The new points leader, but who is Gaetan Morizur?
Last week’s Vietnam Jungle Marathon in Pu Luong gave us two new points leaders in the merged 2020/21 Asia Trail Master Championship. While domestic star Julia Duong Nguyen Thi already had a pedigree in our series, the name of Frenchman Gaetan Morizur raised many eyebrows among followers of our championship. He had been around for about two years, too, but never came close to an ATM race podium until Dalat Ultra Trail last June, when he scored third place. Proving that was no fluke, he upped the ante even more and competed for the win last week against former cyclist Romain Berion and Quang Duc Nguyen. Ultimately he came second, but Gaetan Morizur has certainly made a name for himself at the higher levels of our competitive Championship series. High time to get to know the man a bit better.
Could you explain a little on your background. Where are you from in France and what made you come to Asia?
I’m from the north west of France, the region known as Bretagne or Brittany. I moved to Vietnam in 2009 initially for a 6 months internship. I fell in love with Asia region and Vietnam so I extended my stay. I moved to Cambodia for work during 5 years and I’m back to Vietnam since 1 year. I feel very fortunate to live here in such a dynamic environment.
Have you always been a runner or is this a relatively new hobby?
It is a relatively new hobby. In France I was in found of bodyboarding and surfing and spent most of my free time in the sea. When I moved to Vietnam I totally stopped sport for a few years. At some point I started to join some friends who were running occasionally. Then we started to register for longer races and participating to some ultras. I have been running for few years but at a very modest level and got more into it recently.
How do you compare Cambodia with Vietnam? How do you compare the running scene in both countries?
Running Scene in Vietnam really boomed in recent years and there is now a huge running community. It’s quite impressive, now each race has a few thousand participants… In Cambodia the running community is way smaller but also very bond together which makes it also very nice to belong to. For trail running there is more hilly terrain in Vietnam and also much more events so it is more motivating to train.
Rumours have it that your recent surge in performance form is due to your move to Vietnam. Have you joined any running team in Ho Chi Minh City, or do you have a trail running mentor there?
I prefer trails very much but living in Ho Chi Minh city I spend most of my time training on roads. I can enjoy trails during the weekend going to Dinh Mountain or during Holidays. My girlfriend is also a runner so we can enjoy running trips together. My recent improvement is due to the fact I started to train more seriously since the beginning of 2020. Romain Berion (who won VJM) gave me some useful training advice. I also read several books to understand proper methods. By doing more volume and adding progressively some variation (intensity and elevation) I was able to progress well.
For sure trail is still just a hobby? Are you surprised you made podium in both Dalat and Pu Luong?
Yes it is a hobby and will remain so for sure. In fact it was a big surprise for me to do a Podium in Dalat. After Dalat I had the motivation to train more seriously for the upcoming VMM.
In Pu Long I was feeling more confident and had good sensations so I tried to push a bit the pace to enjoy the race and see how it would go.
Where did Romain Berion make the difference to win ahead of you by a few minutes only?
For the first part of the race we were running at 3 very close together with Romain and Quang until CP 4. I also a bit of time in the check points where I really lacked of efficiency. Romain passed me at CP 4 while I was refilling. He then created a gap in the steep concrete uphill just after which he mostly ran - he is a very strong uphill runner. I had a low time after CP5 so I Think the gap reached several minutes there. After that I gave it my best but I couldn’t catch him up. He deserved to win.
What did you learn in those two big races this year?
I learned to trust my training and to focus on listening my own body feelings. Another good lesson is the critical importance of fueling well during the race and preparing well your nutrition plan.
Will you run VMM next month? If yes, which distance?
Yes, I will run the VMM 100 km. I hope authorities will allow the race to happen. It will be a very exciting event as it seems that all the best Vietnamese runners are joining: Quang Tran, Hung Hai, Quang Nguyen… and many more including Romain as well. I would like to thank the organizers the Topas team who make a lot of efforts to make those events happen which is not easy in the current context.
Your story sounds similar to the story of ATM protagonist and previous Championship leader Hisashi Kitamura, who also started modestly in trail to develop into an international trail race winner in little over a year’s time. How do you see yourself improving further as a competitive runner? Should the Kitamuras, the John Ellisses, Milton Amats and Kristian Joergensens become afraid of Gaetan Morizur in the 2021 ATM season?
Those runners are inspiring examples but I’m still far from their level and from their experience. I’m doing my best to train well and progress one step at a time to push my limits further and become a stronger runner. For now, my focus to prepare well to be hopefully in good form for VMM.
For 2021 I will start with Vietnamese events VTM (an ATM Candidate, kvdv) and Dalat Ultra Trail if it is confirmed. Then from there, we will see how the year goes and also if the borders re-open.
Q&A conducted by Kris Van de Velde
2020/21 ATM Championship Top 5 (31 October 2020)
Gaetan Morizur (FRA/VIE) 875 pts
Hisashi Kitamura (JPN/MAS) 850 pts
Lanh Le (VIE) 825 pts
Quang Duc Nguyen (VIE) 720 pts
Watchrin Luarlon (THA) 700 pts
3 more points races to go in 2020:
Monkeys Trail 100km , Koh Samui, Thailand, 14/15 November
Vietnam Mountain Marathon 100km/70km, Sapa, 21/22 November
Izu Trail Journey, Izu peninsula, Japan, 13 December
Note: Runners in Vietnam and Thailand who also competed in VJM and UTCR will only carry over to 2021 their best points result of the two races
