MEETING WITH FRANÇOIS AND CARLINE D'HAENE

A hundred kilometres, more than 7000 meters of elevation gain, 2 nights in bivouac, this is the challenge that some forty teams of three trail runners are ready to take up by participating in the second edition of the Ultra Spirit in September 2023. This race, which has become emblematic since its first edition, offers an alternative format to the great classic trail races, while maintaining a high level of sporting performance.

Ten years ago, François and Carline D'Haene already found themselves in unique experiences. Mountain lovers, they share their free time between long-distance races and bivouacs, armed with their backpack, their tent and a stove. They are fond of adventure and like to plan their own outings, to map the GR20 or the crossing of Reunion, to spend every evening of their honeymoon in the bottom of their sleeping bag in very cold weather.

It is this taste for adventure that accompanies the two trail runners throughout the creation of this unique event. Tired of only hearing about ultra trails through their number of participants and not enough of the sporting exploits they represent, they want to return to the sources of trail running, to the authenticity of the adventure. Accustomed to big races, François thinks that today they lack authenticity and that there is a window of opportunity to create an alternative experience. How then to link long distance, sporting challenge, bivouac, team spirit and mutual aid? This is the challenge that François and Carline set themselves, surrounded by partners who are experts in their field who believed in the project and who wanted to defend these same values.

During the first edition in September 2022, the 40 teams carefully selected by the organizers of the Ultra Spirit met in the heart of Beaufortain to perform this unique trail, to which are added activities that strengthen team cohesion and deepen runners' knowledge of their environment.

Picking blueberries, swimming in frozen water, tasting Beaufort are just as many activities that add points or penalize participants depending on their success. It is also and above all a way of reinventing the trail, the objective being no longer just to play sports, but to spend three days in Beaufortain, meet those who live there, discover the specialties offered by farmers and cheese makers. local people, with the continued involvement of the inhabitants of the region who know this territory better than anyone.

François and Carline want this experience to make a lasting impression on the runners, to empower them and to approach their future races differently. The first day of the Ultra Spirit immediately immersed the participants in this spirit: the distance announced at the start of the first stage is twenty kilometers, suggesting a two-hour race. Eventually, the trail runners put in eight, which prompted them to approach the experience of the mountainous terrain differently, to refocus on themselves and to approach the start of races differently.

The Ultra Spirit is not just a race advocating another vision of trail running. It is also an event thought out and designed to have a positive environmental and solidarity impact. In terms of carbon footprint, carrying out big races on the other side of the world several times a year rings false for François and Carline. They want to do things differently, to reinvent themselves and feel that it's the right time, that people are ready. This is also the opinion of the partners who share these same values ​​and who supported the project even though no edition had yet been produced. The latter “got their hands dirty”, got involved upstream and on site, which was essential, as François explains, especially for the bivouac.

Samaya adhered to the values ​​of the Ultra Spirit and joined this adventure by offering to ensure all the bivouac part during the race. It is no less than sixty BASECAMP expedition tents from the 8K range that Samaya assembles and dismantles throughout the event, to follow the trail runners during their race. The smooth running of the night in the bivouac is an essential stage for the runners, the weather conditions not always being the most clement during the weekend. The BASECAMPs allow participants to be protected from the rain during the night, to benefit from a little warmth despite fatigue and frost, to strengthen the bonds within the team and to appreciate authentic moments of life. .

Finally, Carline and François created the race they wanted to participate in. In a desire to go ever further, they have the will to involve the inhabitants of the territory even more, through the organization of frescoes of the climate, mapping and orientation activities which highlight the values ​​of team spirit, communication and mutual aid, values ​​that represent the spirit of the Ultra Spirit. Sporting commitment, conviviality and ecological awareness will therefore be the key words of this second edition of the race, and Samaya will be there again!