We’re very happy to welcome Jasmin Paris as one of the elite women running the 170 km Ultra Tour in 2021!

Jasmin is British and is extremely well known in Great Britain as a fell runner, and became known on the international stage as a sky runner after her victory in the 2016 Skyrunner World Series (Sky Extreme) and bronze medal at the 2016 Skyrunning World Championships (Sky Ultra). She received significant media attention for her overall win in the 268 mile / 430 km Spine Race in 2019.

We wanted to introduce Jasmin to UTMR followers and ask her if she would share some advice from her wealth of experience with other UTMR runners this year.

I’m really excited about racing the UTMR. I’ve heard so many good things about it, and it sounds exactly like the kind of race, or even just run, I enjoy most: technical, slightly off the beaten track and allowing you to get away from it all in the big mountains.

Jasmin Paris

Jasmin, for our international runners who might not know of your achievements, please introduce yourself!

I’m an ultra distance hill and trail runner based in Scotland, where I live with my husband, our two young children, and border collie dog. When I’m not working as a vet, or caring for the little ones, I love being out in the mountains. I will be returning to racing this year following the birth of my youngest child in 2020 and I’m really excited about racing the UTMR. I’ve heard so many good things about it, and it sounds exactly like the kind of race, or even just run, I enjoy most: technical, slightly off the beaten track and allowing you to get away from it all in the big mountains. I’ll be bringing my family with me and I know they will enjoy joining in with the friendly atmosphere of the race and cheering everyone along!

Q. Do you have any secret tips to share with other runners that you’ve learned over the years, which increase your chance of finishing?

I think that a huge part of running an ultra race is in the mind, it’s about having the self belief and the determination to keep going when things get hard. I’ve found through experience that I typically have at least one bad patch on any long race, but now that I know to expect it, I’m better equipped mentally to deal with it. I’ve learnt that as long as I keep eating, and keep looking after myself, things will start to feel easier again. I try to keep moving as much as I can, even if it’s at a slow pace, but remember that time spent checking navigation, putting on clothes before I get cold, or getting more food from my pack is always a good investment in the long run.

Q. Do you talk to yourself a lot when the going gets tough? What do you find helps keep you going when it’s feeling very tough?

Sometimes I talk to myself, and sometimes I sing – in fact I’ve found that singing out loud is a great way to keep oneself awake. When things get very tough, I tend to think of my family, and how we’ll spend our time together again once the race is over. I try to focus on something positive, and hold that image, or else let my mind drift and not think of anything at all – just fall into a sort of meditative state. 

Jasmin, we look forward to welcoming you and your family to Grächen in September! Best of luck!

Note: the 170 km Ultra Tour is filling up fast. Pre-register now to reserve your place. There are still plenty of places available for the 100 km Ultra 3 Passes trail race from Gressoney in Italy, to Grächen, Switzerland.

Links:

• Jasmin’s Paris’ blog
• Jasmin Paris’ Wikipedia Page
• Follow Jasmin on Twitter
• Long form interview on iRunFar.com by our 2019 male winner Damian Hall.

Ultra Tour Monte Rosa, 10th May 2020.

It is with great regret that we announce the cancellation of the 2020 edition of Ultra Tour Monte Rosa. 

We have carefully considered the current pandemic situation and the risk that holding a race like UTMR would present to our runners, volunteers and hosts. We take this decision now, independent of a decision by the Swiss and Italian authorities regarding major events during September, so that we can avoid further uncertainty for participants. We feel that the situation is unlikely to change sufficiently for us to organise the race with the level of safety and precaution required for a successful and enjoyable event. 

Registered participants have been contacted directly and informed about the possibility to either defer to 2021 or receive a partial refund. 

The health and safety of our participants and volunteers is always our priority. After discussion with the local municipalities our decision has been guided by the following considerations:

(i) We cannot guarantee holding an international race at this stage of a pandemic will not pose additional risks to runners, volunteers, staff and local communities with regard to providing necessary medical attention and rescue, evacuation in case of bad weather, checkpoint facilities, shuttle bus journeys and shared hotel accommodation. 

(ii) We cannot be certain that events such as UTMR will be permitted without restrictions in Italy and Switzerland by the time of the race. It is likely that there will still be border controls and travel restrictions / quarantine requirements which will make it difficult for some participants and volunteers to travel to and from the event. 

(iii) The local municipality and tourism offices in our host communities do not envisage the possibility of major international events by early September. 

Postponement until later in the autumn is not an option for UTMR given the high altitude of the race route and the risk of snow / extreme weather later in the season, plus the closure of mountain huts, telecabins and hotels. 

Since the first UTMR, every edition has been both an immense challenge and a wonderful experience for us. As organisers we have the opportunity to meet and work with interesting, dedicated and kind people in the beautiful landscapes surrounding Monte Rosa. We prepare for the event with excitement and passion as we want to create something that everyone involved can enjoy and remember as an extraordinary experience.

