Day 12

Morning track: 7 miles

Max VK miles

---

We discovered before we left the UK that Chamonix has an athletics track, and we committed to do a track session. So after a warm up along the river, we hit the track for a session of 8 x 600m, each rep being 2 laps of the track which was actually 300m, presumably due to space constraints.

It was somehow ‘fun’ doing the session on a track set with the awesome backdrop of the Aiguille du Midi and Mont Blanc, but even at only 1,035m, you could really feel the altitude, as we were breathing very heavily.

On a very different side of running, we’d also heard of Chamonix’s famous (notorious!) VK, vertical kilometre, and had discovered it was actually right outside our door zig-zagging up the mountain directly below the Brévent telecabine. After carefully consulting the lift times, we decided it might just be possible to watch the finale of an incredible TdF stage, and then immediately tackle the VK in time to get the lift down from the summit at Planpraz which shut at 6pm.

The TdF seemed to be a little later than expected, but impossible to tear ourselves away from a Quintana breakaway, Bernal brilliance and Alaphilippe agonisingly being to crack, so at 5.12pm Max sprinted out of the house and hit the hairpins.

Sarah meanwhile hopped onto the lift hoping to catch some photos and with a plan to descend together.

You can just spot Max on the path below:

It’s quite a climb, not surprisingly, with super narrow paths and precipitous slopes one slip away. The legs burn, and the final 200 vertical metres involves hauling oneself up on ropes, rock scrambles and a couple of ladders.

At 6pm, Sarah was ushered into the lift down, Max still just under the lip of the summit and desperately trying to make it… fortunately the lift kept running for a few stragglers coming off the mountain and the lift operators themselves, and Max managed to jump into one of the final bubbles at 6.06pm!

It was a classic contre-le-montre adding drama to the VK adrenalin: 53.40 mins up and 7.28 mins down!! Well worth a celebratory beer at the bottom.

You can see the VK route in the background here