This year I took up my second ultra. This time with more than 2 weeks of training and about 6 months of agonising, prepping, wondering if it was going to be more than I could chew (spoiler alert: it was).

I gave another go at writing how it went. Mainly because I'll eventually put together a video recap from it, which is super time consuming and I didn't want to forget some of the details and how I felt during the event.
The story is now live on Gravel Union and you can read it at the link below:
https://www.gravelunion.cc/article/arm ... ltratrail

I have next to zero experience of ultracycling races but the camaraderie experienced on this one was amazing. People waiting for others at the finish. For days. Strangers becoming friends. It's what I expected to find at another ultra, but had a very different experience. It's what I wish every Tor Divide rider experiences...even if it's just me waiting for them haha

As usual, comments and feedback are massively appreciated!

A bit about this not well know event:
20K ultratrail is a 1000km race on the Italian and French Alps. The route is more or less fixed but the organiser makes changes every year depending on the conditions of some trails, which can be severely disrupted by the weather (most of the route is above 2000m a.s.l.).

20K ultratrail has been running for years, in some way it reminds me of BB200 for the way it's organised and the things prioritised by the organiser compared to other events where it's all about the social media, dotwatching and superficial/enforced diversity of the field.
Sadly, I found out just yesterday that the organiser intends to take a break from running the event and it won't organise it next year

I hope they run it again and I'd recommend people to give it a go.

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Dear friends of 20k ultraTrail,
Each path curve, every kilometer conquered, every sunset and every dawn on the alpine peaks has been part of an adventure that we built together since 2016.
20k UltraTrail is not just a physical challenge: it is a space where the passions meet, where the limits are redefined and where the mountain teaches us something new every time.

Yesterday a 20k finisher sent me the photo of his new tattoo that made me come back to me how strong the experience lived during the 20k ultraTrail, and this always excites me. This is what I want, \"leaving the mark\", and I know that every 20k finisher has a furrow left by this incredible experience.

This year, however, I made a difficult decision: 20k UltraTrail will not take place.
It is a necessary break to reflect, imagine and evaluate how to continue this incredible story.
The world of Unsupportted bikepacking adventure is changing a lot and I find myself more and more distant from this track.
I have to reflect and I have to do it by pedaling

This is not a goodbye. It is a curve along a path that could take us to new horizons. Perhaps the 20k will return, perhaps in a different form, with a formula that I still don't know but that I am trying to imagine.

To all of you who have pedaled, dreamed and shared this adventure: thanks to the heart. Your enthusiasm was the engine of every climb and the wind on the descents.

Stay connected, continue dreaming big, and who knows ... the mountain could call us again.

With affection,
Andrea and Paola