The North Face Ultra Tour du Mont Blanc
The North Face Runners Ready for the Ultra Tour du Mont Blanc
News Release / 19.08.2010
Taking place from August 27th to 29th almost entirely on remote open country trails, some with considerable exposure, the headline course, The North Face UTMB, crosses nine high elevation mountain passes and ridges, making for a total positive height gain of 9,400 metres, as it circles the Mont Blanc massif through three countries - France, Italy and Switzerland.
Of the 5,500 competitors from 58 different nations who take part in the four races altogether, 2,300 will compete in The North Face UTMB. Nine runners from six countries will represent The North Face global athlete team. Between them, this superlative group possesses a veritable trophy room of impressive placements, including five podium finishes at previous UTMB competitions.
Running in the men’s division is French superstar Sebastien Chaigneau, who placed 2nd at last year’s event. No stranger to epic courses, Sebastien recently won the 2010 Olympus Marathon in Greece, to add to his 1st place finishes at the grueling Libyan Challenge in 2007, 2008 and 2009, and the great Raid du Mercantour in 2009. Also competing is the third place finisher, Tsuyoshi Kaburaki. One of the most well-regarded trail runners in his native country of Japan, Tsuyoshi won the Mount Fuji Climbing Marathon multiple times. In 2009, he quit his career in the Japanese government to focus on endurance running.
British athlete Jez Bragg, is back on the trail after a stress fracture to his heel derailed his running career for a few months. Prior to the injury, Jez celebrated an excellent 2009 running season, culminating in a 3rd place finish at the renowned Western States 100 in the USA. American athlete and attorney, Mike Wolfe, will also be at the start line. In recent years, Mike earned two 1st place finishes and a course record on the Devil’s Backbone 50-miler, two 1st place finishes at the White River USATF 50-miler, and a course record on the Bighorn 100-miler.
In the women’s division, participating in her fourth UTMB is accomplished multi-sport athlete, Elizabeth “Lizzy� Hawker. Hailing from the UK, and based in Switzerland, Lizzy placed 1st in 2005 and 2008, and 2nd in 2009. She also holds a PhD in polar oceanography. Brazilian multi-sport athlete and attorney, Fernanda Maciel, who took first place at the inaugural TDS 2009 event, enters her first UTMB race this year. With several top finishes in a range of disciplines from ultra-marathons to outrigger canoeing, Fernanda was named “Best Adventure Athlete in Brazil� in 2008 by the Brazilian Confederation of Adventure Racing.
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