„Sehe ich den Berg, mit blauem Himmel dahinter und Sonnenstrahlen auf dem Gipfel, so bin ich nichts als dieser Berg, dieser Himmel, diese Strahlen […]“ (Arthur Schopenhauer)

Who am I?

This is a philosophical question. And that brings us a little closer to the answer: I'm Pascale Worré, a passionate ultra runner and philosopher. What does that mean and what does it say about me as a person? I'll just start very simply, the rest can certainly be explored with the help of the articles.

I live in Luxembourg, a small country bordering Germany, France and Belgium. Already very early as a child I was looking for a certain "truth", I always wanted to know why the world is the way it is, why people are the way they are, and why there is suffering, joy, love and death. These are just a few examples of questions, there were plenty of them in my head.

These questions remained even as a young adult. I looked for answers in philosophical and literary texts, studied German language, literature and philosophy at the university in Heidelberg. In the year 2012 I started my PhD. in philosophy. At the time I started writing my PhD, I also started running. And running changed my view of the world, of nature, of life, and it shook my previous views. Running gave me also a new perspective on myself and on what I used to call "truth". And my understanding of philosophy also got different, at least the kind of philosophy that is often taught by studied philosophers and at universities.

When I started running in 2012, I quickly realized that the longer distances appealed to me. I saw a report on "ultra runs", meaning runs that exceed the marathon distance of 42.195. There are no upper limits, and different variations are also possible: 100-kilometer runs, 100-mile runs (160 kilometers), stage runs, 24-hour runs, backyard ultras… Most of these runs take place on trails. I was absolutely mesmerized by these types of runs. Running through nature for hours and days, often in extraordinary conditions and on demanding terrain, seemed impossible to me on the one hand, but at the same time I knew that this is exactly what I wanted to do. Exploring the world by running through it. At the time, I couldn't even imagine what it would feel like and what it would do to me. 

There are so many reasons why people run or don't run. And everyone should find out and live out their personal reason or reasons for themselves. I've often asked myself why I run. I think I found an answer too. But maybe the "why?" is not as elementary as its effects and influences.

Enjoy exploring!