Andreas Reiterer of Italy took second at the 2025 Transvulcania Ultramarathon, after a close battle to the finish with men’s champion Peter Fraňo of Slovakia. In this interview, he talks about how he managed the extremely challenging conditions, his tactical battle with Fraňo, and racing plans for the rest of the season.
Be sure to read our 2025 Transvulcania Ultramarathon results article for the full race story.
[Editor’s Note: If you are unable to see the video above, click here to access it.]
Andreas Reiterer, Post-2025 Transvulcania Ultramarathon, Interview Transcript
iRunFar: Sarah Brady of iRunFar. I’m here the day after the 2025 Transvulcania with second-place man, Andreas Reiterer. Andreas, congratulations.
Andreas Reiterer: Hi Sarah. And thanks to be here with you in the interview.
iRunFar: Yeah. I’d say you’re just delighted to be back somewhere warm and dry after yesterday.
Reiterer: Yeah. It was very wet and cold. But yeah, it was for everyone the same. And today it’s good.
iRunFar: Yeah, of course. And I know you do winter mountain sports as well. So, how did you find the conditions yesterday from your perspective?
Reiterer: Normally, we are at my home we live on 1,400 and the cold weather is good for us. But now I thought, I go to the island and we had a lot of heat. But yesterday was totally different, and we got cold and rain and wind. But for me, it was not so bad.
iRunFar: Okay. And did you have to change your plan for the race in any way: what you were going to wear, your nutrition, or anything for the weather?
Reiterer: Yeah. The only thing I changed was the rain jacket. I put it on the start and then I was running five hours with the rain jacket and, how do you say, the head?
iRunFar: The hood.
Reiterer: Yeah, the hood. And I think that was a good thing because I saw other runners without jacket and everyone has dropped because it was too cold.
iRunFar: Yes. I saw you at the top at Roque de los Muchachos, and you were really bundled up.
Reiterer: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
iRunFar: I thought that was a good idea.
Reiterer: Like a kid with the jacket.
iRunFar: Yeah. And then to talk about the early part of the race, you were up with the lead pack from the start. How did you feel in the first 20 or so kilometers?
Reiterer: Yeah. I felt really, really good and always under control. Sometimes the two American guys made the pace, but I do always my own pace and looked at me, looked at my heart rate. Until El Reventón, and then the race really started.
iRunFar: And it’s not your first time here. So you were third the last time you were here two years ago. Do you think that helped you to pace it, that you knew what to expect in the course?
Reiterer: Yeah, for sure. When you know the course, especially here with the long downhill and also a bit technical downhill, it’s great to know the course. Yes.
iRunFar: And then when I saw you at the top, so before 50k, the highest point of the course, that was when so many people dropped, and you still looked pretty solid. How did you feel then?
Reiterer: Yeah, there I was in second place, together with a French guy, and they told me Peter is three minutes ahead. And so I thought, yes, three minutes is not so far. If I want to win the race, I had to risk everything in the downhill. So a new race started for me.
iRunFar: And I’d like to hear about that because I know there was some back and forth between you and Peter. How did that go on the downhill?
Reiterer: From Roque I went down as fast as I could, full gas. And then at Torre del El Time, it’s about 60k. I saw him and then I catched him, and then I was really sure that I can win the race. But Peter was so strong, I had never opened a gap. He was always behind me and sometimes he passed me and then I passed him and then three, four times we changed. In my head, it was always if I can get a gap until Tazacorte I maybe can win the race. But if we get together into Tazacorte, it will be very hard for me because he was a bit better in the uphills and the finish is in the uphills.
iRunFar: Yeah, I know you’ve raced against him before. You were close at the World Championships two years ago as well. So did it make a difference that you knew his style as a runner?
Reiterer: Yeah. Peter is a really good runner, he showed us in the last years. He improves, I think, also from last year to this year, he had improved. And I think for us it’s not so good when he improves. But no, hats off for him, and he deserved to win the race yesterday.
iRunFar: Well you’ve shown good improvement too. And then the last section, I know that was a little bit different from other years, there was a road a kilometer or just after Tazacorte?
Reiterer: Yeah, maybe a bit more than one kilometer on the road. Normally, we go into the canyon and this year in the canyon there was water. And so we went on the road. So the drag was a bit faster than usual. For us, it was better on the road because it’s easier.
iRunFar: Yeah. It was like a break from…
Reiterer: Yeah, yeah. But then the last part, we go into the same trail as always and the last uphill was the same.
iRunFar: And how did you feel on the last climb?
Reiterer: Yeah, I felt good. Not fresh. But I know now the race is over. I can’t win anymore because Peter had one or two minutes. Yeah, I was relatively relaxed.
iRunFar: You could enjoy that bit.
Reiterer: Yeah, yeah.
iRunFar: Very good. And then I have to ask, because you’ve been third and then you’ve been second and it’s so close, do you feel like you have to come back to try to win this race?
Reiterer: Yeah, for sure. We’ll come back because it’s a beautiful race. Yeah, you want to win every race, but if you got second with a race like this yesterday, I’m also happy.
iRunFar: Yeah. For sure. And then for the rest of the season, I know it’s cruel to ask so soon, but what race will you do next?
Reiterer: Yeah, next I’m going to Lavaredo, and then after Lavaredo will skip a little bit from the races and try to train good. And then I will do CCC and hopefully also the World Championship if everything with my body works well.
iRunFar: That sounds like a great season. Good luck with all that. Enjoy your recovery, and thank you very much.
Reiterer: Thank you.
