An easy hour or so on the very muddy trails on the final descent at Zegama. With Alex Nichols, Dave James, Silvia Serafini, Stevie Kremer and Anthony Bethell.
Zegama – pre race play on the trails
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Monthly Archives: May 2013
Zegama Inov-8 team are ready!
The Inov-8 International Skyrunning Team are ready for Zegama – Anna Lupton, Sarah Ridgeway, Ben Bardsley and Alex Nichols along with team manager, Natalie White are excited to be racing at this iconic race.
It also sees the launch of the new Inov-8 Mountain Running Wear.
The team have been testing new products such as the Wind Shell 60 jacket for the ladies and the Wind Shell 70 jacket for the men. In addition, they have also been using the Base Elite ‘T’s and 3/4 tights.
Zegama will be the first race for Inov-8 using this new apparel.
Silvia Serafini Zegama pre race interview
Silvia Serafini, Salomon Agisko copyright Ian Corless
Silvia Serafini is a rising star for Salomon Agisko. She has an excellent pedigree and fast times in road running. In 2012 she moved to trail and mountain running and participated in multiple races always performing in the top 10. She has immense ability and potential.
Excited, motivated and maybe a little apprehensive about racing at Zegama, Silvia, like fellow team mate, Stevie Kremer, says this race will be a learning curve. But do not rule her out. She without doubt has the speed and ability to perform at the highest level at this 2013 edition of this iconic race.
YouTube HERE
Links:
Zegama – a chilled and relaxed Friday
A selection of images in and around the town of Zegama. This race is a beautiful mountain race with a history. As runners arrive ahead of tomorrows registration day, the locals join in for the build up to Sunday’s race.
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- Silvia Serafini, Salomon Agisko copyright Ian Corless
Sarah Ridgeway Zegama pre race interview
Sarah Ridgeway Inov-8 copyright Ian Corless
Sarah Ridgeway needs no introduction to the ‘Zegama’ experience. She raced here in 2012 and placed 6th overall. She loves Zegama and she feels very privileged not only to be back racing at Zegama again but also to be part of the Inov-8 International Skyrunning Team.
Last years race was cold, wet and we had snow. Sarah hopes she gets similar conditions this year… one of the advantages of being a fell and mountain runner in the UK!
YouTube HERE
Links:
Alex Nichols – Zegama pre race interview
Alex Nichols Inov-8 copyright Ian Corless
Alex Nichols has had a long journey to Zegama. However, he has had some time to relax and recover and without doubt he is looking forward to the challenge that will unfold on Sunday.
Without doubt he is excited to be racing Kilian Jornet, Luis Alberto Hernando, Michel Lanne, Marco de Gasperi and more… he is new to racing in Europe and he appreciates the racing and trails are very different to the US. But he is here to race, his form is good and he plans to push at the front of the race!
YouTube HERE
Links:
Stevie Kremer – Zegama pre race interview
Stevie Kremer – copyright Ian Corless
Stevie Kremer burst onto the European running scene with a stunning second place at Sierre-Zinal in 2012. She followed this with a win at the World Long Distance Mountain Running Championships at Interlaken later that year.
Stevie is extremely modest and humble, she says that she shouldn’t really be a World champion… I don’t agree. She has immense talent. She most certainly has the potential to win at Zegama but it is her first big race of the year and her first big race against some serious competition. She may well use this to ease into 2013 and find her feet. Rest assured, once she has found them she will be a force to be reckoned with.
YouTube – HERE
Links:
Dragon’s Back Race – DVD
“YOU ARE MOST ALIVE WHEN YOU ARE MOST FEARFUL”
I love a good movie! I don’t mind if it is in the cinema or at home. Both have pluses and minuses.
A big plus of the cinema is popcorn from the ticket desk and of course, when I am in my seat, that is it. I don’t move until the movies over… you see, I am always easily distracted. I always have ‘something’ to do!
At home I can kick back, put my feet up, get a glass of wine and hopefully relax. If the movie doesn’t grab me, I often find I am reaching for my laptop and then I somehow multi task. More to the point, my work gets my attention and the movie drifts away from my mind and it becomes a distant memory.
This didn’t happen with the Dragon’s Back Race!
Running movies are a tough call. If you are ‘interested’ and by that, I mean a runner or enthusiastic sports person, you can often continue watching a poor movie because the content enthrals you. Very few running movies have been ale to combine key elements and not only provide a great story but also be able to tell it in a visual way, with thoughtful dialogue and importantly a great soundtrack. For comparison I mention ‘The Runner’ by JB Benna, a story about David Horton running the Pacific Crest Trail (2,700 miles) and most recently, “A fine line – Summits of my life” by Sebastian Montaz-Rosset. As I am sure many of you will know, this movie documents Kilian Jornet over the first of his Summits series. I consider the latter filmmaker, Seb Montaz, a master of his craft.
Lets cut to the chase!
I loved the Dragon’s Back Race dvd. It provides a movie experience for all. I strongly feel, very much like the James Cracknell documentary on the Marathon des Sables, that this movie is extremely watchable and intereting for all concerned.
It really does tick all the boxes.
An epic journey, stunning scenery and locations, thoughtful and meaningful story telling, glory, pain, struggles and strife. Not only that, but for the most part, the sun was shining in Wales… that doesn’t happen often, does it!
Documenting the story of eighty four runners, from fifteen countries, the Dragon’s Back Race takes hold of you from the start as the dulcet tones of a male voice choir and the views on Conway Castle lead us into a journey of 300km over five days and altitude gains of 17,000m. The last year this race was held was in 1992.
The film takes you into the heart of the 2012 race as the competitors navigate an individual path down the spine of Wales. Never has Wales looked so good on film.
