LANZAROTE TRAINING CAMP 2024

Posted on January 30, 2023 by talkultra

MULTI-DAY TRAINING CAMP

JANUARY 2024 11th to 18th (Thursday to Thursday)

Located at the iconic Club La Santa resort, our training camp will provide you with all the knowledge, experience and practical training you need to make your next trail, ultra and multi-day adventure a success.

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Hosted by IAN CORLESS, the training camp is the perfect place to hone your skills for multi-day, fast packing and running in general.

With

2024 LINE UP

ANNA COMET PASCUA, PIERRE MESLET,

LAUREN GREGORY and INGE NIJKAMP.

GUESTS – KEVIN WEBBER and STEVE DIEDERICH.

Anna Comet Pascua won the 2022 Marathon des Sables in a dominant performance. An experienced sky, mountain and ultra-runner, Anna is also a multi-day specialist with victories at The Coastal Challenge in Costa Rica and the Everest Trail Race in Nepal. A runner for the Scarpa Team, it’s a pleasure to have Anna join us in Lanzarote.

Lauren Gregory ran the 2021 (toughest) Marathon des Sables and was first British woman and 8th in the women category. A personal trainer, Lauren will guide a run group, host yoga sessions will provide a talk.

Pierre Meslet joined the Lanzarote Multi-Day Training Camp in 2022 after placing 9th at the 2020 Marathon des Sables. His attendance was a success, not only from the perspective of leading a run group but also his profession as a physio – He was able to provide ‘on-site’ treatment for our training camp. Pierre is back in 2023!

Inge Nijkamp has been top-10 at Marathon des Sables and The Coastal Challenge. A qualified nutritionist, she will guide a group, provide a nutrition talk specific to multi-day running and be on-hand for one-to-one nutritional consultations.

Kevin Webber after a successful 2023 camp has requested that he come back in 2024 for more… In his words, “I just loved this, great location, great people, great running, what’s not to like?” He will once again guide a group, provide an inspiration and moving talk about running with a terminal cancer diagnosis. He has many stories to tell.

Steve Diederich is the UK agent for Marathon des Sables, The Coastal Challenge and Everest Trail Race, he will be on-hand to provide advice about all three races and answer any questions. Currently studying Sports Psychology and come Lanza 24 he will be qualified and on-hand to discuss the mental side of sport and running.

“I wanted to say a big thank you for this week – I’ve left so energised and inspired after the week… I thought the camaraderie from other runners was incredible. If felt as if everyone had left their ego at home which really made for such open and honest sessions. I hope you have the opportunity to reflect on how impactful and enjoyable the camp was. The fact that the organisation was seamless doesn’t just happen and I know the layers of detail and spreadsheets that go into an event like this. I’ll be back I’m sure and when I do get to the start line of MDS I will be much more likely to succeed based on all the advice.” – EB

BOOKING FORM HERE

The purpose of any training camp is to provide you with specific information and training designed specifically to help you with your future objectives. Although you may run (train) more in this condensed week, it’s not designed to break you! Therefore, all training sessions are flexible and you can dip-in and dip-out as required. Most importantly, just as in any race, we will have a very mixed ability base. You will therefore train at your appropriate pace with like minded people.

Each day will be broken down into one or two specific training sessions, one workshop and leisure time.

Lanzarote offers a variety of terrain that can be found in many desert races and therefore it’s the ideal training ground to prepare and acclimatise for an up and coming challenge. Club La Santa as a resort offers a great base and all facilities are included. This is great for relaxation, an opportunity to cross train or more importantly it’s perfect for friends and family to join you as a plethora of opportunities are available.

READ MORE HERE

PRICE PER PERSON (exc flight)

£1095 pp* shared occupancy / Solo Occupancy apartment £1695*

A £300 deposit secures a place for shared occupancy, £600 for solo-occupancy. Deposits are non-refundable in any circumstance and cannot be carried forward to a following year.

This includes a self-catering apartment on a share basis. Inclusion in the above schedule and access to all facilities within the Club La Santa complex.