The runners who commit to the challenge of UTMR prepare with similar dedication. It’s a serious commitment of time and effort towards a richly anticipated goal. We appreciate this and we are very sad that this year that goal cannot be realised.

We hope that you all will understand and accept our decision. We remain committed to bringing a great edition in 2021 and hope you will join us then. We look forward to welcoming you to the next edition of UTMR which will take place from 1st to 4th September, 2021.

For now, we wish you and your loved ones good health. Stay safe and well through this challenging period. 

Namaste.

Lizzy and Richard

We look forward to welcoming you in 2021!

We’re delighted that Sacha will be an ambassador for UTMR on the trails and social media! Thank you Sacha & we look forward to welcoming you back in September 2020.  

You can find Sacha on facebook if you want to contact him!  

Sacha (Turbosnail) Mijatov

Born: 1971

Hometown:

Brussels, Belgium.

About me:

I have been living in Switzerland for 20 years and have fallen in love with the mountains! I started hiking and discovering beautiful landscapes and regions. A few years later, I started running and I discovered that there are mountain races. This was my point of no return! (laughing)

My other life:

I’m an IT guy and looking for any excuse to be in the mountains.

In my free time:

I run! What else?

Fun Fact:

Richard (Race director) told me I have the mountain DNA. Very flattering but also funny for someone from a flat country.

Favourite Alp trail run:

Can’t say I have a favourite Alp trail run. But I am in love with the Zermatt region, for the beauty of the landscape but also for the moments of my life that took place there and that are so dear to my heart!

Why are you an ambassador for the Ultra Tour Monte Rosa?

I first helped Lizzy and Richard with the French translation of the website (for the 1st edition) but I didn’t have the experience and endurance to participate yet. Since then, I have participated in several trails and have met other runners as enthusiastic and passionate as me. The 2019 edition of the UTMR was cancelled due to weather conditions. I admit I was frustrated, but when I saw Lizzy and Richard doing what they had to do to keep the participants happy, I told myself that I could do something for them too! And it is with pleasure and pride that I will represent the UTMR on the different races I will participate in and also on the social networks!

A big thank you to all of the children who stepped on to the start line for the 2019 Kinderrennen event at the UTMR in Grächen. It was 100% effort from the start to the finish as you might expect if you’ve ever seen a children’s running race.

There were two distances, 2 km and 900m starting on the village square.

A big thank you to Stefanie Zenklusen and Reto Tröndle for managing route logistics, marshals, and timing; to Saskia and the Grachen Tourism office team for registrations; and to Sacha Mijatov as MC, motivations and more. Of course thank you to all of the young runners for participating.

See you in 2020 for more short distance, ultra-effort racing!

Ultra Tour Monte Rosa, 2019, (c) alphafoto.com

Rangliste Graechen Kinderrennen 2019 as PDF file

Our 2018 winner of the 170 km Ultra Tour, Matthieu Girard, is returning for 2020! Here’s what he thinks about UTMR. Thank you Matthieu & best of luck, see you in September! 

N.B Matthieu is co-president of Trail Verbier St-Bernard a beautiful set of races at the beginning of July at the other end of the Valais. Well worth a try!

—-

I’m looking forward to coming back on those trails. I discovered the trail 2 years ago when I did it in 3 days to prepare for the race and I was amazed by the toughness and the wildness of it. I had just finished Hardrock some weeks before and I thought it would be easier, but it turned out to be at least as challenging. I was surprised by those huge climbs on some passes and by how wild they were. Of course the altitude is less of an issue in UTMR but the trails are more technical and you have very long sections where you are on your own which makes it a real adventure. But it’s really worth it and I long to be there again this year. It has many common points with the race I organise, the Trail Verbier St Bernard, starting with a genuinely alpine and wonderful route. It has also been designed for the runners and by someone who really knew the place and wanted to share it with others. We can feel this when you are running and it’s the most important point for me.

Let’s just hope I can live a similar race in 2020 (now 2021!) than in 2018, less of the sleepwalking along Mattmark lake at dawn…

Thanks to photographer Hervé Le Gac and Trails Endurance for taking the time and effort to cover Ultra Tour Monte Rosa 2019 and brave the unfortunate weather conditions we faced.

We hope you will come back for more of the sunny days we more often expect!

Click to enlarge!

Click to enlarge!

Click to enlarge!

We are happy to welcome an elite runner, Marián Priadka, from the Slovak Ultra Trail Team to the 170 km UTMR! Here’s what he has to say …..

I started with running as a training and alternative activity for MTB, which brought me to back sports after several years break. After my beginnings (doing some urban short distance running in our neighbourhood) I started to run in the forests with a community of local runners from Trnava.

Everybody was talking about Trnavská stovka (popular long distance march in Small Carpathians). I wanted to run one hundred km too, that was in 2015. But after 50 km I had to start walking. I did it in 15 hours, but whole week after I was completely destroyed. That was the impulse for doing the training more seriously and with more intensity. But still it is running for fun, because I like it and together with MTB and yoga it is the activity I spend most time on.

