It is not unusual for those vacationing in Europe to visit the Alps. Few, however, see the majestic mountains from the vantage point Oak Harbor’s Dr. Peter Keating held late this summer.

Keating, 43, competed in the 105-mile Ultra Trail Du Mont Blanc race Aug. 28-30, running up and atop the Alps, traveling through three countries during his 45-hour, 45-minute trek.

“It was the most beautiful place I have ever seen,” Keating said.

It also took a temporary toll on his body.

For Keating, a veteran of ultra marathons, the race was “by far the hardest, most technical” of his runs and included the greatest elevation gain.

“The key was managing the unexpected. My stomach shut down and I couldn’t take in water — anything — for a long time,” he said.

As the hours and miles mounted, his mind started playing tricks on him.

“I had significant issues with blisters,” he said. “In my mind, though, I thought the blisters were on my son’s feet, and I felt bad that I was causing him pain.”

For the last third for the race, he said he continually looked back to make sure his family was keeping up.

“I was sleep deprived and some of reality definitely shifted,” he said. “I knew I had to get to the finish before things got really bad.”

He was helped along by the support of the citizens of the small towns he ran through, and he was inspired by fellow racers.

“I never heard anyone complain.”

Messages of encouragement from back home relayed to him during the race by his wife also gave him a lift.

Once he finished, he recovered quickly. The day after the race Keating felt fine, except for the blisters.

For the next two weeks, Keating and his family (wife Joy and children Harrison and Megan) toured Europe in a more traditional fashion.

Keating started running while in high school and began entering marathons in college. His goal was to qualify for the Boston Marathon, which he did, running the race in 1996 and 1999.

In his 30s, he took a break from running to concentrate on his career as a private practice audiologist on Whidbey Island.

Eventually Megan started running, and he tagged along with her and her team. That hooked Keating on trail running, a sport he never knew existed.

“I soon realized that as I got older, I got slower, but found that I had the patience and mental focus to go farther,” Keating said. “I ran my first ultra marathon (any run longer than a 26.2-mile marathon) at the Chuckanut 50K in Bellingham in 2012.”

After the 50K, Keating swore his long-distance running days were over. However, he found himself “signing up and running more and more of these events.”

That led to races of 50 miles, 100 kilometers and, eventually, 100 miles.

In 2013, Keating discovered a reference to the Ultra Trail Du Mont Blanc.

The UTMB travels over Europe’s highest peaks and winds through three countries -— France, Italy and Switzerland — all while gaining 31,000 feet in elevation.

It is one of Europe’s most difficult and most popular ultra-running events.

It began in 2003. By 2008, registration for one of the 2,000 slots lasted only seven minutes.

That prompted organizers to develop strict qualifying standards.

Two years ago, Keating set a goal to meet those benchmarks, and he completed two 50-mile races and a 100-mile race within the same year prior to the Ultra Trail Du Mont Blanc in hopes of earning an invitation.

“I met the standard in 2014 and was informed of my official qualification for UTMB in January of this year,” he said.

Keating trains by running 20-30 miles every Saturday and Sunday, taking the weekdays off.

“This allows for me to have a solid two days of consecutive running, with a fresh (Saturday) run and a tired (Sunday) run, and gives me five days of recovery in between.”

The regiment prevents him from running too much and allows him to focus on his work and family during the week.

“This year, due to the terrain, altitude and elevation gain of the UTMB, much of my running was done off island, either in Bellingham or Mount Rainier National Park, to better simulate the conditions of the French and Swiss Alps.”

To battle the mental and physical fatigue of the long jaunts, Keating eliminates any other responsibilities on his running days.

“This allows me to run without a schedule to keep and gives me the freedom to enjoy the scenery and stay out longer if I like,” he said. “It also conveniently gets me out of certain chores such as cleaning the house or mowing the lawn.

“Moving without a clock or schedule also makes it easier to lose time, and I find that time can then pass very fast without me being as aware of the discomfort of the length and duration of my longer runs.”

While the UTMB was the focal point of the trip, Keating said the highlight was getting to spend time with his family.

Harrison thought they would be flying home on his 12th birthday, but his parents surprised him by staying in Europe one more day, celebrating at Disneyland in Paris.

After the grueling Ultra Trail Du Mont Blanc, will Keating compete again?

“I want to remember it forever,” he said. “I’m done.”

After a pause: “I say that after every race.”