Speakers 2022

We strive

The team and their personalities make the festival atmosphere singular.
A chance to learn, exchange, and get inspired between their stories, expertise and humbleness.

Fernanda Maciel

As an Environmental lawyer in her past, she brings a unique perspective to the world of endurance running.

Fernanda Maciel

As an Environmental lawyer in her past, she brings a unique perspective to the world of endurance running. She has four podiums at UTMB, she won the TDS UTMB, Transgrancanaria, Lavaredo, Everest Trail Race, Ultra Trail Mont Fuji. She was top three in the World Ranking in 2018/2019 and also top three in Marathon des Sables 2016/2017. She has been doing many running projects. Brazilian she is based in Chamonix.

Tim Tollefson

An elite ultra-runner, a 3 time USA National Trail Champion (50k and 50mi) Ultra Trail Australia Champion […]

Tim Tollefson

An elite ultra-runner, Tim Tollefson is a 3 time USA National Trail Champion (50k and 50mi) Ultra Trail Australia Champion, Lavaredo Ultra-Trail Champion, Javelina 100 Champion, he earned 2 consecutive 3rd place finishes at UTMB. Tim is also a 2 time US Olympic Marathon trials qualifier with a 2:18:26 PB. Tim is a sport physical therapist living in Mammoth Lakes, California.

Tim is the director of the Mammoth Trail Fest
https://www.mammothtrailfest.com/

Abby Hall

Abby is a professional ultrarunner for adidas TERREX and lives with her husband Cordis in Flagstaff, Arizona.

Abby Hall

Abby is a professional ultrarunner for adidas TERREX and lives with her husband Cordis in Flagstaff, Arizona. She ran her first race when she was 11 years old and never stopped, running cross-country and track through college. It was around 2016 when she first heard about ultras, and they quickly captured her heart and guided her move to Boulder, Colorado where she dove headfirst into the sport. Since, she’s risen to land on the podium at races like CCC, Transgrancanaria and Canyons 100k. Abby is fueled by the journey and the ups and downs she’s experienced while pursuing her goals. She’s also sponsored by LEKI, Petzl and CTS.

Stephen Kersh

Stephen has been competitively running since high school in the United States and now a pro ultra runner for Adidas Terrex.

Stephen Kersh

Stephen has been competitively running since high school in the United States. He went on to run collegiately and then spent a few years chasing fast times on the roads before switching to ultra trail running in mid-2018. Since then, he’s notched two top-10 performances at Western States 100 as well as posting competitive times at races like Lake Sonoma 50 mile, JFK 50 mile, Chuckanut 50k, and MIUT 60k.

Hillary Gerardi

Hillary is a mountain endurance athlete specializing in skyrunning and ski mountaineering.

Hillary Gerardi

Hillary is a mountain endurance athlete specializing in skyrunning and ski mountaineering. Originally from the US, she has lived in France for 11 years and seen her career develop in Europe. In 2018, she won the Skyrunner Extra World Series, with notable wins at the Tromso Skyrace, Trofeo Kima, Glencoe Skyline, Pierra Menta Ete and Monte Rosa Skymarathon. In April of 2021, she and Valentine Fabre became the first women to ever complete the Chamonix to Zermatt Skiers Haute Route in one push, and later that year, she won the Mont-Blanc Marathon 90km. She is passionate about moving through tough and technical terrain. In daily life she seeks ways to combine her love of the mountains with her concerns about our impact on the natural world.

Jared Hazen

Jared grew up in a small town in Pennsylvania where he fell in love with running through cross country and track.

Jared Hazen

Jared grew up in a small town in Pennsylvania where he fell in love with running through cross country and track. Running then meant the same thing it does to him now – it’s a way for him to explore his surroundings and redefine his limits. After high school, his passion for running on the trails took him west. He lived in Grand Teton National Park and Colorado Springs where he explored bigger landscapes and took his running to a new level. Jared has competed in the Western States Endurance run five times and holds the second fastest time ever on the course. He now lives in Flagstaff, Arizona where he trains for ultra marathon races around the world.

Sabrina Stanley

Sabrina is a professional ultrarunner for Adidas Terrex, she specializes in mountainous 100-milers.

Sabrina Stanley

Sabrina is a professional ultrarunner for Adidas Terrex, she specializes in mountainous 100-milers. Sabrina is the only American (male or female) to win Grand Raid. She has won 15 of her last 16 ultra-races, including two Hardrock 100 victories. During the summer of 2020 she tackled Nolan’s 14, summiting 14, 14,000+ ft peaks in record time, not once but twice. Becoming the only person to do this twice in one year (58-days between attempts). She started her competitive ultra-running career at the age of 26, after walking away from a restaurant management position in NYC. Taking a minimum wage job in CO at a small running store allowed her to focus on her dream. At 32 years old, she will be competing at UTMB for the first time. Sabrina currently lives in Silverton, CO with her partner, Avery Collins and their dog Sable.

Gabriele Grunewald

Gabe an American professional runner and rare cancer advocate […]

Gabriele Grunewald

Gabe an American professional runner and rare cancer advocate, founded the Brave Like Gabe Foundation to inspire people to share stories of being brave through their own struggles while also helping to find better and more effective treatments for rare cancer. Gabe survived multiple bouts with cancer – initially diagnosed with a rare salivary gland cancer, adenoid cystic carcinoma, in 2009, and thyroid cancer in 2010. But throughout her cancer journey, Gabe continued to compete and run professionally, an incredible act of resilience.
Gabe found the courage to keep running and racing through hope. Hope for a future treatment that might work for her and for others in similar situations.
After living for 10 years with adenoid cystic carcinoma, Gabriele passed away on June 11, 2019. Her story and legacy continue through her Foundation.

