A Conversation with Herman Desmet

On a typically gray December morning in Belgium, photographer and ultrarunner Herman Desmet feels jittery as his fingers hover over the computer keyboard as he submits the registration of the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc (UTMB)—a grueling 174-kilometer journey through the Alps of France, Italy, and Switzerland. The prestigious trail running race has become the ultimate goal for trail runners, the Boston marathon of trail running. But like thousands of other trail runners worldwide, Herman’s goals and ambitions hung precariously on the whims of a lottery system. Encouraged by a good friend and the prospect of a once-in-a-lifetime adventure, Desmet has spent the past two years methodically completing qualifying races and accumulating the precious UTMB tokens required for a chance at entry into the race. Each finish line crossed, and each ultra-distance had been both a personal triumph and another small step toward that elusive UTMB bib number.

The weeks leading up to the lottery announcement felt like living in a peculiar form of limbo. Herman found himself absent-mindedly planning training schedules he might never need, browsing topographical maps of a race he might not run any time soon, and dreaming of Alpine trails that might remain just that—dreams.

Then on a mundane day in January, everything changed. His UTMB goal became real. The notification reached his inbox: "Congratulations! You have been accepted to the 2024 edition of UTMB." Herman read the message three times. From that moment on, his year would look much more different — training blocks, vacation, races, everything would now orbit around those fateful days in August when he would join the legendary parade of trail runners through the heart of Chamonix, France, and into the waiting arms of the Alps.

With seven months to transform himself into a UTMB-ready athlete, Herman approached his training with meticulous attention. His first decision was to continue coaching himself. Balancing work and family commitments, he finds it challenging and stressful to be accountable to a coach.

Without a coach to lean on, he became his own architect of suffering, sketching out a blueprint for success. Desmet printed out a year-long calendar and marked the races he planned to run leading up to UTMB. Then, he mapped out his weekly mileage goals. “I usually train in blocks of three weeks, followed by an easier week, and then repeat the cycle,” he explains. “With a busy life, I can't stick to rigid training schedules, like a long run every Sunday. Instead, I take it week by week. I aim to fit in at least one or two long runs (15–30 km) each week, along with one speed session—such as 3x15 minutes fast, 10x200m sprints, or an 8-4-2-1 minute interval workout.”

His plan included two pivotal moments: an 85-kilometer race in May that would test his endurance, and a July pilgrimage to the Austrian Alps, where he would drill the relentless ups and downs that would define his UTMB experience. Besides that 85k race, the training plan wouldn’t include much volume. Unlike many of his ultra-running peers who swear by triple-digit runs, Herman's training philosophy leans toward pragmatism. "There's no point in doing 80 or 100-kilometer runs during a training cycle," he explains. "The muscle damage is too big, and the recovery time eats into valuable training day."

Balancing act

Any training cycle for a big goal requires an intricate balancing act between training and recovery. But like it often happens to amateur athletes, there’s more to life than just run, eat, and sleep. Herman’s training plan also had to factor in the demands of his professional photography career and his responsibilities as a single father. Each aspect of his life required careful orchestration—deadlines had to be met, family time had to be preserved, and somehow, in between it all, he needed to find the hours to transform himself into an athlete capable of conquering one of the world’s most demanding mountain races. “When the kids are with me, I squeeze in some miles after school drop-offs or slip out for evening runs while they’re watching TV. Sometimes, they don’t even notice that I’m gone”, he laughs. "With younger kids, this kind of training would have been impossible. But now they're older—the oldest is 15—, and it's actually becoming something we share."

In fact, Herman has found unexpected joy in how his ultra-running pursuit has sparked curiosity in his children. His two youngest occasionally join him for easy slow runs. Other times, they become his impromptu film crew, following on bikes with cameras in hand, helping their father capture content for his growing Instagram following. "When I let them play with the drone," he chuckles, "suddenly they’re very eager to come with me. It's become a wonderful way to motivate them to be active while spending time together."

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Becoming an ultrarunner

Nowadays, long runs and workouts take Herman to the great outdoors and the mountains, but his introduction to the sport was on the predictable oval of a running track. In his early twenties, he used to join a close-knit group of runners circling the local track two or three evenings a week. Each year his main event at the time was the iconic 20 kilometers of Brussels, one of Belgium’s premier road races. "For three months, everything was focused on that one event. The rest of the year I ran shorter distances like 5Ks, 10Ks."