A non-training partner is welcome to join a training partner for a cost of £975 pp* and they are able to use all the facilities at Club La Santa.

BOOK HERE

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Oman Desert Marathon 2023 Stage 4

Posted on January 24, 2023 by talkultra

The 2023 Oman Desert Marathon today concluded with a 22km test concluding at the Jawaharat Bidiah Resort.

Mohamed on his way to victory ©iancorless

A flat day that had varied terrain, hard plateau, dunes, rocks and a backdrop of dunes, mountains and trees. It was a beautiful route.

The men’s race was really over before the day begun with Mohamed El Morabity holding a large lead over his brother Rachid.

In the early km’s Rachid was so relaxed he was almost at the back of the race, he did eventually start to chase but it was a casual affair.

From experience, I would say he was using the day as a test, allow his brother to take a lead and then in the latter km’s speed up and see how much he could close the gap.

Rachid with the after-burners turned on ©iancorless

And boy did Rachid speed up… With 10km’s to go, he turned the after-burners on and started to pick of runner’s ahead. He got 5th, 4th, 3rd and then the 2nd, Saleh Alsaidi.

With Saleh by his side, Rachid eased up allowing Saleh to finish 2nd and himself 3rd. Mohamed took a well-earned stage and overall victory.

For the women, the question was, good Corina take back 10-minutes from Aziza in 22km’s? Surely not?

The duo started together, both no doubt marking each other, however, this strategy would only play in to Aziza’s hands. With almost 5km covered, they were still together. A truce had been called?

No, before CP1, Corina went and started to sped up. Watching on, I was convinced that she had moved too late, it would require over 1-minute faster than Aziza over the final 10km!

Corina ran to the line, arms aloft, victory for the stage and then the stopwatches were started. With 5-minutes to go, Aziza was not in sight and the possibility of closing the final km in less time was not possible, however, we had to wait to be sure.

Aziza crossed almost 15-minutes later, Corina was the 2023 champion, what a run! No doubt Aziza has a story to tell and maybe she payed the price for two stunning fast days on stages 1 and 2.

Aziz Raji rounded out the podium with an excellent 3rd place.

Of course, every runner has a story. It has been a tough 4-days and 165km here in Oman, tears have been shed. But a medal and fellow travellers to enjoy the journey make it all worthwhile.

Now time for rest and recovery. A gala dinner at the Jawaharat Bidiah Resort and tomorrow, onward travel to Muscat and home destinations.

Oman has offered a great experience and excellent hospitality. What better way to explore and see a place than by running? It’s a full and immersive experience and now, race director Said and his team, will look ahead to planning 2024.

Mohamed El Morabity 1:44:15
Saleh Alsaidi 1:46:52
Rachid El Morabity 1:47:01

Corina Summer (SUI) 2:14:11
Aziza El Amrany 2:30:58
Aziza Raji 2:34:20

GENERAL CLASSIFICATION

Mohamed El Morabity 14:13:15
Rachid El Morabity 14:41:23
Saleh Alsaidi 15:31:30

Corina Summer 19:39:28
Aziza El Amrany 19:46:10
Aziza Raji 20:28:07

#omandesertmarathon

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Oman Desert Marathon 2023 Stage 3

Posted on January 24, 2023 by talkultra

Stage 3 of the Oman Desert Marathon followed a long stage 2 of 55-km. For perspective, Mohamed won the stage in 5-hours 11-minutes, while the last runner came in close to the midnight cut-off. When you consider the 06:30am start, that is a long day on the feet.

Corina Sommer recovering before stage 3©iancorless

Morning of stage 3 was rest in camp and the scheduled 3 start times would commence at midday, followed by 2pm and the final wave of top-12 runner’s departing at 4pm. Ahead 42km with all runner’s spending time in some darkness before arriving at the finish.

With a flat section to start the day, a small and beautiful dune section, and then a relatively flat run in to the line, on paper, stage 3 was by ODM standards an easy one.

