TORX and Monte Rosa Races this Weekend

If you haven’t had enough Euro racing in your life there are two more incredible trail races happening this weekend barely a stone throw from Chamonix.

• TORX: What started off as the Tor des Geants has now morphed into a series of races all in and around the Aosta Valley, Italy. That’s just one valley over from Chamonix on the other side of Mont Blanc. The valley includes Courmayeur. That’s how close to the UTMB course this race is.
• Ultra Tour Monte Rosa‘s home is in Grächen, Switzerland in the Canton of Valais just below Zermatt and the Matterhorn. Their 100mile course also travels into parts of the Aosta Valley and is directed by Lizzy Hawker, who won UTMB 5 times. Monte Rosa has a very different feel from UTMB, is much smaller and in many ways feels more like a low-key American race – with cheese.

When you look at each of these races website you can see how each of these events are clearly inspired by UTMB and are in equally beautiful locations. But they offer a completely different feel, fewer if any any sponsors, and fewer runners by several magnitudes.