Andreu Blanes: “And there was Kilian”

Right foot, left foot

Courtney Dauwalter

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Andreu Blanes (33) remembers that moment well, that day in August 2022.

He was competing in the Sierre-Zinal classic, a 31-kilometer mountain challenge through Swiss forests. He had started off in a contemplative mood, and now, at kilometer 24, the race entered a flatter, more manageable section. As the section suited him, Andreu Blanes, more of a track rider than a mountaineer, found himself catching up with a group of four runners. While chasing them, he observed each one. And there he spotted him: among the four runners was the legend, Kilian Jornet.

–And what did you do?

–I tried to control my emotions and not open the throttle so as not to burn bridges. I thought I should treat Kilian Jornet like one of my own. Otherwise, I could make a mistake.

–But did you feel anything special?

–Well, for me, that was a historic moment, wasn't it? I knew it was something that would mark me. I had to control myself so I wouldn't mess things up. I finished second, and Kilian Jornet finished fifth. Afterward, he congratulated me.

(Months later, Mark Kangogo, the winner, was disqualified for doping and the title went to Andreu Blanes.)

–And did it change your life?

–Well, there was a considerable media stir in the mountain running circles. That surge in visibility was unexpected for me. Hoka, which was providing me with training equipment, signed me permanently. They said they were buying my project (I was aiming to be an Olympian in the 3,000m steeplechase in Paris 2024) but that they were giving me the freedom to do whatever I wanted. I'm still here with them.

–Even though he didn't make it to the 2024 Olympics... –I told him.

–I've definitely made a name for myself here in mountain events. Finishing second at the Zegama-Aizkorri in 2025 (in May) has cemented my position as a professional athlete.

While I was cross-country racing, I was studying civil engineering. I planned to enter the workforce after I retired. Andreu Blanes Long-distance runner

And he tells me about his beginnings, about his youthful dreams. There goes a boy from Onil (Alicante), where other athletes like Eusebio Cáceres and Jorge Ureña come from, a boy who would climb the mountains with a map in his hand and spend his afternoons there, orienting himself on paper and also by the sun and stars, interpreting paths.

–Were your parents athletes?

Marisa, my mother, is a nurse and nursing assistant. My father, Juan, did instill his passion in me: he was a teacher, now retired, and on Sundays he took me mountain climbing with the hiking center. It was beautiful, although I dreamed of competing and winning. The thing is, I wasn't into it: I'd watch Jesús España or Cristiano Ronaldo on television and tell myself, "That's not your life." Nevertheless, I persisted: while I was running in the Spanish Cross Country Championships, I was studying Civil Engineering at UCAM. I planned to join the workforce when I stopped running.

–But he keeps running...

–This passion got the better of me. The Tokyo 2020 Games were approaching. I sat down with my family. I asked my parents, “Can you give me two years to go to the Games?” They all supported me, and I threw myself into running.

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Andreu Blanes was daring.

He collected some savings, as well as support from his then-club, Cárnicas Serrano, and help from his parents, and moved to Madrid. Things became complicated because Tokyo 2020 was not held until 2021, thanks to the pandemic.

–I didn't make it to Tokyo 2020, but the club was already helping me more. The Hoka equipment and the win at Sierre-Zinal came in. I decided to try again for Paris 2024.

(He didn't succeed either, but in December 2024, five months later, he ran the Valencia Marathon in 2h09m18s...).

–Do you have enough to live well?

–Look, an ultra-distance runner isn't into luxuries.

No dinners, no parties, no trips, no cars...

If Andreu Blanes spends his money on anything, it's at rallies in Sierra Nevada, Peguerinos or Font Romeu: he's back in his Onil, a town of 7,000 inhabitants, he lives to run, he talks to his trainers, Luismi Berlanas and Juan del Campo, who are as flexible as a reed, and together they agree on programmes and plans, and he tells me:

–Now, yes, I'm a true ultra-distance geek. And I prepare for it thoroughly: I study how I handle the gradients. And I visit the courses two or three times before a competition. Sometimes I take fitness tests to interpret my pace times.

(In September he will compete in the Mountain and Trail World Championships in Canfranc).