Think you know everything about trail running? Think again.
Ultra Spirit has redefined the meaning of trail running. A 3-day trail running event like no other, this race puts runners to the test whilst also teaching them to limit their carbon footprint and work together as a team.
Four time UTMB winner François D’haene and his wife Carline created Ultra Spirit. The event took place in the Beaufortain mountains this September. It consisted of twenty-five teams of three runners that competed in the event. Covering nearly 100km over three days as well as participating in other challenges created by the D’haene family.
We caught up with François to discuss the event and plans for the future of Ultra Spirit.
Can you tell us a bit about Ultra Spirit?
We spent three extraordinary days out of time, away from social networks and connected to nature, with a ‘sustainable’ side that marked the spirit of the 25 teams. We put a lot of effort into this event, it will feel like a big void afterwards. It wasn’t really a race, it was a bit of an ultra, anyway, it was great!
It was the first edition. So, it was very nice and inspiring and it was great to see the smiles on all of the runner’s and volunteer’s faces. The event took a lot of energy from us, but the weather was so nice which helped a lot.
What inspired you to create this event?
10-20 years of practice and lots of experience. We tried to put on an event with all of the things that we love about trail running. It was a combination of trail running and activities that we tried to make fun and also respectful to the natural environment. We worked with Salomon and some other partners and it was a big challenge for us.
What tasks were included in the event and why?
As well as trail running, other activities that took place over the weekend included blueberry hunting, cryotherapy and blind tasting of Beaufort cheese…
We created different activities because we wanted it to be fun. At the aid stations we asked people to stop for a minimum amount of time because they were all 3×3 so if you are a team of 3 it’s harder to finish the race because you have to take care of the others. So for us the different activities and the stop at the aid stations was to help each team to take care of the slowest one.
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