Sabrina Schirmer: From Adventure Racing to the Sahara
In a conversation with Shubi on XTREMMA Sports, the ultramarathoner details her transition to mountain ultras and tackling 270 km in the Sahara.
With over two decades dedicated to endurance sports, Sabrina Schirmer shares insights from adventure racing, the challenge of tackling iconic races like the Tor des Géants, and preparing for the self-sufficient 270 km Marathon des Sables. At 52, the physical educator demonstrates how strength training and mental management sustain athletic longevity.
Sabrina Schirmer's endurance journey didn't start at a traditional road race starting line. Earning a degree in physical education in the 1990s, she built her professional foundation teaching group fitness classes and spinning, alongside specializing in postural correction and strength training. Her pivot to outdoor endurance occurred in the early 2000s when friends invited her to join an adventure racing team.
Back then, the sport was in its infancy in Brazil: international race registrations were mailed via letters, trail shoes had to be imported in travelers' luggage, and training relied mostly on intuition and sheer willpower. Sabrina competed for years with teams like Família Extremo and across the Traion Meeting circuit, earning victories and state titles in races that combined mountain biking, paddling, and rugged trail running.
The turning point: From four-person teams to solo mountain ultras
Pregnancy in 2007 and the birth of her son brought a new set of daily challenges. Balancing motherhood, remote work, and multi-discipline adventure race training became unsustainable. The solution was transitioning to mountain ultramarathons, a format where training logistics narrowed down to running and strength conditioning.
Her solo racing debut came at the classic 160 km La Misión in Argentine Patagonia. Accustomed to the collective dynamics of team racing, where pacing required constant negotiation, Sabrina found liberating autonomy in solo racing: managing sleep, nutrition, and race pace now depended entirely on her own choices.
Technical hurdles and extreme conditions at Tor des Géants
Among the toughest races of her career, Sabrina highlights the Tor des Géants in the Italian Alps. Spanning roughly 330 km with 25,000 meters of cumulative elevation gain around the Aosta Valley, the race demands pushing forward for days on minimal sleep.
In the edition she finished in 140 hours, Sabrina battled a severe blizzard atop Col de Malatrà, the course's final summit. Alone on the mountain during a complete whiteout—unable to spot trail markers buried under snow—she had to keep panic at bay to descend using trekking poles and crampons to an escape route before the race was officially shut down.
Self-sufficiency and strategy at Marathon des Sables
Another recent milestone was completing the 270 km Marathon des Sables in the Moroccan Sahara during its 40th-anniversary edition. The multi-stage race is run in complete self-sufficiency: each athlete must carry all food, sleeping gear, a stove, and mandatory equipment in their backpack to survive in the desert, with organizers providing only a daily water ration.
With packs weighing up to 20 kg at the start, temperature swings from 44°C (111°F) during the day to sub-zero conditions at night, and the requirement to consume at least 2,000 calories a day, logistics become just as critical as physical fitness. To withstand the harsh climate, Sabrina completed a six-month training block featuring strength sessions inside a sauna and eliminated gluten from her diet to resolve long-standing gastrointestinal issues.
Longevity, strength, and mindset beyond the 70 km mark
At 52 and free of recent joint injuries, Sabrina credits her consistency to disciplined strength training and mental self-awareness. In ultra-endurance events, she explains that entering a flow state and deep focus usually clicks in after the 70 km mark, the threshold where the mind takes command and negotiates with bodily fatigue.
Free from the pressure of chasing overall podiums, her current focus is seeking transformative experiences and advocating for a stronger female presence on the trails. Following challenges in Brazil and Argentina, her sights are now set on another desert crossing: the 275 km self-supported journey across the Atacama Desert.