Chamonix, France - On Friday, August 27th, rabbitPRO Kris Brown toed the start line of the CCC 101-kilometer race among an internationally-competitive field. The race begins in the Italian town of Courmayeur and finishes in the French town of Chamonix. Along the way, the mountainous course accumulates some 20,000 feet of elevation gain. The race boasted more than 2,000 entrants this year, while less than 1,600 runners made it to the finish.
Brown, who finished in fourth place at the hilly and nationally competitive TNF 50 Mile - Championships in 2017 and 10th at the renowned Western States 100 Mile in 2018, is no stranger to competitive fields and mountainous courses. Yet he found himself as far back as 44th place during CCC at the 41-kilometer checkpoint in La Fouly, Switzerland.
“I tried a different nutrition strategy during the first half of CCC, and my energy levels were low. I was in a tough spot but I stuck with a group around me and kept moving. I switched my nutrition in the second half and my energy levels came back. The upshot was that my body felt rested from the slower pace early on, and I was ready to let it rip,” Kris explained.
Undeterred by his position in La Fouly, Brown found a second wind and, just 31 kilometers later, he had surged into 26th place at the Trient checkpoint. Over the remaining 29 kilometers, Brown continued his blistering pace to pass half the runners still in front of him. He crossed the finish line in Chamonix in 13th place and as the first American finisher with a final time of 11 hours, 40 minutes and 1 second-- less than 10 minutes outside of a top 10 finish.
Brown will look to switch gears over the coming year and transition from the mountains to the roads in the hopes of making his first U.S. national team. With the 100km IAU World Championships scheduled for next fall, Brown will focus on the 100km road event.
After finishing his first road 100km in 6 hours, 39 minutes, and 14 seconds this past January, Brown should be a favorite to qualify for the U.S. 100km national team. Look for Brown in a red, white and blue singlet next fall.
