The Greek phrase "το τερπνόν μετά του ωφελίμου" means combining the pleasant with the useful. It expresses the idea of enjoying something while also gaining some benefit. For example, running a famous ultra-race by visiting magnificent places or getting in touch with famous wines but also making time for leisure…

Having adopted this attitude over the past years in every aspect of my live, Chianti Ultra Trail by UTMB festival was exactly the kind of experience I wanted, at least according to my initial plans…Unfortunately, the weather had a little different perspective…

Tuscany is famous for its rolling green hills, medieval villages, vineyards that produce some of the world’s finest wines (such as Chianti, Brunello di Montalcino, and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano), and, of course, its rich history and art. Its capital, Florence, is the birthplace of the Renaissance, home to masterpieces like the Duomo Cathedral, the Uffizi Gallery, and the Ponte Vecchio bridge. Additionally, cities like Siena, San Gimignano, and Pisa (with its famous Leaning Tower) add even more charm to this breathtaking region. So it is more than obvious that it combines touristic attractions and running pleasure.

Chianti Ultra Trail by UTMB is a festival, because it is not about a single race, and offers 5 different distance options, covering a range between 120km to 10km, thus addressing practically all the levels and preferences of the trail running society. Overall, the center of all is the Radda in Chianti village, where all the finishes occur there. The majestic vineyards with their own castles spread around Radda are the main attraction that even the smaller race option goes through. To give a quick overview of Chianti Ultra Trail by UTMB organization, the following 5 different races were available, and most of them were sold out many days before the registrations closing date:

• Ultra Trail Chianti Castles-UTCC: Ultra-Trail race – 124,5km – 5.403m+, Start at 04:00 (Saturday) – Radda in Chianti
• Ultra Trail Chianti-UTC: Ultra-Trail race – 75,9km – 3064m+, Start at 07:00 (Saturday) – Radda in Chianti
• Chianti Marathon Trail-CMT: Trail Marathon – 46,4km – 1700m+, Start at 09:00 (Sunday) – Radda in Chianti
• Chianti Half Trail-CHT: Half marathon Trail – 20km – 800m+, Start at 08:15 (Sunday) – Radda in Chianti
• Chianti Wine Run-CWR: Trail race – 10km – 400m+, Start at 19:00 (Friday) – Radda in Chianti

This was the 8^th edition of Chianti Ultra Trail however many things have changed if we compare this edition to the previous ones. The biggest change is that the ‘big’ race has become bigger with 20 additional kilometers and an addition of 1200m+ on one hand, but on the other hand more beauty, more castles, more vineyards, more…Tuscany! What is more, already from the previous year the race has become a by UTMB organization which offers all the advantages widely known. An extra motivation for this year’s race was also that the UTCC race was a Golden Ticket race, which means that the first two men and women would gain a direct entry to the notorious Western States ultra race of this year. Apparently, this was not of my interests, however it eventually was a huge motivation for elite athletes to compete in this year’s race. Overall, a notable sold out of the 4/5 Chianti Ultra Trail by UTMB races has been recorded, setting a new high standard to the organization, and exhibiting an amount of more than 4000 runners.

The weather in the entire area of Tuscany was horrible the last two weeks before the race, with heavy rains and floods, and this inevitably affected the race terrain. Even if the days of the races were just rainy without extreme conditions, the heavy terrain was not an easy task for running, not even for speed hiking in some cases, and the muddy paths were sometimes almost impervious. Moreover, while in normal conditions the smooth ascents and descents would not require the use of poles, due to the mud some passages were so much slippery that most of the runners used poles at last. Personally, I took the after the Castello di Albola aid station at 51km.

Therefore, a lesson to learn was that a runnable race in normal conditions can easily become a difficult task if the weather has its own opinion. This also had an impact on the finish times as well as on the number of finishers and the DNFs, mainly on the Saturday races, when it was more rainy.

The aid stations had a complete variety of refreshments and definitely met the standards of ..by UTMB race. The NAAK products seem to play a key role on the nutrition of the athletes, and this is an important asset of UTMB races, where all the aid stations offer NAAK products.

To sum up, the Chianti Ultra Trail by UTMB organization team deserves many congratulations not only for the successful races realization but also for their exceptional attitude, offering again a variety of trail running races for every runner and for 8^th consecutive year.

Reasons to run Chianti Ultra Trail by UTMB:

• The relatively runnable route offering scenic views of the castles and the vineyards. It involves landscapes of historical beauty without extreme difficulties in terms of ascents/descents.
• Tuscany. Running in Radda in Chianti and combining it with some possible exceptional visits before and after the race is not something you are offered every day or in every race.
• The UTMB label and standards which offer all the by UTMB advantages (stones collection, starting and finishing gifts, high aid station quality etc.)

Getting older, slower, peculiar and selective, I realize that everything has its own hidden pleasure and mystery. Of course the tough and vast races have their majesty and honor, however sometimes you need just so in order to feel happy.

To this end, like the old wine that is getting better and better as the years go by, Chianti Ultra Trail has now reached a very high level, and offering the precious combination of joy and run, will have a dedicated place in my memories and heart.

All the races results can be found here

Ciao!

For ADVENDURE

Christos Katsiropoulos