I had every intention of giving another go at the Tour du Mont Blanc next year to see if I could finish a little farther away from midnight, but it turns out that success is getting in the way of my personal goals because I have a tour in the Pyrenees to run when the event is taking place.

Another very big day that has been on my radar is the outrageous Tour des Stations, in Switzerland, but that, too, happens when I’m with clients. La Marmotte, ditto.

So this evening I was pleasantly surprised to see that there’s something ‘ultra’ enough that I may just be able to make: the 500km version of Race Across France (RAF).

I don’t completely understand how it works, but it seems like you have 40 hours to do the route above. That is 500km and, more dastardly, 11,000m of climbing. I am sure that sleep is optional, but I see a friendly house icon on that map, so I’m hopeful for some shut-eye. I crunched some numbers and this looks like a decent next-step on my late-life Ultra career path. More as it becomes clearer and I actually sign up.

Anyone want to join? We can carpool.