Mont Blanc ~ the woman runner who stopped to feed her 3 month son

This is a limited edition watch which could cost more than a Crore of Indian rupees. ~ this is no post on the pricey watch but on a toughness of a woman who delivered a baby 3 months back !!!

It takes place once a year on either the last weekend in August or the first weekend of September in the Alps, and follows the route of the Tour du Mont Blanc through France, Italy and Switzerland. It has a distance of approximately 171 kilometres (106 mi), and a total elevation gain of around 10,040 metres (32,940 ft). It is widely regarded as one of the most difficult foot races in the world, and one of the largest with more than 2,500 starters. While the best runners complete the loop in slightly more than 20 hours, most runners take 32 to 46 hours to reach the finish line. Most runners will have to run through two nights in order to complete the race.

It is an ‘ ultramarathon ’, also called ultra distance or ultra running, a footrace longer than the traditional marathon length of 42.195 kilometres (26.219 mi).  It is associated with Mont Blanc.  Mont Blanc meaning "White Mountain", is the highest mountain in the Alps and the highest in Europe west of Russia's Caucasus peaks.  It rises 4,808.7 m (15,777 ft) above sea level and is ranked 11^th  in the world in topographic prominence.

Since the French Revolution, the issue of the ownership of the summit has been debated. From 1416 to 1792, the entire mountain was within the Duchy of Savoy. In 1723, the Duke of Savoy, Victor Amadeus II, acquired the Kingdom of Sardinia. In September 1792, the French revolutionary Army of the Alps under Anne-Pierre de Montesquiou-Fézensac seized Savoy without much resistance and created a department of the Mont-Blanc. In a treaty of 15 May 1796, Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia was forced to cede Savoy and Nice to France. Although the Franco-Italian border was redefined in both 1947 and 1963, the commission made up of both Italians and French ignored the Mont Blanc issue. The area from the Torino Hut to the summit is under the control of the Italian authority.   In the early 21^st  century, administration of the mountain is shared between the Italian town of Courmayeur and the French town of Saint-Gervais-les-Bains, although the larger part of the mountain lies within the commune of the latter.

This post is about the British ultra runner  whose  candidly taken photo while she paused  during a grueling 106 mile (171km) race to breastfeed her three-month old son, has gone viral.    MailOnline reports that Sophie Power had just stopped after 16 hours of running to feed baby Cormac at a rest stop on the epic Ultra Trail Mont Blanc race when the picture was taken.  The runner, Mrs Power - who logged 112 miles during the event -completed the monumental route that crosses Italy, France and Switzerland in 43 hours and 33 minutes.

She logged 112.4 miles during the UTMB which is widely regarded as one of the most difficult foot races in the world with the route crossing France, Italy and Switzerland. Her husband met her at every aid station along the route, where he would hand her a breast pump and ferry back the milk to their baby.  It is reported that the  mum-of-two usually feeds every three hours, but it took her a testing 16 hours to reach Courmayeur, in Italy, where baby Cormac was hungry and waiting.  Mrs Power's race was recorded with Strava, a social networking site for athletes. Her route and stats showed she has a moving time of 43 hours and 33 minutes burning 15,950 calories.  

     

In the touching image the mum who is a co-founder of Airlabs - a start up creating clean air zones in cities – is  seen with her baby in one hand and a breast pump in the other. Before she reached him, she was met by her husband at every aid station along the route, where he would hand her a breast pump and ferry back the milk to their baby son.  She is quoted as saying :  'Oh my god I was in agony! Cormac usually feeds every three hours and it took me 16 to get to Courmayeur where he could first meet me so I was hand expressing everywhere I could en route. 'I was so relieved he was hungry!'

The route 171km (106.2m) route goes through France, Italy and Switzerland. It is widely regarded as one of the most difficult foot races in the world, and one of the largest with more than 2,500 starters. The race costs 250 € to enter. Due to the tough conditions 'heat-wave', 'winter' and 'bad weather' kits are part of the obligatory equipment. Mrs Power - who is a member of Strava the social network for athletes - had to take the race slow and steady and made subtle changes to the way she ran to cater for the fact that she was breastfeeding.  She said: 'I couldn't raise my heart rate too much as my body isn't primed to burn fat and I couldn't fully run downhills to protect my pelvis. 'In a typical race I would get in and out of the aid stations as quickly as possible but here I had to focus on keeping down enough food for me and for Cormac, and resting.' She also believes that keeping active and maintaining a healthy lifestyle during pregnancy is really important. 'This is not the best way to prepare for motherhood - staying fit, healthy and strong is so important and how you can safely do that needs to be talked about more.'

Mrs Power has logged an amazing 273.3m (439.8 km) over 27 races on Strava so far this year. The site says she has spent more than 76 hours running in 2018. 

Montblanc International GmbH is a German manufacturer of luxury writing instruments, watches, jewellery and leather goods, often identified by their "Snow peak" logo.  The Montblanc Star Legacy Suspended Exo Tourbillon Limited Edition 28 featured at the start, demonstrates the mastery of classic and traditional artisanal aesthetics while pushing the boundaries of fine watchmaking. The massive balance wheel is raised 3.2 mm higher than the dial and appears to be floating. Due to its asymmetric construction, the alignment of the Exo Tourbillon bridge, with its solitary arm, represents a horological challenge and demands a high level of skill and dexterity to complete.  Entirely polished, the 44.8 mm case comes in 18 K red gold and is set with 54 baguette-cut diamonds. The sophisticated three-dimensional dial of the Montblanc Star Legacy Suspended Exo Tourbillon Limited Edition 28 is constructed in eight different parts that have been decorated entirely by hand using traditional watchmaking techniques. The base is in 18 K gold and has been highlighted with a handmade guilloché pattern in places and a sandblasted decoration in others, with polished steps framing the different finishing techniques.

With regards – S. Sampathkumar

8^th Sept 2018.