OCC 2025

pettere9
Sep 29
3 min read

My first ever race at UTMB was OCC in 2021, and this year it was time to return to try and nail the 50K distance at the UTMB Finals in Chamonix. I had a solid couple of weeks of training since Monte Rosa and felt in really good shape going into UTMB week. Like always, it’s a crazy but fun week full of anticipation and excitement, and I couldn’t wait for the start of the race. It had been a long time since I entered a race feeling confident in both my fitness and myself. You never know how things will go, but I had a good feeling—I was ready to suffer and give everything out on the course. Due to the weather, the organization changed the course, adding some distance but keeping the same elevation gain, with a more runnable finish.

I felt good from the start and wanted to push the pace a little on the first climb up to Champex-Lac. My legs felt great, and I was barely breathing on that climb. Jim Walmsley and I managed to break away from the rest of the field before reaching the first aid station. Before the descent to Martigny, we were joined by Sam Hendry from Canada, who ran super strong on the flat to catch up with us. That’s probably where I made my biggest mistake: following the others at their high pace down to Martigny. My legs took a lot of damage, and I felt like I lost a lot of energy and couldn’t keep my stride.

At Martigny, we were expecting to refill bottles, but there was no water station or tap in sight. Both Jim and I had put our bottles filled with drink mix back in our packs, hoping to refill them there. Instead, we started the climb up to Trient already under-fueled. Halfway up this long climb, my legs started to hurt, and I felt my energy dropping. I couldn’t match Jim’s stride on the gradual climb and had to settle into my own pace. I reached the top 90 seconds back but still in second place. I held that position until the next climb up to Col de Balme. I finally refilled at Trient, but the damage was done. My vision started to black out around the edges, and I couldn’t keep the pace. I bonked hard and felt like I was losing the race. The only thing I could do was drink, eat, and slow down. I emptied both bottles—one with cola, one with Maurten 320—and took two Maurten CAF gels within about 3 minutes.

Both Christian Jones and Christian Miniggio passed me. I tried to hang on, but the energy didn’t come back immediately. Finally, at the top of the climb, the energy started to return, and there was another aid station. From there, it was a long descent to Le Tour, followed by 16km of fast running through the valley into Chamonix. Andrzej Witek from Poland was flying and passed me on the downhill, but I was moving much better again and felt there was still hope.

In Argentière, I got splits saying I was just 90 seconds from the podium. I pushed harder and passed Christian Jones with 6km to go. I could see Andrzej ahead, but the gap was too big. At the same time, I had to hold off Jones and Adam Peterman, who were closing in from behind, so I pushed everything I had into the streets of Chamonix. I finished 4th—four minutes behind Jim, who won, and one minute off the podium.

It was a bittersweet moment. I was so happy to be back fighting with the best after six months of struggles with vocal cord and sinus infections, as well as lung inflammation. In June I had just finished a long round of antibiotics, and if someone had told me then that I would finish 4th at OCC, I would never have believed it. At the same time, I hate 4th place, and I so badly wanted that podium at this race. This sport is moving forward so fast, and so many athletes are putting in the work. Jim, Christian, Andrzej, Adam, and Christian all put in amazing performances, and we pushed each other to the absolute limit. I’ll remember this race for the battles and the way we pushed one another, and maybe at some point I’ll be able to appreciate 4th place.

Thank you Adidas TERREX team for all your support!