UROC – Ultra Race of Champions

Posted on January 15, 2013 by talkultra

Registration opens today. Will you be toeing the line (for the Ultra Race of Champions) on September 28th in Breckenridge?

www.ultraroc.com

The season closing race for the Ultra Skyrunning Championships. Of course it’s some 9 months away. But as the race fills up and you are made aware of ‘who’ is taking part in this race, you don’t want to look back and think… I wish I had entered in January!

Vail, Colorado, January 15th, 2013 - Registration for the Ultra Race of Champions, the Championship for the sport of ultra distance running is set to open on January 15th 2013 at 12 noon mountain standard time (MST), or 2pm eastern standard time (EST) at http://www.ultraroc.com. The date for the 2013 Ultra Race of Champions will be September 28th.

“We are very excited,”

says J. Russell Gill III, Ultra Race of Champions Event Director and Bad to the Bone Endurance Sports CEO.

“A lot of work goes into making this event possible, and it will be thrilling to see it all come together on race day. With UROC as the Skyrunner® World Series Ultra Final, I cannot wait to see how to field shapes up this year. We have already been getting inquiries from several top runners, whose names are right now top secret. After we open registration and as we confirm some of the elite athletes, we will be posting them regularly on the race website and on Facebook.”

“UROC is open to everyone,”

says Francesca Conte, Ultra Race of Champions President,

“and I am very excited to see what kind of response we get from the international audience, particularly from Europe. The International Skyrunning® Federation has been promoting the event as the Series final for months, and a lot of our Facebook Likes have been from Europe”.

Several factors contribute to the appeal of the race. As the ultra running championship, the race attracts most of the elite runners from the USA. As the Skyrunner® World Series Ultra Final, the race will now attract an even larger international field, and many of the best European athletes. The spectacular backdrop of the Colorado Rockies and the point to point course from Breckenridge to Frisco, to Copper Mountain, to Minturn and to finish in Vail Village is a big draw for runners of all backgrounds passionate about running in the mountains. Lastly, the Vail name is nationally and internationally recognized as a summer destination location. The point to point course is contingent upon US Forest Service permit approval.

Runners will be able to register beginning on January 15th, 2013 at www.ultraroc.com

So what you waiting for….

The Runner

Posted on December 30, 2012 by talkultra

I was posting on Facebook about two incredible films that are currently available for ‘download’ to your laptop or home computer. The first is a new film called ‘A Fine Line‘ and is the first film that will document Kilian Jornet‘s ‘Summits of my Life‘ project (available here).

The other is ‘Unbreakable‘, JB Benna’s inspirational film about Western States (available here). I guess it’s a movie that many of you will have seen but it’s ‘download’ release is a great opportunity to have it with you for viewing when travelling.

The release of the two above films prompted me to look back and think on one of my favourite run movies of all time. ‘The Runner‘.

Journeyfilm’s THE RUNNER follows Extreme UltraRunner David Horton through the desert sun, the high snowbound mountain passes, the pain, the emotion, and his revelation. Join him as he runs more than 40 miles per day for 66 consecutive days in an attempt to set the speed record on the 2,700 mile Pacific Crest Trail from Mexico to Canada.

I interviewed David Horton on Episode 4 of Talk Ultra so if you haven’t listened, check it out. He is an inspirational character in the ultra world. Available in iTunes HERE

Director and former PCT thru-hiker JB Benna follows Horton’s journey and discovers who he really is. Learn about UltraRunning, the PCT, and the history of this amazing person through interviews with today’s best endurance athletes, his family, and David himself.

A great adventure, a movie that makes you laugh, and a movie that makes you cry.

What drives David to such extreme challenges?

What does it take to become THE RUNNER?

Transvulcania La Palma – Running Fitness UK Oct2012

Posted on September 7, 2012 by talkultra

Some more great publicity for a very special race, the 2012 Transvulcania La Palma.

Published in RUNNING FITNESS October 2012

Part of the ISF International Skyrunning Federation ULTRA series

Ultra SkyMarathon® Series

*SPAIN:  TRANSVULCANIA ULTRA MARATHON - La Palma – May 12
USA:  Speedgoat 50K - Snowbird, Utah – July 28
ITALY:  Trofeo Kima UltraSkyMarathon® - Valmasino, Sondrio – August 26
SPAIN:  Cavalls del Vent - Cadi-Moixeró Natural Park - Pyrenees – September 29
FRANCE:  La Course des Templiers - Millau, Grands Causses – October 28

You can download the article in PDF HERE

New Horizons for the ISF

Posted on July 31, 2012 by talkultra

Another important step marks the rapidly changing face of skyrunning as the ISF takes on the 100-mile distance.

The rule was approved at the ISF AnnualGeneral Assembly which took place in Spain on July 6 during the SkyGames^®. Members representing the 22 countries in person or by proxy attended the meeting, chaired by President, Marino Giacometti.

The new Secretary General was elected in the form of skyrunner Nina Dacanay from the Philippines who no doubt will bring, among her many qualities, competence and efficiency together with a strong passion for promoting the sport.

