Marathon du Mont Blanc : What's New for 2015?

A gnarlier and more technical route for the 80km du Mont Blanc

The newcomer to the marathon weekend, the 80km du Mont Blanc is now in it’s third year and is ready to throw its weight around! It has already gained a name for itself as one of the most hardcore races in France, as well as one of the most beautiful. This year it goes a step further by veering even further away from civilisation and following more remote and tricky trails.

Covering a distance of 82km and 7700m of positive elevation gain, this year’s route starts off as usual by nipping up to Bel Achat to traverse the south side of the valley via Brevent (2461m), Flegere, Col de Montets and La Tête aux Vents before dropping back down again at Buet (1338m). The fun begins in the next section with a cheeky little jaunt via Col de la Terrasse (2645m) up to Loriaz - a shorter but more technical route that the usual Tré les Eaux variant. From here the trail drops down to the Emosson Dam via La Combe de la Veudale and continues to La Chapelle (1962m), where there will be a much needed refuelling point.

After a quick gulp of energy drink and an admiring glance at the stunning views the runners will then skip off down through the villages of Gietroz and Chatelard before climbing back up to the Hameau des Jeurs (1778m) and on to the Refuge de Catogne.

Next comes another change to the usual route as the descent to Le Tour no longer takes in the Aiguillette des Posettes but instead goes from the Col de Possettes (1999m) via the Sentier des Ardoisières to Le Planet, then along the Sentier des Rambles, cutting out Argentiere to arrive at Les Bois.

The final section from Les Bois to Chamonix retains its usual route via Montenvers (1900m), the Aiguilles des Grands Charmoz, Blaitière and the Refuge du Plan de l'Aiguille (2178m). Then there’s just the small matter of descending 1152m along steep and technical trails back down to the finish line.

The race starts at 4am on Friday 26th June in the centre of Chamonix, more details can be found on the Marathon du Mont Blanc website.

Marathon & Cross du Mont Blanc Return to their Roots

The full and half marathons will start off in the usual fashion from the centre of town and along the Petit Balcon Sud via the pretty little hamlet of Lavancher to Argentiere. Traditionally the climb out of Argentiere always results in a bottleneck as the leaders are caught up by the rest of us mere mortals and everyone gets excited at being near the front and tries to push, shuffle and leapfrog their way up the narrow singletrack to Le Planet. This year the organisers have preempted this scenario and rerouted the course via La montée des Rambles - a wider track that should keep the race flowing a little better.

The race then continues as usual until the Combe de la Charlanon, when instead of taking the 4x4 track as in recent years, the course will revert to its original route and follow the smaller trails of the GR route up the Pain de Sucre to finish at the usual rendezvous of Altitude 2000, where finishers will be met by the glorious vision of the MBC beer tent. This is planned to give spectators a better view and to give runners are more enjoyable finish to the race.

The Cross (half marathon) du Mont Blanc starts at 8am on Saturday 27th June in the parapente landing field behind the sports centre and the Marathon du Mont Blanc starts at 7am on Sunday 28th June in the centre of Chamonix, more details can be found on the Marathon du Mont Blanc website.

Less Confusing Route for the 10km du Mont Blanc

The 10km usually follows an undulating circuit round the forests of Les Bois which has in previous years been a bit ambiguously signposted, causing some runners to go the wrong way or do a few more kms than necessary! This year the route will be more direct, with runners doing a sharp about-face at the Hotel Arveyron and then following the same route back to Chamonix. This will hopefully result in fewer disorientated feral 10km-ers being found roaming the woods 6 months later muttering “nearly there, nearly there…”

The 10km du Mont Blanc starts at 1pm on Saturday 27th June in the parapente field behind the sports centre. Runners will be set off in 3 waves to avoid bottlenecking on parts of the course. More details can be found on the Marathon du Mont Blanc website.