There were many who were holding onto the hope of a big adventure in September this year, but the multi-national event this week emailed participants and the wider TDG family, to pass on the bad news.

Within the announcement President of organisers VDA Trailers Alessandra Nicoletti stresses “It is impossible for us to guarantee the safety of every single runner and their associates, plus volunteers, tourists and the broader Valle d’Aosta community.

Tens of thousands of people who experience the TOR X races on the front line and in close contact, and are a vital part of the activities”.

There were 77 different nationalities signed up for the 2020 event. It is not just the number of runners though, but the huge army of volunteers a 330km mountain race, spanning a whole week, needs.

Along with this was the information that participants would receive a 50% refund on their entry fees, as is stated in the terms and conditions all signed up to with the race. People were not happy.

Privately speaking to competitors signed up to the event the feeling was generally of acceptance of a difficult decision. With entry fees up to 800 for the main race, we’re talking about a significant financial loss here, but the organisers had promised entrants could be guaranteed a place in any of the next three editions (but would have to repay).

Online is a different story

Even the 543 Facebook reactions told a story. 272 sad faces, 193 likes, 15 hugs, 10 shocked faces, 4 people found it hilarious (?!) and then 43 angry faces. As with any social media it is often the angriest that is the loudest.

People are outraged at the 50% refund, some posting multiple times about their anger. One Italian calls for a “class action lawsuit” to hold the organisers to account. Others ask that they be given free entry for the following year.

Without being part of the organisation it is difficult to know what this 50% of registration fees goes to support, but year round costs like staff costs, rent, marketing and any deposits or payments for medals, equipment, food, medical services etc could all be part of the economic issue here.

Certainly you could assume that a few people are just committing “robbery in the first degree” as one commenter called it, but if you have really experienced the Tor do you really think the whole Aosta Valley comes together for such a corrupt and immoral purpose?

Photo: Stefano Jeantet

Learn from Ronda del Cims

Rewind a few weeks and a similar situation occurred for the rugged 100 mile event in Andorra, Ronda del Cims, only they offered a 70% refund. The backlash was quite vicious and the organisers did actually report threats to the police. Eventually, due to two factors “economic, but above all, moral”, the organisers decided to end the race completely. Gone.

The Ronda del Cims organisers admitted they had lost their main sponsor due to the pandemic, but were willing to take an economic loss of 60,000 Euros so that they could refund 70% and continue to organise the iconic race in 2021 and beyond, but people wanted blood.

The family behind the race was faced with a defamation of their character, threats and eventually could not face it any more. You would imagine this was not the opinion of the masses, as online petitions have since shown, but good people were being attacked for being good people. It was not fair.

The town of Ordino would become a bubbling hub of trail runners every July. Ronda, accepted as one of the toughest 100 milers in the world, was on many an athletes bucket list, mine included. Now it won’t be possible.

Money already spent

Writing this as someone who was not entered into the TDG this year, so not financially affected, might seem a bit off. Yet I do have other races where I have money spent and a possibility I will not see it again.

Some claim that they cannot afford to lose the race money, but it was already gone from your bank. Getting a 50% refund and not having to travel to the event, pay for hotels, food, trips away etc. leaves you in a financially better place than beforehand. We are all suffering the hardships of missing our beloved races, but it pales in significance to the real global issues right now.

We don’t want to think of some fat cats taking advantage of this situation to make money, but if you honestly think this is what is happening then maybe try a different sport instead? Running, ultra running especially, is largely run by people who love the sport.

There are people in it to make money, but very few are pure business people who just want to drain the sport dry. Although they do exist. Some people make a lot of money from this sport, but we cannot simply begrudge people being successful in a sport they love. Often it will have come on the back of many years of financial losses, long hours and hardship.

We need to support each other

Most of this races don’t want our charity either. Ronda del Cims again showed their character at the end of their Thank You piece with the line “On the other hand, do not create any crowdfunding, we cannot accept these initiatives, others are much more needed”.

