German Olympian Anna Hahner is seeking new challenges on the trails in El Paso

Mathys sets sights on more gold in El Paso ahead of dual Olympic ambitions

Martin Dematteis: "I’ll bring all my courage and determination to the starting line in El Paso"

<h2>European Athletics Off-Road Running Championships</h2>
The inaugural European Athletics Off-Road Running Championships, an innovative continental championship that combines the disciplines of trail and mountain running, took place in El Paso on the Spanish island of La Palma in the Canary Islands on 1-3 July 2022.
The next edition will be held in La F&eacute;claz, France on 5-7 July 2024.

The inaugural European Athletics Off-Road Running Championships in El Paso in the Canary Islands in Spain came to a close on Sunday (3) with four events and eight medal decisions in the senior and U20 up-and-down races, highlighted by Switzerland's Maude Mathys and Norway's Ida Waldal winning their second gold medals and Italy topping the medal table.
Meanwhile, Sylavain Cachard was crowned European champion in the men's up-and-down race on Sunday, winning in a time of 1:06:02, ahead of Italy&rsquo;s Cesare Maestri (1:06:42) and Switzerland&rsquo;s Dominik Rolli (1:07:41). This was a dream come true for the three-time national champion.
&ldquo;I have dreamt about this day every night for the last six months and I woke up with goosebumps the last 30 days. To stand here as the European Champion is the best thing I could have wished for &ndash; thank you to all my team and training colleagues, our great staff and my friends and family. I am overjoyed,&rdquo; he said.
<img src="https://directus.european-athletics.com/assets/7c6469ab-c1d3-4338-836c-c6cf3700bc84?width=1372&amp;height=919" alt="291849096 4870294726409388 5293382317930829219 N" />
Was it a perfect race by Cachard? &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a perfect race when I suffer. And I suffered a lot today, very much &ndash; so, yes, it was perfect. I ran with the leaders for the first eight kilometres up to the halfway point, then I wanted to break away, and my plan worked.&rdquo;&nbsp;
The assorted media on-site also wanted to know if there was a secret to his success: &ldquo;Taking the training seriously, but not taking myself so seriously,&rdquo; was Chachard&lsquo;s answer. &ldquo;And do what you do with passion.&rdquo;
The winner of the women&rsquo;s up-and-downhill race was the same person as on Friday. Maude Mathys, who won her record fourth successive title in the uphill race on Friday, won in 1:17:30, ahead of Romania&rsquo;s Monica Madalina Florea (1:18:38) and the Briton Scout Adkin (1:19:35). The Swiss athlete demonstrated her class once more. She was visible at the front from the first few metres, even when she said she had started &ldquo;somewhat slower.&rdquo;&nbsp;
&ldquo;I like the distance almost more than the Uphill because it is longer and it suits me more,&rdquo; Mathys commented.
She followed a similar strategy to the men&rsquo;s winner Sylvain Cachard: control the first half of the race and then create a lead in the ninth or tenth kilometre from an overall distance of 17.6 km. &ldquo;My plan was good and it worked!&rdquo; she said.
While Mathys had classed a medal in the up-and-down as a bonus, she didn&rsquo;t want to hear about it having been an expected or logical success afterwards. &ldquo;You can never be certain &ndash; no medal or triumph is guaranteed. You have to work for it.&rdquo; There was another super bonus - thanks to her work and the work of her team colleagues, Switzerland also won gold in the team event.
U20 gold for Mattio and Waldal&hellip;again
Elsewhere, Italy&rsquo;s Elia Mattio won the men&rsquo;s U20 race. His 21:45 beat Spain&rsquo;s Marcos Villamuera (21:49) and Brit Finley Grant (21:53).&nbsp;
&ldquo;My legs felt somewhat heavy after my race on Friday, when I was fifth on the Uphill and I lost touch with the leaders on the first ascent. But my trainer and I prepared the downhill very well and I could work my way back to the front. The part on asphalt was good for me and I simply ran all-out during the last downhill. I didn&rsquo;t think I would manage it, but I have done it. European Champion! Wow!&rdquo; said an ecstatic Mattio.
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The winner in the women&rsquo;s U20 race was Norway&rsquo;s Ida Waldal (24:37) who beat Britain&rsquo;s Eve Whitaker (25:33) into second place and Axelle Vicari (25:39) of Italy into third for her second gold medal having won the uphill gold on Friday.&nbsp;
The 20 sets of medals handed out - 10 individual and 10 team medals - went to ten different nations headed by Italy (5-5-3) and France (5-1-5) &ndash; the greater number of silver medals giving the Azzuri the edge.&nbsp;
There are a lot of names of younger and more established runners which we will hear about again in the future. And it will be remembered that so much started here in El Paso &ndash; as will the success story of the European Athletics Off-Road Running Championships.
Full results <a title="" href="https://elpaso22results.european-athletics.com/en/results/athletics/daily-schedule.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.
Egon Theiner for European Athletics

