Loulabelle's FrancoFiles Ep 86 - The extremes of Chamonix and the French Alps.

Loulabelle's FrancoFiles is hosted by Louise Prichard.Other Loulabelle's links:FrancoFile Fix on YouTube   Loulabelle's FrancoFiles Spotify Playlist    Loulabelle's FrancoFiles Instagram   Loulabelle's FrancoFiles website   Emma Morgan had such a different French story to chat about with me! It's not often we consider the sport of Ultra Marathon Running as being particularly French, but Emma fascinated me with her story of the Ultra Trail Mont Blanc she ran in the French Alps around Chamonix, this past summer of 2022.*  The Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc, also known as the UTMB is the most sought-after trail-running event for trail-runners from all over the world crossing three countries: France, Italy and Switzerland. Each year, at the end of August, the elite of the trail-running world come to Chamonix Mont-Blanc to participate in one of the event's races.*Firstly, not everyone gets to run an Ultra Marathon. Qualification is needed by earning points from particular lead-in events. Qualification is actually both demonstrating that each competitor can run 100kms and also a lottery, which Emma entered together with her friends so if one of them made it through the lottery, they all got a spot. Emma worked through the qualifying criteria and winning a lottery spot with a couple of her friends she was off! The course of the event would usually take hikers 7 to 9 days to traverse but Emma completed the whole event in 43 hours! In the whole 43 hours Emma had only 20 minutes of sleep. Continuing in the dark, in rugged terrain, in extreme conditions meant that 42% of starting competitors didn't finish.*Tune into the fascinating and inspiring chat with Emma. How she coped with the language barrier, the different customs, all with preparations in mountainous regions of Australia  much smaller than the French Alps! The locals came out to cheer the runners on, the Australian competitors supported each other, the stations along the way had good cooked foods, medics and rest spots. But in the end, it is an extreme event and I am in absolute awe of Emma's amazing achievement. **Louise Prichard is the host of the Loulabelle's FrancoFiles podcast.**Other Loulabelle's links:FrancoFile Fix on YouTubeLoulabelle's FrancoFiles Spotify Playlist Loulabelle's FrancoFiles InstagramLoulabelle's FrancoFiles website