Right now, as I type these words, Lisa and I are sitting in Courmayeur. Our friend Juliane is still out there, two hours from the finish line of the Tor des Géants (TOR). One of the most unreal foot races on this planet, though the word “race” barely does it justice.

The TOR is 330 kilometers long, with over 24.000 meters of vertical gain. The race circumnavigates the Aosta Valley in northern Italy, crossing 25 mountain passes, many higher than 3.000 meters. For most, the TOR is n...