Challenge Stu

Since we arrived in Chatel, every time I've driven, run or walked either down the valley towards Lac Leman or over into Switzerland I have been hit in the face by the view of a stunning line of mountains - the Dents du Midi. Dents du Midi from the Col de Portes du Soleil The Dents du Midi are a line of seven "teeth of noon" - from east to west (left to right in the photo) Cime de l'Est, La Fortresse, La Cathedral, La Eperon, Dent Jaune, Les Doigts and Haute Cime ranging in height from 3114m to 3259m. Fortunately, the tallest is Haute Cime, which has a convenient ridge running off to the west which allows it to be climbed without the need for full alpinism. Haute Cime Once I realised this a plan formed and I decided to try to run from Chatel to the little campsite at Grand Paradis, near Champery, where the climb begins, then climb the mountain and return in a day. The climb is normally attempted either in a day from Grand Paradis, or in two days using the R...

Running-wise, 2014 has so far been an amazing year! The highlights of my races this year were always going to be the two races abroad, the Mt Fuji race in July and the Matterhorn Ultraks in August. These two races were by far the biggest races I've ever taken part in, and each time I'd be racing against some of the best runners from around the world. Both also had the advantage of taking place on or around iconic mountains which I'd always wanted to visit, so whatever happened they were going to be awesome experiences. I wrote about the Fuji race here , it was a fantastic race and I was very pleased with my 22nd place. I trained well for the few weeks between the races, so on Friday it was time to head out to Switzerland for the Matterhorn Ultraks... - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - The Ultraks is a proper skyrunning race, with 3600m of ascent on the 46km course I would be taking on. I was there with the help of Scott, and would be racing as part of "Te...

Some people say you should be careful what you wish for, and it occurred to me a couple of times on Wednesday that I might've got a bit carried away with my birthday wish for "a long day's run around the hills"... I was attempting to run around the highest 29 hills in the Peak District, on my 29th birthday. The idea of running a hill for each year of your age is an old one, I think it's even how the Bob Graham Round originally came about. I decided a while ago I'd try to plan something similar in the Peaks, and found a list of the highest hills. It's an interesting list, there are a few hills on there I hadn't even heard of (nevermind been up!), and some you would imagine might be there are missing... I set about plotting them on a map (and some bits of paper where the map didn't quite reach), and to my surprise and delight did not end up with a random splattering of hills everywhere, it almost looked like a route... So that was that then! A...