Ludovic Pommeret

FALTERING BEGINNINGS

It’s like he’s always been here. As if, even before he could walk, Ludovic Pommeret had already been running for a long time. A very long time indeed. He was born in 1975 in Savoie, when ultra-running was just breaking beyond its purely American roots. In a department that offers clearly marked seasons, he tried his hand at everything. He explored sport in all its different forms and generous possibilities. Sometimes a snowboarder, at other times a windsurfer, he developed a visceral attachment to the mountains very early on, exploring them in winter on cross-country skis.
Trail running arrived a bit later in his life, at the dawn of the 2000s. In 2004, he decided to take part in the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc. The competition, which consists of running a loop around Mont Blanc, was still in its infancy. It proved to be a difficult and painful experience.

He didn’t think this story wasn’t his, just that he had to write it differently. He turned to shorter distances, broadening his range of activities by participating in adventure racing and triathlon events. He started to find his path, at his own pace, and above all in his own way. The first results came very quickly (third in the 2008 SaintéLyon and second in the 2009 Grand Raid). He attracted the attention of observers and was recruited by sports brands.

THE MADNESS OF THE 2010S

Working as a computer engineer in the Geneva area, he divided his time between Switzerland and Savoie in the mountains of Valloire, skillfully combining family life, professional life and training. Now a renowned runner, in 2016 he joined the highly exclusive circle of UTMB winners after a crazy race: in 50th place just before the halfway point, he made an extraordinary comeback to achieve the first major success of his career at the age of 41. In 2019, he won the Diagonale des Fous after taking second place in 2009 and 2014.

He’s now flirting with his fifties but enjoying it. When people ask him about his age, he responds by talking about the pleasure he gets from running and learning about himself, sometimes where it’s least expected. Winner of the 2022 TDS, in 2023 he acted as a pacer for Julbo athlete Aurélien Dunand-Pallaz on the Hardrock 100 in Colorado. Fascinated by the event and the experience, he found himself on the starting line of the same competition in 2024. Winning in 21 hours 33 minutes, he bagged a prestigious victory and broke the record of Spaniard Kilian Jornet.

The man is unstoppable.