Francois D’haene Looking for Hardrock / UTMB Double

When Francois D’haene decided to go to Cap Verde to run the 113-kilometer Treg Cabo Verde Trail race in Cap Verde, it seemed like a somewhat normal way to prepare for his upcoming season—if you are the type of person who calls running 113 kilometers in the blazing sun “normal.” D’haene’s 2021 schedule includes two of the biggest races on the ultra-trail calendar, the Hardrock 100 in Colorado—which he won in record time on his first try in July—and the UTMB in Chamonix this month, which he has won three times in his illustrious career.

For D’haene, the race in Cap Verde was an opportunity to prepare for his upcoming season in a beautiful place that he was eager to discover while competing. He knew the race would be technical, warm and likely not too fast due to the level of competition, which was ideal for his calendar of races ahead. He prefers to follow his ski-touring season with a modest race in the 100km range. Though the race in Cap Verde didn’t feature massive mountains—nothing more than 2,000 meters in elevation—but it would provide him with the opportunity to prepare on rocky terrain with long sections of single track, the kind of track he loves.

“Of course, I like when races have great competition, but sometimes I travel to races to discover the place and be in the middle of nowhere for my mind and discover new mountains and routes,” D’haene says. “Cap Verde offered the same type of terrain at Hardrock 100 and the timing was good as well. It was at the end of the winter season, two months before the races that are my big goals for 2021. And it was my first time there so I would see and discover. It was very much what I was hoping for with auto-navigation, like an adventure race.”

After some long winter ski-mo sessions, a solid training block at home in the French Alps and a week on El Hierro Island, in the Canary Islands, at Salomon’s “Advanced Week” with his fellow Salomon’s International trail running athletes, he felt strong and ready when he arrived in Cap Verde in May. He started the race confidently and at a relaxed pace due to the warm temperature and the level of the field, enjoying the opportunity to discover a new place.

“It was about 40 degrees for six or seven hours, so I was starting with hesitation, putting water on my head,” he recalls. “And on my body to stay cool and taking care to eat enough.”

At one point, during an ascent, D’haene started to feel quite warm, but thought it was normal considering the time of day. When his body didn’t seem to answer like it normally does, he started to think something might be off.

“I have been at the Western States 100 a few times and Trans Canaria and know how my body responds to that temperature, so it was strange,” he says. “I had a strange feeling in my ears, then became fully cramped. It took me three hours to go 1,000 meters and for the next seven hours it was impossible for me to put my legs on the ground, so I just had to sit and hold my legs. I tried to walk, but it was impossible. I tried to sleep, and that was impossible, too.”

Running ultras is all about solving problems, so D’haene assessed the scenario and searched for answers. None came.

“After nine hours, I ate and drank and fell asleep for 20 seconds and then my body changed immediately,” he says. “I felt no cramps.”

D’haene needed to consider his entire season ahead, but after taking time to assess the situation and recognizing that he had no injuries, he decided to finish the race out of respect for the organizers, the adventure and for himself

The next day, he was able to go on a recovery run but was still feeling tired 20 days after the race. He discussed the entire experience with a sports doctor, including his race preparation, and explained that he had a virus about 12 days before the race that lasts 6-7 days and included a 39-degree C fever (102 deg F).

“I didn’t know what the virus was,” D’haene recalls. “It wasn’t Covid because I had the blood test and the different classic tests and had no symptoms except the temperature. And I had Covid six months before.”

His doctor told him he was a lucky guy because many of the worst cases of hypothermia in an ultra-race were to people who had a virus in the weeks before running. The doctor also advised him to never again take the starting line of a race without one month of rest after a virus. Now, D’haene wants to relay this message to other ultra-runners, regardless of how fast they intend to run.

“This story was to me and for sure I am an athlete who tries to push my nobody and win, of course,” he says. “But as I discussed with doctor, this could arrive anytime in a race even if you go slow. We must understand that an ultra for 10 or 20 hours is not nothing, so take care of that. Our sport is wonderful but difficult. Don’t make too much work for your body. The best present is to go slowly for a long time. I have done 12 years of ultras and would like to continue for a long time. So, we need to be careful and take care of ourselves.”

“Ultra is a different sport than others,” D’haene continues. “From first place to the last we are all the same in a way. We are there to discover the adventure and travel from one place to another on foot. Problem-solving and the addition of many experiences in your whole life make you accomplished and a good runner in ultra-running. If you have not had many problems in your career, you won’ be able to adapt yourself to big challenges like ultra-trail.”

He went into the Hardrock 100 feeling that his illness was behind him and, based on his winning performance, this proved to be the case. D’haene smashed the course record by one hour and 43 minutes on his way to winning the famed race in 21 hours, 45 minutes, and 50 seconds.

He will take his learnings from Cap Verde and Hardrock with him.

“I can be more prepared for the warmth, and I think I understand why that happened at Cap Verde, but you never know what will happen in a race,” D’haene says. “And if my body is under stress 20 days before a race, I will never take on an ultra-adventure because even if you think you are recovered, it takes time. When you push your body in an ultra, it can respond strangely. I was thinking that for me it would not be easy, but I would be OK because there was not a lot of competition, and my body can recover from this virus. But even for me who is well-trained and has a decade of years of experience, it was not working for me. That’s why I am explaining this to people. Even with a doctor like I have, you can have problems if you start an ultra-race not feeling 100 percent.”

Since then, his focus has been on recovering and preparing for another go at the UTMB in Chamonix, where he will once again be a favorite in a super competitive field.

“I think and I hope that my preparation is good. To be honest it's a big and real challenge to try to be really competitive and ready for two ultra-trails in six weeks,” D’haene says. “It's not just finishing the race. You have to be fresh and 100 percent ready so it's really hard and intensive. I took 10 days of rest (after Hardrock) and then one week of transition and now I'm in my second week of real training and actually I feel OK again. I’m crossing my fingers to keep that feeling until the D-day! So let’s go.”