"I Need Running to Stay Alive" | Inside the Compulsive Mind of Biel

Biel, or Gabriel Bastos, is a Brazilian ultrarunner, Speed Project athlete, tattoo artist and printmaker living in Berlin.

He has represented Brazil at the 24-Hour World Championships and set records on The Speed Project’s routes from Los Angeles to Las Vegas and Chamonix to Marseille.

But this conversation is less about what Biel has done than why he cannot seem to stop. He describes himself as compulsive, “like a disorder,” and says he needs extreme experiences to stay alive.

Recorded in the HOKA lounge overlooking the final meters of the OCC finish during UTMB week in Chamonix.

The Borderlands Trail Running Podcast is presented by KIPRUN.

CHAPTERS
00:00 Introduction
02:20 Biel's Face Tattoos, Identity + Freedom
05:10 Why Ultrarunning Keeps Biel Alive
07:12 TSP + Biel's Chamonix-to-Marseille Record
10:52 24-Hour Racing vs The Speed Project
13:00 A Perfect Fit for Biel
18:33 From Nightclub Cleaner to Professional Runner
22:41 Biel as Artist + Life Beyond Running
27:32 Beyond Records + Limits

Additional photo courtesty of Tycjan Trzpioloa | instagram.com/tycjantrzpiola

Presented by Kiprun bit.ly/kiprun_yt
______________
Borderlands explores trail running through culture, media, and the forces shaping it.

If you’re new here, start here: borderlands.cc/start-here
Read on Substack (borderlandstrailrunning.substack.com)
Listen on any podcast platform (pod.link/1725734721)
More at borderlands.cc