Henry V

For me, as Belgian living and working in Zürich with my family, trail running was something that came quit spontaneously due to the beautiful surrounding that were available every day. It all started very small but each year my appetite & passion for running on the trails became a bit bigger. From local 10k runs around the nearest hill for fun, to the bigger more known mountain race events in Switzerland. That all eventually led to the ambition of doing my first 100k trail run in one of the most competitive settings, the UTMB – CCC 2023!

When I managed to meet all qualifying criteria and subscribed, it was somewhat with the idea of not being drawn immediately and that I probably would have +1y to gradually prepare for this. Suddenly, to my great surprise I immediately had a ticket in my hands after the first draw (Oct’22). I quickly realized, somewhat in panic, I would need to train more consistently and especially more effectively (as in comparison to the online tools I was often using). And all that needed to happen considering the already challenging work/life balance my wife and I had, which would only increase with the arrival of our second child in the spring of ‘23.

And this is where Erik came in… helping runners like me to achieve their ambitions in a sensible & smart way and that in combination with the needs from family/work perspective.

From the start of our collaboration in Nov’22, I felt that Erik talked with enormous knowledge and passion about trail running. Given his experience he very well understands what it takes to finish ultra trail races, but even more so how to prepare for these races considering that all this needs to happen in balance with other priorities, both professionally as privately (“real-world athlete” as Erik likes to call it ).

For myself, becoming for the second time dad & starting a new function at work made it increasingly difficult to execute on the training plans Erik suggested. Which often caused me to doubt if was going to be ready for the UTMB (CCC) in Oct’23. Exactly at that point Erik proved to be a great coach as he was not only focusing on getting me ready physically but even more so mentally. He kept on reminding me on our goal and that he coaches athletes in the real world were not everything goes as planned. Instead of stressing out on missed trainings we kept on focusing on getting crucial trainings done and doing those as efficient as possible with the right mindset. It was by trusting that process that I started feeling ready to tackle my biggest run to date.

Even an ankle injury only 2.5 weeks before the start couldn’t stop us anymore. Initial panic made way for optimism which grew day by day as Erik and I were in frequent contact on how the injury was evolving. And after blessing from my physician days before the race, it was time to put all that work into action.

Both before and during the race Erik talked to me on the challenges ahead and kept on sharing all his experience at hand. He reminded me on simple things like; to take my time in the feeding zones, prioritize every now and again a good chicken soup , and most and for all to enjoy it! … And It is due to all the work that Erik and I together put into our goal that I finished the UTMB – CCC!!

Thank you, Erik, for the gazillion times you rescheduled trainings for me and to not only physically prepare me for the race, but also mentally!

Henri, Zurich. Switzerland