UTMB 2017 Finishers Share Their Stories about the “Toughest” Trail Race

Posted On September 21, 2017

Seventeen Filipinos represented the Philippines during the recently concluded Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc (UTMB) 2017 held August 28 to September 3 at Chamonix, France. This is by far the largest Filipino delegation in one of the “toughest” trail race in the planet.

(Majo Liao at Grand Col Feret, the coldest and toughest peak in the race)

Around 8,000 runners joined the prestigious trail race that takes place in the cold mountains of the Alps, which encompasses the countries of France, Italy and Switzerland. Divided in six categories with varying distance and elevation gain, UTMB participants ran anywhere from 56 kilometers with 3,500 meters ascent for the OCC event and up to 171 kilometers with 10,000 meters ascent for the UTMB main event.

UTMB 2017 Finishers

The following are the Filipino UTMB finishers and their respective race category.

Ultra Trail Mont du Blanc (UTMB)- 171 km/ 10,000 meters ascent

• Majo Liao

• Gene Olvis

• Miguel Caranza

• Jun Bermudes (US-based)

• Donald Hermoso (Singapore-based)

Sur les Traces des Ducs de Savoie (TDS)- 119 km/ 7,200 meters ascent

• Sandi Menchi Abajan

• Aldean Philip Lim

• Kristian Jorgensen (Denmark/Philippined-based expat)

Courmayeur – Champex – Chamonix (CCC) – 101 km/ 6,100 meters ascent

• Edmund Cura

• Mark Itol

• Erick Guieb

Orsières – Champex – Chamonix (OCC)- 56km/ 3,500 meters ascent

• Carmina Luisa Jereza

UTMB also has another event called the La Petite Trotte à Léon, an ultra trail team race (composed of 2 to 3 people) which covers 300 km with 28,000 meters ascent.

##This is still a partial list as we are trying to get the names of the remaining Filipino delegates.

New UTMB Records for the Philippines

The 15^th edition of the Ultra Trail Mont du Blanc is quite memorable as the Philippine contingent set numerous records. Filipina trail champ Majo Liao, has finally claimed the title as the “first Filipina to ever finish the UTMB event.” She clocked in with a time of 42 hours, 15 minutes.

 

During one of the pre-race interviews, Majo said she wanted to show that Filipinas can finish the grueling ultra trail event. Liao has set a trail for future UTMB hopefuls.

Sandi Menchi, another Filipina trail royalty and Asian Circuit Champion in 2014 and 2016, made the country proud as she ranked 21^st in the Female division of the TDS with a time of 23 hours and 27 minutes. This is by far the best performance of a Filipina in any of the UTMB event.

 

“I look forward to being better than my performance in TDS or any other international race if given another chance.  It was great to be there and know that finally a flag of the Philippines is displayed in a trail running leaderboard.  It is my way of giving back to the Filipino community that has brought me here,” said Sandi.

Aldean Lim, a practicing attorney, also finished the same event three hours after Sandi.  While Filipino based expat, Kristian Jorgensen finished the TDS event in 19 hours.

Gene Olvis, one of the key figures in the local trail running scene, was also part of the UTMB event. Olvis finished the race in 35 hours, 33 minutes and still holds the fastest UTMB record by any Filipino. Miguel Carranza, a police officer, also crossed the finish line two hours after Olvis.

Asked on how it felt to carry the nation towards the finish line, everyone agreed that it was a proud moment for them to wave the Filipino flag and show the world that even for a small, tropical country, Filipinos can thrive even in the harshest places and conditions.

Local Trail Running Community Effort

During the press event for the UTMB finishers hosted by the Race Yaya team in L’Opera in BGC last Tuesday, the UTMB delegates said getting to the UTMB was a “community effort.” To raise funds several institutions, groups and individuals gave different kinds of support.

Race Yaya, for example, launched the Girls Running in Trails (GRiT), an all women trail running event to race funds for Sandi’s TDS event. Ahon, a local trail/ outdoor apparel company, also marketed a limited edition UTMB inspired drift shirt where part of the proceeds went to support Majo’s UTMB journey.

The UTMB finishers also expressed their gratitude to several European-based Filipinos who personally flew to the event to show their support to the Philippine contingent.

What’s it like Being in the UTMB?

The panel of UTMB finishers also shared their memorable moments during the week-long trail running event. Everyone agreed that running the Alps was very different from running the local mountains as temperatures could drop below freezing point. As such, acclimatizing was one of the crucial tasks on their race preparation.

The UTMB, according to them, also has a very festive atmosphere where people who came in to support their runner friends or relatives pitch tents just to not miss any of the action. Another key thing they pointed out was how they missed Filipino food.

The group mentioned that while they liked European food (such as pasta, sausage and European pastries) at first, they would still prefer eating rice and Pinoy food.

Running the UTMB, Again?

Asked if they would run in the UTMB again, everyone in the panel said yes.

They also have a few advices for UTMB hopefuls. “Prepare well, don’t be afraid to ask for help especially to those who have joined the UTMB before,” said Aldean Lim.