France’s Caroline Chaverot took second at the 2015 IAU Trail World Championships, and in doing so, helped Team France earn a team gold medal. In this interview, Caroline talks about how she fought hard for the win, if she’s pleased with her second-place finish, and where else we’ll see her racing in 2015.
Read our results article for the full story on the women’s and men’s races.
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Caroline Chaverot Post-2015 IAU Trail World Championships Interview Transcript
iRunFar: Meghan Hicks of iRunFar here, and I’m here on the shores of Lake Annecy at the finish of the 2015 IAU Trail World Championships. I’m with second-place finisher, Caroline Chaverot. Congratulations!
Caroline Chaverot: Thank you.
iRunFar: How are you doing? It’s a couple hours after the race right now and you’ve had a little time to recover your body. How are you doing?
Chaverot: I’m doing quite well finally. I had a lot of pain in the muscles, but now it’s getting to disappear. It’s okay.
iRunFar: Last year at the open MaXi-Race, you were the winner. This year in second place, you ran, what was it, about 40 minutes faster?
Chaverot: Yes.
iRunFar: So much faster. How did that feel traveling over this course at such a speed this year?
Chaverot: It’s incredible. I was planning maybe to try to get under 10 hours, but I never thought I would…
iRunFar: Way under 10 hours. So let me ask you about your race. You and three other French women went out really hard—you, Nathalie [Mauclair], Anne-Lise [Rousset]. Together you broke off way in front of the rest of the girls’ pack. Was that intentional? Did that just naturally happen?
Chaverot: Naturally. I was sure they were going to be faster than me on the first up hill, but I was feeling quite well. I was even thinking maybe I am too slow because I was not struggling at all until Doussard; it was perfect. I was going quietly and I was in front of them, so I said, “Okay I continue.”
iRunFar: The three of you ran pretty close together until about a third of the way into the race, and then you broke off the front and created some distance between you and Nathalie and Anne-Lise. I think you probably had it in your mind that you were going for the win at that point. Is that a fair statement?
Chaverot: Yes, I wanted to try to win. That’s why I was a bit disappointed to be second place, but anyway, I did my best. I couldn’t go faster.
iRunFar: Talk for a minute about that time you were in the lead. What part of the race or what part of the terrain did you feel the best on, and what was hard for you?
Chaverot: I was feeling really good until Col de la Forclaz. I was running in the uphill and going well in the downhill, so I was quite easy. It was really easy. After Col de la Forclaz, it was getting more hard because it was getting warmer, I was very thirsty, I was drinking all the time, and in Col des Frêts, my head was beginning to turn. Then a friend of mine said, “Anne-Lise is two minutes behind!” “What? Only two minutes? I’m going so slow!” But I couldn’t go faster.
iRunFar: You said that at the finish line you felt disappointed to not have won and to have finished second. Now that it’s a couple of hours after the fact, has it sunk in that second place is a great thing and your time today was so fast?
Chaverot: Yes, yes, I’m really happy with the time. Also, I’m thinking I could have completely messed [up] the race. I’ve done a good race, and I’m happy with that. Nathalie was stronger than me.
iRunFar: And that’s how the cards fall, as they say. My last question for you is where else are we going to see you in 2015? You started the year off really strong.
Chaverot: I’m going to Lavaredo, Eiger Ultra Trail, and UTMB. UTMB is a big challenge for me. I’ve never run that distance, so we will see.
iRunFar: About double the distance of today.
Chaverot: Yes, I will just try to go to the end and finish. Yes, that would be a big challenge for me.
iRunFar: Congratulations to you. I hope the enjoyment and the pleasure of finishing second fully sinks in and you can enjoy that.
Chaverot: Yes, thank you.
iRunFar: We’ll see you down the trail. Thanks again.
Chaverot: Okay.