Mathys proves masterful in the mountains again with her second title in El Paso

The second day of the inaugeral European Athletics Off-Road Running Championships was all about France. In the trail running event over 47.7km of arduous and undulating terrain, their men won silver and bronze in the individual race and their women topped that that by taking gold and silver on Saturday (2).
Not surprisingly, France also got the top spots in the respective team competitions to augment their medal haul.
The only exception to a French clean sweep of the medals was Belgium&rsquo;s Maximilian Drion du Chapois, who had tears of joy in his eyes of as he crossed the men&rsquo;s trail race finish line. &ldquo;I cannot believe it yet,&rdquo; the Belgian runner said, right after the race to the waiting media. &ldquo;I had hoped for a top 10 finish, but this medal, and the victory, came so unexpected.&rdquo;
Drion du Chapois covered the course, which included 2550m of vertical gain in 3:43:01, winning from France&rsquo;s Arnaud Bonin by 54 seconds, the latter clocking 3:43:55, with Bonin&rsquo;s compatriot Thomas Cardin third in 3:45:42.
The Belgian tactics were superbly astute. He started slow and was in 16th place at the early 3.5km marker and then moved up to tenth place at 12 kilometres.
&ldquo;That was what I wanted,&rdquo; he explained. The soon-to-be champion picked up the pace from the halfway point started to overtake runners who had started more ambitiously. At Pernada after 31.8km, he was in second spot, but running together with the Spanish local favourite Zaid Ait Malek, who eventually slipped back to fourth over the final 15km.
Arnaud Bonin moved up to challenge Drion du Chapois at 40 kilometres and the pair duelled for the next five kilometres before the Belgian broke away with two kilometres to go.
This important international success for Drion du Chapois was perhaps even more surprising given that Maximilian does not compete in road races or cross country events in winter but prefers ski mountaineering instead. &ldquo;But it&rsquo;s actually the same sport, just with skis,&ldquo; he joked.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
El belga Maximilien Drion ???????? campe&oacute;n de Europa con un tiempo de 3:43. Carrer&oacute;n del atleta belga que se impone con claridad en este primer <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/EAORCHelpaso2022?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#EAORCHelpaso2022</a> &iexcl;CONGRATULATIONS! ????????<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ReventonFredOlsenExpress?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ReventonFredOlsenExpress</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/EuroAthletics?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@EuroAthletics</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/atletismoRFEA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@atletismoRFEA</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/FOexpress?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@FOexpress</a> <a href="https://t.co/bnPFu5iu3A">pic.twitter.com/bnPFu5iu3A</a>
&mdash; Revent&Oacute;n El Paso (@ReventonElPaso) <a href="https://twitter.com/ReventonElPaso/status/1543184656916484096?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 2, 2022</a></blockquote>
Placing three in the top four &ndash; with Kevin Vermeulen just missing on an individual medal by 18 seconds &ndash; helped France to a comfortable team victory ahead of Spain and Italy.
Blandine L&rsquo;Hirondel less unexpectedly won the women&rsquo;s race on the same track.
The French athlete had been one of the big favourites for the title and it was clear she was taking the championships very seriously because she arrived in La Palma 10 days before the race.
However, the Frenchwoman had an operation on her abductors two months ago and subsequently had to rest for six weeks and so there was a question mark over her fitness. &ldquo;The French Federation had called me up before the operation and I wasn&rsquo;t sure I&rsquo;d be able to take part at all. But I started to feel more confident again during the first training sessions after the break. And now I&rsquo;m standing here as the winner. I am overjoyed,&rdquo; reflected L&rsquo;Hirondel.
L&rsquo;Hirondel clocked 4:11:22 and came home more than eight minutes clear of Spain&rsquo;s iNuria Gil, who was second in 4:18:16 with another French athlete Mathilde Sagnes third in 4:22:42.
Despite the huge gap over her nearest rival at the end, it wasn&rsquo;t all easy going for the winner. &ldquo;I had real difficulties at the start,&rdquo; said L&rsquo;Hirondel, who was 2019 world trail champion. &ldquo;And I didn&rsquo;t cope with the first uphill as well as I had wanted. The field was also really strong, and you can&rsquo;t take it easy for one minute around so many great athletes. So, I had to always push and push and push.&rdquo;
Great Britain&rsquo;s Eleanor Davis missed out on an individual medal in fourth place bu has some compensation as she led the British women to bronze in the team competition behind the winners France and hosts Spain.
The final day of the European Athletics Off-Road Running Championships on Sunday features the up and down races and eight full sets of medals are up for grabs for both men&rsquo;s and women&rsquo;s elite and U20 categories, in both the individual and team events.
Full results <a title="" href="https://elpaso22results.european-athletics.com/en/results/athletics/daily-schedule.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.
Egon Theiner for European Athletics

