Sport was therefore a saving direction for her. “It gave me the opportunity to open other doors to find peace.”
“It’s in the ultra that, personally, I find myself. You have to experience it to understand it.”
Catherlne has been practicing trail running, and here ultra in this case, for two years. “I have this need to… hurt myself, to experience this surpassing of oneself. In trail running, we all have a goal. For some, it’s the clock. For others, it’s something else . It’s in the ultra that, personally, I find myself. You have to experience it to understand it.”
At his side, his companion, Ghislain Maréchal, probably has nothing to do with it. As a reminder, Ghislain, among others, is the An inspiration! “For me, he is the symbol of humility despite what human beings can achieve. He gave me back this faith seven years ago. So I also love cycling. Since I was little, I have been riding, mainly on the It was my dad who introduced me to it when he died, I put it aside a little but for seven years, I have needed to experience everything I am experiencing very strongly. It’s not always easy.that in these rich shares.”
“Great encounters and life lessons”
For the Waterlootoise, running means having the capacity to hurt yourself “because after the pain, there is this well-being. But you have to deserve it. And then, what satisfaction. We also meet very nice people. I recently met Thibaut, a serious burn victim who lost his life during 51 seconds before his dad, a doctor, can resuscitate him. He’s running now. It’s a life lesson where I took last place, we had the opportunity to talk. to motivate ourselves, and to surpass ourselves. We must never give up, it’s important to give everything but also to arrive in good conditions, we bring things to each other, it’s sharing. I receive and I give. He has also learned some advice, he is now going to do muscle strengthening.”
Ultra enthusiasts always want more. Catherine too. “The longest distance is 85 kilometers. I was supposed to do Millau this year (100 km) but my health was not there. My goal is the Lavaredo, 124 kilometers, but I have one fear, we are starting at night. My eyesight is starting to diminish at my age, so we’ll have to solve that. But these are little additional challenges and that’s also what motivates me.”
No road race for Waterlootoise. “No tarmac, just the trail, contact with nature is very important.”
“Never put pressure on yourself”
All of this requires preparation and organization. “Above all, never put pressure on yourself. However, you must organize yourself well and the environment is important, as is your diet. It is essential. Muscle strengthening is also necessary. This allows you to improve to face the D + in trail running. I do exercises every day in addition to my two to three training sessions per week. I’m not too explosive, I prefer to work on fundamental endurance.”
A dream? “Touring France by bike with Ghislain. But you will have to be a pensioner to complete this challenge, for a moment of sharing with the man I love.”
On the networks, Catherine enjoys sharing her sporting experiences. “It makes others want to. I recently made a 60-year-old lady want to. It’s great to share that. Everyone can do it. For me, it’s long distance of which I am capable, even if at the beginning, I was made to understand that I would never succeed.”
