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One day; seven experienced speakers. We'll help you succeed in the toughest conditions!
Hear from experienced UTMB®, TDS®, CCC® and OCC® competitors and Alpine racing experts on what it takes to complete some of the world's most challenging events. You'll also be able to get your medical certificate signed and stamped (limited to 20 people). If you've entered any of the UTMB® races, or thinking of signing up next year, this is the event for you!
Join us for a day of UTMB® experts sharing their knowledge, experience and tips for the biggest ultra trail race week of the year!
More than 50% of British competitors don't cross the finish line for events they start in UTMB® week. We want to change that, by making sure you have the right knowledge to prepare, the right kit, and - more importantly - the right expectations when heading to the Alps.
Our 2018 seminar had great feedback - from 21 seminar attendees, 18 went on to receive their finishers' gilets!
And this year we'll be screening 'UNDERDOG' - a short film which follows Damian Hall's journey back to the UTMB®:
Chasing the UTMB dream. Underdog is a short film about British journalist, father, tea-lover and athlete, Damian Hall as he returns to the world's biggest trail race, the 105-mile Ultra-Tour du Mont-Blanc (UTMB®). Damian is up against the world's best trail runners, many of whom are full-time athletes, 10 years younger and without the pressures of supporting a family. He’s going to need every ounce of courage, grit and stubbornness to crack the top 10.
We are delighted to support SheRACES and commit to providing a great experience for female participants. Find out more
Included
- 'Main tent' sessions in the main room for all attendees
- Breakout sessions in the afternoon, specific to each race
- Medical certificate sessions available throughout the day
- A special UTMB® lunch
- A screening of the new short film 'UNDERDOG', charting Damian Hall's return to the UTMB®
- A full Q&A to finish the day
Our 2018 seminar had great feedback - from 21 seminar attendees, 18 went on to receive their finishers' gilets!
Pricing
Standard entry
£79
Medical certificate signing and stamping: £35 (max 20)
There's a 10% discount available for all serving military or emergency services staff. To book with your discount, please email us: info@xnrg.co.uk.
Refunds policy
No refunds or deferrals will be made within one month of the event start.
Getting there
Chesham is at the end of the Metropolitan Line (London Underground). From Chesham station, it's roughly a four mile taxi ride to the conference centre. By car, it's in easy reach of the M25, M40 and M1.
More Information
Registration is from 9am for a 10am start (finishing by 5pm).
We'll cover:
- Understanding the events, and understanding the Alps
- Preparing physically, mentally and emotionally
- Kit required: 'pack right, not light'
- What to expect when you arrive in Chamonix or Courmayeur
- Pre-race prep
- Racing: what to expect enroute
- How to handle the tough times: physically, the weather, fatigue, sickness, etc
- Help for supporters: how to get around and how to support your competitor
- Dealing with typical medical issues enroute, and how to deal with blisters properly.
About the speakers
Hear from some of the most experienced ultra-runners and UTMB® series competitors:
Neil Thubron (UTMB®, TDS® and OCC® finisher)
XNRG founder Neil Thubron is passionate about ultra racing and helping people succeed in their ultra racing goals. He is a lover of the alps and the UTMB® races and created the seminar to help more British competitors to complete their chosen event. He has completed every UTMB® event except the CCC® – UTMB® 2010, 2011, TDS® 2012, OCC® 2017.
Tom Evans (CCC® winner, 2018)
Tom discovered Ultra Running while competing in the Marathon des Sables 2017 and finishing 3rd! Since then he raced all distances from 100km down to 10km. He finished 3rd in the Trail running world championships in 2018 while representing Team GB. His highlight of 2018 was winning the CCC®! Tom’s versatility is one of his key strengths - he has just been selected to run for England in a road half Marathon!
Laura Watson (ultra-runner & event medic)
With a love of trail running and endurance events over the last 10 years or so, Laura has raced and volunteered on a host of ultrarunning events, including running in the 400km Fort William to Cape Wrath 8-day expedition race in 2016 (3rd Female). She has run or volunteered - or both - at most of XNRG’s events, and in July 2017 ran alongside Neil in the roasting hot Al-Andalus multiday ultra in Spain (3rd Female), where she also put her foot-care skills to good use! She is the Medical Director for the 6-day Burgos Way of Legends Multi-Stage 254km ultra race in Northern Spain. Laura is passionate about keeping everyone safe and has great skills in blister prevention as well as repairing tattered feet to get runners through to the finish!
Andy Mouncey (serial UTMB® finisher)
XNRG head coach Andy Mouncey will be speaking on 'Doubling Up & DNF'. In 2011, he tried a 100-mile double, just one month apart - the Lakeland 100 in July and UTMB® in August. He finished the Lakeland but threw in the towel halfway through the UTMB®. He'll talk about how - and why. You can find out more about his approach to mountain preparations here >
Anna-Marie Watson (7th female in the 2017 UTMB®)
Anna-Marie has been diagnosed with a severe ultra-running habit and can usually be found searching for the perfect trail. Her first foray into ultra-running was the CCC® (2008) where
she narrowly scrapped through every check point with minutes to spare. Fast forward to 2017, she successfully completed the UTMB® placing 7th lady, 5th Brit and in the top 100.
Over the last ten years she’s combined her passion for running with travel with podium achievements in Half Marathon des Sables Fuerteventura (2017) 1st lady, Marathon des Sables (2015 and 2018) 2nd and 5th lady respectively, Trans Gran Canaria (2018) 8th lady, Ultra Trail World Tour (UTWT) Cappadocia Ultra (2016) 1st lady, and closer to home most of
the XNRG ultra race series.
David Byrne (CCC®, Ut4M, UTMR, Zugspitz and TDS® finisher)
Dave's Alpine racing began in the 2010 CCC®, where the event was called off due to bad weather and the official finish was recorded as Vallorcine. Returning in 2011, yet again the weather played a big part when the route was changed mid-event, leaving runners without GPS or maps. The need to plan 'on the fly' was important to secure a finish in Chamonix. Since then, he's taken part of plenty of XNRG events and returned to the Alps for the Ut4M, UTMR and Zugspitz ultras. 2018's TDS® saw weather playing its part yet again. The route was changed the night before and the start time was delayed - both being sensible decisions by the organisers. He'll be talking us through planning for the expected - and the unexpected of Alpine racing.
We'll also be joined by Simon James from Run the Wild. Watch the Run the Wild mountain trail video here >
Find out more about preparing with our Alps Seminar in a blog from OCC® finisher Clare Molyneux >
Reviews
Your seminar was instrumental in focusing my mind to the task. The advice was a 'force multiplier' for me. When I arrived at the seminar I had 80% capability to complete, you supplied the rest. In other words, without attending I would not have been prepared enough. The tips from Neil and the other speakers were invaluable - especially 'the why' question. I debated this with myself for hours on the second night - mostly with the rocks which had developed faces!
I believe the seminar was an integral part of my success at UTMB®.
I found the seminar a huge help in enabling me to complete the TDS®, so thank you very much! The best advice for me was to make my training race-specific.
We can't wait to see you there! Questions? Say hello on info@xnrg.co.uk
