It was finally time for Damian Hall’s 2018 A-race, his fourth consecutive Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc

TOKEN BLOKE

Is it over? Really?

I’m a massive prat. That’s how I felt just before Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc (UTMB). It was my fourth consecutive run on the 105-mile Alpine race with 10,000m of ascent. It was this year’s A-race and I love it. But I’d put a lot of pressure on myself.

I placed 12th there last year, close enough to the hallowed top 10 that it nagged at me all year. I desperately wanted to break into it. I’d mentioned that in magazines and let others mention it on social media. An influential race preview named me as someone capable of cracking the top 10 and British runners were coming up to me in Chamonix saying “Good luck for top 10!” I also had my great friends Ellie and Matt Green from Summit Fever Media following me everywhere, making a film called Underdog. It was the kind of attention a few years ago I would have dreamed of. But now it all felt a bit much. And I’d brought it on myself.