The 19-year-old orienteer and trail runner Loïc Berger pulverised the 25-year-old Swiss U20 record at the international half marathon in Barcelona. With a time of 1:07:21 hours, last year's U20 European silver medallist in mountain running was over two minutes under the previous record.

Barcelona Half Marathon
I saw it as a personal challenge and learnt a lot about this kind of sport during training and the race itself. It was also the first race that I trained for in such a specific way. On the day, I was super-fit and managed to achieve my goal, so I’m really happy.

2025 goals
I want to run in the Swiss Cross Country Championships. It’s not a key objective, but it’s part of my training. My main goal this season is the World Orienteering Championships in Italy (Trentino) in early July, where I’m hoping for a good result: a team medal and at least an individual top 10. Then there’s the World Mountain and Trail Running Championships in Spain (Canfranc-Pirineos) in late September, where I’m aiming for the top 10. To finish, all being well, I’d also like to take part in the European Cross Country Championships at the end of the year.

Orienteering
It’s my favourite sport. It requires excellent physical qualities on every level: endurance, power, energy, plus you have to be very clear-headed in reading the map. This makes it a very demanding sport.

Trail running
I love running, and trail running is an ideal addition to my training throughout the orienteering season. As well as doing it for fun, I’ve been lucky enough to take part in international competitions and had some good results.

Coach
From a physical perspective, I put together my own training plan and mostly train alone. My dad acts as my supervisor. Thanks to his experience, he can provide valuable insight and sound advice.

The technical and mental aspects are fundamental when it comes to orienteering, and my dad’s knowledge is a huge asset. Keeping mistakes to a minimum and making the right choice of route through varied terrain around the world demands a lot of preparation and experience. My dad has run all over the world and has a lot of experience with international competitions, which helps massively.

I’m also part of the Swiss junior orienteering squad, and we hold regular training camps together.

Training philosophy
I really listen to my body and need to be extremely flexible. We have orienteering competitions nearly every weekend from May to October, which makes periodisation almost impossible. Because of this, I focus on a few main goals and do specific interval blocks, depending on the period. I aim for quality over quantity. My studies take up quite a lot of time, so I need to get the most out of every session to ensure it’s effective, without becoming too fatigued.

Training amount
As I said, I aim for quality over quantity. I run between 65 and 95 km a week, or 6 to 9 hours of training a week, as well as all the technical and mental preparation.

Studies
I’m in the first year of a computer engineering degree at HE-Arc in Neuchâtel. I’m doing it full-time at the moment, but I’m going to switch to part-time for a better balance between sport and studies.

My strengths
I have very strong physical capabilities as an orienteer. I’m also very determined: once I take on a project, I go all in and am prepared to make the necessary sacrifices to succeed, which means that I’m pretty conscientious and dedicated when it comes to training.

My weaknesses
From a technical perspective, there's still room for improvement in my orienteering. I still often make mistakes in competitions, which cost me a lot of time and I can’t always make up for them physically :)
 
My recipe for success
From a very young age, I have always spent a lot of time outside, going on hikes for several days at a time, etc. This allowed me to build a good endurance base very early on. Then, from the age of 16-17, I started training in a more structured way.

From that point on, it’s fairly straightforward: I train hard, often and as intelligently as possible, listening to my body to avoid injury and trying to find the best possible balance between studying and sport. I’ve been in this rhythm for 2-3 years now, and it’s starting to pay off. Long may it continue!

Why are orienteers fast?
From a very young age, we get a lot of support from teams, first at the cantonal* level, then nationally, which quickly teaches us how to train in a smart way.

Orienteering is also an extremely demanding sport that requires dedication and perfectionism, and I think these qualities are what make orienteers excellent runners (trail and road).

Finally, the level in Switzerland is very high. The competitive aspect drives us to go beyond our limits and make constant progress, and this really shows when we tackle other disciplines.

Carbon shoes
The shoes don’t make the runner! A lot of people place too much importance on equipment, whereas a good night’s sleep and a balanced diet are worth far more than any pair of shoes.

That said, once you’ve tried to optimise a few key aspects, carbon shoes can make you – or at least, make you feel – faster. But I think that the changing weight of the shoe, in proportion to the size and dynamism of the foam, as well as the placebo effect, play a major role.