France rules on the second day of the European Athletics Off-Road Running Championships

The curtain has been raised on the inaugural European Athletics Off-Road Running Championships, a three day event combining both trail and mountain running for elite and non-elite athletes, and it was hats off for some of the greats of mountain running.&nbsp;
Including the European Mountain Running Championships, Swiss star Maude Mathys won a record fourth title in a row in El Paso on the Canary Island of La Palma. Italian Cesare Maestri triumphed in the men&rsquo;s race while German Lukas Ehrle and Norwegian Ida Waldal proved unbeatable in the U20 competitions.
&ldquo;This victory means a lot to me,&rdquo; Mathys stated after her race. &ldquo;It shows that I can compete at a very constant high level and that I can compete with younger athletes. It is difficult to stay on top all the time, therefore I&rsquo;m especially proud of today&rsquo;s gold medal.&rdquo;
However, it is a fact that Mathys was not really thinking about running to a record-breaking fourth mountain race title. Her principal consideration was remaining the best in her discipline both pre- and post-pandemic.&nbsp;
&ldquo;Today, it was like a new beginning, after the interruptions caused by Covid, with a new format of the European Championships.&rdquo; Mathys said and laughed: &ldquo;It was very important for me to show that I am still the Queen.&rdquo;
Her strategy was simple. And it worked. The Swiss athlete wanted to run with the best women until the middle of the race and then attack and create a gap, before going solo. But the start proved more difficult than anticipated and Mathys had to fight to keep up with Scout Adkin, who later placed fourth. &ldquo;I had expected it to be easier,&rdquo; she said.
However, her tactics finally paid off and shortly before the sixth kilometre, Mathys went all-in for a big gap, achieved it and was able to hold her advantage until the finish-line which she crossed in 51:41 with Austria&rsquo;s fellow three-time winner Andrea Mayr (52:15) and Christel Dewalle from France (52:32) coming in second and third, respectively.&nbsp;&nbsp;
Mathys will also take part in Sunday&rsquo;s up-and-down race to try for another medal. "it is possible and, if so, it will be a bonus. But I have to rest and show my best again," she said.
And winner of the men&rsquo;s race will also be seen again during these championships.
Cesare Maestri didn&rsquo;t celebrate his first medal today, but the first victory in his career so far. The Italian was European silver medallist in 2018 and the world silver medallist in 2019. And then came the pandemic. &ldquo;I thought the virus had stolen my best years,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;But today, I achieved the success I have been waiting for such a long time &ndash; my emotions and my happiness are indescribable!&rdquo;&nbsp;
Maestri didn&rsquo;t really focus on a strategy as such because he had been dealing with muscle problems in recent days. But he realised in the first kilometre that he felt good and his legs were cooperating. &ldquo;I knew that it was very fast up to the sixth kilometre of the course and that suited me. Therefore I came with a gap into the last part of the course and had to defend my lead.&rdquo;&nbsp;
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And this he did with the style of a champion right up to the finish, which he reached in 44:48 before Dominik Rolli from Switzerland in 45:19 and Daniel Osanz from Spain in 45:26.
&ldquo;I haven&rsquo;t really begun concentrating on the up-and-down race as yet because I want to enjoy this moment. I will enter it in a relaxed manner and try to give it my best,&rdquo; he said.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
While the title winners in the elite class were two personalities who were expected to be in the mix, both winners of the U20 races were themselves surprised by their triumphs.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t expect to win here,&rdquo; said Norway&rsquo;s Ida Waldal. &ldquo;I approached the race very thoughtfully and got faster and faster the closer I got to the finish. After arriving there, I was really surprised &ndash; and happy.&ldquo;&nbsp;
Germany&rsquo;s Lukas Ehrle was also finding it hard to take in his success. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s my first big international race and I came to La Palma without any real expectations. Now I&rsquo;m standing here with a gold medal&nbsp; &ndash; I simply can&rsquo;t believe it!&rdquo; he said.
After the first day, Italy leads the medal table with three gold, two Silver and one bronze medal in front of Switzerland (1-3-0) and Spain (1-1-4) respectively.
Tomorrow, Saturday (2) sees the trail competitions on La Palma which will be <a title="" href="https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=european+athletics" target="_blank" rel="noopener">streamed live</a> from 8.45am CEST. Stay tuned!
Full results <a title="" href="https://elpaso22results.european-athletics.com/en/results/athletics/daily-schedule.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.
Egon Theiner for European Athletics

