Race Report: 2025 UTMB Arc of Attrition 25 (50K)

I had not intended this race to be a huge deal. I entered kind of on a whim when I was looking at the UTMB website to see when the ballot for the Finals in Chamonix 2025 opened. I noticed that the 50K category race was some 15km shorter and 2000m less vertical gain than the 2 races I had participated in in 2024 and so I figured I could complete the event with minimal effort, bag some more running stones for the ballot and I wouldn't necessarily need to dedicate too much time to training hard.

Pre-Race Preparation

Late summer and into the autumn of 2024 I had aggravated my achilles with some attempts at faster running so I wasn't in any kind of form following PDA in July. My 3 months leading up to The Arc were not exactly ground breaking...

Training overview from TrainingPeaks

Inconsistent is the word I would use! Like I said however, I was sure I could complete the event through sheer determination if needs be. The only question would be just how fast I could go.

St. Ives & Pre-Race

We decided to stay in St. Ives, close to that start line of the Arc 25 course. I had never been here in the winter before and it felt eerily quiet but just as beautiful as it is in summer.

Like a proper athlete, my day before the day before was capped off with a delicious tapas dinner and a bottle of wine in Ardour, St. Ives. If you find yourself in the area, definitely make a booking and check it out.

Since the 3 event distances all start at various points along the coast, there wasn't that same buzz you get when everyone is in the event village together, building up the atmosphere of excitement before the race. When I went to collect the race pack however, the Arc Angels were awesome and did a great job at looking after everyone, effectively managing the numbers accessing some very small country lanes!

On pre-race day I was a bit more sensible, getting in a good wander, checking out the condition of the coast path following lots of rain in the week prior and scoffing down plenty of pasta and garlic bread (a tactical decision to maintain personal space on race day).

Race Day Experience

Race day morning felt very unusual. The start time wasn't until around midday so it meant a lay in and a nice leisurely breakfast, quite different to most other events! Most competitors were ferried from the event village at the finish line to the start by coach, but as I was just 5 minutes walk away from the start, I wandered over just in time to see the first wave get themselves underway.

After my inspection of the trail the day before, I opted to wear my Scarpa Spin ST trail shoes rather than the Spin Infinity, as there was a lot of wet, slippery mud on course. I was glad I did when I saw those in more road biased trail shoes slipping and sliding around. I managed to maintain a good pace in the first twisty section of the course thanks to the extra grip and establish myself in the front of the wave pack.

There was a great atmosphere coming through St. Ives with lots of support and I felt like I had made a good start. The trade off on the shoe choice however then came into force with some pretty long sections of tarmac to run, as the coast path passes through village and after village, before dropping into the sand dunes.

As expected, the course felt fast, more like running a road marathon for the most part, with only a few short steep hills towards the end of the course, including a punishing little hill right up to the event village. My heart really went out to the poor 100 milers as they met that muddy slope!

Feeling the lack of training at this point!

Also as expected, with the lack of training under my belt, I dropped off significantly about 25km in and the lack of cushion & support in my shoes caused me some arch pain that didn't make life any easier. Nonetheless, I crossed the finish line in just over 5 hours. Less than half the time taken to complete the 2 50K events last year which was definitely a reflection on the course, rather than me magically getting faster!

Conclusion

By the time the race rolled around, I had decided not to enter the UTMB Finals ballot this year, instead saving my running stones for 2026. This race was really enjoyable in it's own right and although I think the Arc 50 (100K) event is probably a more comparable course to the more mountainous races I ran last year, I was definitely glad I was only doing the 25 by the time the finish line came into view!

Did you run The Arc this year or are you thinking about giving it a go? Let me know what you think by commenting below or by reaching out on IG.

Until next time.

S