Sep 6, 2022 — Written By Minwei Qu
Two Nights and My UTMB Race
(One)
After leaving Chamonix, I went straight to London. The anti-epidemic measures back home remained as stringent as ever, so I decided to hang around until it all calmed down before returning. They say the restrictions will ease soon, let's hope it's true.
Dreams are still worth having. What if they come true? Just like my recent completion of the UTMB.
Sitting in Kensington Park, I began to write about this race, finishing it intermittently over the course of several days. Originally, I intended to be lazy and not write about it, but after some encouragement from friends, I felt compelled to write.
(Two)
Those who love trail running hold UTMB in the highest regard. Participating once is a necessity, multiple times is an ideal.
That's how I see it.
I first heard about UTMB 12 years ago during a hiking trip. At the time, I was keen on backpacking and thought it was incredibly cool. There was a brother named Hu Youfu, chatting after setting up camp, amidst the misty mountains, who mentioned his plan to participate in UTMB. I was ignorant and impulsive, immediately saying I wanted to join. Back then, I hadn't even started running. I played golf occasionally, and sometimes went hiking in Zhejiang, Anhui, or Jiangxi with hiking buddies on weekends.
Having spoken big words, but since Brother Hu never took action, I didn't feel pressured, so the matter of UTMB was put on hold. Until six years later in 2016, on a day in autumn, the Central European Business School's outdoor club held a UTMB sharing session, and I attended. White-haired Uncle Bai and another person on stage were enthusiastically telling their finishing stories, vividly and vividly, easily drawing me in and successfully planting the seed.
That seed, six years later, grew into a big tree. The me who was clueless back then stood confidently at the starting line of UTMB this August and experienced excitement, nervousness, hesitation, struggle, joy, and various ups and downs during 45 hours of running, fast walking, slow walking, and even crawling. Finally, I returned to the starting point, completing the 171-kilometer course, with 10,000 meters of elevation gain, seven valleys, 71 glaciers, and 400 peaks.
I did it, unashamedly giving myself a pat on the back. Putting on the hard-earned finisher's shirt, looking handsome and feeling great, hahaha.
Thank you, Hu Youfu and Xu Tianshu, for the congratulations you sent me promptly. Because of the seeds you sowed and shared back then, I have what I have today.
(Three)
Let's review the training first. After receiving the confirmation from the organizing committee in January, I didn't immediately start climbing training. At that time, I was preparing for the Wuxi Marathon, hoping to BQ for Boston. Due to the pandemic, the Wuxi Marathon was canceled, so I started trail running training from April Fool's Day onwards.
The email from the organizing committee hit me hard, stating that only those with performance scores of over 420 points could complete UTMB. My performance score was 402 points. Wasn't this indirectly calling me weak? Fortunately, I had experience. Before running CCC in 2019, I received the same email, but I still finished, didn't I?
However, harsh words are often true. Madam Chai Gu also had a golden saying: all DNFs are due to lack of training; everything else is an excuse.
I must train hard.
I set a plan from April to August to run 300-400 kilometers each month, along with 10,000 meters of elevation gain. Looking at the actual execution, I achieved the running distance but not the elevation gain. It wasn't because I was lazy; it was all due to the silent lockdown.
Starting from June, I could leave the city. Every weekend, I went to Cha Mountain in Hangzhou, Lingyan Mountain in Suzhou, Yushan in Changshu, and Dongbai Mountain in Zhuji for training. In July, I went on a business trip to Tianjin and visited Jixian County. Then, there was the Chongli Trail Race, where I completed 100 kilometers, marking a high-quality race training session.
Before leaving for Europe in August, I spent two days climbing Dongbai Mountain with Teacher Fang (Fang Yuan), and did two rounds on the Squirrel Line in Hangzhou in one day. This was the last training session before departure. The training effect was good; every drop of sweat was worth it. Although I didn't become overconfident, I truly believed I could easily complete UTMB.
It was a clear case of being overly optimistic, but I was still blissfully unaware.