Horrendous weather and running all night: Why would anyone run an ultra marathon?
For Tony Letts, who completed the Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc last year, the challenge is key
Running through the night in horrendous weather. Lost hiking poles. Feeling sick. Torch batteries running out. Interminable climbs that get steeper with every step.
Why would anyone want to run an ultra marathon?
And if they did, why would they make it a 106-mile (171km) slog through the Alps featuring 10,040 metres (32,940ft) of elevation gain?
But for Northampton-runner Tony Letts, the joy - and reason - comes from the challenge of pushing himself to new limits and taking on fresh goals.
It was that passion for the extreme which led him to complete one of the world’s most famed events in August last year, the Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc (UTMB) - a race containing the aforementioned formidable distance and elevation metrics.
For Tony, UTMB was the latest race he has taken on in a running career which has also seen him tackle events such as the Ultra-Trail Snowdonia and the 153-mile (246km) North Downs Way.
“During those races, you do ask yourself why you do it,” he told the Running Tales Podcast, “but it is just the challenge.
“You do push yourself and you will hallucinate. Maybe you sleep here and there for 20 minutes if you are lucky.
“You can feel bad one minute and then an hour or two later you feel great again. It’s amazing. You think you’ve had it and then you’re fine.
“And vice-versa, an hour or two later, you feel great and then you go round the corner and feel terrible.”
Running, certainly not over longer and longer distances, wasn’t something Tony immediately excelled in, although he always enjoyed the sport.
As a youngster, he took part in cross-country events at school and revelled in the achievements - and rivalry - of top British distance runners like Steve Cram, Seb Coe and Steve Ovett. But matching them proved out of his reach.
He said: “At that age, you want to win races, don’t you? But I was half the size of the kids in my class, so although I was doing alright, I wasn’t winning.
“And then there was a big gap while I played football for a few years. It wasn’t until I went to back to college, in my mid-20s, that I got roped into cross-countries and started doing a bit of running.”
Pub runs and community at Northampton Road Runners:
Tony’s love of running was further boosted when he moved back to Northampton after a period living and working in the Lake District, where he had enjoyed hiking in the hills.
Tony immediately missed the outdoor life, so took the step to sign-up with Northampton Road Runners, an inclusive town running club which provides a variety of sessions including weekend long runs, beginner groups and even local pub runs.
“I’d had mountains and lakes on my doorstep,” he said, “and I missed going out for walks and climbing and things like that in the Lakes.
“So, that’s where running came in. Forty minutes running around here is a bit like going for a hike up in the Lakes.
“Northampton Road Runners was fairly local to me, so that’s why I joined them. And that really helped actually. Running for a club and meeting all the people who were a part of it. That made a really, really big difference.
“I even met my wife through the running club! I think there were about 30 or 40 members when I joined it and now it is about 200 of all sorts of abilities.
“Some people are into road running, some into trail running, small distances and big distances. The membership is pretty much half and half, male and female, which is good as well.
“It’s a really good, diverse club and very friendly. There’s always something going on, and then we have things like pub runs. We meet up for a run and then go to the pub or cafe afterwards. It’s a good, social club.”
Tony said his experience at Northampton Road Runners is symptomatic of the way community and running go hand-in-hand.
“It’s a big thing and both myself and Jo, my wife, do a lot of running” he said. “There’s always some friendly faces about and you can meet up with afterwards and then we end up doing events together.
“Somebody always comes up with some crazy idea, some crazy race somewhere. As daft as it sounds, we all get roped into it.”
With running achievements including the London Marathon behind him, Tony started to pursue increasingly varied events - including in the world of ultra marathons.
He said: “You do the parkruns, you do the local runs, and then you start looking for other challenges. Ten, definitely 20 years ago, there weren’t many ultra races. There were some, but not many.
“But now all of a sudden, it’s become a big thing. And it’s different from marathons. I wouldn’t say an ultra is easier, but it’s a different mindset.
“With a marathon, you are more likely to be going for a time, running on roads, whereas for an ultra marathon, it can be more off road and there’s lots of food.
“Basically it’s an eating contest.”