Mathys dominates with record-breaking fourth mountain running victory in El Paso

Welcome to the inaugural European Athletics Off-Road Running Championships which will be held in El Paso in the Canary Islands in Spain from 1-3 July!&nbsp;
All three days of the championships will be streamed live through the <a title="" href="https://www.youtube.com/user/EuropeanAthletics" target="_blank" rel="noopener">European Athletics YouTube channel </a>nd there will be live results on the European Athletics website.
<ul>
<li>Friday 1 July - from 8.45am local time (9.45am CEST)</li>
<li>Saturday 2 July - from 7.45am local time (8.45am CEST)</li>
<li>Sunday 3 July - from 8.15am local time (9.15am CEST)</li>
</ul>
This will be the first time that mountain and trail running medals will be showcased in the same place at the same time. In total, medals in 10 races will be decided, including uphill and up-and-downhill mountain races for seniors and U20s and a senior trail race which will be held over a distance of 47 kilometres. The full timetable can be found <a title="" href="https://directus.european-athletics.com/downloads/447a1a8e-687f-440e-8890-2091f945eda2/EAORCH2022%20-%20Timetable_20220510.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here </a>and a quick glance at the <a title="" href="https://directus.european-athletics.com/downloads/c616e72b-2cab-4cf1-991c-3082a99ad0e6/EORRC%202022%20Final%20Entries%20Athletes%20List%20By%20Event%20updated.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">entry lists</a> promises high-class and exciting events.
In the absence of the injured Henri Aymonod, who leads the world rankings, his Italian compatriot Cesare Maestri and Slovenian runner Timotej Becan, who are ranked eighth and fourth respectively, are arguably best placed to benefit. Great Britain&rsquo;s Jacob Adkin, who won the continental 2019 uphill title when it was part of the European Mountain Running Championships, should also be in the mix.&nbsp;
Maude Mathys will be the centre of attention in the women&rsquo;s race &ndash; but will the Swiss athlete be able to win this discipline for a record fourth time? Or will Austrian veteran Andrea Mayr, herself a four-time winner, or perhaps Italy&rsquo;s Francesca Ghelfi could get the better of her this time around?
Some athletes participating in the uphill event will also compete in the up-and-downhill. Mathys is one of those who could be doubling up although Italy&rsquo;s former world champion Alice Gaggi is among those who are unlikely to make it easy for her.&nbsp;
Scout Adkin, Jacob&rsquo;s older sister, will also run in both events, although her brother is focusing solely on defending his title in the uphill event.
All eyes will be on the two French athletes Audrey Tanguy and Blandine L&rsquo;Hirondel, Spain&rsquo;s Nuria Gil, and two runners from the Czech Republic - Barbora Macurova and Marcela Vasinova - in the inaugural women&rsquo;s trail running event.&nbsp;
Germany's 2016 Olympian Anna Hahner is also listed among the participants, meaning excitement will be guaranteed - very much like in the men&rsquo;s trail event, where Oriol Cardona from Spain, France&rsquo;s Arnaud Bonin and Thomas Cardin, and the Italians Luca Cagnati and Martin Dematteis are among others the favourites for the top spots.
What is still unclear is who will win the medals. But what is already certain is that El Paso will be the undisputed European highlight in this year&rsquo;s mountain and trail running calendar.

