WNC’s premiere ultramarathoner is rapidly climbing the world rankings.
For the past few years, Franklin native Canyon Woodward has traveled the world in search of its toughest trail races, traversing hundreds of miles of difficult terrain against some of the world’s best distance trail runners. After placing 48th at last year’s Ultra Trail du-Mont Blanc race, recently Woodward returned to the European Alps for the sport’s most prestigious event.
“Obviously, it was super-helpful having done it once before. Knowledge of the course really goes a long way out there in the mountains,” he said of the 106-mile course winding through France, Italy and Switzerland. “Last year I had a tough race, and it felt like a struggle much of the time. I had come down with a cold the day before, and it just felt like I was trying to stay above water a lot of the time. This year, it felt like I was running really well from the get-go, through at least the first three quarters of the race.”
Despite his extremely ill-timed cold, Woodward exceeded all expectations last year, placing among the top 50 finishers in 25 hours and eight minutes. Fully healthy and armed with experience on the course, this time Woodward was able to save more energy for the end of the race.
“People go out crazy-fast; it’s kind of ridiculous,” he said. “The atmosphere over there is kind of hard to understand if you haven’t been there, but it’s kind of like the Tour de France. Trail running is super-popular there and there are thousands and thousands of people lining the streets, so people go out way too fast. I don’t know what the DNF [Did Not Finish] rate is, but it’s pretty high.”
With nearly 2,700 entrants, the race becomes in one sense a war of attrition, with the best runners holding a steady pace as others suffer injuries or withdraw voluntarily. Having sat at 106th after the first few hours, then passing nearly 60 other runners last year, Woodward knows how to stay fresh for the home stretch.
“Last year, I dropped down into the low hundreds, and worked my way up into the top 50 from there,” he said. “My plan going in this year was to try and keep that more in the 60-80 range, not dropping anywhere further than that and then working up from there. I was able to move up a ton through the night and the early hours of the morning.”
Through the first three quarters of the race, Woodward cruised at a steady pace, picking off some of the world’s best distance runners in his journey to the front of the pack. With 10,000 meters of positive elevation gain however, the course can humble even the best ultramarathoners.
“The back 50 [kilometers] or so definitely took it out of me – it was a struggle,” he said. “That’s where it really gets real. It was starting to get hot in the late morning, middle of the day, and I battled a bit of nausea on one of those climbs. I had to just stop and sit for a few minutes and drink some water, really slowly take some [energy] gels down and get my stomach back under control. The last two big climbs are so brutal; they’re unbelievably steep. Someone needs to go tell the Swiss about switchbacks.”
Despite the incredibly steep course, Woodward aced the 106-mile test, placing 29th overall in 23 hours and 56 minutes.
“I was so psyched. There’s a lot of emotion,” he said of crossing the finish line. “I cried a little bit, I was so relieved I made it across. ... I’d say I’ve got top-10 in my sights. I don’t know that it’s gonna be next year, but I would say that’s my goal.”