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 profitable 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 profitable it in 2022, and the components 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 comply with our stay 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 effectively. Yeah. Completely happy to be again. Nicely, we’ve been right here a bit, but it surely’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 find out 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 every part on Western States after which resolve 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 scorching afternoon on the end line of Western States. Speak us by means of what these weeks have seemed like. I believe you’ve 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 dwelling, I got here again to the south of France two days after Western States, after which spent three weeks at dwelling 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 accomplice, 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 a protracted race, a medium race or not a race.
Schide: No race, or, yeah.
iRunFar: So yeah, straight dwelling after Western States, a bit of little bit of time at dwelling after which now you’ve turn out to be 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 occasional and see just a few folks.
iRunFar: And the way concerning 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 lots 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 choose a bit of bit extra and yeah, I get the poles out, put on an actual backpack once more. It form 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 yr I performed it fairly protected. Everybody instructed me UTMB after Western States and I listened and I did OCC and actually loved that.
iRunFar: And it turned out effectively for you.
Schide: Yeah, it was nice, and I’m actually comfortable I did that and this yr I knew kind of 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 every part felt.
iRunFar: Yeah, so I believe you form of talked about the thoughts there. You felt just like the distinction between the game of Western States working and the game of UTMB working was sufficient of a transition that this feels contemporary to you?
Schide: Yeah, it does really feel fairly contemporary, particularly as a result of I took a yr off UTMB and I’ve already completed three UTMBs, so taking the yr off form of gave me the possibility to overlook it a bit of 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 form of put it on myself that it was my largest focus of the entire yr, which it’s, I might say, I imply mainly everybody on the beginning line. I’m in form of a singular 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 comfortable to be right here figuring out that I, simply having the previous to look again on and simply see what Western States coaching can convey me in direction of this race.
iRunFar: Yeah, I actually loved a social media put up you mentioned the opposite day about how you’ve got a brand new confidence concerning the components of this course that you just had been much less assured about previously, the extra runnable stuff, courtesy of a few years of centered 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 many of the French path runners is the quick or the fast-pacedness of Western States. How a lot do you must run. Yeah, you’re actually working 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 standard highschool cross-country working or highschool, school, cross nation/monitor background, however extra from the facet of climbing.
And so I really feel like I actually centered 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 any individual such as you who’s already had a profession defining efficiency or form of all you can ask for at a earlier UTMB earlier than, however you’re again for both extra, higher, completely different, one thing alongside these traces. Simply trying again at your prior UTMB experiences, what do you’re taking from people who you’re like, “Oh, I need to simply press repeat and do one thing I did very well once more,” or one thing like, “Hmm, let’s attempt that completely different.”?
Schide: Yeah. I’ve had some difficult moments on this course and a few nice ones.
iRunFar: Isn’t it such a European strategy 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 occasions 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 yr 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 an awesome group of girls at Western States and we noticed what that delivered to all of us, and I need to be a part of this group of girls. I believe it’s going to be much like Western States with simply the entire high 10, the entire high group of girls is simply actually going to convey these occasions down. Not that the course is ever precisely the identical. There are tons little modifications.
iRunFar: It modifications yearly.
Schide: However on the whole I believe it’s going to be a very quick, robust yr.
iRunFar: Seeing the occasions get simply objectively sooner and sooner.
Schide: Yeah. And never only for the primary one or two, however for everyone.
iRunFar: For me relating to the ladies’s competitors, that’s the brand new dynamic that every one of you’re enjoying with in these races, is that there’s actually no room for rather more than a bit of blip or a bit of downside. Should you drop fairly a methods again, say 5 years in the past at ultras, you can nonetheless make your manner ahead by means of the pack. I believe these days might have come and gone for girls’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 convey 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 rare course in simply so many alternative methods. You already know it effectively, you’ve run it a few occasions, you’ve skilled on it. Are there sure simply panorama facets or geography facets that you just’re considering, I can’t wait to do this once more?
Schide: I don’t run at evening in coaching fairly often. Fairly not often. 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 form 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.
Apart from that, I do know the landscapes fairly effectively at this level, so it’s not normally new. However yeah, I do attempt to take a second to search for and simply be like, wow, that is actually lovely. Sadly, a few of the finest components 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 timber this yr.
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 as if that’s only a favourite of all people.
Schide: I wouldn’t say it’s my favourite factor. It’s form 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 do this.
iRunFar: It’s additionally form of completely different right here since you concurrently do the evening through the extra distant a part of the course too. So it’s like you’ve got this actually wild and loopy night for 40K and then you definitely 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 absolutely these sections between Contamines and Courmayeur after which Courmayeur and Champex-Lac, it’s utterly completely different than whenever you see your crew each couple of hours on the finish. So it’s lots of issues to handle and at all times anxious whenever you’re going by means of your plan on the final minute, attempting to place the suitable issues and by no means actually figuring out the way it’s going to end up.
iRunFar: Yeah. Nicely, I’ve a sense it’s going to end up 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.
