Ultra Trail Mt Fuji Race Report

Ultra Trail Mt Fuji (UTMF) Race Report

Japan is one of my all time favorite places to visit. It's somewhat completely bonkers - being there is almost like being on another planet - it is fast and yes it is busy and frenetic especially in Tokyo, but it is also completely safe, very clean and the people I've met there are super happy, friendly, sooo polite and just great in every way. The food is absolutely out of this world too. I think the only negative I can think of is the language barrier (not much English here) but I see that as more of a failing on my part for not speaking the language...

So - it comes as no surprise that this would actually be my third trip to Tokyo and my third attempt at UTMF with prior results being:

2015: DNFd at 120kms (just complete and utter exhaustion down to bad nutrition)
2016: Finished but the course was shortened to a mere 50kms due to extremely bad weather

This year I would see the whole 170kms and finish no matter what! :)

The Course

UTMF is a 170km trek almost around the entirety of Mt Fuji. The course has now changed from previous years in that it starts at the southern point - as opposed to the northern area of Lake Kawaguchiko which is now where the finish is.

The elevation of this one was approximately 8100m - so some pretty huge climbs were to be expected. Having got through 3/4 of this race previously I was aware of how brutal the Tenshi Mountains would be between checkpoints A1 and A2. However, I had no experience of the back end of the race which looked just as bad on paper.

The Plan

1. Gear:

The Raidlight Olmo is quickly becoming my favourite pack, overtaking the Salomon Skin. Its just so versatile for any race (I've used it for 50k all the way up to milers), it's secure and doesn't bounce around, and it fits a lot of kit in without being too big/heavy. One change would be the shoes which would be Altra Superiors - my Lone Peaks are not here yet from Altra (who have been awesome enough to let me represent them), and my old pair are now retired - however, given that I have little trail time in these I did not plan to use them for the whole race, and it was more of a trial on this terrain.

Pack: Raidlight Olmo 5l
Clothing: Salomon S-lab shirt, Compresssport Trail shorts
Shoes: Altra Superior 3 + La Sportiva Bushido
Rain Jacket: Outdoor research Helium

2. Nutrition:

I've had some bad Tailwind experiences lately, so decided to go with a different fuel mix. I planned on using Overstims, Cliff Blocks and a new Herbalife liquid mix that seemed similar to Tailwind. The food at some of the aid stations is typically great for this one - yaksisoba, teriyaki burgers, miso soup, ramen... I would definitely be interested in some of that. :)

As usual I would most likely start relying on Coke as the race went on (I've found it to be the source that gives me the least amount of stomach issues).


3. Race Strategy:

With this being attempt number 3, I was planning on being very conservative. Another DNF here would knock my confidence for six and with a bad result at Buffalo Stampede a couple of weeks back I would be in terrible shape mentally for UTA which was also coming up. So 3 goals for this one were:

1) Finish the race
2) Finish in Sub-30 hours
3) Finish in top 50

So, nothing really unrealistic there - my focus was definitely on goal 1 - I really wanted to finish this one no matter what the actual time was.

The Race

Going firmly with the conservative approach, I lined up a little further back within the huge group at the start. With probably a few hundred runners in front of me, I took off at a very leisurely easy pace. This didn't last too long and within minutes I was jogging along at around 13-14kms/hr - still comfortable but perhaps a little fast given my planned approach. The first section though, as shown in the elevation chart was a nice easy rolling trail that was very pleasant to run.

Still happy (its still early)... :)

Because of that, I hit A1 a lot faster than intended - still relatively comfortable in the legs, but to my absolute dismay, I had noticed a blister forming on my heel, which was actually caused by the escapades at Buffalo Stampede 2 weeks before. I had taped it up, but this was simply exacerbating the problem by causing more pressure on my foot. I stopped to remove all the tape and saw that the blister had already re-formed quite clearly and it was going to be trouble from then on.

... and still happy early on.

Hitting the Tenshi Mountains was sweet relief (!?) - the steep uphill was actually easier on the blister and I found myself enjoying the usually horrendous climb. I got chatting to a couple of people, Christopher Roberts from Melbourne and Dennis Theodosis who i had met previously while doing the NF100 Hong Kong. Dennis however was already struggling with stomach issues which must have been really frustrating. I had the same issue in 2016 but the race was shortened so I only had to tough it out for 50kms, but it can really ruin your day. The upside was of course, that there was plenty of time for the problem to settle and go away. Anyway, the banter made the climb go quickly, and once at the top, it was back to pain again as the steep downhill wore away at the blister some more. However, I seemed to be able to greatly lessen the impact by landing more on my forefoot - so this is pretty much what I did for the entire race.

