Duncan Perrillat is a professional endurance runner with a marathon personal best time of 2:12 established earlier in 2022. This year, Duncan decided to tackle a whole new challenge- the ultra-marathon. On June 2nd, he found himself toeing the line at the Saint-Jacques Ultra 100k by UTMB in France. After just over 13 hours of gruelling battle against strong opponents, Duncan crossed the finish line in 1st position, winning his very first ultra-marathon race!

Duncan’s watch: COROS APEX 2 Pro

Analysis software: COROS Training Hub

Training Prior to The Race

Over the past few months, Duncan did not change his training strategy to prepare for Saint-Jacques Ultra. Rather, he focused on his pre-existing routine that already involved high-mileage (>100 miles per week) on hilly trails.

With a strong buildup of Base Fitness towards 170, Duncan completed a single 3-day specific block accumulating roughly 80 miles only 4 days prior to the event.

COROS Education: Athletes can monitor their yearly fitness improvements with the COROS Base Fitness metric.

During The Race

Because of its late start in the evening, the Saint-Jacques Ultra leads runners to complete their first half of the race through the night. Duncan quickly established his comfort pace: “I quickly realized that the race pace during an ultra is much slower than my usual runs or road races, which did not take me long to get comfortable”, he admits.

For the night portion of the race, Duncan’s main objective was to keep the leading group in sight. “I noticed just how much focus and energy is required to run in the dark for several hours when the body is telling me it should be sleeping right now!”

COROS Education: Athletes can look back and analyze their race through the Training Hub desktop software.

At km 80, Duncan found himself leading the race with competitors not far behind. After stopping at the last aid station to get a boost of energy, Duncan carried through the last 30kms at a fast pace, almost as fast as his first few kms, to secure the win.

COROS Education: Athletes can look back at their lap paces in the Activity Page in COROS Training Hub.

What’s Next For Duncan?

With his impressive performance at Saint-Jacques Ultra, Duncan will now tackle the infamous Ultra-Trail du Mont Blanc (UTMB) in late August. “I will have a more conservative approach to this race, but I know I can still compete”, he says.

COROS Training

We want to give a special shoutout to Duncan Perrillat for the amazing performance delivered at the Saint-Jacques Ultra for his very first ultra-marathon race. We will be cheering on Duncan in August during the UTMB in Chamonix.

For all COROS athletes, the Training Hub is a great place to take a step back and analyze your race through meaningful metrics and data to help you best prepare for your next event. Whether you’re looking to improve your overall fitness, or dial in your race day strategy, COROS is here every step of the way as you head out on your next journey to explore perfection!

*All photos of Duncan have been taken by the photography crew at Trail du Saint-Jacques, UTMB World Series.