How to follow the inaugural European Athletics Off-Road Running Championships

The name &lsquo;Hahner&rsquo; initially makes you think of two strong marathon runners who competed for Germany at the 2016 Olympic Games.&nbsp;
However, when doing so you overlook the fact the twin sisters Anna and Lisa have quite a successful past in cross country running. And that the present and future for one of them is out there on trails.&nbsp;
Anna Hahner, who has a lifetime best of 2:26:44 in the marathon, will be one of the most familiar names in action at the European Athletics Off-Road Running Championships in El Paso on the Canary Islands from 1-3 July when she will contest the trail race over a distance of 47 kilometres.
&ldquo;The reason I&rsquo;ve dedicated myself more and more to trails has a lot to do with the fact I&rsquo;m still enthusiastic about running, but my ambition for street racing isn&rsquo;t what it used to be. If you want to run with the best, you need ultimate commitment and must be able to push yourself to the limit in training,&rdquo; said Hahner.&nbsp;
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When her equipment provider approached her and asked whether she&rsquo;d like to be part of the &ldquo;Everesting&rdquo; attempt by her fellow German Janosch Kowalczyk as a guest runner, the 32-year-old top athlete happily agreed.&nbsp;
She accompanied him part of the way on his endeavour to run 8,848 meters in altitude in one single day. &ldquo;I was overwhelmed and elated,&rdquo; says Hahner. &ldquo;It felt so right to run up and down through nature, although I didn&rsquo;t even intend to get into trail running.&rdquo;&nbsp;
That was pretty much exactly one year ago.&nbsp;&nbsp;
One thing led to another as the equipment company also has a line of running shoes for this terrain. Hahner, who is a successful and experienced street runner and coach of others, found herself in the role of student and has been taken under the wing of Marcel H&ouml;che who has introduced her to the peculiarities and specifics of trail running.&nbsp;
&ldquo;Luckily, I didn&rsquo;t find it difficult to use a different type of running technique, and most of the transition was straightforward,&rdquo; says Hahner. &ldquo;Somehow, it was like when I started running, and I entered a new world with my eyes wide open, trained with others and copied them. Marcel showed me how much fun running downhill can be and what it&rsquo;s like to run proactively and basically switch off your brain. Meanwhile, I can trust my body to find the right way down a mountain.&rdquo;&nbsp;
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Running downhill is one of her strengths. It gives Hahner confidence to know that she can fly downhill without fear after a climb and be able to keep up with others. This might come as a surprise for someone who was - and will still be - running mainly on flat and technically undemanding surfaces.&nbsp;
What struck the rookie trail runner though, was the equipment that comes with trails. &ldquo;There you are at a race, studying the list of mandatory equipment &ndash; such as running clothes that cover your entire body in case of sudden weather changes &ndash; and you naively ask: &lsquo;We don&rsquo;t need to carry this with us today, do we?&rsquo; And the answer is: &lsquo;Ummh, yes you do!&rsquo;&nbsp;
&ldquo;Moreover, the food and drink situation is different to city marathons, where you usually have a drink station every five kilometers. On trails, there might be a station marked at kilometer 11, but in reality it could be at 10.5 or 11.8 or 13 kilometers.&rdquo;&nbsp;
Hahner remembers that she once had to fill up her flasks with water from a stream because she skipped a supply station and had underestimated the distance with all the vertical meters.&nbsp;
That there is competition between her and other athletes is clear: once the starting signal is given, the competitor in her comes out.&nbsp;
And still, trail running is so much more than that. Being at one with nature, managing unpredictable situations that don&rsquo;t exist in street racing, correctly assessing uphill and downhill and your own strengths and limits. &ldquo;How technical, how steep is a section?&rdquo; Hahner asks herself and she knows she will have to make on the spot decisions during the race.&nbsp;
It's something she does well: she won the Chiemgau trail at the beginning of April and the Rennsteig Marathon in mid-May. These performances helped Hahner to gain nomination for El Paso. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m honoured and proud to be able to wear my country&rsquo;s colours," she said. &nbsp;
The German star runner is not only looking forward to the competitions on the Canary Islands, but also the interaction with others with the mass participation element a strong component of these championships.
&ldquo;In street racing, there are defined areas for specific groups while trail runners are one community. We all sit at the same tables, regardless of our times or places because it&rsquo;s not primarily about competing against anyone but overcoming the distance and its difficulties,&rdquo; she said.
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Hahner thinks the European Off-Road Running Championships are a stroke of genius &ldquo;because mountain running and trail running come together, because such an event is not only relevant for the media but also for the running community meeting there.&rdquo;&nbsp;
Where is her personal benchmark in El Paso? &ldquo;My goal is to run happily and with ease, get the best out of my body and accept the result I achieve with grace.&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;
Her focus for this and next year is on trails. &ldquo;That doesn&rsquo;t mean that I won&rsquo;t be running any street races anymore. But I&rsquo;ve learned to listen to my inner voice and it tells me: see what else you can achieve in trail running,&rdquo; she said.&nbsp;
The European Athletics Off-Road Running Championships will be streamed live through the European Athletics website in its entirety from 1-3 July.
Egon Theiner for European Athletics

