Italy’s Daniel Pattis improved on last year’s third-place finish by crossing the line second at the 2026 Zegama-Aizkorri Marathon. In the following interview, Daniel talks about being surprised at his placement given the depth of the field, how he ran his own pace early on in the race, how the lead group of men whittled down, and when he finally lost contact with race winner, Elhousine Elazzaoui, on the final downhill.
For more on how the race played out, read our in-depth 2026 Zegama-Aizkorri Marathon results article.
[Editor’s Note: If you are unable to see the video above, click here to access it.]
Daniel Pattis Post-2026 Zegama Marathon Interview Transcript
iRunFar: Meghan Hicks of iRunFar. I’m with Daniel Pattis. It’s the day of the 2026 Zegama Marathon, and you finished in second place. Congratulations.
Daniel Pattis: Thanks so much.
iRunFar: Man, that’s two in a row. Third place last year and now second place this year. What’s next?
Pattis: Yeah, it’s surreal. Well, the obvious answer would be to go for the first place next year, but yeah, let’s see.
iRunFar: You said when you crossed the finish line that it was unexpected, or along the lines of you did better than you thought you would do.
Pattis: Yeah. I’m never too confident going into a race. So I wasn’t expecting too much for today. I mean, with all those names on the start line, Kilian [Jornet], Rémi [Bonnet], Elhousine [Elazzaoui]. Yeah, I didn’t expect to finish top three for sure. And, yeah, that made it just more beautiful. Yeah.
iRunFar: Did you take it out a little bit faster this year than last year? Like, run a little bit closer to the front?
Pattis: Yeah, I’m not sure how I did compared to last year. I just tried to go on my own pace and not go too fast because four hours for me is still a bit long, and yeah, it worked out well. I arrived at the Sancti Spiritu and felt good. That part, really strong. Managed to pass Rémi there and did the last part with Elhousine.
iRunFar: Yeah. So at Sancti Spiritu, which is, I don’t know, a little under halfway through the race, it was Rémi, you, and Elhousine who’d made a break from the rest of the men’s field. Not a big one, but a noticeable one. When did the three of you sort of split off from the rest of the field?
Pattis: Well, Rémi was a little bit in front of us all the time until we catched him. And I think Elhousine was just behind me since kilometer 10, maybe, something like that.
iRunFar: Okay. And then in Sancti Spiritu, it was Rémi, and then you, and then Elhousine was just sitting on your shoulder.
Pattis: Yeah, he was there all the time. We did a lot of the race together, just as last year, actually.
iRunFar: Sancti Spiritu is always a wild place, but it was something today, wasn’t it?
Pattis: Yeah, the crowds were crazy. Even more than last year, even though the weather was worse. So yeah, for us trail runners, I think it’s just a really special feeling you don’t have in a lot of other races. So you come back here just for that.
iRunFar: And the crowds, I think they basically made a line from Sancti Spiritu all the way up to Aizkorri with just a little bit of breaks here and there.
Pattis: Yeah. It’s insane. It’s really cool to run in such races where you really feel the crowds pushing you. It’s special.
iRunFar: Does that level of crowd, like, do you have to say to yourself, “Okay, calm down”?
Pattis: A little bit, yeah. Otherwise, you overpace if you just go with the flow, and yeah, you want to show them how you can perform as an elite trail runner, but you have to keep calm and do your own pace. I think that’s important.
iRunFar: There was a lot of talk about what the conditions were going to be like today. It was obviously super muddy.
Pattis: Yeah, it was tough with all the mud, and the rocks were slippery too, so you really had to be careful. Especially in the downhills, it was difficult.
iRunFar: Was it like ice or just wet snow?
Pattis: No, just wet. The snow was almost gone, but it was muddy and slippery.
iRunFar: Okay. And you said that after Sancti Spiritu, you and Elhousine were able to overtake Rémi and then make a gap on him. Where exactly did that happen?
Pattis: A bit after Sancti Spiritu. Maybe 500 meters after that, after the last people.
iRunFar: And then the rise to Aizkorri, traveling along the ridge, dropping into the Urbia Valley. Did you and Elhousine run all of that together, or how did that go?
Pattis: Yeah, more or less. We got to Urbia then we did the last big uphill together, and most of the downhill, and I think four kilometers from the finish line, he passed me then. And yeah, he was just there 20 seconds in front of me. I just couldn’t stay with him. I gave my best, but yeah, that’s the game.
iRunFar: I think you said last year you experienced some cramping in the final kilometers, but by how fast you finished and how close you stayed to Elhousine, that must not have been a problem.
Pattis: Yeah, it happened, too, today. But they were manageable. I think with all this mud, when one foot slips and the other foot slips, it’s really easy to get cramps, and I had some, but fortunately, they weren’t too bad. I just tried to stay calm and not think too much about it, and go.
iRunFar: I think for a lot of pro trail runners, a podium at Zegama would be like, “Okay, that’s a great career achievement. I love putting that on my resume.” Now you have two of those.
Pattis: Yeah, it’s incredible. It’s really insane, and yeah, just a special feeling to come here, and I mean, it’s the 25th edition that even adds something to it. I’m really, really happy.
iRunFar: Just as famous as the race itself is the party that’s just about to start.
Pattis: Yeah. I hope I can attend. I have a flight today at 6:40, but I’m not sure if I will make it.
iRunFar: Whether you’ll make the flight or the party?
Pattis: The flight.
iRunFar: Okay.
Pattis: If I don’t make it, I hope I can stay here and party a little.
iRunFar: That’s amazing. You should definitely miss your flight and stay for the party.
Pattis: I think that’s a good idea considering the conditions today.
iRunFar: Congratulations on your second-place finish and your second Zegama podium finish.
Pattis: Thank you so much.
