Resilience and pleasure. Two words that Damien Deflandre will have to be able to combine from September 1 to succeed in a crazy bet. Complete the ultra-trail of Mont-Blanc, its 171 kilometers on foot and its 10,000 meters of vertical drop.
It will take about forty hours for the athlete from Gien to get there, if all goes well.
Three times failed in the draw
“I had applied four times. First you have to qualify by accumulating a certain number of points. But then you also have to be drawn. I had failed in the draw each time. The ultra -trail du Mont-Blanc is a bit like the Roland-Garros of trail running,” says Damien, who will be taking part in his sixth ultra-trail, but the first around Mont-Blanc.
A great sports enthusiast, the Giennois practiced badminton for more than twenty years, before doing triathlon for three years. For the past five years, he has participated in running races and various trails.
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“At first, I didn’t know trail running. I learned to run on the road, doing 5, 10 kilometers and then marathons. And at the Gien club, I was lucky enough to be able to train on the trail. Because preparing to run on the road and on a trail (regularly via paths, paths, unpaved tracks), these are almost two different sports.
His first ultra-trail, Damien did it in 2019 in Sens (Yonne). “I immediately went from a 57 kilometer trail to an ultra-trail of 130. It went quite well because I arrived in the top twenty. And since then, taking part in the Mont-Blanc ultra-trail has become a desire.”
“On an ultra-trail we spend 60% of the time walking”
Selected last January, Damien has since been preparing for this meeting. The latter participated in the French trail championship in Montpellier-le-Vieux (Aveyron), then participated in another trail in Chambéry (Savoie).
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“I don’t forget local races such as the Chati’trail in Châtillon-sur-Loire either,” he adds. Since June, he has entered an intensive phase, “trying not to spend whole hours running. But by doing intensive walks. On an ultra-trail, we spend on average 60% of the time running. walk”. Some passages will take Damien Deflandre to nearly 2,500 meters above sea level.
Along the trails, a few lessons were learned: “I learned to manage my fatigue, my equipment, in order to have the minimum but to be effective, the food where you have to know what you eat .”
Another of these lessons being the use of poles for the Mont-Blanc event which he will use for the first time. “I was a bit old school but I saw that it was safer,” he admits.
Despite this preparation where every detail counts, Damien does not give himself a quantified objective. He knows he won’t be able to compete with the world elite who complete the course in barely twenty hours.
I don’t run for performance. My motivations, beyond the sporting challenge, is to finish in good conditions and enjoy nature.
“I’m already going to try to finish the race. There are lots of unforeseen events related to the weather and our equipment (poles, clothing, lamps to light up at night).” To reach the finish, the 48-year-old athlete will have to cross sixteen crossing points in due time so as not to be eliminated. And finish the race before the time limit of 46 hours and 30 minutes.
A pressure linked to the stopwatch which does not prevent Damien from having fun. “It’s still a very solitary effort. I’m going to take time for refueling. I’m not racing for performance. My motivations beyond the sporting challenge is to finish in good conditions and enjoy nature. I love it and finding myself in a natural environment with superb panoramas is great.”
He inventories plants and animals encountered during the race
Naturalist in life, Damien also takes care of a mini-natural park in Saint-Brisson-sur-Loire. He enjoys, during his trails, making an inventory of the plants and animals he encounters.
“When I come back here, it allows me to enter data to feed species distribution atlases”, he explains, recounting that during the 2019 French championships, he stopped specifically to eat blueberries. “Are there other French championships where we can afford to do this?” Damien Deflandre, during a previous trail.
Throughout the race, Damien Deflandre will also take photos. “It helps to keep a memory. Often, those who are in the performance do not take advantage of the landscape. I prefer to lose one or two places; at least I am having fun. In addition, I can share this on social networks.”
For this special event, Damien will be accompanied by his father. “He will follow me throughout the course. He will shuttle between a few stage points and the hotel where he is staying. He will be able to encourage me.”
He hopes to arrive “Sunday noon for the aperitif”
Always supported by those close to him, the member of the marathon athlete Gien recognizes that he had to convince those around him of the capacity of his performances.
“When I got into trail running, people sometimes thought I was crazy (laughs). But now it’s almost the opposite effect. It’s Damien as soon as he commits to something he finishes it. I have to make it clear that I would have an effort to make and that it will have to be finished. For that, you also have to intellectually question yourself.”
Vincent Thiel, young tennis player from Loiret, studies and trains in Florida
A significant mental effort to make in order to succeed in an extraordinary challenge. Without forgetting the notion of pleasure. Moreover, he hopes “to arrive on Sunday noon for the aperitif”.
The Mont-Blanc ultra-trail, what is it? Qualified by Damien Deflandre as “Roland-Garros du trail”, it is a 171 kilometer running race, with a long loop around Chamonix, passing through Italy and Switzerland. The runners go through fifteen crossing points (not counting the finish) with a deadline to respect to continue the ultra-trail, under penalty of elimination. They advance at their own pace, walking or trotting and with mandatory equipment (bag, clothing, water, flashlight, etc.). The paths taken are 95% of the time trails, rocks to climb or descend.
This year will be the 20th anniversary of the event, completed by the fastest in around twenty hours. By the slowest in about forty hours. There will be approximately 1,800 participants. Departure is scheduled for Friday, September 1 at 6 p.m.
Thomas Bogeard
2023-08-19 08:00:00
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