If Rachid had agreed with his brother that victory was Mohamed’s to take, Rachid did not run the last stage without a fight. Actually, the contrary, he seemed to be pushing hard and looking for the advantage.

Mohamed followed at all times looked relax.

The duo exchanged the lead at multiple times and it was during darkness that Mohamed took the lead and finished strongly ahead of his brother 3:23 to 3:40 elapsed respectively, the 2023 Oman Desert Marathon is now almost certainly his!

Behind Saleh Alsaidi once again ran a very strong stage, he never came close to the Moroccan’s but his podium place is secure.

Corina and Aziza head-to-head ©iancorless

If Aziza El Amrany thought stage 3 would be an easy one, she would need to think again… Corina Sommer had the bit between her teeth and the duo pushed a hard pace. Just before CP1 Aziza got a gap, was the writing on the wall?

No! Corina fought back, caught and passed her and then opened up her own lead. As darkness came, the lead extended and it was a nail-biter to the line, Corina crossing in 4:21:09.

The clock ticked, Aziza was losing her huge lead, eventually she came and crossed in 4:36:06. Now Corina is just 10-minutes behind with one stage to go… Is it possible to get back that time in ‘just’ 22km?

Aziza Raji was off-the-pace today and finished 3rd.

Mohamed El Morabity 3:23:30
Rachid El Morabity 3:40:03
Saleh Alsaidi 3:41:21

And into the darkness they went… ©iancorless

Corina Sommer (SUI) 4:21:09
Aziza El Amrany 4:36:06
Aziza Raji 4:53:15

#omandesertmarathon

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Oman Desert Marathon 2023 Stage 2

Posted on January 22, 2023 by talkultra

Stage 2 of the 2023 Oman Desert Marathon was a 55-km soft-sand and dune festival in intense heat.

With an 06:30 start, the early hours had a chill as the participants ran a relatively flat first 25km to the second aid station.

From here, the big dunes waited and what a magnificent sight they are. Stretching far and wide, they are a relentless rollercoaster of torture for the participants.

Crossing the first set of dunes could take less than 15-minutes for the top-runners, but for many, it was over an hour of exhaustion.

On the other side, a relatively flat and straight run, before another climb, a short section of dunes at CP3 at 35km.

Now the march to the line through relentless soft-sand and only CP4 at 45km offering some rest before the line.

Rachid and Mohamed, not surprisingly, dictated the pace from the start, often running side-by-side and chatting. They are true masters of this terrain and they make it look ridiculously easy.

Aziza El Amrany once again set the pace for the women and like the El Morabity brothers, she looks at ease and at home on this terrain.

As almost a repeat from stage 1, the Omani men chased hard and eventually the Alsaidi brothers would head the chase to the Moroccan duo.

For the women, Corina and Aziza spent much of the day together chasing Amrany.

In many resects, the writing was on the wall and it was once again Mohamed who beat Rachid to the line, this time, just by seconds. For the Alsadai brothers, Saleh finished 3rd and secured his 3rd overall on GC.

Aziza was too strong for the chasing duo and took another victory. This time, Corina broke away from Raji and managed to claw back over 4-minutes for the GC.

Mohamed El Morabity 5:11:57
Rachid El Morabity 5:12:26
Saleh Alsaidi 5:43:42

Aziza El Amrany 7:07:35
Corina Summer (SUI) 7:18:10
Aziza Raji 7:22:38

#omandesertmarathon

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Oman Desert Marathon 2023 Stage 1

Posted on January 21, 2023 by talkultra

The 4-stage, 165-km, 2023 Oman Desert Marathon started today with a challenging 47-km stage.

After a 3-year hiatus due to the Covid Pandemic, it was once again a pleasure to see runner’s travelling through the Oman Desert in self-sufficiency. The only items provided to participants is water and a place to sleep at the end of each day.

The atmosphere at the start was one of celebration with local vip’s present and many locals who would participate in the ‘free’ 10km, 5km and a 2km kids race.

