120 DAYS UNTIL ULTRA-TRAIL DU MONT BLANC

With four months to go, I am entering the final weeks of preparation for the highlight of my yet so young running career. Ultra-Trail Du Mont Blanc has been the reason for why I have relentlessly been collecting miles week over week. Now, at the end of August, three years after I had witnessed the start of the 2015 edition, I get to run this epic trail myself.

It will be my first 100-mile (180 kilometres) race and most certainly the toughest race I will have run to date. Though, I have been promising myself to be competing in this epic adventure three years ago, sometimes I still cannot believe that it is actually going to happen. It seems as if three years have literally flown by. Over the course time I have completed multiple races, run more in three years than I had run in my previous 23 years combined and wrecked numerous pairs of running shoes. Not to mention all the personal changes, which have taken place in between that time frame and various locations - Madrid, Berlin, Barcelona, Sydney and Frankfurt.

I know the biggest and final challenge is yet to come, but when I look back to my first Half Marathon that I had run in Madrid in March 2015, I feel like I have come a long way.  I am incredibly thankful and regard it as a great privilege to be able to not only run on my two feet, but to be able to be part of this incredibly adventure that has most certainly made a huge impact on the trail running sport. Moreover, my feeling of gratitude is being complemented by the fact that I get to run in the name of two incredible organisations, called A Chacun Son Everest and Oceanic Global. A Chacun Son Everest is a Chamonix-based organisation, which helps young French children to overcome this horrible disease named cancer. On the other hand, Oceanic Global is the charity of one of my closest friends Lea, which fights the plastic pollution of our planet and encourages the reduction of such.

In addition, to my personal challenge and those two great organisations, I must mention that alongside my beloved family and girlfriend, coach and mountaineering guide, six of my closest friends have also booked to encourage and motivate me during the action. I had many people supporting and reaching out over the last three years, however I feel particularly humbled and appreciative for their commitment to travel to Chamonix.

So, that’s it, a little reflection on my latest thoughts. Now, back to training, back to studying the course, back to preparing the gear, back to watching YouTube videos, back to work. I cannot wait!

P.S.: In case you are interest to join our crew, feel free to reach out and let me know. The more the merrier.