Philippe Gatta wins Spine Challenger title
The Spine Race typically takes around 60 hours to complete, presenting an extreme physical and mental challenge. Philippe nearly halved that time to claim victory. Yet, compared to the even more grueling mountain challenges Philippe regularly undertakes, this high-difficulty marathon was nothing out of the ordinary — in fact, for him, it was just another training session.
In 10 months, Philippe will tackle the 1,050-mile (approximately 1,690 km) traverse across the world’s highest roof — the Himalayas — equivalent to the distance of 40 full marathons. He plans to complete the challenge in 40 days, meaning he’ll run the equivalent of a full marathon every single day during that period.
Philippe Gatta on the move
If Philippe achieves his goal, he will break the existing record for crossing the Himalayas by 9 days. It’s worth noting that the current record was set on a lower-altitude section of the range, whereas Philippe will take on a higher-altitude route, including eight peaks over 8,000 meters above sea level.
Philippe Gatta’s planned route for the Himalayan traverse
As a sponsored athlete of Berghaus, Philippe will use the brand’s newly developed gear designed for extreme climates during this adventure, and will share updates from his journey along the way.