MEETING SANGE SHERPA
Interviewed by Baptiste Balay
Sange Sherpa on the start line of UTAT 2018
This year, UTAT is hosting one of the most incredible ultra runners of its generation: Sange Sherpa. The Nepalese rider is one of the 2018 great favorites. He will run the 105 kilometers on October 6th.
A smile, hair and a stride easily recognizable. You seem to have already met him during a race? It is very likely! Sange Sherpa has been competing around the world for almost six years. In fact, Sange chained mostly ultras at a pace that even the best do not follow. Hong Kong, Transgrancanaria, Mount Fuji, Estrela Grande Trail (where he gets the first place) Maxi-Race Annecy, Tenerife Blue Trail or Lavaredo Ultra Trail, no less than 6 ultra run since the beginning of 2018. And when asked for his secret, he simply answers:
“I have no secret to chained the ultras. You have to love to suffer because running an ultra week after week is sometimes not very funny! I think everyone has to do their own experience, especially when it comes to recovery. The risk of finishing his season after an injury is more important, but I always liked to chain races, I think the body is obliged to follow the mind at some point (laugh) »
It must be said that Sange has the mountains in his veins. This native of the Kanchenjunga region of Nepal settled in Besançon ten years ago. Two radically different environments with the exception of one thing in common: The mountain, its vertical drop and all that it offers as possibilities for the practice of outdoor sports.
Previously a sherpa porter, then a guide, he is currently working as a warehouseman in a large company. Although used to evolve in altitude thanks to his former job, Sanger admits having discovered the trail on his arrival in France. “I did not practice sport before coming to France. I discovered the trail in 2009, but I have always loved the mountain.” A sentence that says a lot about his unusual physical abilities, certainly developed in Nepal and consolidated thanks to the intensive training he has been following in recent years.
Let’s talk about his training : ultras, ultras, and even more ultras. Add to that some 50kms races here and there and a bit of mountain biking, and you get Sange Sherpa’s seasonal preparation plan. It’s very simple, his arrival on the 105K UTAT will be between the UTMB and … The Diagonale des Fous!
Yes, Sange never stops. Often on the road, he likes to discover new spaces and new massifs. This is what pushed him to come on the UTAT: “It’s a new destination, a new challenge for me. The mountain and the landscapes are really different from here (The Alps ed). I will face new challenges, including the climate I do not know. But it is also and especially the opportunity to discover the Moroccan culture and the welcome of the Berbers of which I have heard so much! “
We are so impatient to find him on the starting line in October. The competition will be tough, but no doubt he will give the best of himself and will wear his shoes on the rocks of the Atlas
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This post is also available in: French