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The Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc (UTMB for short) is an ultramarathon trail race that covers 106 miles through France, Italy, and Switzerland and has a total elevation gain of around 32,940 feet. It’s known as one of the toughest races in the world—and for good reason. An average of 39 percent of runners don’t even finish, and those who do experience fatigue levels of up to 40 percent in their legs post-race, according to research published in PLOS One. It can take runners up to nine days to fully recover.
You don’t need to run Mont-Blanc to know that trails take alot out of your legs; that the uneven surfaces demand more from the small stabilizer muscles in your lower limbs, and inclines call for increased cardiac effort. Plus, “anytime there’s a downhill running component, that’s going to cause more muscle damage, inflammation, and soreness,” says Shona…
