Last year’s third-place finisher, Daniel Pattis of Italy, returns to the 2026 Zegama-Aizkorri Marathon. In the following interview, our first with Dani, he talks about his running background, his race last year, a few of his Golden Trail World Series races in America, and his thoughts on the current course conditions.
For more on who’s racing, check out our in-depth preview and follow our live race coverage here on the website and on Twitter/X on Sunday.
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Daniel Pattis Pre-2026 Zegama Marathon Interview Transcript
iRunFar: Meghan Hicks of iRunFar. I’m with Daniel Pattis. It’s the day before the 2026 Zegama Marathon.
Hi, Dani. It’s nice to meet you.
Daniel Pattis: Nice to meet you, too.
iRunFar: This is iRunFar’s first interview with you. I’d love to learn about you. Did you run in university?
Pattis: Not really. We don’t have a system as you have in the U.S.. Well, I’m running since, I think, middle school now, so quite some years, but not for the university. Yeah.
iRunFar: How did you get into mountain running eventually?
Pattis: Yeah, I started out with track and field, but I’m living in a quite mountainous region in the Dolomites. And so for me, training was always a bit of mountain running as well. I then came into mountain running through the national team in Italy and did some international races with them. And then gradually a bit longer races and got into the Golden Trail series. And yeah, now I’m here.
iRunFar: So you can find a little bit of track and field results for you online and a little bit of road running. Did you try those with seriousness before converting, or have those always been sort of training for mountain running?
Pattis: No. I trained specifically for track. So I really tried, yeah, to do my best there, but, of course, it was much less, let’s say, professional than now. I’m really focusing, yeah, on my career as a trail runner.
iRunFar: And so you have competed at the national championships for Italy. You’ve represented Team Italy a couple times, like in the Short Trail World Championships, so including a great result this past fall.
Pattis: Yeah. Yeah, it was an interesting race. At the halfway point I was fourth, I think, or four. Then I cramped a little bit at the end. I think in the end, I was 15 for something like that.
iRunFar: I think so, yeah.
Pattis: Which is still a great result, but yeah, I hoped for a better place, let’s say.
iRunFar: I feel like top 20 at the world championships is…
Pattis: …It’s still good, yeah.
iRunFar: You also spend time in the Golden Trail World Series. I think this is your fourth season of participating in that series?
Pattis: Yeah.
iRunFar: And how do you find that?
Pattis: Yeah, it has been an incredible adventure with Golden Trail, especially my first year was really, yeah, really a big step for me. Traveling to other countries to race was really nice with all the Golden Trail team and yeah, now it’s my fourth year with Golden Trail. This year I think I will do only two races, this and Sierre-Zinal. Not the entire series, but yeah.
iRunFar: Does that mean you’re going to be trying out another system of races this year?
Pattis: Yeah, I’ll do some UTMB races as well. I did Chianti in spring. Next up is Lavaredo, the 50k race. And then the OCC in August, that’s a big goal for this year. So yeah, try to, yeah, do a little bit longer races now.
iRunFar: I see. So stepping up into the ultra realm a little bit.
Pattis: Yeah. Slowly, slowly.
iRunFar: iRunFar is based in America and about half of our viewership comes from there. You’ve been to the U.S. to race a couple times. I think fans of the Golden Trail World Series will remember you from, I believe, Pikes Peak Ascent and Mammoth Trailfest a couple years?
Pattis: Yeah, no, both races are really, really cool. I like them a lot, especially Pikes Peak. It was a really great experience…
iRunFar: Such altitude there, though.
Pattis: Yeah, exactly. It was challenging, but cool. Just love to come to the U.S. also, not just for running, but also for climbing, trips with my friends and stuff. So yeah, good memories.
iRunFar: You spoke off-camera about having been to Yosemite National Park in California for some climbing.
Pattis: Exactly. Yeah. I did that last autumn. Stayed for three weeks, I think. Then we went to Nevada, to Red Rocks. So yeah, really cool.
iRunFar: We find ourselves on the day before the Zegama Marathon. I believe this is your third time lining up for this race.
Pattis: Yes, third time.
iRunFar: Last year, you made your way onto the podium for the first time. So you’re coming back with a little bit of, how we say, maybe competitive pressure?
Pattis: Yeah, there’s certainly some pressure around this. Actually, there was also some doubts and some anxiety maybe in deciding if coming back here or not because, yeah, as you said, there is some pressure around it when you did so well the year before. But I think you come to Zegama for a reason. It’s for the atmosphere. It’s for the people, for the crowds, the fans. And now I can really say that I’m happy to stand here at the start line tomorrow, and I’m really looking forward to the race.
iRunFar: Yeah. So you’ve had two races here before, I think 2023? Which was some bad weather.
Pattis: It was really bad, yeah.
iRunFar: And then great weather last year.
Pattis: Yeah, completely different races.
iRunFar: I think that means that you’re prepared for what’s going to be out there tomorrow.
Pattis: Yeah, I hope so. I think it’s going to be more like 2023, so really muddy, really cold, but no, we will have fun out there.
iRunFar: You run in the Dolomites, so you are familiar with things like mud and cold and snow.
Pattis: Yeah. I mean, it’s not that muddy, I would say in the Dolomites. It’s more rocky, but yeah, it’s definitely challenging technically where I live. So yeah, I think I can do a good race. I will give my best and yeah, we will see what comes out.
iRunFar: Following your race last year, I think you took things out, it’s hard to say easily, but sort of in the back half of the top 10 for the first maybe third of the race. And then it seemed like you moved up quite quickly and were sharing the lead or leading for a stint. I’d just love to know how the race went from your perspective and was just a notable change of moving up to share the lead around halfway.
Pattis: Yeah. So I started out, as you said, on my own pace trying to not, yeah, overpace myself because it’s a four-hour race, so quite long for me. And I felt really good in the uphills, especially the second uphill from Sancto Spiritu to till the top of…
iRunFar: Through the crowds?
Pattis: Exactly, through the crowds, and that’s where I caught up to Elhousine Elazzaoui and then to Andreu Blanes, who we then passed in the downhill section.
And then it was really a battle for the last 10k. Elhousine was gone quite fast. I couldn’t follow him. Then Andreu overtook me, I think like 5k before the finish line and also there I couldn’t manage to keep up, yeah. But the emotions around this race for me are really, yeah, really positive from last year, so yeah.
iRunFar: Try to carry that with you tomorrow.
Pattis: Exactly.
iRunFar: Yeah. Moment on like the crowds and the scene, obviously every year at Zegama is pretty intense with the crowds. This year is the 25th anniversary. The road is closed like already 10K before Zegama because there’s so many cars here. Yeah, just for folks who haven’t been to this race, try to convey a little bit of like what you feel right now.
Pattis: Yeah. I think here at Zegama, you really feel the pure love, the pure, yeah, enthusiasm for the sport. It’s really, really special. I think in the Basque Country in general, they really love outdoor sports and endurance sports, and you feel it on the trails. It’s really loud going through these crowds, really noisy, but yeah, it really fires you up.
iRunFar: It’s fun to see walking around town right now, everybody who’s been up into the hills today is covered with mud from the knees down.
Pattis: Yeah. They go anyway, even if the weather is bad.
iRunFar: Oh, maybe particularly if the weather is bad. They just don’t mind.
Pattis: That’s true. Yeah.
iRunFar: Yeah. Best of luck to you tomorrow as you defend your podium at the Zegama Marathon.
Pattis: Thanks so much.
