Helle Montem

DNF (Did Not Finish) - Julian Alps 120K 🏔️
88 km / 4600m vertical climb - that’s where my race ended.

Disappointed? No. I showed up and I gave it all. And it was tough and brutal - just what I came for 😅 The training towards a goal is never wasted no matter the outcome.

Wild terrain: slippery roots, loose rocks, mud-skating downhill, climbing with ropes and 30-50% steep up and down. 100% focus, one wrong step and you slide off the mountain or fall.

Night running was pure magic - silent, starry and a bit of rain but warm. ✨

Why I stopped.
At 88 km I was cold, nauseous and mentally empty due to lack of energy -with another 16 km / 660m to go before I could get my my gels from Sean - I was mentally drained and pain started to be more contagious. Therefore I chose safety over pushing past cut off.

Learnings: I have to get faster on 40-50% climbs, more confident jumping down on rocks - even with tired legs. 🪨 And a bigger backpack as I got so many burn marks 😅

I was the only woman in my age group 55-60 on the 120K. About 100 women out of 700 runners. More women should try this!

I’ll be back 2027 ⛰️

Thank you so much for all support - this means a lot 🙏🏻❤️🫶🏻
Especially my favorite person - @sean_montem 🥰

Happy smiles
Helle ❤️

#julianalps #ultratrail #trailrunning #dnf #trailwomen mountainrunning