lnside Kilian’s Classik
by Martina Valmassoi
It’s quite bizarre how I switched from being a shop assistant to sharing a ride with a legend of ultra running, an institution of trail running and a rising star of Skyrunning.
It’s so fast, in fact, that it’s difficult for me to even grasp. The guys I’m in the car with, the guys I’m talking about, are Ellie Greenwood, Greg Vollet and Remi Bonnet. I’m Martina Valmassoi — completely, or at least almost completely, unknown in the trailrunning world. Perhaps a little bit more renowned in Italy — mainly because of my exploits in Skimo. You could say that I’m associated more with activities when the mercury starts to drop and the snow starts to fall.
We all arrived in Font Romeu, in the French Pyrenees, together, to take part in Kilian’s Classik. You can easily guess where the event’s name came from, if you can’t, you’re probably reading this article my mistake!
Font Romeu is just surreal. At first sight it looks like a simple tiny village in the mountains with not much to offer, except for the epic mountains ripe for exploration. Delve a little deeper, though, and you realise you’re in a microcosm — a small universe made for superhumans. It’s an Olympic Centre where athletes from all over the world come to train to beat their own records. For others it’s a place to study how to do it while attending the famous sports college. You see, it’s not an ordinary place — but the world is full of extraordinary places so why does Kilian’s Classik happen here, in Font Romeu? Well, it’s here that Kilian himself studied, it’s here where a young Mr Jornet lived for a few years and it’s here where his dreams were born and nurtured.
We stayed at a place called called Huttopia. When you see it for the first time you can sense the adventure and excitement of the place — it’s not a location for boredom or stress. You see, Huttopia is not an ordinary hotel but a cute village of small wooden houses and white tents that immediately reminds you of your childhood.
Before dinner we catch up to discuss the week’s program. We introduce ourselves not by results or titles, but with humility and a passion for running. What you feel at the end of the evening is that we we’re not here to race and train, it’s better than that! The first ruleis not to forget the main values of Kilian’s Classik: exploration, adventure, sharing, pleasure, socialising.
The adventure started from the first night. From the highest ridge of Carlit to the deep blue of the ice lake. From the bright green of the forest to the flat path at 2000 meters where there are more cows than flowers. We explore, we share, we run together from one summit to another. Sometimes people tire and find it difficult to keep up, then the group stops, naturally, waiting, resting before running on together again.
The last two days of races are best described as a celebration. Normal runners alongside the elites — taking photos together, sharing part of the trail. Kids waiting for hours with their hands up just to high-five someone in the race. The long line of people waiting for us to sign a picture or a t-shirt.
This kind of connection from one athlete to another or even the connection to the community, it’s something that you can’t teach, like nobody can teach you how to love the mountains or the trails. Here at Kilian’s Classik that connection was everywhere. Maybe it’s in the air or the altitude, but I guess that all the people grew up here knowing these values extremely well.
