TOP FILIPINO FINISHER. Paris-based Dennis Retardo emerges as the best Filipino finisher in the Nice Côte d’Azur race in France on Sept. 29, 2023. Regardo clocked 32 hours and 29.29 minutes. (Contributed photo)
MANILA – Paris-based Dennis Retardo emerged as the best Filipino finisher in the Nice Côte d’Azur race on Sept. 29 in France.
Dennis Retardo finished the trail race's ultimate category --the 165-kilometer race which saw the racers traverse four mountains, in 32 hours and 29.29 minutes.
“Beautiful trail but it was so hard, especially at the descent with 3,400 meters above sea level,” Retardo said.
The race started in Auron and ended at the Promenade des Anglais in Nice with racers needing to climb up to 8,700 feet above sea level.
Retardo is not new to competing in the Nice Côte d’Azur as he joined the 20-kilometer race last year.
However, he competed in two races similar to the full Nice Côte d’Azur distance, the 2021 and 2022 editions of the Traces des Ducs de Savoie where he ran 145 kms at as high as 9,100 feet above sea level.
Retardo also raced in a longer route than the full Nice Côte d’Azur distance, the 170-km Ultra Trail des Montagnes du Jura, where the 36-year-old finished seventh overall and second in his age group.
Earlier this year, Retardo competed in the Paris Marathon and the Besancon Trail, where he finished seventh in his age group. (PNA)
