The Catalan athlete Oriol Antolí (born in 1983) has established himself as a world-class figure in ultra-running, specializing in the Backyard ultra discipline. This modality requires completing a 6.7-kilometer loop every hour, attempting to endure for the maximum possible time. His most recent success was at the Big Dog's race in Tennessee, United States, last October, where he set the Spanish record with 103 laps (more than four days of running) and finished seventh globally.
It's about focusing on running and nothing else, and not thinking about anything else, because obviously the body sends warning signals everywhere.
Antolí, who started in this modality almost by chance, explains that the key lies in mental management and sleep. To maximize rest, the athlete works to reduce his lap time, achieving an average of about six minutes of sleep per hour. This logistical focus allowed him, during the last World Championship, to fall asleep instantly due to extreme exhaustion.
The last ten hours are agonizing, but I would say they are also the most gratifying.
The engineer from Terrassa acknowledges that, despite the physical hardship, muscular recovery is relatively quick, but the mental impact is more lasting. Regarding the future, Antolí already has a new goal: to surpass his record at the end of April in a Backyard ultra circuit in Belgium, considered one of the most accessible in the world, where he will seek to increase his personal best.
