Les Houches, France - Polarsteps

Les Houches - Chamonix - Vallorcine - Le Tour - Chamonix - Merlet 5:00 am, waking up for the race. Quick shower and breakfast, get ready and drive to Chamonix. Brother is ready, we get to the start point and thousands of people is already waiting to start. He goes to the line I get in position to try to capture him. He passes by I didn't even see him if he didn't have to say a word. But it was full pack, nearly impossible to get him sharp. As soon as we passed we drive onto the next point, Vallorcine, also know as the vertical kilometer, really cool spot, the vibe there it's amazing, hundreds of people cheering up, and soon the elite athletes are coming through, these guys and girls are no joke, they really run, no matter if going up or down. A bit later brother is there, he feels good, but with him, there are other hundreds of people, truth is, they all come like ants queueing. As soon as he passes through we drive onto the next point, here, the heat is real, 25 degrees and above runners seem to struggle, certainly, I'm having a hot time waiting. This the 27km and when he arrives he says he's ok, he feels great, no pain and he continues. Time to get to the finish. Before we stop at the supermarket for a quick lunch, French style, baguette included and take the lift up to Planpraz, here it's really hot, the views thought are amazing, we have lunch and waiting for him to finish. A bit later than we planned he arrives, he seems in shape, soon he says he is really tired, it seems the last few kilometers have been a burn for every runner, and everyone is complaining about the heat. We celebrate, get some shots and go back to the apartment, we are all tired and have a nap. In the evening, just before the sun sets we drive onto Merlet a viewpoint to Mont Blanc, I was expecting better light, but it's ok, the view it's really stunning and we stayed until almost dark, then we went back to the apartment and have a nice rest.