All eyes will be on the Italian Martin Dematteis during the trail race as the inaugural European Athletics Off-Road Running Championships take place in El Paso in the Canary Islands, Spain from 1-3 July.&nbsp;
The same eyes will be looking in vain for his twin brother Bernard, who is currently out-of-form due to injury and not part of the squadra azzurra.
"When I talk about my sporting life, I automatically start talking about his, too," says Martin. That&rsquo;s logical: both were born on 24 May 1986 and brought up in Rore di Sampeyre, around 1000 metres above sea level in the Italian Province of Cuneo, where the Alps unite and separate Italy and France.&nbsp;
While all the other children chased a ball, the Dematteis brothers ran. When they got more interested, a trainer told them that they had runners&rsquo; DNA and it would be better for them to cultivate this. And so, their path was already set before the new Millennium started. They ran everything they could by the time they were 13: along roads, up mountains, through forests and across meadows.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
"We never thought we would be so successful," says Martin, taking a look back in time. As a matter of fact, it rained titles and medals at national, continental and world level, in the individual as well as in team events.&nbsp;
There was one very special moment at the European Mountain Running Championships 2016 in Arco, when the Dematteis brothers approached the finishing line hand-in-hand after 12.3 kilometres of running with the thought of being ex aequo winners. The time scoring denied them double-gold. Martin won one second in front of his twin. &ldquo;It was an extraordinary moment,&rdquo; said the former world champion with pride.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
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It will be exactly six years to the day of this race on 2 July in El Paso. The northern Italian will compete in the Trail Race in the Canary Islands, over a distance of 47 kilometres that is new and relatively uncharted for him.&nbsp;
"Before the pandemic, I used to run the classical, somewhat shorter mountain races. Then, my training runs started getting longer as I am coming toward the end of my career, and want to run 30, 40 and 50 kilometers.&nbsp;
"I wanted to qualify for the European Off Road Running Championships this year; I won the Italian Championship equivalent and became part of the team. I&rsquo;m still a bit nervous because it is a new challenge, but I&rsquo;ll bring all my courage and determination with me to the starting line."
Is this because there&rsquo;s pressure to win a medal?&nbsp;
"Sure, I set myself goals and there is a certain pressure. I&rsquo;m not really worried about my opponents, more about the distance, as I am relatively inexperienced at it. Will I be able to manage the race and my strength well enough? And as for the medals: Italy cannot leave the Canary Islands empty-handed!"
The fact that Francesco Puppi broke his elbow in the second half of June and subsequently dropped out of the championships has been a hard blow for Team Italia. Puppi was second at the 2019 World Long Distance Mountain Running Challenge in Patagonia and only beaten by Jim Whamsley from the United States.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
Results are always at the forefront of title races but Dematteis hasn&rsquo;t forgotten why he started running. "Mountain runs mean everything to me. Yes, I also train on asphalt and can run a marathon in 2:17, but I&rsquo;m only really myself in the mountains on the ridges with the summits in my sights. That&rsquo;s when I feel like a fox or an ibex or an eagle. Then, I am happy and free!"
[INSTAGRAM ID="http://www.instagram.com/p/CSXY7fVsfND"]
It&rsquo;s this search for pure emotion that drives Dematteis. "Humans are part of nature, it&rsquo;s part of who we are to maintain this. Thus, running on trails brings together what goes together. It&rsquo;s not about speed or victories or defeats. It&rsquo;s about discovering your true self and your true vocation in life in a natural environment. Or rediscovering it."
And so to the Canary Islands. La Palma. El Paso. The nature here is stunning. Running is an experience. Martin Dematteis also knows that the island group is not really around the corner and that the ecological footprint left by these championships is not exactly small.&nbsp;
"But many participants are traveling in a small number of planes and that&rsquo;s acceptable,&rdquo; he believes. &ldquo;There is for and against just like in every other situation. While I also try to live as sustainably and climate-friendly as possible as I can at home, I still create pollution &ndash; solely through the fact that I drive my car. It would be a good idea to find future venues that can be reached using environmentally friendly transport."
The Italian superstar is extremely positive about the new event format. "This is how it should be! Up, trail, up and down &ndash; I&rsquo;m really pleased it&rsquo;s all in one place, all within the framework of one event. We can celebrate a mountain and trail festival in El Paso and highlights like this will spur sponsor interest in our sport and maybe even make it into the Olympics. Not everyone will see it that way, but for me it would be the non plus ultra!"&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
Maybe Martin Dematteis might extend his career for a participation at the Olympic Games? Who knows. He himself remains uncertain whether he might one day consider the Ultra Trail. &ldquo;100 or more kilometers are a completely different category to 40 or 60 kilometres. I&rsquo;m not saying never. But I&rsquo;m also not saying yes right now.&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
Egon Theiner for European Athletics
&nbsp;

