Nicolas Fournel
PHOTO PROVIDED BY NICOLAS FOURNEL
38 years old – Montreal
French origin, electrical engineer at Hydro-Québec
· Marathon des Sables 2023 · Diagonal of the Fous 2022
For what?
“To take part in the most difficult race. The challenge, the adventure and the surpassing.”
Some will say that there are other effective ways to discover a country, a culture or admire unique landscapes. Nicolas Fournel believes these are the craziest and most painful adventures in the world.
The Montrealer of French origins, who settled in Quebec on the Côte d'Azur in 2015 after leaving Toulon, does not worry about the clock in the extreme events in which he takes part.
Although this electrical engineer at Hydro-Québec says he is a competitor at heart, he takes on the race not for the sporting challenge, but for the cultural, social and even psychological aspects.
“I'm not one of those crazy people who goes full throttle.” “I'm one of those who is backwards,” he jokes, presenting a strong image of his style.
Among the most difficult in the world
Fournel has competed in a number of crazy events around the world, including the TransMartinique, which he describes as a “really extreme and wild” race, and the Diagonale des Fous, aptly named because “you have to do a little bit be crazy to compete with them.” it” and the Marathon des Sables (MDS).
He told how he was crushed by the extreme heat and sun of the Sahara Desert in Morocco, and this running endurance test left him drooling last spring.
Photo JEAN-PHILIPPE KSIAZEK, AFP
AFP
The MDS is described as “the most difficult foot race in the world”, with a 250km desert crossing, on foot or running, spread over six stages and lasting more than a week. The distances of the individual stages vary between 15 and 90 km. The adventure is carried out in self-sufficiency with food. The participants therefore have to carry their equipment and their mostly freeze-dried food with them.
PHOTO PROVIDED: NICOLAS FOURNEL Nicolas Fournel, a Quebecer of French descent, took up extreme endurance competitions because he was up for the challenge and had a desire for adventure. PHOTO PROVIDED BY NICOLAS FOURNEL PHOTO PROVIDED BY NICOLAS FOURNEL
Fournel preferred the heat to the freezing cold and therefore took on the challenge of conquering the Moroccan desert in his own way, soaking up the culture and meeting wonderful people there.
“I am adventurous by nature. When I was younger I wanted to join the army. I like to grow beyond myself and search deep within myself for what I'm capable of. “Everyone wants to do the toughest race,” he explains.
But…
Sand as far as the eye can see
“At 250 km we are in the middle of the desert. We cross miles of sandy beaches. We feel like we will never reach the end. There is only sun, almost no trees. “If we are lucky enough to come across one, we will definitely find someone trying to hide from the sun,” he says, exasperated.
AFP
“The difficulty is not the distance, but the extreme heat,” he adds. The temperature rises to over 55 degrees Celsius. There is no way to cool off in the middle of the sand dunes. The 12 liters of water per day is not enough. We must not believe in the mirage and the beautiful oasis. We don't see any. We see sand and cracks on the dry ground. You have to find a way to adapt to eating and sleeping.”
PHOTO PROVIDED BY NICOLAS FOURNEL The desert landscape of the Marathon des Sables in the Sahara. PHOTO PROVIDED BY NICOLAS FOURNEL PHOTO PROVIDED BY NICOLAS FOURNEL
Psychologically strong, Fournel did not think of giving up, like 322 of the 1085 participants in the last edition. In any case, giving up does not mean a quick and automatic return to escape the furnace. Those who choose this option may have to wait a long time for their rescuers to arrive.
“What am I doing here?”
He says he sometimes met participants in agony and others who said, “It's not true that I'm going to die here.”
“In the middle of the race I sometimes asked myself what the hell I was doing because it was super dangerous with the heat and isolation. [Quand on est] Fears arise under these conditions,” explains the 38-year-old runner, who reached the finish in 57 hours and 59 minutes.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY NICOLAS FOURNEL
Apart from the strenuous challenges it brings, he believes the MDS also has its good sides, listing the encounters, the landscapes observed and the knowledge acquired. He also got to know himself better.
For all this learning he needed the Sahara.
AFP