Julien Cazorla: Winner of Ultra X Azores

The UltraX Azores is a 110km multi-day race on the beautiful island of São Miguel. Known as ‘The Green Island’ – the island is one of nine in the mid-Atlantic, forming the Azores archipelago. 

UltraX has built a reputation for well-organised, interesting races worldwide. Their races allow participants to race in some of the most beautiful places in the world, including Jordan, Morocco and Tanzania. They also offer accessible yet fearsome races in the UK, like Scotland and Wales. 

Julien Cazorla loves combining his races with holidays. He also finds races that combine his passion for adventure. He began his running journey ten years ago and recently became the male winner of the 68-mile Azores ultramarathon. 

“At the beginning, I was running in the streets in the city (London), and my big thing was doing marathons but that all changed during lockdowns and the COVID period. The distances got bigger and bigger and bigger, and as soon as we could escape the lockdowns, I headed to the mountains.”

Julien describes road and mountain running as “completely different sports”, requiring different technicalities. Of mountain running, he said: “You need more power. You need to be more mindful of where you step. You can easily trip over, you have to be extra careful, and the scenery is very different. If you like nature, there’s so much to enjoy in the mountains when you spend time. It’s almost like going for a day trip, picnicking on the go. You run, you eat at the same time with good long distances.”