Britta Clark and Canyon Woodward represented the Green Racing Project at the prestigious Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc ultramarathons this past weekend in and around the Chamonix area of the French Alps.

Britta started the 102k COC at 9am on Friday the 26th and finished 15 hours later as the 35th female finisher. Britta was 24th in her age group (20-34F) and 203rd overall.

Britta shared about her experience: “This was my first UTMB race and my second hundred kilometer race, so I tried to go in with not too many expectations! I wanted to race hard and see where I ended up in a stacked field of women! Of course, it's hard not to set expectations for yourself, and there was part of me that wanted to run close to 14 hours, a time that normally is in the top 10-15. My day didn't go quite like that. I had a total blast running in a beautiful place, but felt pretty sluggish the whole day, perhaps owing to a mild cold, and ended up finishing closer to 15 hours. Oh well! I'm excited to go back and see what I can do now that I know the course!”

“I had a whole group of friends out watching the race, and seeing them gave me a huge boost of energy every time. Helping with this is that my crew also was a source of chips, GUs, and other calories :).”

“Thanks to GRP for all the help and support getting me to this race. I feel really lucky to have gotten to race against the best in the world at UTMB. It was truly inspiring to line up in the elite field with so many of my idols, and to see what all the hype is about. To see thousands of people from all over the world come together to share their love of running in the mountains made me so proud to be a part of this sport!”

Canyon Woodward ran the 107 mile UTMB which encircles Mount Blanc via France, Italy, and Switzerland. He started at 6pm on Friday, running through the night and next day to finish 48th overall with a time of 25:08:01. Canyon was the 45th guy, 22nd in his 20-34 age group, and the 7th American.

Canyon reported on his UTMB journey on social media: “What a trip! It wasn't my A day, my B day, or even quite my C day, but it was my best that day and I'm super proud of that. If you'd told me a year and a half ago that I'd be toeing the start line at UTMB — let alone in the elite field alongside a lot of the best pro distance runners in the world — I'd have been giddy, and I am. It was a touchstone experience of my life and left me so happy, healthy, and hungry for more which is all I could ask.”

“I had hopes of finishing in 23-24 hours. I came up well short of that. I think I wasn't fully prepared for the sustained steepness of the climbs & descents, nor the pace of the start. I caught a cold the day before the race which was a factor as sore throat and congestion turned to cough and fever over the course of the race. My stomach turned at mile 89, treating me to a good puke sesh and steady nausea for the next hour, which I've never had to deal with in an ultra. Seriously contemplated dropping at mile 90. The only thing that's predictable at these distances is that even the best laid plans will go to crap.”

“The most meaningful part was sharing yet another wild mountain adventure with Forest [Canyon’s brother]. He and Laura flew all the way out here and stayed up through the night driving to meet me at the five crewed resupply points, plying me with food, layers, and support that made all the difference through the ups and downs. Heroically dealing with vomit, snot, blood, and other such incidentals. Moments of realness and fullness together I'll not soon forget. Not to mention untold games of Dominion, pots of fondue, bottles of cheap French wine, and just enjoying these good old days.”

“Finally, huge gratitude to the Green Racing Project for the financial support to come to race in Europe with the best in the world, and for the good camaraderie and team support!”

[GRP Run]: UTMB

[GRP Ski]: Race to the Top of Vermont

[GRP Biathlon]: Summer Nationals