Mathieu Blanchard, the new face of French ultra-trail and former candidate for the Koh-Lanta show, will be one of the first competitors to start the Paris marathon on Sunday. This is the first time he has taken part in the event.
Seven years ago, Mathieu Blanchard was still a running neophyte. As a young engineer, he worked in a company specializing in thermal power plants in Montreal. At 28, he discovered ultra-trail somewhat by chance, participating in an 80-kilometre race in the heart of Quebec, a race that he won. “When I discovered this sport, I really felt sensations in my stomach, in my guts. It made me like little butterflies, explains Mathieu Blanchard. I started thinking about it all the time and one day I decided to quit my job as an office engineer to try this adventure.”
Get out of your comfort zone
The runner is quickly spotted to join a professional team of trail runners. He specializes in 160 kilometer races, the American 100 miles, and rubs shoulders with the most legendary race in his discipline, the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc. A journey of 172 kilometers around the massif, with 10,000 meters of elevation gain. Mathieu Blanchard caused a sensation for his third participation in 2022 by completing the UTMB in less than 20 hours, just behind the legend Kilian Jornet. The name of Mathieu Blanchard is also familiar to all fans of Koh-Lanta. He was from the 21st season of TF1’s flagship show broadcast in 2020. He was eliminated after 11 days in Fiji. Mathieu Blanchard also recounts the discovery of this discipline which changed his life in his autobiography Live of adventure published by Flammarion.
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The new darling of the tricolor trail is aware of stepping out of her comfort zone on the occasion of the Paris marathon, Sunday April 2. “Those who don’t know the two disciplines can say that it’s the same sport, but it’s not the same sport at all, points out Mathieu Blanchard.
“Between trail and marathon, these are not the same training methods. For road running, we train in speed, in kilometers, in heart rate. In trail, we train in the effort zone, downhill.”
Matthew Blanchardfranceinfo
“It’s not the same philosophy. We have different morphologies that develop, notes the runner. Trail runners are much more muscular, much heavier and therefore slower on the road.”
Objective 2h25 to complete the test
It will not be a discovery for the Frenchman who has already participated in the New York, Boston, Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal marathons. On the other hand, it is a great first in Paris. “We leave on the Champs Élysées, we arrive at the Obelisk, in front of the Louvre, we go as far as Vincennes, we come back, we pass in front of the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, we go to the Bois de Boulogne, we go through Paris from This is the most beautiful tourist route you can do. Now, we are in such intensities that the brain loses a little lucidity and pleasure in looking at what is around.He plans to complete the 42 kilometer 195 race in 2 hours 25 minutes, an average of 17 kilometers per hour.
Paris Marathon: “It’s the most beautiful tourist route you can do”, says ultra-trailer Mathieu Blanchard before the race – report by Winny Claret
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