#7 TROY | Germain Grangier & Claire Bannwarth

hey everybody happy New Year Dylan Bowman here from free Trail and in the first 10 days of 2024 we're going to be rolling out our Trail Runner of the Year award this is our favorite time of year to celebrate all the great athletes and performances that made 2023 a year to remember in trail running and this year we're super happy to have partnered with Ketone IQ to help bring the award to life make sure you check this product out super Cutting Edge futuristic endurance sport nutrition product Ketone supplement guaranteed to give you better focus and help you rip out on the trails we have exclusive discount code that you can take advantage of here hmn.com slf freet tr30 that link is also in the description here on YouTube enjoy these interviews with some of the best athletes in the world and thanks for helping us celebrate 2023 cool Jal welcome to the podcast congratulations on being our number seven Trail Runner of the Year cool thanks Dyan how are you feeling now is we are approaching the end of the year we are only a couple of days before Christmas uh what are you meditating on and how are you reflecting on 20123 yeah I think I I had a great year I'm really satisfied with I've done and uh yeah currently I'm taking some time off from running because I'm I'm skiing uh every day and uh waiting for for moso here in France yeah so I want to get into some of the details of your season but before we do there's been something that I've been desperate for you to explain to me one of the iconic moments of the Season there were a couple at the finish line of UTMB one where Zach points at Jim you know to give kudos to the champion and then the second was when you held up the sign that said Al s explain the the nickname to us uh who are outside of this inside joke yeah I feel I think it began like something like false five years ago uh because um there was like kind of a like kind of a French rep Ser where s is like a character that always like lies and always like made up stories and uh we were always making fun of that when we were training we were like always like like pretending oh did you get dropped no I was just like lacing my shoes or stuff like that and then uh sge build up and um and yeah I really use S as a as a character like you know there is JMA the serious guy like obsessed with the data the training blah blah blah and when jman gets a bit too serious Serge comes on board and and brings some lightness to the to the atmosphere and and yeah I like better S than J so at the Finish Line one of uh one of my colleagues at at a card box uh we've like written Al s so so I took it what a great story so s is like your Alter Ego who maybe has a better sense of humor and doesn't take things as seriously I love that yeah yeah do you feel you know speaking of taking things seriously you know as somebody who's sort of followed your career for a few years now it seems to me like this was definitely your best season yet as just like a pure runner from a performance perspective do you view that the same way yeah I agree yeah I think I was more consistent in the in my training I think I I got more experience and maybe this year I was able to like yeah pick all the the small thing I've been building up and then um get a bit of chance along the way and uh more consistent training like better people surrounding my me and then all of the details details like like worked pretty well in the end I remember Katie saying something at the beginning of the year Katie shied obviously your partner that you guys had made an intentional decision to do different races and even though you both ended the season at Diagon deu you targeted different events outside of that was that important to you both having such strong seasons here do you think yeah I think it's definitely like uh key because uh yeah there's so so much stress going on before races uh even if it's like not big stress it's like two different people with their own way to manage the stress and and I like to be like more alone in my small bubel and so as KD and it's hard to like interact when we have this big race coming up and uh I feel like it's better to have like each other helping us for like a dedicating race and uh yeah I think it's something that worked pretty well so let's tick through some of the performances this year you started the year with a fifth place at transv when we talked about it earlier in the year you said that it was sort of like ripping the Band-Aid off getting back in your running shoes after focusing through the winter months mostly on skiing talk about how you manage that transition and how you use trans volca to set up the rest of the year yeah I think uh so I didn't run from like December first to beginning of April then I had something like five weeks to to build up some like running uh I would say Fitness to go to transia obviously my my general fitness was good with sking because I had a great season but yeah I was uh I would say it's not transition I would ADV advise to one because it was pretty like sharp from like zero to like like almost like 140k a week and I was pretty stressed at the time but it worked and uh yeah I felt good during the race but uh yeah definitely like I think the the thing that takes more time is to get this EX trick strength for downhill especially truk the last one but yeah it proves again that skiing ski ski maintaining pretty works for like general fitness as long as the transition works well and it's always the the tricky part so I think it's a lot of like listening to yourself and and be patient in those moments yeah so then you went to the 90k at mon Blanc in Shaman it's seemed like the perfect dress rehearsal for UTMB which I'm sure was the major goal of the Season I'd love to hear you talk about that race and specifically I was just going back and looking at the results and I noticed that the second place Runner whose name I can't remember now