XTERRA Trail Run World Championship
Every runner has a reason, with no two stories the same. Stories of Stride and Spirit is a series dedicated to the runners of the 2024 XTERRA Trail Run World Championship, and the beautiful, inspiring, and even tragic stories that have led them to the starting line on Sugarloaf Mountain. From the front runners to the back of the pack, these are the stories of those who kept on running.
For Stephane Ravier and Salima Delhoum, age is merely a number in their pursuit of health and happiness. Stephane, a veteran runner from Switzerland, has spent 24 years racing through mountainous terrains, proving that even at 55, his passion for running trails only grows stronger by the day. Salima, a 59-year-old grandmother from France, defied cultural expectations and discovered trail running at 49, finding freedom in every step. As they prepare to take their place at the starting line of the XTERRA Trail Run World Championship in Maine, USA, both stories stand as a testament to the ageless spirit, demonstrating that youth truly is a state of mind.
Stephane Ravier is a veteran runner with 24 years worth of miles in his running shoes. He lives and trains in Lausanne, Switzerland, but this fall he will trade the snow-covered peaks of the Swiss Alps for the autumn leaves of Sugarloaf Mountain as he heads to Maine for the XTERRA Trail Run World Championship.
It will be his first time traveling abroad.
At the age of 55, Stephane has run over 200 races. He’s completed three marathons in the mountains and a 65K in 24 hours, but his favorite distance is the half marathon.
Last October, he won the male 50-54 age group at the XTERRA Vallée de Joux, a 22K race with 800 meters of elevation gain. His time? An impressive two hours and six minutes.
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“I had immense happiness and pride to discover that I’d been selected for the XTERRA Trail Run World Championship,” he says. “After much hesitation, due to the location in the United States, I finally decided to participate in this exceptional event.”
This veteran runner has quite the track record of age group podium finishes:
But no matter the race distance, the location is always in the mountains. From the rocky peaks of the Swiss Canyon Trail to the alpine lakes of the Villars Ultraks, Stephane is a summit seeker at heart.
“I prefer mountain races, because I really like the landscapes and the atmosphere. It gives me such energy to be able to run in the mountains that I can't do without,” he says.
"It gives me such energy to be able to run in the mountains that I can't do without."
Prior to making the trip to Maine this fall, Stephane plans to run the Trail du Vélan 21K with 2,180m elevation gain and the Sierre-Zinal 31K with 2,200m elevation gain. Both should serve as a nice warm-up for Sugarloaf Mountain, where he plans to run the half marathon distance.
While Stephane does keep an eye on his times, he runs for more than just athletic goals. He runs to benefit Rêves Suisses, an association similar to Make-A-Wish that helps sick children realize a lifelong dream.
“At the XTERRA Trail Run World Championship, I hope to have fun, find good sensations, meet new people, and, if the result follows, why not be among the best in my category?” he says.
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59-year-old Salima Delhoum lives far from Sugarloaf Mountain in Mandelieu, France. The seventh of 14 children, Salima is of Algerian ancestry.
“My upbringing was very strict, and girls had more of a place in the kitchen and in housework,” she says. “Sport was considered useless, an inaccessible luxury, even for my brothers.”
Despite the restrictions placed on her as a young woman, it seemed that Salima was destined for something more. “I remember my uncles and aunts who were tall, slender, and robust. They were shepherds and farmers, mountain people. I think endurance is in our genes,” she says.
Still, “I grew up not knowing I could run.”
Salima didn’t participate in sports until the age of 49, when she discovered trail running. In the beginning, she couldn’t run 100 meters without losing her breath, but in the space of 6 months she’d trained for a half marathon. She crossed her first finish line with a time of two hours and 11 minutes.
“I didn’t want to reproduce the prohibitions and taboos of the education received from my parents. Above all, I wanted to stop the pattern,” she says. “I became addicted to running!”
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At that first race, Salima recalls a feeling that can only be described as happiness through movement. She wasn’t chasing any particular time, and she didn’t wear a watch. She soaked up the atmosphere, took pictures on her phone, and chatted with other runners.
As she progressed in the sport, Salima discovered that she loved all types of running- in the water, barefoot on the sand, the earth, and the track. “I often take off my sneakers to run barefoot. It's an extraordinary feeling of lightness, of freedom,” she says.
Above all else, she loves connecting with nature. “I love its silences and its breathing, because Nature is alive. I cry with emotion discovering the varied terrain, the fauna, the flora, and the stones. Everything moves me. I like to climb and be above the clouds.”
“I often take off my sneakers to run barefoot. It's an extraordinary feeling of lightness, of freedom.”
But Salima is the first to admit that running in the mountains isn’t easy. Simply crossing the finish line is a great victory. In 2018, she fell face-first on a trail and almost lost several teeth. Until it was time for the surgeon to remove the temporary brace that held her teeth in her gums, she “stomped her feet” because she wanted to get back to running.
During her short running career, Salima has run more than 300 races of all distances. She often chooses the longest distance available, up to 30K, because it allows her to have fun for as long as possible. But she always makes sure to respect time limits so she doesn’t take advantage of the generosity of race volunteers.
“I'm not looking for performance, and I have no shame in being last. When I go running, I have no specific goal other than pleasure,” she says. “During a race, I have stage fright, but it disappears as soon as I arrive and find myself among the runners. I smile all the time.”
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Salima has two sons and three grandchildren who think she’s a “running champion” and follow along on her adventures. Both her sons have experience in martial art combat. Her youngest was a 2011 bronze medalist at the World Championship in Vietnam. However, an autoimmune disease has contributed to pain and fatigue that has slowed down his sporting career.
In honor of her son, Salima created an association to combat pain through sport with a goal to raise funds for young athletes suffering from autoimmune diseases. “The power of sport is incredible,” she says. “If my son hadn’t played sports, his condition would’ve worsened and he would’ve ended up in a wheelchair.”
It was with urging from her sons that Salima accepted her invitation to compete at the XTERRA Trail Run World Championship after placing third in her age group at XTERRA Trail des Balcons d'Azur. She actually traveled to the race on foot because it was only 2K from her home.
“They asked me to be serious for once and stop as little as possible for my usual photos. But I don't know how to be otherwise,” she says. “I will take advantage of every moment to discover this mountain.”
“At first, I thought it was a joke, but it's very real, magical, incredible! I have three main objectives: a smile during the effort, a time barrier to respect, and the finish line to cross with a jump,” she says.
"When I go running, I have no specific goal other than pleasure.”
In all of her athletic endeavors, Salima operates by her personal motto: inspire movement and express gratitude.
“I run for those who cannot, or who do not dare, for fear of prejudice or fear of failure,” she says. “Run as long as you enjoy it, and live your life with love. Youth is a state of mind, and you become old when you stop believing in yourself.”
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Stories of Stride and Spirit is an XTERRA Trail Run World Championship series designed to celebrate the runners taking on the trails of Sugarloaf Mountain and the unique, diverse, and often unexpected motivations that drive them forward. For more from this series, you can read part #1 and part #3, with more to come as we get closer to the pinnacle event of the 2024 Trail Run World Series.
XTERRA is a global lifestyle brand that champions the outdoor enthusiast in their pursuit of relentless adventure.
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