World summit of the Trail, the UTMB is the annual meeting of all the passionate persons of race in mountain. MCC, OCC, CCC, UTMB... each race has its share of stories and incredible landscapes.
On Tuesday night, the TDS (145 km, 9100m D+) was mourned, and with it, the whole trail family. On Friday, a vibrant tribute was paid to the deceased Czech runner, reminding everyone that trail running can be dangerous and requires caution.
Friday, 5:00 pm, the emotion is at its peak. While the famous melody of Conquest of Paradise is playing in the Chamonix valley, the start of the queen race, the UTMB, is given. 3 countries, 171 km and 10,000 m of positive altitude difference around the Mont Blanc massif, all to be completed in less than 46 hours, this is the Grail for all runners. At 20:46, François D'Haene was the first man in history to win the UTMB four times. Aurélien Dunand Pallaz and Mathieu Blanchard took 2nd and 3rd place respectively for a French podium.
On the women's side, Courtney Dauwalter finished 7th overall and set the new record for the women's race in 22:30. Camille Bruyas took 2nd place for her first participation in the UTMB, a remarkable performance for the French runner.
The Ultra-Trail x Holyfat Exhibition
From Monday to Friday, the Place du Mont-Blanc in Chamonix hosted the Salon Ultra-Trail, a trade show bringing together all the actors of the trail world. Nearly 50 000 visitors, 5 days of sharing between enthusiasts and animations organized by partners.
This was the first worldwide event for Holyfat, which aroused great interest among the public. Our "Holybar" did not go unnoticed. More than 400 people came to taste our purees and almost twice as many to taste our cocoa-peanut bars. We place the user experience at the heart of Holyfat, so every feedback is important to help us evolve our product line.
Special mention to our Holyfat ambassadors who came to represent the brand. The finisher of the Race Across France 2021, Flavien Slordel, who acted as official photographer throughout the week and the founder of the podcast The Hypocrite's Oath, Ben Violot, who was involved in the TDS (in sandals, please!) but unfortunately could not make it to the finish line because of the tragic outcome of the race.
Thank you to the ultra-trailer runner Stéphane Brogniart for stopping by the booth to test our Holyfat products. It was a pleasure to talk about his experiences on a ketogenic diet. We wish him good luck for his world record attempt in 24 hours of positive elevation gain, on September 17th. Don't hesitate to come and encourage him on the slopes of the Mauselaine Gérardmer alpine domain in the Vosges, starting at 5pm!
The Holyteam thanks you for this incredible week at the foot of Mont Blanc. We look forward to seeing you at the 2022 edition of the Ultra-Trail Show, same date, same place!