another Frenchman I believe was only like a minute behind you and to me it feels like especially looking further ahead at your season like at UTMB that those racing Dynamics and having you know the competition that's that close probably is gives you an opportunity to practice racing skills racing Dynamics mental strength things like that so just tell us how the 90k M Blanc helped set up the great performance at UTMB yeah I think you sum up pretty well uh the goal of this race actually was uh it was to yeah like be more efficient on all my like Ed station stuff like kind of figure out the the nutrition plan even if I I was not like doing 100 m I wanted to try some things um more at the end of the race so I I set up all these small details work with the more or less the same crew that I have that I will have a UTMB then definitely like use like the right situation to to practice the the mental skills that I've have been working on whole winter I used the winter to to work on M skis on the skis actually and uh yeah it was it was a great great place to to rehearse the same more less environment it's more technical than tmb but you get still this like moods around the around the sh race so I think it was a a good rehearsal yeah yeah it probably gave you a lot of confidence going into UTMB speaking of that the thing I'd love for you to talk about specifically is the moment that you caught Jim in the forest before champe lock take us into that moment and what you remember from you know that critical moment in the race yeah I think um actually when I arrived in lauli uh I saw several people who told me that Jim was like something like five minutes ahead so I think I kind of push a little bit too much to Pace because I got excited but I also had this hard voice in my in my head that told me okay like keep it keep it easy and and I'm going to make it so yeah I think I got a bit excited I cut a dream in the at the end of Lai sh clim and then yeah I was I was kind of sure I would just pass gy and then and then then I would just focus more catching back and then yeah I don't know like JY Like a Phoenix just like took off on the yeah on the side of the champak yeah the pace was pretty fast at that moment so I didn't know if I was like if I had a hard time or if he had like a really high like big high so yeah I I stared at my pace and then I realized like a few like 30 minutes later that it that it catched Z at the top of of poin so I understood that he was like in this crazy crazy mood and and I was more re sure about about how I felt but yeah he did like such a great section between champe and shamoni so that that was a hard moment for me because I thought I would put pressure on Jim but I really appreci Jim and I know Jim but as competitors I I would like put a bit of pressure on J but actually went the other way but it's such a great experience for for the future I know I know I feel like I'm already to do like kind of unexpected uh things happening when you when you pass people inra dude you gave him the spark that he needed so on behalf of all of us American trail running fans thank you thank you for giv that inspiration at shamp lock to hit the gas it was such a classic race and of course you were able to finish in third place still running just over 20 hours 20 hours and 10 minutes on the classic UTMB course in astonishing astonishing performance from you and yeah just you know major congratulations on that seems like you know probably one of the biggest results of your career talk about diagonal deu now because you know that's how where you and kitty both finished your season and I recall you both sort of posted maybe on the same day that you were going to be taking on that Beast of a race on Reunion Island just explain for you know those who are unfamiliar the significance that the grand raid has in French trail running culture and say a few words about your experience there this year yeah so the G it's the other name for dional deu it's I would say like if you have a if you picture UTMB it would be Petty different it would be yeah less professional more like yeah super technical race uh can be super hot super cold um you can expect everything at station or not that like like that I would say professional as UTMB and it's why we like this race it's more like a big adventure you can arrive to A station and the things are not set up and people would just love and just like sing for you and you have to keep going and I think I think that's that's kind of the party of the the end of the season for the the French TR triing community and that's also why we also did it with KD at the same time because there was less pressure and we know that anything can happen so I was more like okay let's do this adventure and see and see what happens so for me I finished UTMB and then uh was the first year I think I recover pretty well from from this race so so I decided a month later to tow the line at J defu and yeah I was a c Advent you were second place behind raing plaz another great French Trail Runner Jon I'd love to go longer form with you soon so we'll have have to schedule a longer podcast let's start winding down just by looking ahead towards 2024 and uh I'm sure people would love to hear after this major breakthrough season what you're thinking about to the extent you're willing to reveal any goals or what your racing calendar looks like for next year yeah sure let's do that yeah go ahead tell me yeah um I'm not one for like sure I think I will do utmp again for sure uh it has been a lot of like uh thinking ahead for me because I I really wanted to race in the US um I really wanted to put my name in hardwork again but I also you know it's hard when every year you come back to tmb and you do better you just don't know if it's like the best you can do or maybe you can do do a a bit better so I'm just I just want to keep the spiral going and and see and see where how what I can do next with this race so I