The final entries for the inaugural European Athletics Off-Road Running Championships in El Paso, Spain from 1-3 July have been published and can be found <a title="" href="https://directus.european-athletics.com/downloads/c616e72b-2cab-4cf1-991c-3082a99ad0e6/EORRC%202022%20Final%20Entries%20Athletes%20List%20By%20Event%20updated.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.
This event is the newest addition to the European Athletics calendar and brings together the disciplines of mountain running and trail running.&nbsp;
The entry-list includes some familiar names who have triumphed at the European Mountain Running Championships in the past including Switzerland&rsquo;s three-time reigning champion Maude Mathys who has entered both the classic uphill and the up-and-downhill races.&nbsp;
If Mathys prevails in one of the two disciplines, she will be the first female athlete to win four successive mountain running titles.
<img src="https://directus.european-athletics.com/assets/05169258-0bc9-404a-9138-7e53898d88ba?width=1567&amp;height=756" alt="1287348 G24 C01" />
Mathys looks set to renew her rivalry with Austria&rsquo;s four-time winner Andrea Mayr (2005, 2014, 2015, 2016) who had to settle for silver behind Mathys in the uphill race at the last edition of the European Mountain Running Championships in 2019.
Other familiar names on the entry-list include Great Britain&rsquo;s multiple European cross country medallist Kate Avery and Germany&rsquo;s Domenika Mayer, who helped Germany to the team title at the European 10,000m Cup in Pac&eacute; in May.
Great Britain&rsquo;s Jacob Adkin will defend his title in the men&rsquo;s uphill race. He faces a traditional strong Italian contingent which includes former winner Xavier Chevrier who won individual bronze in 2019.
Martin Dematteis will also be competing but the 2016 European mountain running champion will contest the inaugural staging of the trail race which will be held at a distance of 47.4 kilometres. Also watch out for 2016 Olympian Anna Hahner in the women's trail race.
The European Off-Road Running Championships will be streamed in its entirety on the <a title="" href="https://www.youtube.com/user/EuropeanAthletics" target="_blank" rel="noopener">European Athletics YouTube channel</a>.
More information about the European Off-Road Running Championships can be found on the dedicated competition page <a title="" href="https://www.european-athletics.com/competitions/european-off-road-running-championships/overview" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.