The irony isn't lost on Herman. The man who now thinks nothing of running through entire nights in the mountains once found his joy in running endless circles on a 400-meter track. “I just liked training with my friends at the track. It was a nice group of friends and we had a nice coach. The others were much better and faster runners than I was, but that kept me motivated.”

Since those early days on the track, Herman has never stopped running. Even then, drawn to nature, he often ran through a nearby forest. “Back then, we just called it running. Now it’s cooler to call it trail running,” he jokes.

Little by little, trail running would become his priority. “Six or seven years ago, I had a very busy job, so I started to go for runs to find peace and rest”, he admits. Those forays into the wilderness allowed him to decompress and recalibrate. “Some people do yoga or meditation; I just go running for a half an hour or an hour and my stress levels just melt away.

Gradually, those restorative jaunts evolved into something more ambitious. The runs became longer and the routes more challenging. “I like trail running so much. It’s quiet out there and there’s a connection with nature. During very long runs, my mind just empties in a way that when I return home, I feel like coming back after a long holiday. I feel very relaxed”, he admits.

Chasing big goals

Before long, ultra races became Herman's goal, with distances getting longer and longer. “When I started doing serious trail runs five years ago, it felt like an adventure. After each race, I found myself wanting to push further, to see what my body could handle. So, I gradually increased the distance from 15 to 30, 42, 60, 80, 100, 120, 160, and eventually 177 km.”

Training for ultra endurance races demands much more than logging miles. Workouts build stamina, precise nutrition fuels performance, and mental conditioning forges resilience. Success comes from mastering these aspects, including recovery. Before the UTMB race, a key concern for Herman was the need to build his ability to tackle extended periods of steep elevation gain. Of course, such training in Belgium isn’t easy. The modest hills of his native country simply wouldn’t suffice. Occasionally, he would make the trek south to regions with more pronounce topography, grinding out long runs that carried him up and over rugged terrain. It wasn’t enough. He needed to build more strength going uphill. To further complement his training, he decided to join a local gym and incorporate a peculiar training session to his plan: the stepmill, a cardio workout machine designed to simulate the action of climbing stairs. "It was so boring," he chuckles, "I had to listen to podcasts just to get through those sessions."

Yet, he recognized the value in subjecting himself to the unforgiving grind of the "torture device," as he affectionately calls it. "Once I was back out on the trails in the south of Belgium, I could really feel the difference. Hills that used to require walking, I could now run with ease”. As boring as they sound, those gym sessions were a necessary evil, but they worked. Such workouts also helped him climb the stairs of the St Rumbold's Tower in Mechelen in record time.

Throughout his training cycle, Herman maintained an unwavering focus, fueled by the knowledge that the physical demands of UTMB would be only half the battle. As the weeks ticked down to the UTMB start line, Herman ramped up the intensity of his training, pushing his body to adapt to the unique demands of the race. Long nighttime sessions in the woods became a regular fixture, his muscles and mind learning to function under the glow of his headlamp and after a long day’s fatigue.

For non-elite athletes, completing the UTMB requires running through multiple sleepless nights. In the final fortnight before the race, Herman made a concerted effort to maximize his rest and recovery, hoping to bank as much sleep as possible. "The goal was to toe the line in Chamonix as rested as possible," he says. "I knew the physical toll would be immense, so I needed to bank as much sleep and restoration as I could." Those precious days of relative inactivity allowed his battered muscles to heal and his mind to find a rare moment of calm before the impending storm.

Finish line

Seven grueling months of preparation culminated in a moment that would forever be etched in Herman Desmet's memory: crossing the finish line in Chamonix after 42 hours, 38 minutes, and 49 seconds of continuous movement through the Alps. In an edition of UTMB that saw numerous runners succumb to unprecedented heat, forcing them to abandon their dreams mid-race, Herman's unwavering resolve carried him through what would become the longest running adventure of his life.

True to his artistic nature, Herman wasn't content to merely experience this journey—he captured it, documenting every triumph and struggle along the way. The resulting film, now available on his YouTube channel, stands as a testament of an incredible pursuit of seemingly unthinkable goals.

In the end, however, reaching the finish line in Chamonix tells only a fraction of the story. Herman is already planning future goals. Next year promises another chapter in Herman's ultra-running odyssey. He plans to challenge himself at the Isle of Wight Race, a grueling 106-kilometer journey across the island's diverse terrain. Following this, a summer adventure awaits in Austria, where he aims to test his mettle at the KAT100, a punishing 173-kilometer mountain traverse that will serve as another stepping stone in his growing ultra-running narrative.

Follow Herman's trail running and photography adventures on Instagram @shakemyview and on his YouTube channel.

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