think I'm going to do UTMB again and then uh ahead of that I have like a lot of like ideas uh probably another race at the end of June like I think about lavaro right now because I went to this race and I dropped like three years ago I think so I want to I want to do it again right and then in the winter yeah skiing and then uh probably another race in May but I still have to to to think about it and see what motivates me amazing I've been ending all these conversations and like I told you I've recorded several of them in the last few days and it's been so fun it's been it's been so great just to interact with all the great Trail Runners but anyway I've been asking everybody the same thing and that is just to to recognize somebody on your team who has supported you this year who maybe exists behind the scenes but without whom you wouldn't have been able to be so successful so give a shout out to somebody who's helped you out there is a lot of people that uh I can name more I think I've uh for sure I've been working with jasm um this year also jasm my coach also reini my nutritionist my family Katie my mental coach yeah I think and also like I would just also thanks all my friends that that I go like on ski tour every day and I think they really help me to to stay motivated and to yeah to share those moments of training I think I like really sharing my trainings more SK with people running I prefer to run on my own but uh yeah I think also my friends have a have a big big impact on this year because they because they were part of my everyday training yeah well Geron SLS congratulations on an amazing 2023 season and uh yeah best of luck here at the end of or going into 2024 and happy holidays to you yeah thanks Claire banworth welcome to the show and congratulations on being the number seven Trail Runner of the year yeah nice to nice having me and yeah it's a nice surprise to be number seven I mean it's great yeah this is our first time talking but we both did run Hard Rock this summer and uh I do recall do recall seeing you in the early miles and then obviously became much more familiar with you throughout the year you did just an incredible volume of racing maybe just to to start how are you feeling physically and mentally after such a huge year I'm feeling good actually I had a short break of four days and now I am I'm I am ready for 2024 yeah are don't you still have one more like 24-hour race to do this year or did you already do it no no I did it two weeks ago so it was my final race final race final race maybe quickly just tell me a little bit about yourself how you ended up in the sport and how you came to focus on like the the super long distance races because I think people will find that really interesting I mean I have been running from for for for all my life I mean since I am very little I I I I run but I started as um in another in another sport I I was uh doing um I was fencing at the high level I was uh yeah top top 15 in the world top something like that when I was under 20 years and then I finished my studies and I had to work and it wasn't very easy to go to to the fencing training so I started just running because it was easier for me to just run before my work or run after my work and I started running every day because I don't have a car so I was basically running to work and from work and it was like 35 40 kilometers per day something like that wow so I I did this uh for maybe 10 or 15 years and then I discovered thr running in the mountain and that's when I really started to do races and then I discovered backyard races and then 24-hour races and then I just did my first 200 miles and then I said okay I love 200 miles and I want to do that it's amazing maybe quickly while we're on that what's your favorite format right because you do so many multi-day races you do the backyard races you do the timed events is it the 200 mile distance or that format that you like the most yeah yeah because you have time to take selfie with other people you have you have time to eat you have time to you are just I mean even 100 miles uh races you are always looking at your watch thinking oh I am slow I must go fast when you do 200 miles Wes you just say oh I have to go fast after a few days fast is not there the speed is not relevant anymore so yeah no I have 200 miles because it's um it's more you are it's not just speed it's also a lot of mtal thing a lot lot of uh or to handle problem and avoid problems and it's it's great so I think I I counted that you did 25 Ultras in 2023 nine of which took over two days and you've been doing this now for three or four years in a row and I think you posted something on your Instagram to the effect of every year I say I won't do quite as much and every year I break that promise to myself so I think what people would love to hear from you is just how you stay healthy and motivated with that type of volume of racing I mean I I do races because because I love it so if I am not motivated I don't go or I don't or I don't start a rest or if I am injured I don't I don't start and I always have fun so just uh and at the beginning of the year I don't have that much spes plan but it's always oh I have a free weekend I can race here it's not far far and I end up doing 28 races because I just have the motivation and I have a lot of fun and it's also a lot of I mean when I train I am most of the time very slow I I really I I I can't push myself uh if I don't have a bib so doing reses is also a way for me to to be a bit FAS to to to to do some more um intensity to to do some quality training because if I have if I have to choose I will take 1 hour 30 to to do 10 kilometers and not 40 minutes so yeah yeah so doing that muches it's also a way for me to to train amazing so it's probably hard to pick a highlight from the year after doing so much I'd particularly love to hear about the Tahoe 200 especially with you starting by stating that the 200 mile distance