It’s a compelling and beautiful story. Remote, relentless, ruthless but ravishing.
“I expect to suffer much physical pain” says Rob Baker, eventually placing second overall.
As with all races, somebody comes first and somebody comes last. Without doubt, the film follows the battle for the front of the race between Steve Birkinshaw, Rob Baker and Patrick Devine Wright. But for balance, a wonderful insight is provided into Helene Whitaker (she raced the Dragon’s Back in 1992 and won it). She conveys true mountain spirit, “You don’t enter something like this if you know you can finish it”. And she is right, by day four, from the eighty four starters, only 28 people are left in the race.
One of the twenty eight, is no61 and of course, she is sixty one years old, Wendy Dodd. Also a participant in the 1992 race, she personifies true mountain spirit, guts and a desire to achieve, “It is far more harmful to be inactive than active” she retorts, poles in hand as she powers up a climb. On leaving a checkpoint after a well earned rest and refuel, she stops, turns to the camera and says, “Got to get to the post office before it closes, I need to get my pension”.
It is this humility, this passion and I guess the quirkiness of all those who undertake such challenges that gives the Dragon’s Back Race such broad appeal.
If anyone asks you in the future, “What is mountain running like in England, Ireland, Scotland or Wales?”
Point them in the direction of the Dragon’s Back Race dvd. They won’t be disappointed.
Links:
The dvd is available HERE
What others are saying:
“Breathtaking” – Trail Running Magazine
“Awesome endurance and stunning filming” – UKHillwalking.com
“One of the great running documentaries. A must see for any runner” – Sheffield Adventure Film Festival
“A film of epic proportions” – MudSweatandTears.co.uk
“Remote, Relentless, Ruthless and Ravishing” – talkultra.com
Many thanks to Shane Ohly for my advance copy of the dvd and the opportunity to review it, *Please note, I am not connected to the Dragon’s Back Race in any way. This is an impartial review.
SNAPPED – Running Fitness June 2013
One of my images from the 2013 ‘The Coastal Challenge’
“Some races have mountains; some have dense forest; some have beach running; and some, like Costa Rica’s Coastal Challenge, have it all!”
The brainchild of Costa Rican architect and adventure racer, Rodrigo Carazo, the ninth edition of this epic race covered 236k over six days. Starting in Quepos on the coast, and travelling down the coastline of Costa Rica, moving in and out of rain forests and covering a total vertical gain of over 30,000 ft to finally arrive at the stunning Drake Bay.
Entries for 2014 are now available at: www.thecoastalchallenge.co.uk
Running Fitness, June 2013
Skyrunning in South Africa scoops its first Skymarathon®
© Running The Cape
The South African Skyrunning Association (SASA) is excited to announce its next sanctioned event, the Matroosberg Trail Challenge, on 26 October 2013.
Organised by Running The Cape, the 36km race is set in the Matroosberg Private Nature reserve, two and half hours from Cape Town, near Ceres in the Western Cape.
With the race distance meeting the International Skyrunning Federation (ISF) requirement of between 30km and 42km, and its elevation gain of 2 200m on mountainous 4×4 trails and rocky single track, the Matroosberg Trail Challenge qualifies as a Skymarathon®, guaranteeing a route packed with lung-burning climbs, incredible scenery and testing terrain.
As SASA’s second sanctioned skyrunning race, the event will be southern Africa’s first Skymarathon®, pioneering the way for South Africa’s first ever national skyrunning circuit.
The route of the Matroosberg Trail Challenge will take runners up to the 2 249m Matroosberg Peak, the second highest peak in the Western Cape. Runners will overlook the Bokkeveld, Ceres, Droë Hoek, Koue Bokkeveld, and the Ceres Karoo, with views of the Witzenberg, Cedarberg and Du Toitskloof Mountains.
October weather in the Western Cape often brings surprises, and the chance of cold weather could even give competitors the opportunity to run in snow.
Running The Cape’s Ghaleed Nortje is confident the route will challenge every runner, even the strongest and most experienced.
“For the privilege of having spectacular views, the route will make runners pay – they’ll have to negotiate mountainous terrain, very steep climbs and descents, high altitude and unpredictable weather conditions. Near the top, the chance of snow will be good – a snow-covered track makes for smoother running, but will make the course even more challenging,” explains Nortje.
Nortje sees the event’s association with skyrunning in South Africa as a tremendous boost, not only for the race but for national trail running as a whole.
“I’m really excited about the MTC being sanctioned by SASA, and by the prospect of it forming part of a national skyrunning circuit from 2014. Gone are the days when we trail runners have to drool over skyrunning events in Europe and the USA – our South African athletes can now be a part of that rich experience too, by participating in local skyrunning events,” says Nortje.
Being a SASA-sanctioned event, the Matroosberg Trail Challenge will also enjoy exposure to the international trail running community through SASA’s association with the ISF, potentially attracting athletes from outside of South Africa’s borders.
Defined as mountain running up to or exceeding 2 000m, where the incline exceeds 30% and where the climbing difficulty is not more than 11˚ gradient, the sport of skyrunning has taken the trail running world by storm in Europe, America and Asia over the past 20 years.
Skyrunning, a term coined by the ISF, is a discipline conceived by Italian mountaineer Marino Giacometti who, with a handful of fellow climbers during the early 1990s, pioneered records and races on Mont Blanc and Monte Rosa in the Italian Alps.
Today, skyrunning has grown to span some 200 registered races worldwide, with about 30 000 participants from 54 countries.
Formed in 2011, SASA is an associate member of the ISF, and aims to promote and facilitate the growth of skyrunning in South Africa.
Event information will be posted towards the end of May, and entries will open during the second half of June 2013. For continued updates on the event, follow Running The Cape on Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/RunningTheCape)
IAN CORLESS 