Why Was UTMB Cancelled?

Oh, and my point was that there were literally hundreds of people at the start... just like if they would have had UTMB. Such a shame it was cancelled. Weak RD.

Talk about privilege.

That white jacket though. I like it. Is it avail?

What happened to Zach Miller?

WHat's RD? And what has privilege got to do with it, in your opinion?

First the French government banned events with over 5,000 participants, so the usual format was impossible. Then all the travel restrictions meant that almost zero foreign competitors would turn up (the organisers did a survey of participants to check who would come) and they thought that an all domestic race would not be the real deal. Finally all the obligatory social measures at aid stations and the banning of crowds totally destroyed the usual vibe.

Seems like they made the right decision to me.

Read the full story here, if your French is good enough

https://distances.plus/international/catherine-poletti-annulation-utmb-ultra-trail-mont-blanc/

Wow such a troll post written by an obvious Walmsley fanboy.

21 hours is a "failure" and now he is a "shell of himself", and "not aspirational"?

He did not "walk the last 50 km" otherwise he would not have finished in 21+ hours. Walking 50 km in that terrain would probably add at least 6-8 hours to his time.

Remind me how many times Walmsley has won UTMB or not blown up past 50 miles?

Your bitter words tell me more about you than it does about Capell.

Corin wrote:

Oh, and my point was that there were literally hundreds of people at the start... just like if they would have had UTMB. Such a shame it was cancelled. Weak RD.

Talk about privilege.

Yeah what about it?

Wow, got a lot of Capell fans on this thread... just admit he bombed and TNF marketing ploy failed and put a lot of people at risk. I remember this message board having a meltdown when runners threatened to race on the Boston Marathon course the day of the race. I note Seth DeMoor getting blasted for wanting to race and travel. If you can't see the privilege aspect, then perhaps you need some introspection.

All the marketing ploys by Hoka, Salomon, and The North Face are turning their athletes into sell outs and burned out. Move along.

Probably referring to a few years ago at UTMB Zach tried to run in the front at UTMB and ended up breaking some bones in his foot, DNF'd around 70 miles or something like that. Hasn't really raced much (or at all?) since then.

Yeah the apparel looks pretty cool. I'll skip the shoes though. Their footwear is terrible.

Coronavirus is not a real big deal anymore besides in your politically divided country. I'm not sure how you Americans do not see that. Our schools are open, etc. Not a lot of problems.

UTMB was cancelled because it was in the "unknown" time of the virus. We now know much, which is why this occurred.

As for Pau. He's the real deal. I commend him for the attempt, while others sit on their sofa.

As for Walmsley. He is clearly very talented, however I disagree with the OP. He hasn't figured out how to handle nutrition on a long-hour race. Until he figures that out, he is not a threat at UTMB.

Corin wrote:

Wow, got a lot of Capell fans on this thread... just admit he bombed and TNF marketing ploy failed and put a lot of people at risk. I remember this message board having a meltdown when runners threatened to race on the Boston Marathon course the day of the race. I note Seth DeMoor getting blasted for wanting to race and travel. If you can't see the privilege aspect, then perhaps you need some introspection.

He didn't bomb like you say...

He actually finished in a respectable time, he was less than an hour slower than last year.

I honestly don't care about the "marketing", but if it gets people out the door and gives us something to watch then why would I be angry?

And don't try to compare the Covid situation in America to Europe. Levels are much lower here and people take personal responsibility for their actions. If they want to pitch up to watch him race that's not Capell's fault. Also a mountain ultra is a far lesser risk than an urban marathon.

Your posts are obvious gas-lighting nonsense with a bias view.

I am not a "Capell fan", I only respect him cause he actually won UTMB last year, and this project was quite realistic. Walmsley dropped from his Hard rock FKT attempt, but so what at least he tried? or according to you he is a massive failure??? I lot can go wrong during an Ultra, especially at a pace you may blow up at. I think you really don't understand that.

King Tiger wrote:

Walmsley dropped from his Hard rock FKT attempt, but so what at least he tried? or according to you he is a massive failure???

An obvious troll considering this point.

dsadasc wrote:

Coronavirus is not a real big deal anymore besides in your politically divided country. I'm not sure how you Americans do not see that. Our schools are open, etc. Not a lot of problems.

