Behind the Runner: A 42-Hour Vigil
By Luna G, Grade 9
For forty-two hours, thirty-four minutes and ten seconds, Ms. Sarah Ford, the Director of Student Life at MIS, had been waiting for her husband, Mr. Anthony Constable’s arrival. The HOKA UTMB Mont Blanc, a grueling 174-kilometer race with a 9900-meter ascent, was not for the unprepared, nor the faint of heart. For three years, they had been preparing for this one race, having to do well in two big races to qualify, along with a 65% chance of not attending. Ms. Ford took on the cooking for her husband, allowing him to focus on running. The training plans, the roads she drove to pick up the exhausted Mr. Constable, the waiting she did while he ran his races; all these establishments just for this one moment, the most paramount yet challenging race of them all.
When she saw Mr. Constable crossing the iconic finish line of the UTMB Mont Blanc, she felt herself tear up. The tension, emotion and pride overrode whatever worry or fatigue she felt, and before she knew it, her hands wrapped around her husband’s body. She found herself telling her husband at the end of the hug something she didn’t really mean, a string of words formed through the relief and worry. “Don’t do it again.”
She herself hasn’t run since December 2022 due to an injury to her back, so she was ready to help her husband complete the ‘World Cup’ of trail running. The tents were full of people from all over the world, huddled up in sleeping bags or sitting on benches, waiting and supporting their runners. The relentless weather didn’t make their jobs easier, runners and supporters like.
“I didn’t know how he was getting on…, but what I did know was (it was) really, really raining, snowing at the top of the mountain, really, really cold”, said Ms. Ford.
After we interviewed Mr. Constable, we were told he suffered from hypothermia due to the severe cold on the first night. Between 10pm on Friday and 7am on Saturday, there was a blackhole of time where Ms. Ford was unsure of what to expect. “Is he saying, do you know what, Sarah? I’m not going to be able to do it, and everything’s come to an end. Or is he saying, do you know what, Sarah? It’s going to be fine. I’m going to carry on. I’m going to make it”, she continued, explaining her inner monologue in detail.
The only baggage she was allowed to carry onto the premises was a 30-liter bag, containing clothes and shoes for Mr. Constable, ready to be used. Unsurprisingly, the pair was well prepared and had already planned beforehand when at what resting point they would meet and change.
Ms. Ford was only allowed to access a third or so of the stops, as the rest were atop mountains or in an area inaccessible to the supporters and spectators. The next morning, she reunited with her husband and the worry dissipated.
“The fact that he was telling me that, ‘and then I warmed up, and then carried on, and so and so on’, just kind of restored my faith, really”, she would then continue.
Mr. Constable’s figure finally greeted the waiting crowd in Chamonix, worn out, sleepy but victorious.On Sunday, Mr. Constable spent his afternoon in a relaxing jacuzzi followed by enjoying a big pizza meal, rightfully deserved! “A couple of weeks later now, I think it was the weekend, he said, I’m starting to get that feeling that I just want to be in the mountains”, mentioned Ms. Ford at the end of the interview, so perhaps, after some justified resting, Mr. Constable will be braced for a new, heart pumping race. We, the journalists, hope Ms. Ford will continue supporting Mr. Constable throughout his running career and for Mr. Constable to run with heart and never give up.
Make sure you read the article about Mr Constable’s run:
“There is always more.”
A great journey of an ultra-trail runner through the mountains.
By Grade 9 Journalism Class
While most people would stop at exhaustion, Anthony Constable finds strength in the struggle, proving that the toughest races are won with heart as much as endurance.
