“I think that after day one I was raw, when you strip away all the freshness and you kind of expose all these emotions inside – I was like that after day one. You’re tired. You’re always tired so your emotions are naturally there. I suppose my mind was drawing me through – I’m a big beliver in ‘where your mind leads, your body follows’ and I was like protected by this little mental bubble that surrounded me and I was so determined to complete what I had set out to do.”

Jez Bragg won the Ultra Trail Mont Blanc in 2010 but what really makes him stand out as a ultra runner is the, in lack of better words, epic adventure of running and kayaking the entire length of the Te Araroa trail.

The Te Araroa means “the long pathway” and it connects the northernmost with the southernmost tip of New Zealand. He started running the 3 000 km long trail in the end of 2012 and finished 53 days later – the fastest time anyone have done the trail that runs through beaches, cities, dense forests with gnarly trails and harsh alpine ranges.

In the interview we talk about his mindset on the long runs, about planning for the Te Araroa adventure and how the application works as a The North Face athlete. We talk about winning the UTMB and what attracts him to the big ultras. We talk about his mental state after the physical and mental fatigue of the Te Araroa and his view on his own body after the adventure.

If you like this interview please check out the rest of the Husky International series such as an interview with american runner Max King, with The North Face athletes David Göttler and Simone Moro, with legendary triathlete “Macca” McCormack, with Gary Fischer, with freeskier Jackie Paaso or Lebanese adventurer Maxime Chaya.

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Husky is produced in cooperation with Lundhags.

Original photo © Damiano Levati, picture taken in New Zealand

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