Final entries published for inaugural European Off-Road Running Championships

Maude Mathys is an off road running superstar and she is eyeing what would be a record-breaking fourth successive title in the mountain running events at the European Athletics Off-Road Running Championships in El Paso, Spain from 1-3 July.&nbsp;
The European Off-Road Running Championships is a new addition to the calendar, combining the disciplines of trail and mountain running. Mathys has won three successive titles at the European Mountain Running Championships and a fourth title would put her in rarefied company.
Mathys is someone who might be considered to be the complete runner. The Swiss star can run the marathon in under two-and-a-half hours and was recently crowned national champion at this distance in Zurich. Yet there are reasons why she will not be competing at the European Athletics Championships in Munich in August &ndash; and these can be found in the great outdoors.&nbsp;
Although Mathys has set her sights on competing in the Olympic Games marathon in Paris in 2024 as one of her long-term career goals - as well as participating in the ski mountaineering event at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina two years later - this year her focus is clearly on trails.&nbsp;&nbsp;
Her love of this type of running is nothing new for the 35-year-old from Ollon in the Canton of Waad who excels both on the trails and in the mountain running disciplines.&nbsp;
[INSTAGRAM ID="http://www.instagram.com/p/Ce_2Vifr5lc"]
&ldquo;I began doing this half a lifetime ago,&rdquo; said Mathys, who got into the sport by running through meadows and forests with her then-future husband.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I wanted to keep up with him and wanted to get into running as a sport. I tried out almost all athletics disciplines in my youth &ndash; but I found stamina sports the most exciting and I specialised in them.&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;
And with great success as well. Mathys has trained - and trained hard - and has achieved the targets on her training plan which have been put together by her coach Mael Bohren since last year.&nbsp;
Her training programme is rigorous but Mathys follows it diligently. Sixty minutes of running means 60 minutes and not 58 minutes. And Maude Mathys would do another extra lap to reach the required time target.&nbsp;&nbsp;
&ldquo;I love running outside and in the woods and I love that I keep discovering new places, wherever I am. I find all my favorite things in trail running. Running is such an easy sport. You just need shoes, pants and shirt and nothing more,&rdquo; she said.&nbsp;
The fact that a backpack, water bottles, poles and head lamp are equipment needed - sometimes - in trail running is something the three-time European champion only partially accepts. &ldquo;I prefer being out for two or three hours at a time and so I don&rsquo;t carry much equipment. And by the time I&rsquo;m thirsty, I&rsquo;m already back home,&rdquo; she said.
[INSTAGRAM ID="http://www.instagram.com/p/CN-Ud3mKN_p"]
Mathys has established a long and lucrative career with many more chapters likely to be written.
She has won the European Mountain Running Championships three times as well as the prestigious and lung-busting Sierre-Zinal race in Wallis, Switzerland three times, a race that is 31 kilometre, ranges over 2200 vertical metres and whose course passes five 4000-metre high mountains. The course record for women is 2:46:03 (unofficial), and (official) 2:49:20 both of which were set by Mathys.
&ldquo;Distances between 20 and 40 kilometers suit me best, as I can play on all my strengths,&rdquo; she said.
Trail running has come a long way in recent years, has found acceptance and has also inspired more and more runners, says Mathys.&nbsp;
&ldquo;This is great, as the more people who move, the healthier our society is. And trail running fits perfectly into the prevailing sentiment in terms of sustainability, climate protection and future thinking.&nbsp;
&ldquo;But there is another side to this: the greater the number of people in the mountains, the more trash that&rsquo;s found there and then taking a plane to run in another country also leaves an ecological footprint,&rdquo; said Mathys.
Mathys is conscious that people&rsquo;s intentions and actions are not in unison and educational work is needed. &ldquo;For my part, I try to be careful with resources and live green. When I travel, it&rsquo;s not only because running is my passion, but also because it&rsquo;s part of my job. And I almost always use my bike or train for my daily trips,&rdquo; she said.
Mathys will complete a special puzzle in El Paso on the Canary Island of La Palma. &ldquo;I know all the parts of this island group, bar one,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;And I am pleased I will be in La Palma in a few weeks to run for a European Championship medal.&rdquo;&nbsp;
Her programme includes the uphill mountain race and maybe also the up-and-down mountain race, although this is subject to change. &ldquo;I am currently somewhat injured as tendinitis and my Achilles are giving me problems and my training is suffering as a result. But I am going to enter to win and get medals. I think this new format of holding three disciplines in one place will be very successful and I really like it!&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
The Swiss athlete has won the Golden Trail Series, which was established by one of her equipment suppliers. &ldquo;It was a dream to win this competition. It was an important goal for me and I achieved it.&rdquo;&nbsp;
Although Mathys treasured these races and the attention they generated in the media, she says this is not where reputations are built. 
&ldquo;Title contests are more important,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;At the European Championships, you race for a place in the statistics books and for medals. No other race has the same meaning as a European or World Championship.&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;
Unsurprisingly, the Mountain Running and Trail Running World Championships in Thailand in November are another goal for Mathys. But while she might be looking beyond the European Championships in El Paso, this championship will be the next major target for the amiable athlete.&nbsp;
She has one final tip for anyone wanting to begin trail running: &ldquo;Don&rsquo;t just train in your running shoes, but also in your swimming gear and on your bike. Do strength and core training. Become the most complete athlete possible and trails will be real fun.&rdquo;
The European Off-Road Running Championships will be streamed live through the <a title="" href="https://www.youtube.com/user/EuropeanAthletics" target="_blank" rel="noopener">European Athletics YouTube channel</a> from 1-3 July.
Egon Theiner for European Athletics

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European Athletics Off-Road Running Championships | Overview

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SPAR has been the principal sponsor of European Athletics since 1996, becoming synonymous with the sport during this period. Athletics is a sport where personal endeavour is combined with team participation to achieve success, and SPAR identifies with this principle through its national partners by ensuring that consumers enjoy shopping at SPAR. SPAR retailers continue to develop the brand through sponsorship awareness and through the critical link with individual athletes who are also customers of independent retailers. SPAR is proud to be involved with European Athletics, an organisation which strives to bring passion and enthusiasm for their sport to viewers, spectators and participants.

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European Athletics Off-Road Running Championships

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