The Basque does not want to be satisfied with this stunt, completed in 23 hours and 14 minutes.

In 2023, he intends to line up at the start of the discipline's three most prestigious races - the Hard Rock 100 in the United States in July, the Ultra-trail du Mont-Blanc (UTMB) in September and then the Diagonale des Fous , the following month, on the Indian Ocean island.

"So far, no Elite athlete on the planet has taken up this challenge and I want to try it".

The terrace of the house offers a breathtaking view of the path he has been walking for so many years.

"When I was little, I went there to look for the sheep with my father but at the time, it was above all a constraint", smiles the forties.

When he is not training, Beñat Marmissolle comes to see his animals and do some work, but he readily agrees that "without [his] parents, nothing would be possible".

"My family cocoon is my balance, it's what allows me to go back to fighting."

Headbutt

The love of racing revealed itself to him later on.

A handball player until his majority, the sportsman only started running at the age of 28, on a whim.

But "not halfway": he went on to races, steep skyrunning competitions at altitude, before embarking on long-distance ultra-trail, in races ranging from 80 to 160 kilometers, on the advice of his former coach.

Benat Marmissolle during the interview he gave to AFP on February 9, 2023 at his home, in Tardets, in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques © GAIZKA IROZ / AFP/Archives

It's a revelation: in 2021, he won the Aneto-Posets race in the Spanish Pyrenees and finished third in the Diagonale des Fous, then ranked 6th in the UTMB in 2022, before winning the Reunion race.

"Three years ago, the Diagonale des Fous, we didn't even talk about it. All that was done haphazardly, a little in spite of himself", smiles Sébastien Choy, his brother-in-law who accompanies on many races.

"He's a pure amateur, Beñat, he's a peasant," laughs his childhood friend Pierre Blanco, a native of the same village and now living in Bordeaux.

"Running for me is natural, I think with hindsight it was my sport", summarizes Marmissolle.

He relies on "his mind" to overcome the pain, "when you feel like you are having a heart attack and you taste the blood rising in your mouth".

"I don't like to suffer but yes, I hurt myself a lot," admits the athlete who now aspires to make a living from his sport.

"He's crazy and he knows it, but he's like that, he gives his all", abounds Pierre Blanco.

Benat Marmissolle on February 9, 2023 on his farm in Tardets.

"He's a pure amateur, Beñat, he's a peasant", laughs his childhood friend Pierre Blanco © GAIZKA IROZ / AFP/Archives

Hygiene of life, food, stress, sleep, distractions, the Basque does not tolerate "any deviation".

"I'm a big fan of football and rugby, for example, but the evening matches put too much tension on me before going to sleep, so no more TV, I only read the reports!", smiles Marmissolle.

Who is aware that he still has major opponents, including the French François D'Haene, four-time winner of the Diagonale des Fous and the UTMB, or Xavier Thévenard.

Without forgetting the "ultra-terrestrial" Catalan Kilian Jornet or the American Jim Walmsley.

© 2023 AFP