Maëlle Beauvir | Chianti Trail: hidden resources, podium finish!

credit 📷: Jan Kirkham

AMEG GROUP is back for another year!

Thank you to the entire AMEG Group team for your renewed confidence. Last year, you followed me in my challenges, my successes and my learning. Once again this season, I'm delighted to be moving forward alongside you, under the colors of the #TeamAmegSport!

After a fine winter preparation and a few successful national races (victory at the Raidlight Winter Trail, 2ᵉ place at the Trail du Grésivaudan), I was off to my first big international event of the year: the Chianti Trail Marathon by UTMB, in Tuscany, a 46 km, 1900 m D+ race where many champions of the circuit were gathered.

On this demanding course, I was delighted to secure a 3ᵉ place.

But there's a whole story behind this result.

A few days before the race, a slight contracture in my calf made me doubt my ability to be at the start. With my staff, we set up a protocol to treat this discomfort. Even though I couldn't train normally, I continued to progress in other ways: mental preparation, visualization and strategic thinking.

I couldn't make progress everywhere, but I could still make progress somewhere. And that's what enabled me to be ready on D-day.

On race day, I knew where my strengths and limits were. So I chose to run with my head, respecting what I had built up. There was no question of improvising: I had to apply the strategy I'd drawn up beforehand, the one I'd rehearsed and validated in training.

My goal was twofold:

• Managing effort over a "long" distance for me,
• Manage my food autonomy, without external supplies.

All along the way, I concentrated on eating at the right time, reproducing the automatisms I'd worked on in visualization and keeping to my course.

At the halfway point, I heard cheering behind me... A competitor was coming back: the wife of Jim Walmsley, a world trail figure. For a moment, I was in doubt: was she stronger? Could I hold out?

But I soon got back to basics: refocusing on what I could control. My breathing, my stride, my diet. Staying in the action.

And by digging deep inside myself, I found resources I never knew I had.

Little by little, I closed the gap. And at the finish, I was told that I had "made a real hole" behind me.

When I crossed the line, a real emotion overwhelmed me (photo): the feeling of having given it my all, of having stuck to my plan, and of having trusted myself right to the end.

crédit 📷 : Léo Euphrasie - Trail passion

Today, I'm sharing all this with you because I believe that, whether on the trails or in your projects at AMEG, it's often the small details, the patience, and the ability to stay focused on your own path that end up making the difference.
I also owe my success to the importance of teamwork. Without the support of my staff, my partners and those who have supported me every step of the way, I wouldn't be where I am today. The collective makes all the difference, and it's with this team that I continue to move forward.
Thank you again for your support and your confidence. I look forward to the rest of this adventure together!

crédit 📷 : Léo Euphrasie - Trail passion

Maëlle

#TeamAmegSport