Running at an altitude of two thousand meters and for 20 hours straight has led to Pau Capell at the top of the ‘ultra trail’. Ultra-distance races that have allowed the Catalan runner “order many problems” between the agony to crown the best mountains in the world. Among them the paradise of La Patagonia, where last year he became the second Spaniard to conquer one of the most demanding tests.
A victory in which he showed healthy competitiveness when entering the finish line with the Argentine Pereyra, who suffered a mishap in the last section of the race. A year later, Pau tried to defend the title without success. Despite this, the man from Sant Boi (Barcelona) took a personal decision between the endless hours of competition on the trails.
“Imagine the level of things you can think, like make a family. I had time to put my life in order and if everything was in place to take this step. Up to that point we think”, acknowledges the ultra-long distance runner, who enjoys a sport in which only winning is not important.
Question: To what limit does the sacrifice capacity of a high mountain runner reach?
Answer: If you tell me right now that you are going to run 20 hoursI tell you laziness‘, but we don’t think so this way. It’s like a tennis player, who plays a Roland Garros final and has spent five hours against Roger Federer or Rafa Nadal competing ‘with fire’. So many hours at that level is very tiring, but I am convinced that these athletes do not think about the time they are going to be competing because it is very hard, but you find it.
We don’t train that amount in a day. Which we tried es accumulate many hours in double training, in the morning and in the afternoon. That the body is always training. You give him a break of about three hours between each session to recover a little apart from sleeping at night.
Q: What thoughts come to mind while running for extended periods of time?
R: At first you think about the rhythm, the times and the refreshments. From kilometer 60-70, which still takes about 7 or 8 hours, is when you start to rethink your life. What you have and stop having. If your parents are okay, how can you help them? You think about this more than other things. You also order a lot of trouble.
Q: Have you solved any problems by competing?
R: Many. It has happened to me while training, picking up my cell phone and calling someone because something has occurred to me or because I had something pending to tell them. I solve many things because I have time, something that people don’t have in their daily routine.
Q: What has been the last major decision while racing?
R: With my partner we live very well in Andorra and we are at a point in life where we are moving forward to start a family. At a point in the Patagonia Run a few weeks ago I said: ‘I’ll call her tomorrow, or when she’s done, and tell her that we’re ready. ready to make a family’.
Imagine the level of things you can come to think of, like starting a family. That in the day to day the same you do not have time to reason if the economy is sufficient, if you live in the right place, if the family is well. In Patagonia I had time to order my life and if everything was in place to take this step. Up to that point we thought.
Q: Precisely, you were defending the title after winning last year with suspense in the last kilometers.
R: That ending was a bit tricky. They are self-sufficiency races, nobody can help you. you only have a few bags of life, that you can leave food or clothes or whatever you want to take at certain points. I had led the race because I was feeling well, but Pereyra, an Argentine runner, caught me at kilometer 130, with about 30 kilometers to go. We went together to 150, leaving ten to finish.
They left him a headlamp because he ran out of light. That in theory cannot be done and I explained it running. I warned him that they could disqualify him, but I called the organizer running to say that he had done it out of ignorance. we had a good relationship. I squeezed knowing that I was mentally weaker because of the problem he had had. I got rid of him, but 300 meters from the finish line I waited for him.
Q: Why did you decide to stop?
R: I felt sorry for the situation 10 kilometers from the finish line after 19 hours of running. I didn’t want to win like that. People began to ask me why I didn’t come in and I told them that I was waiting for Sergio to arrive because I wanted to kill him. I did not explain anything from the front. When he arrived, after 10 minutes, we went in together.
Q: Do you consider yourself the winner of that edition?
R: I consider myself a winner and he also considers it that way. As he had expected, they interpreted that he would have won and he would have placed second. They told us about it and we agreed. Anyway, the prizes and everything I split. I gave him the first trophy because I didn’t care.
What he likes about sport is that there is always a loser. When there is someone who is very high up and loses, people love that. I don’t know if the human being is bad or not, but failure is more enjoyable than success. I have verified it on social networks.
Q: History could repeat itself a few weeks ago.
R: Pereyra caught me, again, at the same point as last year, which is a very long climb. This time she advanced me because I wasn’t feeling well. I got hooked on him and we went together until kilometer 142, when there were 18 left to finish. But We had already discussed that in this edition it could not happen again. He pushed and took a chance. I kept up the pace that I could and then I couldn’t catch up with him. She took it with him this year.
Q: What has been the career you have enjoyed the most?
R: Definitely, the Ultra-Trail of Mont-Blanc in 2019. I was the second Spaniard to win it. It was the perfect race. I led the race by myself, but those 20 hours and 19 minutes went well for me. I had my loved ones close by, I enjoyed it from start to finish.
Q: The first Spaniard was Kílian Jornet. Are his feats comparable?
R: He is one of the best athletes we have. You cannot compare yourself with Leo Messi, it is impossible. Kílian has opened up a wide range of possibilities in sport for us. He has allowed brands to establish themselves much more. From what he does to what the rest of us do, he goes apart. When he was three years old, he climbed the Aneto. I started running at the age of 20, it takes me years ahead. He is also obsessed with sports, improvement and how technology can advance. He is a guy who is one step ahead, this helps us all to wake up.
Q: What race has surprised you the most?
R: The Ultra Tail of Madeira (Portugal). It is a small island, but you can go through it from end to end. It is very hard, there are 115 kilometers with a huge unevenness, a very hard terrain with ups and downs with stairs. They are about 14 hours of racing, but they leave you devastated. You ask for the ambulance when you cross the finish line. It is one of the races that at the end I have said is from another haystack. I have also retired. My best position was a second place.
Q: In which mountain was this passion for running born?
R: All my life I have been in Sant Boi (Barcelona) until I left in 2019. I became independent directly to Andorra. my passion started training in Sant Ramón and Sant Antoni. Then I would go to Garraf, Begues, Sitges and come back. I became fond of this way. When I’m in Andorra four weeks in a row, I need to go down to my mountain. Many people need to go down to Andorra to oxygenate and to oxygenate I need to be close to Sant Boi. Every mountain has its beautiful part.
2023-05-14 02:39:43
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