UTMB was cancelled because it was in the "unknown" time of the virus. We now know much, which is why this occurred.

As for Pau. He's the real deal. I commend him for the attempt, while others sit on their sofa.

As for Walmsley. He is clearly very talented, however I disagree with the OP. He hasn't figured out how to handle nutrition on a long-hour race. Until he figures that out, he is not a threat at UTMB.

I hear beer makes a great nutritional boost during these "ultra" runs.

Maybe your boy Walmsley needs more beer during his races. ??

Since he can't seem to win anyways, might as well try, huh?

....What can go wrong?!

Whats the deal with this Cappel guy, seems to be a lot of hype around him. Is he a threat to the likes of Kilian or Walmsley at shorter trail/mountain marathons or he is a pure long distance grinder?

Pau's exactly what you see in that video... he loves to go out hard and blow up. It's his MO. I remember last year at UTMB I was at Le Flegere and we heard sub-30 min for the opening 8km to Les Houches and we were like... "well, let's see how this plays out.." but that's because guys like Thevenard hang tight... but he had a great day. I thought earlier this week was very impressive to try and replicate (go out hard, hang), he just didn't have it and lost over 40-min the last 50km or so, which is an absolute crash.

For all you unknowns.. Walmsley ran 20:11 the year he ran, much faster with conversion over course km/mile than what Pau ran early this week... and that was with Jim waiting for Kilian and Francois at every aid station trying to be patient.

Pau is the type that will solely focus on UTMB.. that is all The North Face requires.

A couple things wrong with your post and your logic:

- Pau finished 1 min behind Walmsley in 2017, so Walmsley is hardly "much faster"

- Because of the weather, the course was shortened by an estimated hour in 2017

- Pau holds the record for the 170 km 2019 race with 20:19 (yes, Francois ran 19:01 for the shortened 2017 course)

- You do know Pau does plenty of other races right?

You praise Walmsley but you conveniently fail to mention that he finished 1:10 behind Francois "which is an absolute crash", "He basically walked the last 50km of the race", "The damage he did to his body after 15hrs will never be remedied", "He has Zach Miller'd himself into retirement". "Just admit he bombed OK?"

Now you must feel stupid for using those words...

No, King Tiger. I live this sport. I believe in head-to-head in which Walmsley defeated Pau. Do not overlook that fact, it is what prevents Kilian from being the GOAT as Francois has one over Kilian.

Pau has very little success in shorter distances, is a sub-3hr marathoner on the roads, compared to Walmsley. They are different animals in their own right. You have obviously never seen Walmsley run in person, it is a different experience with his fluid long gait compared to Pau old man shuffle (that he is proud of by the way, we say, "estas corriendo como un viejo!!!") here in Catalonia.

They are both amazing what they do. Maybe my language skills prevent tone coming across, but I have seen many great runners trash themselves into oblivion in my sports marketing career. I can name dozens.. many you may be familiar with, as some are American like Krar, Roes, Miller.

Pau was pressured to finish this run. It was not his best (obviously), but with those cameras and crews around he finished well beyond his comfort level and we wish the best.

You claim the above, but at the same time drop trolling gems like below:

Walking:

I didn't see him walking the last 50km. What I saw was him hiking the brutal climbs - but not just in the latter stages, pretty much right from the start. Standard strategy for nearly everyone including Kilian because attempting to run up climbs beyond a certain gradient in an ultra is a losing proposition and we all know it.

Walmsley's "great" 100M record:

2015 Western States: DNF

2016 Western States: DNF

2017 Western States: Win/CR

2017 UTMB: Leads early with very "Zach Miller - like" strategy nearly resulting in DNF, but rallies late for 5th

2018 Western States: Win/new CR

2018 UTMB: DNF

I count 3 DNFs, 2 wins (and CRs), and a 5th. So he can race 100's extremely well - about half the time.

And then you followed up with more gems like these:

I don't really need to add anything else to King Tiger's notes - he called you out perfectly.

What I don't understand is why you interspersed false and/or misleading half-truths in a post with several very valid questions, such as:

* Do carbon-plated shoes belong in mountain ultras or will they do more damage than good?

* Should Pau (or any pro) risk their career longevity on "stunts"/FKTs etc…(non-races)?

Yeah I don't know, good questions.