Speaking to Lovin Malta, Ryan explained that OCR is a tough sport, even at short distances. However, the 52K Ultra was a “completely different level of endurance”.

“The hardest part was the mountainous terrain and steep elevation throughout the whole of the course,” he said.

“More specifically, I found the uphill 500 metre chain carry – which was approximately 40 kilograms and the lake crossing with a 30 kilogram wooden log some of the hardest obstacles in the race. And these had to be done twice.”

Another testing aspect of the race that Ryan somewhat struggled with was defending his third place position 35 kilometres deep into the race.

“The hardest part aside from the obstacles was the fact that, at 35 kilometres, I knew I was in 3rd position, and I had to push really really hard to defend the podium. I had to really fight for that place, knowing that close behind me were athletes who are favourites and who have very good results in such races.”

“I had to risk and push, and with fatigue starting to kick in at 5hrs of racing, there is a very fine line between pushing yourself too much and burning out, and just pushing enough to maintain that strong pace without cramping, fatigue, dehydration and losing energy.”

Besides the vigorous physical challenges, Ryan admitted that the intimidation of the race itself caused some serious mental strains.

“The overall experience is very, very challenging and it’s hard to pick one part. However, mentally, the hardest challenge was the fact that everyone says that the Morzine Ultra is so harem so brutal, and so long; that you go into the event incredibly humble and with barely any expectations other than to finish.”

Ryan’s preparation for such a race was equally as impressive taking years of training and pushing to compete in the Elite category.

Leading up to this race, Ryan participated in other Ultras like the Gozo 50k Trail in May which he won for the third time in his career, and the Mountain Running World Championships in Austria last month where he represented Malta.

The overall training involves more or less 15 hours per week and has to include strength workouts, specific obstacle training, uphill running, and a lot of running.

After Ryan’s incredible success, the professional plans to do a two week raining camp in Chamonix, France. His next race is a 21 kilometre mountain race with the Malta mountain running national team.

Then in October, he’ll be partaking in the Cappadocia ultra Trail 63km – which he took part in last year and impressed everyone by achieving second place.

His last big race of the year will be the Valencia Marathon to close the year with one of the fastest races on the planet.

If you’re interested in following Ryan’s athletic journey, follow him here. Well done Ryan!

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