I’ll admit I started this race a little fast. My strategy was to not have a strategy. I wanted to run out of Chamonix and towards Les Contamines purely on feel. My legs felt good and my body felt relaxed so I just went with it. A few of the guys around me and some of the camera runners asked if I was going a little too fast, I told them “we’ll find out later I guess!”. In my last 2 starts at @utmbmontblanc I went out reserved, terrified of the distance and what lay ahead. Even with that approach I still suffered through the second half of the race. What changed this year is that I knew the pain and difficult moments would arrive at some point and I felt ready to face them. So I ran head on towards the discomfort that surely awaited me, not wanting to finish this thing with any regrets. The crowds in Saint Gervais ruptured my eardrums, I actually had to plug my ears while exiting. I arrived to @ekendall9 in Les Contamines VERY ahead of schedule but we managed a quick transition into night mode 🥷After a disco party and another deafening passage through the crowds of Notre Dame, we were finally in the mountains... phew! The smell of the Beaufortain was close 🐄💩🧀 📷: @romainbourven #utmb #ultrarunning #ultratrail #trail #trailrunning #night #nightrun #discoparty #racerecap #alps #chamonix #start #storytime #rave