UTMB 2013?

Well one things for certain Lirish,the waterproof gear has been tested to the max. I did get a lot of blank looks when asking for a waterproof with 50,000 schmiebers? So bought the TNF that they recommend.

Thanks for the advice.

Did it this year and last year. DNF'd in 2010 - I had very little idea what i was getting into!!! Finished this year but pretty annoyed that it was such a radically altered/shortened course so I will be applying for next year and hoping I am successful in the ballot.... especially as the 'next year guarantee' if unseccessful no longer applies.

Its a brutally hard race and quite unlike any Ultra I have run but my god its incredible. The best start line atmosphere? Probably.

I would echo what a previous comment said. Get on the hills and go up and down them. Over and over again. Milage is useless, its all about metres climbed and more importantly descended.

Dan A is the man to direct questions to but would happily offer up any info I can.

Will be putting my name in the lottery for CCC...

I will worry about kit later on, I am fairly sure I will have it all somewhere!

Got to agree with Bruce,it was a real shame to have the course cut short,it was to have been my first attempt at a 100 mile race. I didn't do any other ultras this year simply because there was none in the UK that could anywhere near match the ascent and descent of the UTMB so just got myself up and down the Brecon Beacons and Snowdonia relentlessly. It seemed to work as I was still finding no problem with the ups and downs and I'm pretty sure I would have completed the whole course.Oh and definately the best atmosphere I have experienced at a race,simply amazing..Still currently trying to explain to the other half,"yes I know I have a finishers waistcoat,but I dont feel as though I've really done the UTMB,so I've got to try again" Seems reasonable to me?

I'm definitely going for the UTMB ballot this year, last year I dithered and didn't, not this time. And if I don't succeed, cest la vie!! I guess it's always frustrating when things get changed like that, especially if you are feeling good and strong ... but then last year it got lengthened! I guess it's a reflection of the type of race and the environment it's in ... so many different elements to contend with.

Yep... gotta get a place first before I even start thinking about it. Plus it is months away.

Entry day is marked on my calender.

Given my terrible track record for good fortune you've all got a slightly better chance of getting in.

Andrew Dubois,

Great race report and holy cow! 28hrs! Amazing. As soon as I get another place at UTMB I will be going through your training blog with a fine tooth comb. Incredible time.

I've been on startline for UTMB (last year) and TDS (this year), DNF both for different reasons, having run long sections of the two all I'll say is both are tough, but in my experiance, mile-for-mile the TDS is tougher, bit more ascent descemt, more technical, rougher, rockier, muddier ground (closer to Lakeland 100 or lake distriuct rough trails in places). UTMB trail is generally pretty runnable stuff, its just the extra ascent/descent picked up over the extra distance that makes it the "daddy"! 

My point in this comparison being. Maybe don't treat the TDS as a step up to UTMB, best to try CCC first unless your hugely experianced with mountainous stuff elsewhere. Though 35 or so miles shorter than UTMB and only 10-15 longer than CCC (based on full routes run - which we know isn't always the case with these events) the extra difficulty of the course made it feel more like a 100 miler than a 50. Having done the Lakeland 50 this year very comfortably the TDS (70m~) was very much a different ballpark.

Knowing what I know now, I'd have tried CCC first and then either UTMB or TDS the next year. But what the TDS does have going for it is that its the only single-runner UTMB series event which didn't go to ballot last year, so if your not hung up on a 100 and just fancy a really serious challenge, this may be worth a punt.

Thanks Drunken man you just runined my day! I didn't get into the CCC but my mate did! So I opted for the TDS and having now looked into it more I think it might have been an error as there are no mountains in MK

Totally agree with others posts about the TDS. I finished the UTMB in 2011 (lengthened course) and 2012 (shortened course), and the CCC in 2010 too. You can read my race report for 2012 here; http://kingsleyjones.wordpress.com/2012/09/06/utmb-2012-mud-sweat-fires/. Got a space in TDS this year, and more worried about it than UTMB. The terrain is a lot rougher and way more technical single track than CCC or UTMB.