We're live with Merrell at the finish line of the UTMB in Chamonix and waiting with baited breath to see how women's race frontunner Courtney Dauwalter descends from La Flégère to claim what everyone expects to be her third win of the ultra marathon.
Currently, the US queen of trail running is putting on a ferocious show, with a full hour of lead time over second-placed Katharina Hartmuth from Germany.
She's nearing the end of her final climb and while we wouldn't exactly say she's jogging, she's breaking out into the occasional trot and digging in on the uphills. On her last downhill, however, it was apparent that her quads are freezing up and unfortunately for her, she's looking at 7 km of descent when she reaches this final peak.
If anyone can do it, however, it's Dauwalter, who's no stranger to this race. If she gets the job done, she'll have completed the Triple Crown of the Western States 100, Hard Rock 100 and UTMB in a single summer, something that has never been done before.
