A crowning end to the season at the Grand Trail des Templiers

With the win at the Grand Trail des Templiers I got to celebrate another big success. This victory means a great deal to me, since this race is the oldest and most renowned trail in France, and this year too (as in the previous two years) it had a very strong elite field.

Guy was also able to come along again with me this year, and we enjoyed the days in the still-mild south of France. Guy and I also got to meet many acquaintances and old friends.

Over the 3 days (Friday to Sunday) various side races took place, over different distances, adding up to a total of 12000 runners. So you can rightly call it a trail festival! Guy also made the most of the chance to start the Trail VO2 on the Saturday, which went over 17km.

That let him run part of the course himself too, and it was a great experience for him.

On the Sunday the main race, the “grand trail des templiers”, took place with 2500 starters (76km, +- 3500m).

We started at 6.00am, which meant running a good 2h with a head torch. It is a great atmosphere though, and luckily the most technically demanding stretches only come on the 2nd section of this very varied course.

My race went great right from the start and I kept steadily building on my lead a little more. Fuelling worked out perfectly too, which mattered a lot since there were only 4 aid stations and 2 water points.

But I too had to fight towards the end, and the last hour of the race got tough. Since I had a big lead though, I stopped taking any risks and, after 8h of running, I got to celebrate as the winner. What a great feeling!!!

Women: 1. Jasmin Nunige (CH) 8:00 2. Yngvild Kaspersen (NOR) 8:13 3. Nuria Picas (ESP) 8:22

Men: 1. Miguel Heras (ESP) 6:45 2. Jared Hazen (USA) 6:49 3. Cédric Fleureton (FRA) 6:56

I would also like to thank the whole organising committee for this superbly organised race, and of course my “support crew” on site, Guy Nunige and Patrick Badie (photos).