The ODM Classic had the same start but quickly branched left and headed in the direction of the Oasis of Alwasil.

As expected, Rachid El Morabity dictated the pace for the men and Aziza El Amrany for the women.

The first day in a stage race is always a cautious one, nobody wants to go too hard and the race was close for much of the day.

Rachid was followed by his brother Mohamed and a strong contingent of Omani runner’s, in particular Saleh Alsaidi and his brother, Sami.

Aziza was followed by Corina and surprisingly, Aziza Raji, the pre-race favourite was further back.

Rachid and Mohamed played cat an mouse but in the last significant dune section, with just over 10-km’s to go, Mohamed opened a gap which he held to the line crossing in 3:53:31. Rachid surprisingly came in over 7-minutes later. The earlier hard pace set by Sami Alsaidi took it’s toll and it was Saleh who finished 3rd.

Aziza El Amrany looked very strong for the first two-thirds of the day but later looked to be suffering in the heat. She never lost her lead though and finished in 5:31:29. Despite Corina looking strong all day, Aziza Raji played the waiting game and pounced in the latter third of the day taking 2nd place in 5:37:53 to 5:45:57 for the Swiss.

Mohamed El Morabity 3:53:31
Rachid El Morabity 4:01:51
Saleh Alsaidi 4:19:34

Aziza El Amrany 5:31:29
Aziza Raji 5:37:53
Corina Summer (SUI) 5:45:57

#omandesertmarathon

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Lanzarote Multi-Day Training Camp 2023 – Day 4

Posted on January 17, 2023 by talkultra

Caldera Trasera is a wonderful loop from our base location, Club La Santa. It provides a short and hilly technical route that more ‘more’ exposure than many are used to. The Lanzarote Multi-Day Training Camp is all about pushing boundaries and learning.

Hands-on action provided some mega smiles, especially when the summit was reached. The level of comradeship was superb, everyone supporting each other to achieve their goal.

When the morning session concluded, a 3-hour break provided a time to recovery before the long afternoon run, with ‘MDS’ pack scenario.

With 20km in the legs, an overnight bivouac of self-sufficiency. The only provisions for the runner’s was rationed water and the carrying of a tent.

Darkness and it was time to eat and test out dehydrated meals that you can use on a multi-day adventure.

In comparison to 2022, the 2023 was relatively calm. Of course, wind existed, it is Lanzarote after all… However, it was a calm night.

Interested in joining us? 2024 is open for booking HERE

#multidaytrainingcamp

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Lanzarote Multi-Day Training Camp 2023 – Day 3

Posted on January 15, 2023 by talkultra

Day 3 of the Lanzarote Multi-Day Training Camp and a long run that included soft sand practice. It was a perfect day… Clear skies, hot temperatures and an opportunity to understand how to run up , down and across soft sand.

It’s a pleasure to have the opportunity to be in this environment and putting to test the skills required come Marathon des Sables or similar race.

The on-hand and advice from the guides invaluable. It doesn’t matter about ability, everyone on the camp is a sponge trying to soak up the advice.

After a break, the afternoon session on ‘Fast and Light’ provided an insight on Fastpacking by Ian Corless and Abelone Lyng. While an emphasis was placed on Marathon des Sables, other races and environments were considered, such as rainforest, mountain and snow/ ice.

Once again a short recovery run concluded the day.

Tomorrow, participants will spend a night under the stars, in bivouac, fine-tuning their self-sufficient skills in a real environemnt, with rationed water and just a tent provided.

Interested in joining us? 2024 is open for booking HERE

#multidaytrainingcamp

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Lanzarote Multi-Day Training Camp 2023 – Day 2

Posted on January 14, 2023 by talkultra

Day 2 of the Lanzarote Multi-Day Training Camp kicked off with a nice easy run/ warm up to the infamous volcano hill-rep location.

At just 70 (ish) meters of vertical, the route may well not seem to hard, however, when you repeat it enough times, it becomes very tough. The target was 10-reps, of course it varies what each individual can achieve…

The decent is a single-track trail of loose stone and gravel and the ‘recovery’ phase is a flat gravel road back to the start. It’s always a great session.

