Spartan Ultra World Championships happened on Friday and the Spartan European Team added a french twist that knocked it out of the park, or should I say, off of the mountain with this one.

Athletes that were there are still hyped up about their experience. And all their friends and fellow OCR racers are feeling like they missed out on something special and ready to jump on board for next year.

Let’s dive into some details of the race, quotes from Athletes on course and stats after this Ultra World Championship weekend.

The Town of Morzine:

Morzine is a market town and ski resort in the French Alps, known for its alpine village atmosphere and amazing mountain views.

Michael Clift is a Spartan SGX Coach, UESCA Certified Running Coach and has over 200 OCR events under his belt. He was out there to run the Ultra and talked about the town and atmosphere there, saying:

“Morzine is a stunning mountain town in the heart of the French Alps…. It was alive with cafes, restaurants, and shops, all welcoming athletes there to run, hike and mountain bike. The valley views from the town itself were amazing – mountains in every direction with a river flowing through the center of the town. We could hear the roar of the river from the porch of our chatlet, along with the ringing bells hanging from the collars of a nearby sheep herd – it was awesome.“

Every athlete we heard from had positive reviews about the town, the people and their overall experience on the trip.

The only negatives were logistics related. Where navigating around town is easy, but if staying at a hotel on the top of the mountain, it can be difficult to get around without a rental car. A ski lift is there for traveling to and from, but only open a few hours a day. Take note for anyone going out next year.

Start Line Feelings:

At the start line, it was clear this event was important.

Running in the Pro Championship heat and taking a solid 5th place spot on the day, Cassandra Gill tells us:

“The event itself was so well organized and as a competitive athlete, I was treated so well… being interviewed for clips to use during the live-stream… and highlighted on stage during the opening ceremony kickoff” she goes on to say,

“The vibes at the start line and the finish were incredible. They really went the extra mile with a fog machine at the start, electronic finish line showing your name and time… and an iconic purple carpet“

Photos provided by Joe Martello Photography

Race Miles & Terrain:

As those fog machines were rolling, the race kicks off and athletes start by running along a river and through the village as spectators watch on. This 5 mile loop then turns uphill and the athletes start hitting some big carries that we’ll mention later on.

These climbs were steep. Going up, going down, or traversing a ridge line. This isn’t your Saturday long run trail. As Michael says:

“we climbed some more, this time to the highest point on the course along a treacherous ridge line to a narrow summit with breathtaking panoramas of Mont Blanc and the valleys below. When I say treacherous I mean it – this made Angel’s Landing look like child’s play.“

When it comes to racing and pushing yourself in this group of top athletes, Cassandra tells us how important your skill of ascending and descending needs to be on this course.

“Terrain in Morzine was particularly challenging, super steep ascents that were so long, and the descents were brutal. So much more technical and steeper than what I’ve personally experienced in the US. In the US, some descents can be technical; in Morzine, it was almost all highly technical… If you are not a phenomenal descender, it’s not possible to make the podium… I was among the fastest climbers, but so, so much worse than the other top women descending.”

And after nearly 22 miles on course, you hit that transition. Just to re-fuel and head right back out there. The second part of the course being a smaller section of the first. But of course, still including many of those difficult obstacles, carries and climbs.

Let’s Talk Obstacles:

This wasn’t your typical US Spartan Ultra where we have come to expect 60+ whatever obstacles. This event came with 77 total obstacles for the day. With over a dozen of them being either different or harder than what we have come to expect in the states.

Johnny Mcgrory has completed close to 200 Spartan races all across the world and told us:

“Where Morzine and really all of the European races continue to destroy the USA is in obstacle variety.”

We saw a number of obstacles in Morzine that we don’t tend to see in the US.

Obstacles like:

• The Tilting Ladder – similar to Tilt-a-Kilt at Highlander Assault from RRO according to Michael,
• Athena’s traverse – similar to Skull Valley seen at OCRWC,
• Swimming across lakes with a log acting as your flotation device,
• Cargo net climbs up a rockface,
• Slackline and balance obstacles, and
• obstacles the US athletes know of, but were a notch above what we expect. Where rope climbs were higher, multi-rigs with trickier holds and monkey bars with more spread out reaches.

Another aspect of obstacles here was in the variation of carries. Hearing again from Michael:

“We climbed to a long carry that included a sequential sandbag to chain to sandbag carry. Carrying these chains was brutal. They were heavy, awkward and painful to carry – perfect for an event like this – and we saw them 4 times in the race.”

Finish Line & Final Thoughts:

Coming back into the the town on your final miles was something special. The spectators cheering you on for those final obstacles was needed as athletes were rounding out a 8, 10 or even 12+ hour day on course.

It was a huge accomplishment for anyone making it across the finish. As this was a step above what we expect as a Spartan Ultra.

So, let’s look at some stats on this race.

Details on Data shown in this chart:
Distance & Elevation Gain: Strava data from 20 Athletes were obtained and the average was found to obtain these numbers.
Average Finish Time: Obtained through stratified sampling method of finishers.
Athletes & DNF%: Obtained through Spartans Results page of the Event.

Not sure how many people signed up expecting a 50K. But let’s hope their fitness was on point, because this course’s french twist tacked on an extra 7.8K !?!?

Elevation was around expected and this 11.4K is just a little more than what we see at the New Jersey Ultra for you US racers.

This event was a special one and the good news is that Spartan France will be holding the Ultra World Championships there again next year in 2025.

Will you be going?!?!