Lining up for her fourth lap round Mont Blanc, the American residing in France, Katie Schide, arrives on the 2024 UTMB simply 9 weeks after successful the 2024 Western States 100. On this interview, she talks about her restoration after racing in California, what retains bringing her again to UTMB after successful it in 2022, and the elements of the race she’s most trying ahead to.
For extra on who’s racing, try our in-depth ladies’s and males’s previews and observe our reside race protection beginning Friday.
Katie Schide Pre-2024 UTMB Interview Transcript
iRunFar: Megan Hicks of iRunFar. I’m with Katie Schide. It’s a few days earlier than the 2024 UTMB. Right here we discover ourselves once more. Katie, how are you?
Schide: I’m doing properly. Yeah. Glad to be again. Nicely, we’ve been right here a bit, however it’s at all times good to be again.
iRunFar: Yeah. Or weren’t you a shock beginning entrant on this entrance listing as of late or is that this one thing that you just’ve been planning however we didn’t learn about?
Schide: It wasn’t an excessive amount of of a shock. We had been required to register in January and I registered, however I did take the runner’s insurance coverage simply in case I canceled. That’s how, I wasn’t positive, I needed to attend till after Western States and simply put all the pieces on Western States after which determine after if I had the motivation mentally, if it made sense, if I felt okay, if I actually needed to do it. So I assume it’s a semi-surprise.
iRunFar: A deliberate unplanned plan.
Schide: Yeah, precisely.
iRunFar: So it has been near seven weeks since we noticed you on a sizzling afternoon on the end line of Western States. Discuss us by means of what these weeks have regarded like. I believe you have got traveled rather a lot, you’ve rested rather a lot, and also you’ve skilled a bit?
Schide: Yeah, I haven’t traveled an excessive amount of. I went house, I got here again to the south of France two days after Western States, after which spent three weeks at house within the south, after which we got here up right here on the finish of July. So yeah, we’ve been right here for simply over a month now, and that was at all times the plan as a result of yeah, my associate, Germain was at all times positive to do UTMB, so it was at all times the plan to come back and-
iRunFar: Whether or not you had been going to do an extended race, a medium race or not a race.
Schide: No race, or, yeah.
iRunFar: So yeah, straight house after Western States, a bit little bit of time at house after which now you’ve develop into a Chamonix Valley native?
Schide: Yeah, virtually. Nicely, we had been staying on the finish of the valley, a bit eliminated. However yeah, we got here in rather a lot to benefit from the meals and low and see a number of folks.
iRunFar: And the way in regards to the restoration and conversion of the physique and thoughts from all issues Western States now to all issues UTMB? How’s that been for you?
Schide: Yeah, it’s been actually cool usually because I had plenty of enjoyable taking up this problem of Western States. But it surely simply felt so good to come back again and be within the locations that I favor a bit bit extra and yeah, I get the poles out, put on an actual backpack once more. It type of simply felt like beginning a brand new sport and I used to be fortunate to not have any huge accidents or something popping out of Western States, in order that made it comparatively easy, I assume. I believe final 12 months I performed it fairly secure. Everybody advised me UTMB after Western States and I listened and I did OCC and actually loved that.
iRunFar: And it turned out properly for you.
Schide: Yeah, it was nice, and I’m actually blissful I did that and this 12 months I knew roughly the way it feels to do Western States, the way it feels to coach for it, the way it feels to come back again. So I simply had a bit extra expertise with how all the pieces felt.
iRunFar: Yeah, so I believe you type of talked about the thoughts there. You felt just like the distinction between the game of Western States operating and the game of UTMB operating was sufficient of a transition that this feels recent to you?
Schide: Yeah, it does really feel fairly recent, particularly as a result of I took a 12 months off UTMB and I’ve already carried out three UTMBs, so taking the 12 months off type of gave me the possibility to overlook it a bit bit, and it additionally made me really feel prefer it’s not one thing I’ve to do. Not that I ever actually felt that, however I type of put it on myself that it was my greatest focus of the entire 12 months, which it’s, I’d say, I imply mainly everybody on the beginning line. I’m in type of a novel place that I did already end the race. That was actually my focus 100%.
iRunFar: Nicely, end and do actually good at too.
Schide: Yeah, and that’s a bonus for positive. And now I’m tremendous blissful to be right here figuring out that I, simply having the previous to look again on and simply see what Western States coaching can carry me in the direction of this race.
iRunFar: Yeah, I actually loved a social media put up you stated the opposite day about how you have got a brand new confidence in regards to the elements of this course that you just had been much less assured about previously, the extra runnable stuff, courtesy of a few years of targeted time on Western States. Yeah, simply discuss that for a second.
Schide: Yeah, it’s the factor that at all times, I believe it scares a lot of the French path runners is the quick or the fast-pacedness of Western States. How a lot do you need to run. Yeah, you’re actually operating virtually your entire race, and that’s fairly uncommon in Europe to discover a race so lengthy that’s like that. So it’s one thing that additionally scared me as a result of yeah, it’s extra how I got here into the game. It was not from a conventional highschool cross-country operating or highschool, school, cross nation/observe background, however extra from the facet of climbing.
