Mont Blanc Marathon
The Mont Blanc Marathon events are based in Chamonix, France, the internationally-recognized home of alpinism – and, now, trail running. The Mont Blanc Marathon is one of the world’s best-known series of mountain races. Events include a Vertical Kilometer, a 10km, 23km, 42km, and a 90km distance. There is even a night race now, the “Duo Étoile”, as well as three children’s events, ranging from 800 meters to 3 km.
The 10km race stays mainly in the valley, with some short climbs totaling an elevation gain of 280m.
Added recently, the 21km “Duo Étoile” is a night race for teams of two, which traverses the north side of the Chamonix valley, climbing 1,450 meters by starlight and headlamp, has become one of the “must do” events in the region.
The 23km is a horseshoe course and after running steadily up the valley for the first half of the race, running mostly on farm roads, and wide single-track in the forest. The race passes through hamlets, as it climbs steadily up the valley. Upon turning back towards Chamonix, runners are faced with a tough and rocky climb up to the race finish, at the Chamonix gondola station of Flégère.
The 42km marathon race, which, goes further up the Chamonix valley, heads up the scenic Aiguillette des Possettes. This beautiful, ridgeline peak provides one of the best viewpoints in the Chamonix valley. From there, the race heads down to the border town of Vallorcine, France, not far from Switzerland.
From Vallorcine, the race heads up to Col des Montets, then makes the steady climb to Flégère lift station, then dropping down to finish in the center of town.
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