The Covid-19 has led to the suspension of numerous mountain races, including the Mont-Blanc Ultra Trail (UTMB), perhaps the most emblematic test of this sport that in 2019 won Pau Capell (Sant Boi de Llobregat, 1991) with a time of 20h19m. But the Catalan athlete has decided to run his own UTMB. Tomorrow, Thursday, he will leave Chamonix on his own at six in the afternoon to take the same route as a year ago around the Mont-Blanc massif with the challenge of breaking his own record and falling below 8:00 p.m. The storm forecast for Friday has led Capell to advance the departure one day, initially scheduled for Friday.
Pau Capell shows his number in Barcelona days after winning the 2019 edition of the UTMB (LLIBERT TEIXIDÓ)
How do you plan the race?
My dream is to break the 8:00 p.m. barrier, although if I do 8:18 p.m. I will also be very happy. This year I have trained a lot but I have competed little. I do not want to force during the first 50 kilometers, I think that from Col Ferret (Italy) to La Fouly (Switzerland) is where I can go down more compared to 2019, about six or seven minutes in ten kilometers.
What does it mean to run without more rivals than yourself?
For me it is a disadvantage because I will not have the pressure of other riders. When you are climbing a mountain and you see someone behind you, you always press, even if you are very tired. But this time, solo, I’ll just have the pressure of my watch.
Do you have the complicity of the UTMB organization for this challenge?
Yes, when I announced it they contacted me to connect their virtual careers with mine. I collaborate with their solidarity project and they allow me to use the name UTMB.
Is the entire layout identical to that of 2019?
It’s 100% nailed. The aid stations will be located in the same places, although it may not stop at all. Then, of course, if the weather is bad, if lightning and thunder strike, we still have to make a change.
The storm forecast has led to advance the departure 24 hours, in Chamonix
Indeed, the forecasts for Friday afternoon point to a storm before Capell and his team have chosen to advance the start to Thursday, with which the arrival at the goal, if everything goes smoothly, is expected around 2:00 p.m. on Friday.
In family
My parents, my brothers, their partners, and my friends take care of the logistics; in fact, they take it as an excuse to come on vacation
The UTMB organization supports you in your challenge but all the logistics are your own. How many people have you mobilized to support you at checkpoints along the 171 kilometers and in three countries (France, Italy and Switzerland)?
About 15 people, between my parents, my brothers, their partners, and my friends; in fact, they take it as an excuse to come on vacation. They take care of the logistics and my main sponsor, The North Face, takes over the production, gives me a recording team and a follow-up team. And it will be a race without hares. It is a 100% solo project, I will not have any hare but if four people from The North Face will be recording behind me, they cannot go ahead because it would be considered that I receive external help. I have received many requests through social networks from people who are in Chamonix this week and who want to run with me, and I cannot forbid them, but I do ask them to keep a reasonable distance with me.
The departure of the UTMB in Chamonix (CHISTOPHE PALLOT / UTMB)
The validity of the record
We put a live monitoring device, and in case of a brand, everything can be verified in detail, kilometers, unevenness …
How valid will this ultramarathon be if it ends with a record and how will it be verified?
Officially it will not be a race record but it will be a race record. We put a live monitoring device, and in case of a brand, everything can be verified in detail, kilometers, unevenness …
How have you prepared?
Now I live in Andorra, in Arinsal, at 1,600 meters high; from home I arrive in an hour to the summit of Comapedrosa (2,942 m.). After winning in 2019 I needed a change of scenery to renew myself. With my new coach, Andrés Arroyo, we scheduled between 25 and 30 hours a week on average training; In the morning, I run about 30 kilometers, with 2,000 or 2,500 meters of positive elevation gain, and in the afternoon I go by bike, about 80 kilometers, with 3,000 positive meters. The other day I made a long exit, from the Comapedrosa car park to Llívia, of 62 km and 2,700 meters of climbs.
These super races, with vertigo distances, do not seem very healthy, on the contrary.
When I finish training I use muscle recovery machines and eat very well; Furthermore, not all the exits are of high intensity, it is not the same to run 20 kilometers on flat terrain than in the mountains with the help of poles, but yes, we will see if they will take their toll on me in the future.
How long have you seen yourself competing in such a demanding specialty?
With five more years I look the same. Maybe in ten? But I’ll leave it more for a mental issue than a physical one, because it wears a lot and it is necessary to disconnect from the pressure.
After this particular UTMB, what plans do you have?
By bike I will do La Purito, in Andorra; later I will run an ultra in England; in October the Camí de Cavalls, 186 km long, in Menorca; in November Costa Rica and then the Patagonia Run, in Argentina.
What if it’s time to go back to confinement?
In Arinsal, at home, there is a lot of tranquility.