Descending Tenshi Mountains

It was the Tenshi Mountain section which destroyed me in 2015, when I did not take enough food and water, and not anticipating such a long arduous section cost me dearly back then. This time I was more than prepared, and besides the pain in my foot, I arrived at A2 Fumoto in really high spirits after conquering Tenshi so much easier this time around and finally seeing my family/support crew after 50kms. After a 10 minute stop (I made a mental note - not to charge through any aid stations this time - stop, refuel properly and reset before heading back out), I was out again and heading to A3.

A2 to A3 went very quickly, and seemed a little easier - I was familiar with this section having done it twice before, so there were no surprises. I'm always amazed at how advantageous knowledge of the course actually is. When you know whats coming up, and how far away the aid station is, it makes a massive difference mentally.

After a short stop, and passing A3, the climb between A3 and A4 did surprise me a little (I don't remember it being that tough), I think it was just because I was running the course in reverse. Also the thought of seeing my family again at A4 really pushed me on in this section, and soon enough I arrived at Shojiko. It was getting late now, so had been wondering how my crew were holding up since they were:

Crewperson 1: May (wife)
Crewperson 2: Mia (9yr old daughter)
Crewperson 3: Teddy (4yr old son

May was doing great, while I found my kids had fallen asleep on the street while waiting for me (in sleeping bags and polartec fleece blankets)... such troopers. :)

Awww... my little troops.

I had found that running more with a forefoot strike was sufficient enough to make the blister manageable (it still hurt though), and I was very cautious about doing anything different in case it ended my race. So. I decided to leave everything as-is, same shoes, no taping/strapping, no band aids etc and keep going.

The journey to A5 started to get very tough. Running with so much emphasis on my forefoot was killing my calves and soreness was setting in already. I also found the elevation chart a little deceiving as the climb here didn't seem tough - however it was just constantly up/down/up/down/up/down for 50-100m a time, and it was extremely tiring both physically and mentally. One thing that had helped so far though was actually passing some of the STY runners (they had started a little earlier) - yes they were running a different race, but it always gives a tiny positive boost to pass people. :)

A5, Katsuyama was very welcome - the fatigue was setting in, especially as mentioned before in the calves, and my feet were starting to feel sore since I wasn't running naturally (i prefer a midfoot strike). Seeing my awesome support crew (the kids were asleep but still nice to see them), and some of the Avid folk here was great and I was soon feeling positive again. I started on the Coke from here, but I was pleased with the way the race was going nutrition wise - I had been getting through gels and blocks with good regularity and felt that I still had good energy levels. I thought I would now not see my crew until the finish, so left here very determined to push through and get this done.

A5, Katsuyama - kids still sleeping

A5 to A6 was an easier section, so no huge climb, and it was reasonably gentle, which was a little easier on my heel blister which was very slowly getting worse. I could feel the pain getting ever so slightly more intense after each aid station, and was just praying it would hold out. Any minute it could have turned into a race ender so I was now being VERY careful. On arriving at A6, I sent the message to my crew (i told them I would keep them updated with progress) - I was definitely moving slower now due to the blister but still moving nonetheless. Surprisingly May said they were on their way to A7 so I would see them there too - awesome! I also saw another familiar face here - Justin Andrews was looking in bad shape and was suffering with what seemed to be smashed quads. I was surprised to see him, I thought he would towards the pointy end for sure (afterwards found out this was his first miler), but I left shortly afterwards while he was still recuperating, post massage.

Just had to stop for a photo here. :)

The sun was well and truly out now, and the next 7kms were a pretty flat, very exposed section were the heat got to me a little. It was also on this section that the "difficulty spike" began. A gradual climb, followed by several smaller drops/climbs, culminating in some truly horrific vertical sections requiring the use of ropes had me cursing something rotten... where had this difficulty come from? The chart didn't show anything too severe on this section but it was soul crushingly hard! By the time I crawled into A7 I was mentally a little broken... Luckily this checkpoint was beautiful - Mt Fuji was in full view in the sunshine and it really was quite uplifting. I also got some brilliant support here from my crew which perked up my spirits. I also saw Dennis who I had chatted to a lot during the first 50kms, but unfortunately the stomach issues hadn't subsided and he had pulled out. I was pretty sure I had broken the back of this race now, so after saying my goodbyes to my crew and PROMISING I would see them at the finish line, I took off for A8 in the glorious sunshine.

