There are runners, and then there are ultra-trail specialists, the rare breed who willingly torture themselves in some of the harshest conditions on the planet. These aren’t the folks pounding out miles through New York City traffic, dodging cabs and stoplights for a marathon. They’re the ones who wake up at 4 a.m. to chase the sunrise over the French Alps.
Some of the top athletes in the sport run, climb, and hike more than 100 miles across France, Switzerland, and Italy during UTMB. Or they take on the Western States 100, a punishing race that begins in Olympic Valley, California, near the site of the 1960 Winter Olympics, and finishes in Auburn after nearly 18,000 feet of climbing and 23,000 feet of descent.
Watching these runners, it’s impossible not to be impressed (and a little bewildered) by what they prepare for—the distances, the climbs, the ever-changing conditions. Their success isn’t just about raw endurance; it’s about the planning, the gear, and the mindset that make it possible.
Carrying More Than Just Miles
Before my recent trip to Chamonix for the legendary Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc, I caught up with HOKA athlete Hayden Hawks, fresh off his win at the 2024 Courmayeur-Champex-Chamonix (CCC) 100K. For Hawks, success in the Alps starts long before the figurative gun goes off.
“I know a lot of people complain about that mandatory kit. And they’re like, ‘Why do I have to carry so much?’ But you end up using quite a bit of it in a race like UTMB, just because the weather changes so much,” Hawks says. “Plus, you’re in the Alps, you’re in the mountains, you have to respect the mountains.”
That “kit” is no small list. For most UTMB races runners are required to carry a pack stocked with essentials: a smartphone loaded with the Live Trail app, a beaker for fluids, containers for at least a liter of water, two headlamps, a survival blanket, a whistle, elastic bandages, a food reserve, a waterproof jacket, long pants, a hat or bandana, an extra warm layer, a beanie, waterproof gloves, overpants, and even your ID.
“The mountains are very unpredictable,” he adds. “And being able to be ready for all types of things that could come at you is really important. So like I would recommend for people to train with their pack, with their gear, do their long runs in that stuff, so you’re comfortable with it and you know exactly how to access it and use it on race day.”
Rolling with the Mountains
If Hawks emphasizes preparation, HOKA’s Jim Walmsley, a man many consider the greatest American ultrarunner of his generation, underscores adaptability. Walmsley became the first American man to win UTMB in 2023 and backed it up this year with a win at the 61-kilometer OCC in 5:00:35. And for him, success isn’t about perfect conditions. It’s about being ready for anything.
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“I was really happy with the delayed start,” he said in reference to this years OCC. “I haven’t been waking up early since coming over to France about a month and a half ago, so that was a relief. Because usually with early, early starts, it’s just more hard sometimes to get your digestive tract going and make sure that you’re not having bathroom breaks during the race. I think waking up early enough and getting the body on its routine and going is a challenge in itself with racing.”
This year’s UTMB races proved just how unpredictable the mountains can be, sunny and 75 one afternoon, then rain and snow hammering down by nightfall. To handle that volatility, many pros, Walmsley and Hawks included, spend weeks or even months living in the Alps beforehand. It’s part training, part acclimation, and part survival strategy. For Walmsley, that investment has paid off, sharpening not just his fitness but his ability to roll with whatever curveballs the race throws his way.
“Yeah, I’m building more confidence to be okay with it,” he says. “With the time I’ve spent in France, in Europe, and in the mountains, I’ve learned you have to be constantly adaptable because the rules and what they say can change at any time. The whole experience over here is just more fluid and adaptable, so I think it was not such a big deal—I just expected things to constantly change, which has actually helped me as an American.”
Fueling the Impossible
Walmsley may thrive on adaptability, but he agrees with Hawks that preparation is unavoidable, especially when it comes to nutrition. Fueling and hydration can make or break an ultramarathon, no matter how strong or adaptable you are.
“Generally, I tried to plan for a race around at least 90 grams an hour of carbohydrates, and I’ll plan it that way, and then how much fluid I can carry tends to be conditions,” Walmsley says. “Plus I tried to do like 700 milliliters an hour if possible, but generally I can’t carry that much.”
Just like the weather, nutrition on race day rarely goes perfectly to plan. During the OCC, Walmsley says finding water turned into a near disaster.
“I started with one liter, and I was planning to refill one more bottle in Martinique, which would have been hour and a half to hour 45,” he recalls. “But we didn’t see the water at all. In my opinion, there was no water. So my nutrition kind of was a bit of a disaster.”
Running these races isn’t simply about covering distance. It’s about preparing for everything you can, adapting to everything you can’t, and respecting the fact that the mountains always get the final say. Hawks prepares, Walmsley adapts, and together they show why ultrarunning is less about conquering the trail and more about surviving it.
