Portrait
Patrick Bohard
Learn more about the discreet and likeable Patrick Bohard, the long-distance specialist from Upper Doubs.
Patrick Bohard, a trail-runner with a difference
At over 50 years of age, Patrick Bohard, who goes by the nickname Kirtap, is something of an oddball in the trail-running world. He is from Upper Doubs, and took to the trails late in life. After scouring the Jura Mountains on the hiking, mountain biking and especially cross-country skiing trails, he eventually started trail running… But Patrick Bohard is above all a nature enthusiast, a fan of the great outdoors and a lover of crazy challenges… He doesn't care much for performances and podiums... What interests him first and foremost is to surpass himself, pushing out his own boundaries and never forgetting that man is merely part of the nature that surrounds him.
The Jura Mountains running through his veins
Born in Foncine-le-Haut in Jura on 15th October 1964, Patrick studied in Mouthe. He is a pure product of the Jura Mountains, a region he has always loved dearly. When he's not on one of his challenges, you'll find him at "Sur la Roche", his hostel in Villers-le-Lac in Upper Doubs where he lives with his wife and children, including Manon Bohard who has been following in her father's footsteps for several years now. In Le Chauffaud, they accommodate tourists and athletes and organise trail-running training and improver courses that always include a significant component devoted to nutrition for trail-runners and environmental awareness.
It is also here in his heartland, just next to Switzerland, that he thought up the famous GTJ200. This 200km, 2-day cross-country skiing race for duos takes place every 2 years and attracts the region's very best endurance skiers...
