Kilian Jornet

MUSINGS FROM A COACH - 21 JANUARY '26

For all you data, endurance nerds out there (Coach Kurt actually sent me this link - geek), there's a trove of insight into Kilian Jornet's 2022 year of training and racing.  

As the New York Times recently wrote about him, "Jornet holds the fastest known time for scaling Mont Blanc and the Matterhorn. He’s climbed Everest twice, in the span of a week, and he did it with no supplementary oxygen or support. His VO2 max (a key indicator of aerobic endurance) is one of the highest ever recorded; his stamina has been studied by researchers; and he has pushed the limits of what is considered physically possible."

He is rare in that he has won both short, high-intensity mountain races and 100-mile ultras, often on highly technical terrain. In the world of elite long-distance running and mountaineering, he's the G.O.A.T., and he's still going.

This past year alone, he finished 3rd in Western States 100 (one of the fastest times ever), 2nd in Chianti Ultra Trail (UTMB) in Italy and then completed his own "States of Elevation" expedition here in the USA where he ran, walked or biked 3,197 miles, climbed 403,690 ft and summited 72 mountains over 14K' all in 31 days. Ok, NUTS, right?

The cool think about Kilian is that he's a guy you'd love to hop on a bike and just go ride for an hour or two with, just shooting the shit. He's down to earth, a father of two young children, and an athlete who grew and fell in love with running in the mountains of Spain.

When you read his 2022 log, it's hard to gather how meticulous he is with training, with strategy and with planning. But all that pales in comparison with his keen sense of self-awareness. He KNOWS when he feels differently and constantly adjust on the fly. He's OK with making changes both in training and racing to adapt to how his body feels and to keep moving. It's the first major theme that hits me when I read through his notes: he listens to his body and makes decisions from that info.He also is keenly aware that he is a bit of an anomaly himself and states, "Each of us is very different, so to copy / paste or to adapt this plan to you without first analyzing what your different capacities are, would probably be a big mistake."

In fact, he says similar things throughout the log. It's refreshing to read such an elite professional athlete (and even coaches) take the time to address that there are differences between elite training and age-group training.

So if your'e at all interested in learning about this incredible, generational phenom athlete named Kilian Jornet, click on the NYT interview or his 2022 log. There are wonderful gems in there for all of us.  

Gratefully,

Mark

CEO Team MPI