Running changed my life, my lifestyle. When I started to run longer distances in the nature, I changed my mind, changed everything. New people came into my life.

My first real trail race came in 2016, a local run in Small Carpathians close to Bratislava. I finished in top 10 and had lot of fun there. Right after this I started to find out, what other races are available – I didn’t know anything about.

When I returned to Trnavská stovka, everything was different – I did complete the course in 10:20. After one week I met my friend, who has invited me for a ultra race in Slovenia. But that was much harder one, with 7000 m ascent. I ran together with Martin Halász, full throttle. That was an amazing experience and total punk… I pushed to my limit, finally it was 3rd place there. Strong motivation for me.

But the main motivation for me is, that I am exploring the landscape, mountains. It is always like a journey for me, with meeting people and talking to them. Ultra races are all around the world, so I can visit different places. Thanks to ultra running I can see much more beautiful places in a little time.

Last year I saw the UTMR race video, also I got some information during a trail running camp from a friend, who was interested in it. Those mountains and the possibility to run there, it was so attractive. I like challenges and I would like to run at least one 100-mile mountain race during the year. UTMR is my choice – it will be a great adventure for me. And it is a strong motivation to get prepared for the race, which will be the highlight of my 2020 running season.

Marián Priadka bio

Marián Priadka is a 34 year-old ultra trail runner from Slovakia, living close to Trnava. He joined the running community only 5-6 years ago, but in the last 2 years he joined the ranks of the most known and successful ultra runners in the country. He set course records in several home 100 km races like Východniarska stovka, Javornícka stovka or Nízkotatranská stíhačka. As a member of the SLOVAK ULTRA TRAIL TEAM he successfully completed ultra races in several countries with top results (Échappée Belle, Ultra Sierra Nevada, K24, La Corsa della Bora, Transylvania 100).

One of our past UTMR competitors, David Byrne, has just published a book about ultra running that contains a chapter on the zero edition UTMR stage race in 2015. He says, “To me the 2015 edition was great as it was a chance to see a new location and to push myself which has since given me the confidence to do many more things. My book is written from the perspective of an ‘Average Joe’ who is middle to the back of the pack but still manages to take part in ultras and have a good time. UTMR opened up so much more for me as it gave me confidence to enter some big events. Apart from that it also opened up that part of the world for skiing and mountaineering and I’ve been back several times since.”

Here is a sample paragraph:

“The course today was a massive uphill, a traverse run to Saas-Fee then a very airy and exposed path to the end.  We left the accommodation about 05:00 and walked down to the start line. Here we had the usual brief and we were off. Macugnaga (1307m) is nestled in a deep valley and our first job was to climb very steeply to the Moropass (2853m). The path largely zig-zagged up below a ski gondola and was far from easy as it was not a route that saw a lot of traffic. As we got higher and higher amazing views of Monte Rosa came in to view and many stopped to take photos. Having done a lot of hill training I knew this uphill was where I could make ground so I kept going and topped in a reasonable position. The final pass is on massive blocks of stone, with some iron chains and staples, and over the north side was another world with the Mattmark reservoir nestling below. The trail down to the reservoir (2224m) was highly runnable as was the trail along it but my legs were tired so it turned in to a fast walk for me as other runners overtook.

The Mattmark dam is the biggest earth fill dam in Europe and compared to a concrete dam looks very wide at its base. We ran past this almost 50 years to the day of a great tragedy that occurred here when eighty-eight people lost their lives.  On the 30th August 1965 two million cubic metres of ice and debris broke off the Allalin glacier and engulfed the construction site killing many workers below.”

If you are interested to read more of David’s story here is a link to the book: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1672620562?ref_=pe_3052080_397514860

We had some good news from the board of “Hardrock”!  Finishers of our 170km race in 2020 will qualify for the 2021 Hardrock lottery. For anyone who hasn’t heard of Hardrock it is a 100 mile ultramarathon in the Southern Colorado’s San Juan Range, USA.

Here is what one 5-time finisher of Hardrock, Jason Poole, has to say about it!” As a 5-time finisher of the Hardrock Hundred Endurance Run and also a finisher of the Ultra Tour Monte Rosa (UTMR), I can honestly say that the UTMR is one of the very best Hardrock qualifiers available in all of Europe.  Although the UTMR occurs at an overall lower altitude than Hardrock, it does boast more elevation gain.  With a wide variety of trail types and surfaces, the UTMR serves up a unique and challenging circumnavigation of the second highest mountain in the Alps and western Europe.  The UTMR will more than adequately prepare you for the high-alpine terrain of the Hardrock and the San Juan Mountains in Colorado.  I highly recommend the UTMR, not only as a qualifier for the Hardrock, but as a truly extraordinary running adventure with spectacular scenery, lung-burning climbs and some of the finest trails in the Alps.”

For more information about Hardrock you can check their website here: https://www.hardrock100.com/

The San Juan mountains of Colorado, USA.