Come hear Gabe’s story at the Fest opening evening on Friday. We will view a short film.

https://www.bravelikegabe.org/
Donation Link: https://www.bravelikegabe.org/donate

Denise Bourassa

Denise is an accomplished masters ultra runner who at 52 continues to compete at a high level.

Denise Bourassa

Denise is an accomplished master ultra runner who at 52 continues to compete at a high level. She has completed over 90 ultras in her 14 year career with 50 podium finishes. In 2019 she finished 2nd at the HURT 100, in 2020 she finished 2nd at the USATF 100 mile trail championships with a PR time of 17:01 and in 2021 she set the overall Men and Women’s FKT on the 237 mile long Katy Trail in 70 hours, 22 min. Denise lives in Lakewood Colorado and is an operating room trauma nurse.

Candice Fertin

Candice defines herself as a mountain lover. A hard core and talented athlete she races ski mountaineering …

Candice Fertin

Candice defines herself as a mountain lover. A hard core and talented athlete she races ski mountaineering in the winter and trail running in the summer. In 2021 she won the Cross du mont blanc in Chamonix (23km-1680m+) and the Marathon Race (39km-3050m+) at the MaXi-race in Annecy. She also finished and impressive 7th in the OCC (one of the UTMB race), a very good first year of racing! This year she is focusing on the Golden Trail World Series and she is aiming for a selection in the French team to run the World Championship in November. Candice is an athlete for Dynafit. She was born and she lives in Chamonix.

Dre Dillon

A doctor of physical therapy, Dre co-owns Shift Physical Therapy & Performance in Bishop, California.

Andrea Dillon

A doctor of physical therapy with 11 years of experience, she co-owns Shift Physical Therapy & Performance in Bishop, California. She has trained under leader in the running mechanics field, Chloë Lanthier, and specialise in working with runners over her career. She utilise a holistic lens to improve individual sport mechanics for rehab and performance. She is passionate about teaching clinics in the community on topics such as proper body mechanics, proper training techniques for performance and injury prevention.

https://www.shiftphysio.com/

Victoria Orlowski

Tori is co-owner of Shift Physical Therapy and Performance in Bishop […]

Victoria Orlowski

Tori is co-owner of Shift Physical Therapy and Performance in Bishop, California, a clinic that specialise in treatment and training for mountain athletes. She has been a physical therapist for five years and has taken extensive continuing education courses to become a certified specialist in running mechanics, rehabilitation and training. Tori is an athlete herself, and enjoys racing and running 50k to 50 mile distances. A personal passion for running has fueled her professional pursuit of training under international leader in running biomechanics, Chloë Lanthier. Tori is thrilled to share these insights, skills and drills with others.

https://www.shiftphysio.com/

Chloë Lanthier

Chloë Lanthier is an accomplished mountain endurance athlete with over 40 podiums […]

Chloë Lanthier

Chloë Lanthier, is an accomplished mountain endurance athlete with over 40 podiums in ultra & mountain running and a former mountain bike world champion. Passionate in all her pursuits, a consultant in biomechanics & human performance, a scientist for the space program at NASA, an educator in sport orthopedic, and a published author. She is the director of the festival and the Chamonix Mountain Endurance Academy. Canadian, she lives in Chamonix.

https://chamonixacademy.com/
Coming soon: https://chloelanthier.com

Dr. Charlotte Edelsten

Charlotte is a Sleep specialist and human movement scientist. She is one of two Senior researchers […]

Dr. Charlotte Elsworth-Edelsten

Charlotte is a Sleep specialist and human movement scientist. Having completed her PhD in movement analysis and physical activity participation in neurological populations.

She is one of two senior researchers responsible for running a study at the UTMB each summer where the impact of severe sleep deprivation is assessed in relation to runners cognitive and physical performance and psychomotor vigilance, and the interaction between homeostatic sleep pressure and circadian rhythm under explicit environmental stresses. Charlotte runs a sleep clinic in Chamonix, she is a passionate ultra-marathon runner, she lives in the valley with her three children and husband.

https://www.the-sleep-science-coach.com/

Rebecca Dent

Rebecca is a Registered Dietitian, MSc, BSc, IOC Sports Nutrition Diploma.

Rebecca Dent

Rebecca is a Registered Dietitian, MSc, BSc, IOC Sports Nutrition Diploma.

High Performance Dietitian Rebecca is on a mission to bring world-class, sound, scientific and easy to access, personalised nutrition advice to mountain athletes and ultra runners. Her knowledge and expertise is built on a solid ground of her academic qualifications and a professional career of nearly 20 years that spans working in the NHS, British Ski Academy, Sport Scotland Institute of Sport, Olympic and Commonwealth games athletes and teams. She has a wealth of experience working with recreational to world class athletes including ultra runners. Rebecca lives and works in the Chamonix valley where she combines her love of endurance and mountain sports with her passion for performance nutrition.

https://www.rebeccadent.co.uk/

Marjolijn de Boer

Marjolijn is a personal development coach. She guides people to make life decisions […]

Marjolijn de Boer

Marjolijn is a personal development coach. She guides people to make life decisions, live with self-confidence and deal with limiting thoughts and feelings. She is a certified Coach Practitioner and Master Coach at the Coach College De Baak in the Netherlands. She is a member of the Dutch professional coaching association NOBCO, part of the European Mentoring & Coaching Council (EMCC). She is an enthusiastic trail runner, “it brings me energy, shared joy and takes me to amazing places”, and she is going for her first ultra this year ! From the Netherlands she is currently living in Chamonix.

https://www.marjolijndeboer.com/