From Utah to the Italian Alps: former Olympic alpine skier lines up at Adamello Ultra Trail

USA’s Douglas Lewis, World Downhill Championships bronze medalist in Bormio 1985, is gearing up towards the 100 miles race in the Pontedilegno-Tonale area (Northern Italy). “I was looking for something as beautiful as brutal, and Adamello Ultra Trail caught my attention. I can’t wait to run on the trails of World War I”

Next September 20-22 will be the tenth anniversary of Adamello Ultra Trail (AUT), the trail and ultra-running event in the Pontedilegno-Tonale area (Italy). Started in 2014 and joined in its first edition by a bunch of local runners, #AUT managed to constantly grow and become more international, featuring over 700 athletes from 15 Countries. Athletes bringing to Alta Val Camonica and Alta Val di Sole their dreams, their adventurous spirit and their life stories.

This is the case of Douglas Grey Lewis, former US alpine skier ready to take on the 170 km (100 miles) ultra-distance. Born in Vermont in 1964, Lewis took the spotlight by taking the bronze medal at the 1985 FIS Alpine World Ski Championships in Bormio, just about 50 km away from the starting and finishing point of Adamello Ultra Trail. Highlights of his career are the 1986 and 1987 National Downhill Championships, and the two Winter Olympics with Team USA at Sarajevo 1984 and Calgary 1988, his last year competing on the white slopes.

After his retirement as professional athlete, he worked as NBC ski analyst for some of the major international events ranging from World Cups to Olympic Games. Furthermore, he started a fitness camp for young athletes, monitoring and addressing their development under all aspects: among his alumni is the most successful skier of all times, fellow American Mikaela Shiffrin.

However, given his competitive soul, Lewis embraced new challenges and Adamello Ultra Trail marks his seventh 100-miler:

“Why this race? I was looking for something as beautiful as brutal, the online videos really got me, and this race ticks all the boxes. In addition, the area is not far from Bormio, an important step of my career and life. So here I am, ready for this next adventure together with my wife, who will be my support crew: I’m excited.”

From Utah, where the couple lives nowadays, it will take almost 9000 km to reach Brescia and Vezza d’Oglio, where Adamello Ultra Trail starts and finishes. That’s why their trip will consists of an early arrival and will last around two weeks:

“We will get there about ten days ahead of the race to get to know the route, to discover the area and to fully enjoy the offer of such a beautiful area with plenty of landscapes, flavours and history”.

According to “Doug”, the historical side is indeed one of the most diverse features from US trail running events.

I can’t wait for the cheering from the fans, the passion from the volunteers and their relentless support: that’s something not that common in US events. Here in Europe, it seems that trail running is more like a cultural thing, it really gets the community. And the trails are much older, with a lot of history: Adamello Ultra Trail in particular, since it winds on military roads, trenches and tunnels of World War I”.

However, Lewis wasn’t much of a running fan while being a professional athlete:

I actually hated to run, now I can’t stop. I would like trail running to become an Olympic sport: 100 km race will bring plenty of highlights! What I love about it is the chance to run side by side with athletes from all over the World, and the mental toughness it requires. In a 100-mile race my power of will be deeply tested, but I know I’m strong enough to get over it and become a finisher. My goal? I always line up for the win, but being 60 years old and facing much younger runners, I aim for a top-20 position, with a total time between 31 and 36 hours”. The clock is ticking and it’s almost time to embark on this 9000 km journey: waiting for “Doug” Lewis, on September 20-22, is the Adamello Ultra Trail 170 km.

Registrations end in two weeks!

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