Tom Evans had been here before. He was a glutton for punishment.
His last two attempts at the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc (UTMB), one of the toughest endurance races on the planet, had ended in failure. One almost ended in tragedy.
But here he was back again to tackle his nemesis for the fourth time.
Starting in Chamonix, in the French Alps, the 175.4km (109 mile) course around Mont Blanc runs through Italy and Switzerland with an elevation gain of 10,000m before ending back where it started.
Battling blizzard-like conditions, the Briton took victory an an incredible 19 hours, 18 minutes and 58 seconds, finishing 32 minutes ahead of second place American Ben Dhiman, with fellow Briton Josh Wade in third.
“The last two years, I have not finished, so to be able to come from that with a win and put my worries at ease and prove if you really want to achieve something, you find a way to do it…” the former army officer, 33, told BBC Sport, his words trailing off.
“It’s a race that starts at 6pm and you run through the night.
“This year we had rain, snow and gale force winds and the distance itself is no joke. It would be a long way in a car.
“It is the equivalent of the Super Bowl for trail running and over the past few years it has grown and grown.”
