Yesterday to finish off the summer season, I ran the Trail des Aiguilles Rouges race. This is a 51km trail run, with 3300m of height gain and 3500m of descents, and was my first ever ultra-marathon. In this photo I am traversing the Col de Salenton, which is the watershed between the Bérard and Anterne valleys. The race started at 05:00 in Vallorcine, then went through the woods to Barberine (Swiss border), before looping up to Les Granges and the Pierre à Bérard hut. All this first section was running in the dark with a head torch, which was a great experience. First light arrived at the Bérard hut, where I got a good cheer from the guardians, before the long climb to the Col de Salenton (2526m), then the descent to the Moede Anterne hut, and Pont Arlévé, before the next big height gain to the Col de Brevent and Le Brevent itself. Next was the traverse to the Aiguillette des Houches, followed by the painful 1500m descent to Servoz village, close to where I live. Then uphill again to Vaudagne, Charousse, and Les Houches le Lac. The finish time was 11hrs 25mins, which I was very happy with. Same again next year? Not sure at the moment!