Hugo Deck is a new pro runner for Adidas Terrex. He is a strong hope of the French trail, author of a top 5 on the last CCC at the UTMB. We Rock Sport met him at the opening of the Pop-Up Store of the brand in Chamonix.
Winner of the Ultra Nice Côte d'Azur last year and French champion of vertical kilometer, Hugo Deck already has a solid track record at only 23 years old. In 2022, his 5th place in the CCC has put him even more in the spotlight. The Frenchman who grew up in the south is now part of the Adidas Terrex team.
The runner was present last week in Chamonix for the opening of the new ephemeral store of his sponsor. We Rock Sport was also there and we took advantage of the presence of the runner from Saint-Jeannet to know more about him and his objectives for this season.
The hard life of a student
"I did a science degree and I got it on the fly. School was never my thing and I was mostly good at skipping class (laughs). I preferred to go out because I just couldn't sit in a chair all day. After the baccalaureate, I tried to go to a sports university, but I had a hard time following the curriculum. Same thing for the BTSA (Advanced vocational diploma) in Nature Management and Protection (GPN) that I did not pursue. In fact, I mostly took advantage of these years after the baccalaureate to train, even if I don't advise anyone to do that. I think it is possible to reconcile studies and training.
The discovery of the trail
"I've always done a lot of outdoor sports, especially trail running with my dad, even though I didn't realize it was really trail running. We were just going to run in the nature. I also played basketball for 10 years in the departmental section. I stopped when I was 17 because I didn't have what it took to go pro. After that, for a year, I totally stopped the sport and I started again when I saw my brother preparing for the Ironman in Nice. He was participating in a trail race as part of his training and I liked it right away. I started running specifically in my senior year at the age of 18."
A stability found thanks to the trail
"The year I turned 18, I started running in November. In February, I participated in my first competition, a 10 km in Èze. I finished fourth and I liked it. From then on, I trained a lot to progress. It allowed me to have a little goal when at that time it was complicated in terms of studies. The trail forced me to have a rigor in my life. I recently decided to go back to school in Grenoble to study sports. I'm going to do it by correspondence, it's perfect for me, because I can train well outside.
The first results
"I was crowned French champion in the vertical kilometer and I also finished second in the French mountain race championship in the U23 category. I quickly followed the races and today, my biggest results are my fifth place in the CCC last year and my victory in Nice. On the CCC, I was 22 years old and it was a great performance for an espoir."
The arrival at Adidas
"My results caught the attention of Adidas. I signed with them in August 2022 for three years. Today I am a professional at 100% which was not the case before. I have an income no matter what my results, which is a nice serenity to prepare myself as well as possible. But anyway, I was so into trail running before that I already had the training rhythm of a pro. In addition to the financial support, Adidas also helps its athletes in a very concrete way by providing us with accommodation in Chamonix with a physiotherapist a month and a half before the UTMB. Two weeks before the race, we have chefs who come. Some Adidas runners went to Cape Town in South Africa this winter. They were able to stay in a chalet thanks to Adidas, which also provided a physio. Finally, they have feeders everywhere on the races and photographers to help us manage our social networks, so all that is valuable."
The objectives in 2023
"My victory in the Ultra Nice Côte d'Azur allowed me to qualify for this year's UTMB. This will be the main objective in 2023 along with the MIUT (Madeira Island Ultra-Trail). It's difficult to set an objective for a place in this kind of long-distance race, it depends on the field and your current form. But my status as a young runner with Adidas already obliges me to finish the race and gain as many places as possible. We'll see what my position is at the finish line.
Her shoes of the moment
"I run most often with Speed Ultra that allow me to do a nice range of races, from 20 km to 80 km."
