Quebec’s Jean-François (Jeff) Coachon was operating for redemption on the Quebec Mega Path (QMT), starting Friday night. Coachon completed second in 2022—and in 2023 led for many of the first half of the race however struggled with abdomen points and in the end dropped out at 124 km. This yr, Coachon ran a speedy 19:01:25, bettering Nepalese runner Sangé Sherpa’s document of 19:35, set in 2021.
This yr’s version of QMT introduced collectively a deep area of proficient athletes, able to race towards the beautiful backdrop of Mont-Sainte-Anne and the Massif de Charlevoix. 3,500 runners from 18 nations tackled a number of the most difficult trails in North America. The QMT 100-miler was solely added to the occasion three years in the past, nevertheless it’s a well-liked distance —almost 200 runners headed out into the darkish 160K course on Friday night time, able to climb 6,500 metres of elevation throughout their race, Individuals at QMT aren’t restricted to extremely distance races—the occasion additionally provides 110K, 80K, 50K, 32K, 25K, 15K, 10K, 6K and 1K races.
Coachon confronted some fierce competitors. Second-place-Ferdinand-Clovis Airaut completed in 19:32:02. He’s had a powerful season already, taking twelfth place at Black Canyon 100K in Arizona in February and eighth at Madeira Island Extremely-trail. Former document holder Sherpa, who lives and trains in France, rounded out the rostrum in 20:23:24. Sherpa took eleventh within the 2023 version of Tor des Geants (330K) and received the LAAN Extremely Path 100K 2023 in Vietnam.
Coachon, who’s a civil engineer by day, says he loves QMT as a result of it’s in his yard, the place he performs and trains. His household and buddies come out to assist him—his sister was even his pacer for a stretch of the race. Coachon has a powerful operating resume with plans to construct on it; his subsequent race would be the Squamish 50/50, with a slight twist—he’ll be operating the 50-miler, on the primary day, as a part of the Canadian Mountain & Path Operating Championships. He hypes up QMT for individuals who haven’t tried it: “If you wish to expertise the beast coast, it’s important to attempt that race,” he says. Within the rapid future, Coachon’s onlygoals are rehydrating and consuming.
Picture: Christian Dionne
World Path Majors highlight
QMT’s inclusion within the World Path Majors cements its standing as a prestigious race that pulls from path operating fanatics worldwide. As the one Canadian race on this sequence, QMT stands alongside different iconic races in Asia, Europe, Africa and North America. To study extra in regards to the race, head to the QMT web site.
To take a look at the dwell stream of the end line on YouTube all through the QMT races, click on right here.
