 5 min from the main Whistler Village. It felt quiet, almost a bit dead – in that offseason sort of way. On the plus side this location gives UTMB a ton of room to grow in coming years. I didn’t really consider what Whistler in September would be like until I hit the main village on Friday before the race and the town was buzzing. Tourists everywhere, mountain bikers everywhere, the bike park still in full operation and the chair lifts humming. This, I think, might hold the key to some of the challenges in the past and possibly in the future: Vail Resorts are operating a bike park here in Whistler in the ‘no-ski-season’. They sell lift tickets for a lot of money, and the park is world-renown and freaking busy – even in September. ANY trail running organization will have a hard time convincing Whistler/Vail that closing any amount of trails for the purpose of uphill running, possibly for the entire weekend and possibly for many many miles at a time is economically the right decision. Whistler seems to not just not need the trail runner, but there’s a big chance that these trail runners would interfere with their lucrative bike business.
I’ve experienced now my 4th UTMB event. Canyons, Kodiak, UTMB in Chamonix, and Whistler. There’s a familiarity and similarity to their setup and operation that feels reasonable and comforting.
It is what it is. This is what it feels like running races by the same racing company. The formality creates comfort. Things work. Things are were they are supposed to be.
You come here to race and want to be taken care of, you’re not going to a farmer’s market. Is there room to grow? Could the organization add a few things beyond the actual like like an after party, yes. And they should for folks being there all weekend – and most are – so why not. Doesn’t take a lot, but it does take some planning, some man power, and some cash, and for the first year, I rather see them put it all into the races than into the extracurricular activities. This can grow with time. And it’s not like Whistler itself isn’t a destination. There’s plenty to do. It’s just that when walking around the village after the race one feels a bit lost along the throngs of tourists and serious looking mountain bikers in their full body armor. If there’d be one bar/restaurant a runner could make a pitstop and connect with others, it would be welcome. I’m sure this will come in coming years.
UTMB chooses to hide their race directors. There’s an announcer doing the pre-race briefing and he holds the mic at the start and finish line, but beyond that, you don’t see who puts on the event. They did add a nice touch and opened the races with a welcome message from the local tribes, which felt intentional and meaningful. Along the course, at the smartly placed aid stations – more on these later – the volunteers were all amazing. This was one of my worries with this event, but clearly the team dug deep and found folks in charge and helping in the various positions who in some cases might not have looked like seasoned aid station professionals one expects at Western States, but their enthusiasm and support of runners (even back of the pack runners like me) were second to none. A huge shout out to everyone spending countless hours on Whistler Mountain brazing the cold wind helping us runners reach our goal. You were all amazing. As a race director myself I can say this was for me a massively important sign that whoever is holding the reigns up there wants this event to succeed. And having creating such a positive experience for everyone involved really goes a long way.
Nothing was missing, nothing they ran out of. The usual fair was offered, and there was plenty of it. Yes, there was no chocolate fountain or other shenanigans, but the friendly faces, the attentiveness and the cheers made way up for any fancy antics.
So far I might have made it sound like this event was all “business as usual” and in many ways it was. There was nothing amiss or over the top grand. The course markings though were beyond anything I’ve ever experienced. At every turn there was a warning sign placed of a “critical turn ahead”. Every wrong way was marked off with yellow caution ribbon. This was by far the best marked course I’ve ever ran. And that got me thinking. I wonder if Whistler/Vail either required this type of marking, or helped with marking the course themselves. Ski/bike/mountain patrol was out during the event and helped with getting DNF’ed runners off the course. And they provided medical support when needed. There were even volunteers at various critical crossings making sure runners took the correct turn. This seemed inspired and informed by mountain bike races, events where participants go a lot faster and any missed turn can lead to annoyance or even injury much quicker than for a mere running race. It felt overkill in certain places, but on the other hand, there was never a question of where to go. I’m just glad I wasn’t the one marking or sweeping that course.
Much mockery is made online about UTMB’s ‘Kilometer-Meter Effort’ rating to determine how hard a race is. Or rather than hard, in what category a specific race should fit in. The 100K that Whistler offered initially was close to 100 kilometers long, with a massive amount of vert. UTMB adjusted the course twice, for unknown to me reasons, and they ended up with a 69 Kilometer race with 12,631 ft. of vert. They called it the 70K and it was awarded the 100K index and three Stones, worthy of a 100K distance.
I don’t mind this classification rating as it supposed to give people an idea of what they are getting themselves into. Even though I still run with people at every race who seem to JUST look at the distance and never the vert and then act surprised when the course has more climbing than they expected.
But, a 70K with a 100K rating was one of the main reasons why I wanted to race it. I didn’t think that I would have a 100K (with Whistler-type vert) effort in me, but once they adjust the course it felt achievable just 3 weeks post OCC. And for what it’s worth, this race did feel harder than OCC.
The race only had 3 aid stations, runners visited them a combined 8 times. There were plenty of stops for runners, but not a lot of aid station crew was needed to support the runners – smart. This was a looped course and that in itself wasn’t fantastic. The course did feel a bit contrived. I hope in future years they can adjust the route, combine more of the available trails in the high alpine, and create a more flowing and beautiful course.
Nonetheless this is a great race in a beautiful location. Whistler is easily accessible from the Vancouver metro area – there are bus shuttles straight from the airport. For folks from the Pacific Northwest this is an event to get your Running Stones without the need for an airplane trip.
A friend of mine asked me if I’d do the race again. Without hesitation I responded: Yes, every year, if the rest of the race calendar allows it. So, once a year I’ll be traveling to Whistler for some vert, poutine, and Running Stones.
Sure you can do that, but don’t put that on me.
For me, that would mean that I’d never run any UTMB race in Chamonix again. And after I ran there I sort of fell in love with it and want to do it again.
I don’t tell you that you HAVE to run in Chamonix. I don’t tell you to collect Stones or get excited about racing in Europe. So, please do not tell me that I should stop doing what I want to do because of whatever reasons are in your head. My trail running is big enough to hold it all. I won’t let you make it small.
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