RITO ALTO FOUR PASSES LOOP | Final Tor des Geants 330K Training

I spent 10 days in Colorado just before traveling to Courmayeur, Italy to prepare for my biggest ultra marathon challenge to date, the Tor des Geants 330K race. This race is considered one of the hardest trail mountain races in the World and features an astounding 86,000 feet of vertical gain and equal elevation loss over the course of 205 miles as runners traverse the Italian Alps and some of its biggest mountains and mountain passes. Needless to say, to take this race lightly would be a serious mistake.

After my return from the 2023 268 Mile Spine Race in the UK in June, my recovery had somewhat derailed my training for Tor des Geants as I struggled to get my mojo back, resulting in a DNF after 50 miles at the Cascade Crest 100 Miler in July. I figured relocating to Colorado for 10 days in my Camper Van would allow me to get one short training block in to wake up my climbing legs and to build some confidence before traveling to Italy.

In the process, I managed to bag twelve 14er summits along with two 13er summits. But the most surprising run of this training trip was definitely the 24-mile Rito Alto Four Passes Loop in the Sangre De Cristo mountain range, an unexpected highlight of the trip. It was easily one of the most amazing trail runs in my 15 years of mountain running (Strava data of this run here:   / strava  .

While it is nearly impossible to physically prepare for a race like the Tor des Geants, one has to be committed and confident to tackle such an event. I hoped that this training trip would at least provide some of the confidence needed for the TdG. After the Rito Alto run, I certainly felt it did.