To the cheers of the announcer and the spectators, Sylvain Court finally crossed the finish line on Place Victor-Hugo in Grenoble on Sunday 24 July. After the massifs of Vercors, Taillefer and Belledonne, it has just completed that of Chartreuse, thus completing the Challenge 160 in first place. Legs a little stiff, he does not hide his relief: “Clearly relieved to have finished, at the end we dream of drinking fresh water. In the descent of the Bastille, _we imagine ourselves with a good ice cream_a good sorbet to cool off, and then put your legs in the water a little too“. Despite the fatigue, he still regrets that the event had to be cut short in the Taillefer massif due to the weather on Friday.
A real ordeal, both physical and mental.
Like him, many runners arrive exhausted. There are those who have done 40km today in the Chartreuse massif and those who complete a course of 100 or even 160 kilometers. Coming from Brittany, Pierrick, his back bent and his hands on his knees, recognizes that he had a hard time : “The feet are a bit stewed, the legs, the knees… I’m not used to doing so many mountains. I have big blisters, heel pain, thighs well started also… And then of course fatigue, we’ve been awake since 4.5 hours yesterday”.
– Bastien Roque
Despite the high temperatures on the Isère this week, few have seriously had to complain about the heat. The Massif de Belledonne, on the other hand, gave a hard time has many. “This great descent, technical, dangerous, very long, we had a lot of it, _it lasted for hours and hours_we were happy to get to the bottom“, says Dimitri, welcomed by all his family on the finish line. “We doubted about getting there. At some point, I think everyone doubts, certainly, but clearly Belledonne it was hardcore“, adds Soumina, a Belgian who completed the 100 Master with her companion. “But it was awesome! Hard, but awesome!“
– Bastien Roque
Full of legs, but also full of sight
Nevertheless, the UT4M will remain a great experience for many runners. Fabrice was fascinated by the view while descending the Chartreuse massif: “Honestly, when you go up there, from Chamechaude to the summit, and back down to the Sappey, the views are really superb, plus it was sunrise, it was wonderful !“
– Bastien Roque
Objective fulfilled therefore for Sébastien Accarier, the race director and founder of the UT4M: “Many runners are delighted to have discovered our massifs, that’s what we’re looking for. We are convinced that we live in a territory that is worth it, and _that’s what we want to share with them_. There we were able to send cameramen, so we will be able to take advantage of it, and make people who have not yet had the chance to come to us benefit, to also make them want“.