If I had thought that the last section was difficult, boy was I wrong as this one really turned up the heat! Relentless is the only way to describe it - climb after climb after climb, and with it came descent after descent after descent... This section truly smashed me beyond belief, by the time I staggered into A8 (and I literally did stagger) I was almost running on empty. I spoke to a few people here and everyone was asking: "is the next section THAT tough too"??? So, I think it had beat the hell out of every runner! I was also passed by Justin Andrews right before A8 aid station, who literally flew past me - he had made a quite miraculous recovery, so was pretty damn impressed to see him moving so well.

The hikers were enjoying it, but A6 through to A9 was so tough! 

BUT, in true ultra fashion, the next section topped it all off with a horrible rancid cherry. A8 -> A9 took all these broken runners and then dashed them all on the rocks. Literally - the climb before A9 was the pinnacle of sorrow. A near vertical climb, yes again, up ropes - that went on for what seemed like forever. In terms of distance, it wasn't that much, but it was soooooo slow going that it took an age to get through here. Getting down was equally bad - a monster of a descent on quads that had already been smashed to pieces was torture... I think I actually said out loud once "holy sh*t I am broken". :)

I have never been so glad to pull into a checkpoint as A9 appeared on the horizon. I was pretty much finished at this point - the pain in my heel was inexplicable, I did not even want to look at the havoc the blister would have wreaked on my poor right foot. My legs had very little fight left in them. However, I was now on the home stretch... A quick check with the aid station staff revealed that only 13 measly kms to go until I was home... Barring a disaster, or a run in with a bear, I was going to do it. I was a little pumped at the thought of being almost at the end, so didn't linger long at the checkpoint. A quick text to May to say I'm going to be at the finish soon - and off I went.

Tough but very beautiful course

It was another big, big climb  for this last section, but the verticality of the previous one had taken the sting out of it. It was big, but it was perfectly manageable, not too brutal, just constant. The descent over the other side was probably harder and it was very painful, but knowing that once I was at the bottom it would just be a few flat kms to the finish kept me pushing on - just trying to keep up a pace that was faster than walking. Hitting the bottom and getting into Kawaguchiko there was one more surprise - I thought the finish would be right there, but seeing the part happening in the (very) far distance I realised I would have to go all around the lakeside, then cross the lake via the bridge and it seemed like such a trek (although in reality it was probably only 2-3kms). I saw one or two headlamps behind me and really didn't want to passed by anyone else, so had to keep myself running all the way to the end. It really hurt...

The last 300m were a joy though, they always are! High fiving staff/supporters along the way and rounding the last corner into the finish chute is the best feeling ever. It's ultimately why we do these crazy events - sure the journey can be amazing (and this one certainly was check out the awesome pics), but the feeling of achievement, coupled with the fact that pain can finally stop is hard to beat! UTMF had finally been completed - in 28hrs 52mins... :)

Done!

I really didn't want to look, but all that remained was to remove my shoes/socks and see what this nagging blister looked like... Turns out there were two!!!

OUCH!!!

Summary and Event Review

What an atmosphere in this event - it seems like so much of the community gets involved there are a lot of supporters and people out cheering on the runners, and there's a high level of excitement all around. The course itself is stunning - after 2 years of never even seeing Mt Fuji due to bad weather, we finally got to appreciate the course as intended. Mt Fuji smiles on you almost all the way around the course, and some the views have to be seen to be believed. It's a tough course though, I would rank it very high on the difficulty scale - it may have been down to the blistering which hampered me no end, but I found the whole last third of the race incredibly tough and it really doesn't let up.

What a team!

UTMF  Course Ratings (out of 5):

Toughness: 4.5
Its a tough one for sure - I had flashbacks to GSER at a couple of points which really says something!

Runnability: 3
There are some flat(ish) road sections scattered throughout the race, and the first 20km is very gentle, but the climbs are brutal - not much chance of any real speed up those!

Fun Factor: 5
The volunteers and support are so enthusiastic - there's some fab food at some of the aid stations, the views are terrific - you'll see so much of Mt Fuji it's very impressive. The expo, the lead up, the after party are all there and all great. It's a cracking time.

TOOPP rating (Toys Out Of Pram Potential): 4.5
The last third is relentless, constantly challenging you. On more than one occasion I yelled out "oh come on!" as yet another vertical climb lurched into view after what seemed like a descent to the bottom.However, the frustration is from the sheer challenge - not from any kind of annoyance (eg, getting lost). :)