is your favorite obviously you came over to the US and had an action-packed adventurous summer but maybe tell us about the Tahoe 200 which you won I should say how did you enjoy Lake Tahoe that iconic piece of American landscape ah it was amazing I mean the landscape was beautiful and also the the red station are not quite the same in in the US as in Europe so it was for me I mean having burritos and burgers and a lot of coke with some ice too it's it was great because in Europe we yeah there is no ice and is no barer and it's it's not really the same so the headed station were were great having more most of the time more volunteers and Runners were also great I I was feeling like like a queen you know I just had to to sit and three three peoples were taking my flask and giving me food and message or something like that and I mean I I had a great rest uh I got lost I did 25 kilometer Mor more because I I I really got lost oh my gosh so I I was I think I was ahead like one hour ahead of everybody and then I got lost and I I lost two hours or something like that and then it was like oh I am so stupid and having that in mind I I I was okay no I I I just push until the end and I could uh I could catch everybody and and finished in fun so it was great amazing also tell me about the Colorado Trail because there was a lot of uh yeah new fkt said on the Colorado Trail you went self-supported in a foreign country on a trail that you've probably never explored yourself and I think it's illustrative of some you know adventurous personality trait that you have so tell us about that nine-day Adventure on the Colorado Trail I mean it was my first uh fkt my first time alone uh for so many days uh because I have I have done long races like 400 or 500 kilometer races but I was always in AR rest with other people and N station and everything and um when I heard I was taken for AR Rock okay I said okay I don't go to the US just for one race uh I will find something uh to do and yeah I saw this Colorado TR and I said okay I want I want to do that um so it was yeah it was really an adventure because I I have never uh for example sleep alone uh in the mountain with bears around I I didn't see any of any bears but I mean I sometime in during the night I was hearing some some some some noises and I I was a bit afraid I mean I I really thought it was some be but I think it was ship monks or something like that but yeah no it was really an adventure I mean I I had just a plan to to do it in 10 to be able to catch my flight back to to to FRS and I could push to to e n days and I slept maybe 13 hours in in night so I I was really at the end completely a zombie I was really I was completely sleep deprived and like uh I I mean like on drugs I think the last four days I was really I had a huge blister I had some chefing but I I I didn't feel anything because I was really high because of the sleep deprivation wow and I I saw Yes I mean it was really great to be alone in this wonderful Landscapes and and also the Colorado Trail is really remote I had two times where I could grab some some food but most of the time I was alone and there is no Village and you can see some other um people some of Hiers but nobody were going as fast as I was so I I had no buddies I mean but it was but it was yeah it was really great it was really a nice adventure and I definitely want to do more of this stuff because it's really uh the most amazing thing I did in my life so you were in the US for what probably about a month and you did Hard Rock the Tahoe 200 and the Colorado Trail unbelievable I wanted to uh to have my my flight ticket to to um gu to to maximize my flight ticket my flight ticket price yeah yeah amazing okay so obviously we don't have a lot of time to take through all the amazing accomplishments I would encourage all of our listeners to go just look at your race results from 2023 because it's a good way to get motivated for 2024 speaking of which Claire I'm sure there's going to be a lot of people who will have heard your name for the first time this season who are becoming fans of yours so where can people expect to see you participating next year uh I go back to arck uh so I will do kind of the same thing I will go for one month I will do to again and I have PL I I plan to do two fkt I will try to to do the John Weir Trail after to and just after that I will try to do the Long Trail and then and then I will go to our Ro so it will be a busy month and uh in September I have another pretty thing in mind I will do UTMB and then do swis PS I will I will have like 10 hours to recover from UTB because it's kind of the same weekend and after three speaks I will try to do the Tour de which is also like two days after s speaks so oh my gosh yeah I will try something really crazy I hope I will be able to do that it's really really crazy this time what an amazing personal challenge to set for yourself and yeah just so inspiring to see what you were able to do this year and I'm sure there's going to be a lot of people excited to see what what next year holds for Claire I've been ending all these interviews with the same final question that is just asking everyone to give recognition to somebody on their team who supports them who doesn't get a lot of recognition so if you could just shout out somebody who's helped contribute to make you the athlete that you are but who doesn't get enough Kudos uh my husband uh for sure um he really supports me and I he accepts that I spend a lot of time outside or training and he's really supportive and do don't J and understand me so I really want to give him a lot of Kudos amazing well Claire it's great to meet you we should do a longer interview one of these days I will definitely see you at Hard Rock I won't be running myself but I'll be out there cheering people on and volunteering so we'll look forward to seeing you there take care in the meantime congratulations on Amazing season yeah thank you