And so I really feel like I actually targeted on my weaknesses for 2 years now, and yeah, I would miss a few of that specificity that I had coming to the race previously. However I’m simply to see the place that places me.
iRunFar: Attention-grabbing for me is that anyone such as you who’s already had a profession defining efficiency or type of all you would ask for at a earlier UTMB earlier than, however you’re again for both extra, higher, totally different, one thing alongside these strains. Simply trying again at your prior UTMB experiences, what do you are taking from people who you’re like, “Oh, I need to simply press repeat and do one thing I did rather well once more,” or one thing like, “Hmm, let’s attempt that totally different.”?
Schide: Yeah. I’ve had some difficult moments on this course and a few nice ones.
iRunFar: Isn’t it such a European method to say that?
Schide: Yeah, I’m choosing up the French English. Yeah, I’ve had some fairly dangerous moments on this racecourse. However I believe that’s additionally what at all times made me essentially the most proud on the finish was simply persevering with even when issues had been actually dangerous. And it’s one thing that helped me rather a lot in 2022 is simply being at these factors the place I felt good and saying, “Oh wow, I really feel so a lot better than the final two instances I used to be right here.”
And it’s one thing once I did have a fairly low second in 2022 that received me by means of it as a result of I used to be like, “Hey, I felt this dangerous for a 100K previously and I made it so I can really feel like this for an hour or two.”
However this 12 months I believe the factor that’s actually motivating me is it’s one thing that in the end made me essentially the most to do it once more was simply the feminine begin listing is trying so good and-
iRunFar: So good.
Schide: … I actually need to be right here for it. We had simply such a terrific group of ladies at Western States and we noticed what that delivered to all of us, and I need to be a part of this group of ladies. I believe it’s going to be much like Western States with simply the entire high 10, the entire high group of ladies is simply actually going to carry these instances down. Not that the course is ever precisely the identical. There are heaps little adjustments.
iRunFar: It adjustments yearly.
Schide: However basically I believe it’s going to be a very quick, robust 12 months.
iRunFar: Seeing the instances get simply objectively sooner and sooner.
Schide: Yeah. And never only for the primary one or two, however for everyone.
iRunFar: For me in relation to the ladies’s competitors, that’s the brand new dynamic that each one of you might be enjoying with in these races, is that there’s actually no room for far more than a bit blip or a bit downside. In case you drop fairly a methods again, say 5 years in the past at ultras, you would nonetheless make your approach ahead by means of the pack. I believe these days could have come and gone for ladies’s ultrarunning at a race like this.
Schide: Yeah, we’re nonetheless not fairly, sadly, we don’t have fairly the density to be the boys fairly but, however quickly it’s coming and it’s thrilling to see that. It makes us all carry our performances to a brand new stage figuring out we don’t have this house to mess up an excessive amount of.
iRunFar: It’s an attention-grabbing race. You had a humorous social media put up the opposite day about like, “Oh, we’re going to go across the mountain and do all these climbs and descents and by no means summit something.” Nevertheless, it’s a unprecedented course in simply so many alternative methods. You recognize it properly, you’ve run it a few instances, you’ve skilled on it. Are there sure simply panorama elements or geography elements that you just’re considering, I can’t wait to try this once more?
Schide: I don’t run at evening in coaching fairly often. Fairly hardly ever. That’s at all times one thing that’s the largest, it’s fairly uncommon in coaching you’d exit and run for your entire evening for that lengthy. And in order that’s at all times the type of cool half the place you’re like, wow, we’re out right here and everybody says you see the road of headlamps. It’s actually these are particular moments.
Aside from that, I do know the landscapes fairly properly at this level, so it’s not normally new. However yeah, I do attempt to take a second to lookup and simply be like, wow, that is actually lovely. Sadly, among the finest elements will hopefully be at evening for me.
iRunFar: Fingers crossed they occur within the nighttime.
Schide: And lacking Tete aux Vents final two years has been unlucky as a result of that’s also-
iRunFar: Actually lovely.
Schide: … a fairly good spot, however we’ll be within the bushes this 12 months.
iRunFar: Yeah, simply temporary glances of the terrain as you’re climbing. It’s humorous to listen to you additionally point out the evening as being one among your favorites. It looks like that’s only a favourite of all people.
Schide: I wouldn’t say it’s my favourite factor. It’s type of the factor that makes ultrarunning extra particular to me than simply going out for a long term as a result of I wouldn’t usually select to try this.
iRunFar: It’s additionally type of totally different right here since you concurrently do the evening through the extra distant a part of the course too. So it’s like you have got this actually wild and loopy night for 40K and then you definately go to darkish and relative like path vacancy after which daytime comes once more. It’s wild and loopy all day lengthy. It’s simply, I don’t know, that interaction of day and evening and other people and never folks is simply attention-grabbing.
Schide: The race for me is admittedly these sections between Contamines and Courmayeur after which Courmayeur and Champex-Lac, it’s utterly totally different than once you see your crew each couple of hours on the finish. So it’s plenty of issues to handle and at all times hectic once you’re going by means of your plan on the final minute, making an attempt to place the appropriate issues and by no means actually figuring out the way it’s going to prove.
iRunFar: Yeah. Nicely, I’ve a sense it’s going to prove simply okay for you, or higher than okay, let’s say. Better of luck to you in your, what is that this, your fourth lap?
Schide: My fourth UTMB.
iRunFar: Better of luck.
Schide: Thanks.
