France’s Camille Bruyas finished second at the 2025 UTMB, adding to her second-place finish at the event in 2021. In the following interview, Camille talks about how she’s feeling the day after, how special it was to run with some of the other women at the front of the race, her pacing strategy, and plans for future racing.
For more on how the race played out, read our in-depth 2025 UTMB results article.
[Editor’s Note: If you are unable to see the video above, click here to access it.]
Camille Bruyas Post-2025 UTMB Interview Transcript
iRunFar: Bryon Powell of iRunFar here with Camille Bruyas, after her second-place finish at the 2025 UTMB. How are you?
Camille Bruyas: I’m fine, thanks.
iRunFar: Yes? A little tired, a little sore?
Bruyas: Yeah, sure. Normal after-
iRunFar: But nothing bad?
Bruyas: No, nothing bad. Pretty well compared to Hardrock last year.
iRunFar: Yeah. How is that, why do you think one race affects you more than another?
Bruyas: Yeah, it was a good day, but different race, for sure.
iRunFar: Yes, yes. Well, this race, at least from the outside, it looks like you started conservatively, do you think you started conservatively and was that the plan?
Bruyas: Yeah, yeah, it was the plan, for sure. I’m always racing like that, and now more and more because I have a leg with an arteries problem, and at the beginning, if it’s too fast and too intensity for me, it’s too hard to follow. So, I prefer stay back and go after.
iRunFar: And you’re comfortable mentally with that?
Bruyas: Yeah. Now, yeah, but last year was hard for me, but now it’s okay.
iRunFar: Okay. You moved up through the middle of the race, let me know how that went between going to Courmayeur and after Courmayeur.
Bruyas: Yeah, I just did my race in my base, and finally I was at the head of the race super quick, I was thinking more after Courmayeur, we’ll see where I am, but finally I was not far at the Contamines, so it was perfect.
iRunFar: It felt strong. Yeah. You felt good?
Bruyas: Yeah, I was surprised.
iRunFar: I saw you at La Fouly and you looked really strong. How did you feel there?
Bruyas: Yeah, at La Fouly I was okay, but in Champex-Lac, it start to be hard because after La Fouly, Ruth [Croft]passed me and we tried to push to go to Courtney [Dauwalter], just not too far, so, we push a lot and yeah, after Champex, okay, okay, cool, because it’s not finished.
iRunFar: Did it feel like you and Ruth were working together in those few minutes, or were you also battling one another trying to catch?
Bruyas: We were together, and it was super fun.
iRunFar: That’s a really interesting dynamic that you… Because the three of you had moved in front of the rest of the women’s field, by a good amount. Did that feel like the critical moment, the most important moment while you were doing it?
Bruyas: Yeah. We feel that because we knew it’s… And Champex, it’s always like that, the race start in Champex, sort of like that. So, you know what’s happened just in Champex, it’s always important for the-
iRunFar: So, when you arrive at Champex, which is not that far after La Fouly, what is it, eight or 10 kilometers? How far?
Bruyas: Yeah, maybe 15.
iRunFar: Okay. But not so far, and you are in second place, the whole race changes?
Bruyas: Yeah, I was second from a moment, I think from after… before Courmayeur.
iRunFar: So, you were in second for a while.
Bruyas: Yeah.
iRunFar: But you’re in second again, but you’re now ahead of Ruth.
Bruyas: Yeah.
iRunFar: Sorry, ahead of Courtney behind Ruth, did it feel like a start of a new race?
Bruyas: Yeah, because it was another challenge for me, say, okay, now I need to push to go to Ruth. And yeah, I try, but it was not enough.
iRunFar: So, what was that like, say the last 50 kilometers? You put a lot of time on Courtney.
Bruyas: Yeah.
iRunFar: But Ruth is ahead, are you trying to find her or are you scared of the people? What is your mind like?
Bruyas: No, I try to maintain the gap, but when I saw I was tired, and I could drop the race for sure, so I say, okay, keep cool and we’ll see after. And I say, okay, no, I think today she’s super strong.
iRunFar: And when do you think you made that decision, to kind of, not relax, but to maybe switch to holding second position?
Bruyas: Yeah, after Trient, I think. Because Trient was always five minutes, I think, they said me, the gap is five or six minutes, and after it was more and more, I said, okay.
iRunFar: Yeah. Is there anything you would change about your race?
Bruyas: Not really.
iRunFar: You felt you did well with nutrition, and gear, and your pacing strategy?
Bruyas: Yeah. I think I can eat more at the end, and it was why I was a little down after Champex and after Trient, but it’s always hard to eat gels, and gels, and gels during many, many hours. So, no, I was eating all the race too, so I say it could be worse.
iRunFar: It wasn’t a bad problem, it was just maybe you could do a little…
Bruyas: Yeah, for sure. You can always improve in something.
iRunFar: Which is fun about this sport, you can be second at UTMB and have a good race.
Bruyas: Yeah, yeah.
iRunFar: And be like… Because did you suffer very badly at the end or were you just…
Bruyas: I was okay. Yeah, suffering for sure, because if you are at the end of 100 miles and you are completely okay, it’s not normal.
iRunFar: Yeah. Whether you’re the front or the back.
Bruyas: Yeah. But I was not injured or something like that.
iRunFar: Yeah. Do you have a favorite moment or part of the race for yourself?
Bruyas: Two moments.
iRunFar: Yes.
Bruyas: I like the snow in Col de la Seigne.
iRunFar: You like that?
Bruyas: It was super beautiful and super nice. And yeah, after La Fouly, when we were all with Ruth and Courtney, it was super nice.
iRunFar: So, for you, that’s a beautiful moment, not stress, not battle-
Bruyas: No, just enjoying this moment.
iRunFar: That’s very cool.
Bruyas: Yeah.
iRunFar: Do you have anything else left on your calendar for this year?
Bruyas: No, I don’t think so.
iRunFar: You think you’re…
Bruyas: For me, it’s enough.
iRunFar: I know they asked you a little bit at the finish line, so you finished second, it’s a very important races, it’s twice here, at Hardrock, how do you feel about those performances?
Bruyas: Yeah, for me it’s a sort of victory yesterday, because yeah, since two years it was not easy to come back to this level, and I was not expecting to… I can push with Ruth and Courtney, for sure, at the beginning, at the start line. So, yeah, I was super happy, and yeah, I think for sure you can always do better. But no, for me it’s okay.
iRunFar: And you would come back here next year or maybe try something else?
Bruyas: Yeah, I think next year I will slow down a little with 100k or 80k. I love these 100k and beautiful races, so maybe no 100 miles.
iRunFar: Well, you did quite well at this one, congratulations, Camille.
Bruyas: Yeah. Thanks.
BONUS QUESTION
iRunFar: And a bonus question for you, you’ve run a lot of amazing races around the world, is there one race that you have never run that you would like to?
Bruyas: Yeah. Yeah, I love Madeira, the [Madeira Island Ultra-Trail], so I hope I will be there next year.
iRunFar: That could fit in your schedule, yeah.
Bruyas: Yeah, sure. Yeah. MIUT, and maybe Mont-Blanc 90k.
iRunFar: All right.
Bruyas: It’s the two races I had. But for sure, Mont Fuji, I really want to go there to discover, and many races, but these two are in my checklist since-
iRunFar: And maybe next year.
Bruyas: Maybe next year, we’ll see.
iRunFar: And it’s fun after a lot of years in the sport to still have, I want to run this and this, and this… It’s not another year of the same. Yeah.
Bruyas: Yeah, sure. For me it’s important to move every year.
iRunFar: Enjoy.
Bruyas: Thanks.
