This environmental engineer lives in Flanders half of her time. For the other half, she heads to the French Ardennes, where she lives with her partner Florian Descamps, also a national trail champion. They find there a terrain already more conducive to the exercise of their passion… At the beginning, we have an occasional jogger who, in 2015, discovered trail running. “I loved it right away”, she explains. “We take a small backpack, water, a few supplies, then we set off for the day running without meeting too many people. It’s freedom, we become more zen…”
The results come relatively quickly. Against a backdrop of pleasure, she begins to apply rigor and diligence. “That’s my character: in sport as in many areas, I always seek to improve. I continue to favor balance, but with a performance-oriented side,” confirms Laura. If we note 2019 as a pivotal year at the national level (vice-champion of Belgium), it is especially 2023 that marks a (very) big blow in her record with a 3rd place in the famous 90 km of Mont-Blanc and a victory in the 163 km of the Nice Côte d’Azur by UTMB, each time ahead of confirmed international athletes.
This Friday evening, on the famous Place de l’Amitié, to the sound of Chariots of Fire by Vangelis, she will set off on paths that she has identified in recent months. Between 25 and 28 hours ahead of her. A construction site… And a slope. How did she prepare? How did she do it in Ghent, a superb city if ever there was one, but whose highest point is 28 metres above sea level?
“This year, I did a lot of muscle strengthening, with fairly heavy weights,” Laura Van Vooren begins by explaining. “As a result, I obviously feel stronger in my legs and I recover better, especially after long descents. I also practiced with training sequences for long sessions. For example: one hour of leg strength training, then one hour on the treadmill with a steep incline, then I went for another 4 or 5 hours of running. In fact, I used a treadmill a lot that allowed me to run uphill. All my sessions were on a 15% slope…”
To this, the champion added something truly specific, namely mountain training. Seven weeks in total since January 1st. The Alpes Maritimes at the beginning of the year, then the Ecrins, the Val d’Aosta and Chamonix. An acclimatization in several stages in fact…
The goal? “First of all, I want to do everything to avoid not being happy after the race,” she says. “I want to be able to tell myself that I have a result that corresponds to all the work I have done. I want to learn and have the feeling that I have made progress. In fact, in the spring, I had a ranking and a time in mind. Then there was this sprain in the first third of the 90 km of Mont Blanc which forced me to abandon. I am very well, but I do not want to make any more predictions…”
An Olympic athlete, Manuela Soccol, on the 176 km of the UTMB
Laura Van Vooren will not be the only Belgian capable of achieving a good result in this UTMB. This Friday evening, we will also find on the starting line:
– Manuela Soccol who participated in the 2016 Olympic Games in the marathon. Personal record: 2h37:09. Belgian champion in the 10,000 meters in 2010, twice winner of the 20 kilometers of Brussels (2015 and 2016), she won last year the Ultra-Trail Kosciuszko by UTMB, in Australia (164 km and 5100 D +). At the time, she finished 6th overall.
– Guillaume Deneffe. The Liège native of Namur will be present for the third time in a row. In 2022, he achieved an incredible feat by finishing 15th in 22h40′, the best Belgian result ever recorded in this event.
– Jerome Vanderschaeghe. This Stavelot native who has lived in Switzerland for several years is arriving for the first time at the UTMB. Seventh in the Diagonale des Fous in 2022, he finished 2nd last year at the end of the Ultra de la Restonica, a race labeled UTMB.
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