Ludovic Pommeret is on the start line of UTMB. Again. The 50-year-old French ultra runner, with a trophy cabinet bigger than many a house, won UTMB in 2016 and ran his first UTMB in 2004. Nine years after his victory, he just might be the dark horse. A conversation about growing old and staying competitive.
Will you be running, up until you’re a hundred years old?
I definitely hope so.
What’s your secret to still being so good at 50 years old? I mean, you won Hardrock 100 two years in a row. Last year you finished fifth at UTMB. How do you do it?
Laughing: Your question already answers it. It’s a secret.
I think my background in ski mountaineering has helped me a lot to become a good trail runner. Strength and stamina are important. What maybe has also helped is that I started relatively late with running; halfway through my twenties. Ski mountaineering is less hard on the body.
And I definitely have to thank my parents. They passed on some good genes.
How would you compare the 30-year-old runner Ludovic Pommeret to the runner you are now?
My maximum speed now is a lot slower. But I can keep a high speed for a longer time. My mind is also a lot stronger. That’s important for ultras. These days I work less, which gives me more time to train. To do longer runs.
Now you’re in your fifties, do you focus more on recovery and strength training than when you were in your thirties?
I do take more time to recover. I listen to what my body needs.
Laughing: But with a minimum of common sense. I sleep 8 hours per night. If I train too much, I have difficulty falling asleep. So, I know I have to slow down.
Some runners listen too much to their bodies. They stop running at the slightest discomfort. If you do that, you spend more time on the sofa than on the trails.
In the winter, I ski. That’s my strength training. Skimountaineering is great for training the upper body. Some parts of the year, I focus on speed work. Not to get too slow.
You won Hardrock 100 in the United States this year and you won it last year. You even beat Kilian Jornet’s course record. How do you stay so competitive at 50 years old?
By switching to longer races. A hundred miles race is a whole different story than a 50k. It’s less about speed. More a mental game.
And I still love to race. Beating all those runners who want to beat this old man. Plus, defying the passing of time is a deep motivation for me.
Does that mean that the older you get, the longer races you will do?
For now, no. I’m not ready to race without sleeping. Twenty hours to 24 hours is okay. Anything beyond that is not. I like sleeping.
UTMB is considered a fast race. This year there is not one big favourite. Is there a scenario in which you can win?
No, I don’t see that happening. The pace at UTMB is indeed too fast. I will be happy if I can run it under 21 hours. That’s an hour faster than my winning time of 2016 and about the same as last year. (20:57:48; jk).
Laughing: But if all the fast guys step out, who knows.
