Flavie Bruyneel

TRAIL RUNNING

Flavie's background is a bit atypical: she started by studying in medical school and eventually turned to languages and business with the aim of travelling and discovering countries in America and Asia.

Through her travels, she discovered an environmental sensitivity. She likes to take care of Our Earth, in her own way. Passionate about mountains, she then decides to settle near Chambéry. Curious by nature, she spends her time observing, learning, and exploring new subjects.

Today a yoga teacher, Flavie also represents a theatre company based in Savoie. She sees herself as a squirrel because she can hardly stand still! Her adventurous soul pushes her towards experiences that are extraordinary. And above all, she likes to spend hours in the mountains, where nature can still reign. This is what she finds in Trail Running.

Key Achievements

3° TDS 2023
The 6000d in 2019 (65km - 3500d+)
The Beautiful Escape in 2019 (85km - 6000d+)
The TDS in 2021 (145km - 9100d+)

Future Projects

MIUT 85km.
Ultra Trail du Queyras.
TDS 2023.

Interview with Flavie

3 words that define you as an athlete?

Passionate. Persistent. Respectful.

3 values that fit you as a person?

Authenticity, curiosity, determination.

Why do you feel you belong to the Cimalp family?

The CIMALP family particularly caught my attention for all the values it represents. It has a real desire to put forward quality products and the members are passionate. It is a French brand that wants to invest in projects related to the mountains and the respect of nature. Of course, it speaks to me!

Your best and worst mountain memories and why?

My best memory: finish at the Echappée Belle (85km). It was my first long race, I had not chosen the easiest one. I had just arrived in Chambéry. When I signed up, I didn't know that the Massif de Belledonne was very technical and demanding. After a relatively good race, with a difficult finish, I remember crying at the end of the last descent when I saw the sign for Aiguebelle, it was not far from 11:30 pm. I finished 1st female but I was mostly happy to have accomplished this race.

Worst memory: Trail du Jura (100km). Injured, I still decided to take the start of the race. Basically, I didn't really want to but I had to preserve through the pain if I had hoped to do the TDS the following year. The start is launched in the night under a beginning of snow. It was cold. It was an ordeal from the 20th km onwards, not to say the first. At each aid station, I told myself that I would not start again, but my friends and family managed to get me to the end. At the end of the course, I was limping, each impact on the ground made me wince with pain. At the finish line, I promised myself I wouldn't cry but the relief of finishing was too strong. 1 hour after finishing that race, I couldn't put my foot on the ground.

What do mountains inspire you to do?

I love them because they mix fascination, euphoria, feelings of freedom, fears, apprehension, and shivers. The beauty of the landscapes invites admiration: the peaks and valleys, the eternal snow, the torrents and waterfalls. It is also an invitation to a certain form of humility in the face of these elements.

What is your relationship to the environment and ecology?

For a few years now, I've been paying particular attention to environmental issues and trying to do my part as a hummingbird on a daily basis (buying more local, seasonal, consuming less, and rethinking my lifestyle...). I worked for 3 years on environmental issues related to the impacts of tourism activities and I was very involved in associations in Paris. But I now prefer to put this energy on a personal basis.

Another great passion/talent than sports?

The natural powers of the human body and traditional medicine.