New blood on the Management Committee includes Evgeny Kolchanov (Russia), Ian Sharman (Great Britain) and Fabio Menino (Italy) – all three runners. In fact, key runners were elected to stand on the Athletes’ Commission, namely Anna Frost (NZL) Joe Grant (USA) together with Fabio Menino and Ian Sharman. Their input will be invaluable in the development and strategy of the sport and to represent a voice for runners everywhere.

The athlete has always represented the number one focus for the skyrunning management and, at the beginning of the season, a seminar was held on the island of La Palma, Spain, with a view to gaining insight from the sport’s principal players – what runners really want and how they would like to see the sport develop. “Less Cloud. More Sky” was the title, emblematic of the new horizons skyrunning aims to explore.

Running legends representing different disciplines, countries and brands attended the three-day seminar from May 14 – 16, together with a number of the most representative media outlets from four continents.

Representing the ISF were president Marino Giacometti and VPs Lauri van Houten and Dr Sergio Giulio Roi. The superstar athletes attending were: KilianJornet, Iker Karrera, Anna Frost, Seb Chaigneau, Maud Gobert, Francois d’Haene, Thomas Lorblanchet, Florent Troillet, Gustavo Reyes, Csaba Nemeth, GiulianoCavallo and Americans Anton Krupicka, Mike Wolfe, Geoff Roes, Joe Grant, Ian Sharman, Nick Clark, Nikki Kimball, Transvulcania winner Dakota Jones and World Mountain Running champions Max King and Marco De Gasperi…..

For a new generation of runners the skyrunning past, illustrated with slides and videos, was an eye-opener. The topics examined included: the social media phenomenon, sponsorships and the industry – how these relate to the runners – and back to the industry; why a federation was created; how it interacts with the athletes; and the federation’s spirit and values.

The feedback from runners has proven invaluable in indicating the way forward and, just two months later, in giving runners a place and a voice on the Federation’s Management Committee and Athletes’ Commission.

Thanks to the success of “Less Cloud. More Sky” another seminar is programmed for 2013.

…six impossible things…

Posted on July 14, 2012 by talkultra

Timothy Olson - Western States 2012

…sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.

Fairy tales do come true; they do!

Timothy Allen Olson was a drunk and a drug taker. Not content with whom he was as a person; he sought a false confidence offered to him by his friends in booze and illegal substances.

As he says, it was easy for him to enjoy this ‘new me’. But it was a false life. A life that made him unhappy and a life that he felt was going to lead in only one direction… even ending up in jail and on probation didn’t wake him up to the reality of life.

Living in a depressed state he told me of the downward spiral and how one day, stood in the shower crying he decided he wanted to end his life. He’s not proud of it. In actual fact he now thinks the opposite. He says:

“It makes me real sad to think of that now considering when I have so much to live for”

This moment helped define the person he has now become! Feeling a need to prove the world wrong and of course himself, Timothy decided to stop being weak and to start living!

He started to run daily. In time the alcohol and drugs disappeared and the endorphin fix that running gave him became a lifesaver. Free from the addictions and substances that had potentially ruined his life, Timothy looked for new purpose. He started coaching track and cross country at a local High School. He made running fun for them and in the process of doing so, he found a new life.

With college over he went on a road trip. He lived a simple life running trails with his new buddy, a small dog and although ultra running was something he was not aware of, he knew that he wanted to be out in the open, running and taking in the beautiful Western vistas.

Turns out that coffee played an instrumental change in his whole new existence… or should I say the lady serving the coffee. Timothy knew that Krista was the one for him. He plucked up the courage to ask her out on a date. It didn’t take long for both of them to realize that they had found ‘the one’.

With a baby due in August, Timothy and Krista have a full and wonderful life ahead of them. As they decorate the baby’s room in preparation for the arrival, they have been writing favorite quotes on the wall. A favorite of Timothy’s is from Alice In Wonderland:

“…sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.”

It would seem that after storming to victory at the iconic 2012 Western States 100 mile Endurance Run in a course record time of 14:46 that Timothy Allen Olson, his wife Krista and the new unborn baby really do have the confirmation that fairy tales can come true!

You can listen to a full interview with Timothy Allen Olson on Talk Ultra episode 12 via:

iTunes - talkultra or HERE

Collective Dreams

Posted on May 31, 2012 by talkultra

Another wonderful film to come out of the island of La Palma and the Transvulcania race. This time by Salomon Running and featuring British runner and 2nd place in the race, Andy Symonds.

Transvulcania La Palma – The Movie

Posted on May 31, 2012 by talkultra

A hard and extreme Ultramarathon, proof that only men of iron and women of steel can overcome, many try, many want to, but only a few will achieve the goal. The body is pushed to extremes in a race that all who participate call spectacular, breathtaking, addictive, and challenging. The 2012 event included a stellar line up with athletes travelling from all over the world to take part. To reach the goal of the finish line is everybody’s dream but the reality is not an easy one… welcome to the fourth edition of the Salomon Transvulcania Nature Trail