A close friendship supports two of Canada’s best trail runners

For the first time in the history of UTMB, not one but two Canadian trail runners found themselves on the podium in Chamonix. The French-born, Montreal-based ultra-trail runner, Mathieu Blanchard, proved to the trail community that he is one of the best in the world, finishing second on the 170 km course in 19 hours and 54 minutes–five minutes behind UTMB champion Kilian Jornet.

“I really felt the pressure was on after reaching the podium last year,” says Blanchard. “This year, I wanted to deliver.”

Last year, heading into the race, Blanchard was on the outside looking in, but found himself in contention for third with less than 30 km to go. Blanchard completed the French sweep of the podium in 2021, then came back and exceeded his previous performance (as a new Canadian).

One of the most important things Blanchard changed in his training this year was spending more time in the mountains. He spent eight weeks in the French Alps with his Salomon team before arriving in Chamonix. One of his teammates and training partners was second-place finisher Marianne Hogan from Montreal.

But Hogan’s and Blanchard’s friendship goes back a few years. The two first met at a Salomon trail running academy in Moab, Utah, in 2017. “[Salomon] was looking to sponsor some up and upcoming racers in the trail scene,” says Blanchard. “There were seven men and seven women competing–and Marianne and I both won. It was ironic we both lived in Montreal at the time.

“When we began running together, I was shocked to see how strong she is,” says Blanchard. “She’s the ideal training partner: always in a good mood, and works extremely hard.”

Hogan had a breakout season, becoming only the third woman ever to podium at both Western States and UTMB in the same year.

“In my opinion, Marianne is the strongest female ultra-trail runner in the world,” says Blanchard. “So far, her professional career has been plagued with injuries, and she hasn’t been able to prove herself on the circuit.”

In an interview, Hogan accredited her success at UTMB to Blanchard: “Mathieu and I did a Salomon training camp in August together called Au Tour du Mont Blanc. Mathieu showed me where to use poles, where to use nutrition, where to push and when to conserve energy.”

“The UTMB course is a puzzle, and you need to find the solution,” says Blanchard. “At camp, we practised visualization tactics to prepare our minds to know exactly what to do in each part of the race.”

Hogan became the first Canadian-born trail runner to reach the podium at UTMB, finishing second behind Katie Schide in 24:31:22. Hogan, who has only been running trails since 2016, called her second-place finish “a moment [she] dreamed about for the entire race.”

“I am so happy for her success, she deserves it,” says Blanchard. “Mark my words when I say, her best is yet to come!”

Hogan and Blanchard have both returned to Montreal and are enjoying some downtime before ramping back up in the new year. Hogan hopes to return to both Western States and UTMB, while Blanchard “hasn’t even thought about it yet,” but confirms he is not done yet.