I’ve spoken to other race organisers who not only don’t want to take advantage of the situation, but want to share the burden that is hitting our community. Ronda del Cims were happy to accept part of the economic burden so they could be fair to their runners. We simply don’t know the whole economic situation for TDG.

The VDA Trailers communicated that “the TOR may have slowed down, but it won’t stop. Ever.”

They seem to have been as fair as they can be, whilst maintaining a chance for the races to survive. I may be wrong and they might well be scamming us all, but if we want this great events to continue surely we need to show some support.

UPDATE: Since writing this my own Italian cycling race scheduled for a few weeks time, “confirmed” to be going ahead multiple times before I entered in May and since, now looks unlikely.

I do feel a bit duped as this was entered very late and strong reassurances were given, but also understand that the race directors do not have an easy job right now and want to be optimistic. If I get 50% back I’ll be happy and at least I can avoid the taper, for now.

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Although the event started at midday on Sunday, no one has yet reached the finish and most of the field is still heading towards halfway.

A fuller insight into the wild and wondrous mountain epic will come at the end of the whole week (once I’ve had more than a few hours of sleep at a time), but here is some of the fantastic pictures from the event so far.

The highlights are not just the spectacular scenery, but also the vibrant and supportive local communities that seem to find great joy in welcoming runners from all over the world to their mountain towns.

The pride in the race is clear for all to see and the coveted finishers jacket is the one bit of race ‘swag’ you might actually wear.

Fast Running?

Now you might ask why a race that takes the winner around 70 hours is featuring on a website called Fast Running.

So the picture below shows Canadian runner Galen Reynolds, who finished second in 2018, enjoying one of the more runnable sections of the course. Certainly in the first half the leaders are shifting and the pace certainly looks unsustainable (which it is for some).

Reynolds is London based, which makes his success in mountain races, like the Tor des Geants and this years Dragon’s Back race in Wales, ever the more impressive.

Photo: Stefano Jeantet

Putting in a shift

No of this event would happen without the awe-inspiring volunteers that make it happen. Year on year the same smiling faces greet the runners as the whole community come behind the event.

Monday night we booked into Le Coeur du Pont hotel in Donnas and as I set off at midnight to support my runner, our receptionist Giorgia finishes her work day and changes into her volunteer’s top for a night serving hot pasta to weary runners in the Lifebase.

There are six lifebases, where you have a bag of kit transported ahead of you and they are a little more substantial than your normal race checkpoint. Massage, sleeping rooms, fully working kitchens and a beer pump at each for the runners, it’s almost a luxury gastronomic tour of the valley, if you weren’t so bloody knackered.

The community are one of the main things that make this race so special.

Photo: Stefano Jeantet

Getting high

The event isn’t just big hills, it’s high mountains. With the highest point being over 3200m the runners are often in rarefied air and feeling the effects of altitude.

The cols, lower points between higher mountains that have seen people passing on foot for hundreds, if not thousands of years, are the only way to get from one life base to the next, and even then it isn’t easy. The race profile has more ups and downs than the English cricket team.

With the first night seeing snow and temperatures as cold as -15 at the highest points, the athlete have to be prepared for the worst and experienced in suffering. Even then 150 have dropped out before the second night arrives.

Photo: Stefano Jeantet

Previous winners in the 10th anniversary

With this being the tenth running of the event the organisers wanted to put on a show and invited back every former winner of the grand spectacle.

Currently both male and female leaders are those who have been atop the podium before with Italian Olivio Bosatelli ahead in the mens race and Spain’s Silvia Ainhoa Trigueros Garrote (pictured below) leading the women and in ninth place overall.

Photo: Stefano Jeantet

Fast Running’s Robbie Britton and his wife Natalie are out in Italy where Robbie is providing unsolicited advice to runners and cycling between the checkpoints to support Icelandic ultra runner and friend Birgir Saevarsson.

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The post The mountains are calling appeared first on Fast Running.