Chamonix and all that - welcome to the UTMB:
Tony told Running Tales that UTMB had been on his radar for around 10 years, since he first started running ultra events.
It’s a race which has become known as one of most competitive in the world, fuelled by the achievements of the likes of Killian Jornet, Courtney Dauwater, and Jim Walmsley.
Founded in 2003, UTMB quickly grew in popularity attracting thousands of entrants. The course follows the Tour du Mont Blanc through France, Italy and Switzerland, taking anywhere from around 20 to 46 hours to complete.
Many ultra runners see it’s Chamonix start line as a Mecca of the sport, while qualification involves earning Running Stones by competing in the UTMB World Series and then entering a lottery.
Despite courting controversy for its increasingly commercial nature, epitomised in the minds of many by its partnership with Ironman and concerns the world series is looking to create a monopoly by setting up in areas previously used by smaller events such as in Whistler, UTMB remains a hugely popular and challenging event.
“It has that famous start at Chamonix and there were thousands of people everywhere,” Tony told Running Tales. “It’s just absolutely crazy.
“Like any of these big races, it takes a while to get through the funnel. But it’s a great atmosphere. There are poles all over the place - I almost got one in the eye.
“We were expecting pretty bad weather and although it wasn’t too bad to begin with, the rain started coming down quite heavily and then heavier again.
“It did clear for a bit and I thought it wasn’t going to be too bad, but then it just bucketed down the whole evening. And as we started climbing in the proper mountains in the early evening, the rain turned to snow and it really was cold.”
Despite struggling with stomach and nausea issues, as well as the extreme weather, Tony was able to both complete and enjoy the race.
“I slowed down quite a bit,” he said. “Lots of things happen in a race like that. Things didn’t go quite to plan and the weather was atrocious the first night.
“There were a lot of challenges on the way, but I got it done. When I got to the penultimate climb, on paper it looked a bit shorter than the other ones, but it was really, really hard and very technical.
“I was with a couple of other guys and another group were coming down, so we asked them how far it was to the top. And they said two kilometres, which doesn’t sound much but when it is so steep it is a long way.
“But we carried on and about 20 minutes later, there was another two guys going down - and they said there was about an hour to go, but that it was only two kilometres.
“There were swear words you wouldn’t believe, but we got to the top and then it’s a straight down. Suddenly, there were loads of people around and when we got into the town and on the flat, there were lots of supporters.
“At that point, you just feel great. Even though you’re knackered, you find some energy and you just get running again. I saw Jo and her friends just near the finish line and managed to run a bit with them as well. Moments like that are why it’s fantastic.”
Despite enjoying special times within races, Tony said it is often days and weeks later when the realisation of what he has achieved hits home.
“You think about it for ages afterwards,” he added. “At the time, you envisage the finish line, but it’s never the same as you imagine. By the time you get there, you’ve been through so much and encountered so many problems.
“At UTMB, I lost one of my poles halfway through the race. I lent it on a bridge and it went straight into the river. My bag zip broke, so I had to use safety pins to keep it together. And the torch batteries kept on running out.
“There’s always something, so to get to the finish is more of a relief than anything else.”
The secret to ultra marathons? Taking incremental steps:
Despite - and perhaps because of - all the challenges they bring, Tony’s love of endurance events shows no signs of letting up.
The Lakeland 100 in his sights in July - although he is ‘only’ doing the 50km race rather than the full 100 - and he plans to try and get back into UTMB in the future.
Another run that plays on his mind is the Leadville 100, a 100-mile out-and-back course in the midst of the Colorado Rockies which features significant steep inclines and declines.
“That was the first one I heard about when I started looking at ultras,” he said. “The craziness of the altitude involved, I couldn’t get my mind around it.
“So, that’s one I always think about and maybe one day I’ll do that or Western States or even one of those crazy backyard ultras.
“There’s all sorts of things out there. If anyone is thinking of doing an ultra marathon, I would definitely say go for it. A lot of it is in your mind, but if you take a little bit at a time - just incremental steps - it is doable.
“In some ways, I find them easier than the road races. There’s a bit more variety and less pressure.
“It’s amazing what you can do.”
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Love the title and awesome write-up! Go Tony!