In the afternoon, a ‘How To Use Poles Session’ gave an introduction to the technique required to effectively use poles for a trail or mountain race.

This was followed with adidas Terrex athlete, Tom Evans, holding a talk on Process over Outcome and then a Q&A.

The day concluded with a short recovery session of 30-minutes as the sun set over the lagoon and sea that surrounds Club La Santa. It was a perfect day and stunning weather. Tomorrow, soft-sand.

Interested in joining us? 2024 is open for booking HERE

#multidaytrainingcamp

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Lanzarote Multi-Day Training Camp 2023 – Day 1

Posted on January 13, 2023 by talkultra

It was day-1 of the 2023 Lanzarote Multi-Day Training Camp and what a perfect day! The rain from ‘arrival’ day disappeared leaving a perfect sunny and windy day.

The morning was a 24km ‘Coastal Run’ that had over 50-participants moving along some wonderful, technical single-track on the outward route and easier gravel trails for the run home.

Spilt in to three main groups, Tom Evans and Pierre Meslet guided the faster runners, Ian Corless and Abelone Lyng the middle group and Inge Nijkamp, Kevin Webber and Steve Diederich guided the run/ walker and walkers.

The trails here a stunning and the backdrop superb. Technical trails are compensated with easier non-technical trails but the group bonding, chats and views help the km’s fly past…

After a lunch break, the afternoon was taken up with two talks: the inspirational Kevin Webber told his story of his Prostrate Cancer diagnosis and Steve Diederich (UK agent for MDS) gave an informative talk around MDS logistics.

A 5km recovery run conclude the activities of the day and then relaxation was the order of the day, with some good food, as plans were made ready for day-2.

Interested in joining us? 2024 is open for booking HERE

#multidaytrainingcamp

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Oman Desert Marathon 2023 Preview

Posted on January 10, 2023 by talkultra

It’s countdown time to the 2023 Oman Desert Marathon.

Now in its 8th edition, the Oman Desert Marathon will take place January 21^st to 24^th. A self-sufficient race, the race takes place over 4-stages with a total distance of 165-kms.

January offers excellent conditions for a desert adventure, with highs anticipated and 25-degrees and lows of 17-degrees.

A unique race, the route provides participants the opportunity to explore and discover untouched sands and the highest dunes of Oman while running 47, 55, 42 and 21km.

“The OMD, changed my perspective on ultra-marathon running for the better. The desert is magical and beautiful, but will test you mentally and physically to your limit, but you will be a better person from it. The OMD event should be on every runner’s calendar.” – Adam May.

Arrival in Oman will be on January 20^th with transfers to Al Jawharat Resort in Bidiyah. The afternoon will taken up with admin protocols and a race dinner.

Stage 1 – 47km
Satge 2 – 55km
Stage 3 – 42km
Stage 4 – 21km

Daily start times fluctuate and interestingly, Stage 3 has three starts, 1200, 1400 and 1600.

Stage 4 has an 0800 start with the race concluded by 1300 at the Al Jawharat Resort in Bidiyah resort. In the evening, an award ceremony and prize giving will take place.

The Runner’s

While Omani runner’s will make up the majority of the field, there are participants from Spain, France, Ukraine, Italy, Germany, Poland, Britain, Belgium, Switzerland and not surprisingly, Morocco will have the main contenders for overall victory.

King of the desert, Rachid El Morabity, 9x winner of the Marathon des Sables will once again lead the field and he is without doubt, the hot favourite for overall victory.

Rachid’s brother, Mohammed, will be his main contender and should Rachid have a bad day, his brother will be able to pounce.

For the women, desert specialist, Aziz Raji, also a winner of Marathon des Sables, will be the main protagonist not only for the female victory, but quite possibly, a highly-ranked overall placing.

How to follow:

Daily reports and images will be issued on this website (connection allowing) each evening and a full and detailed race summary will follow after January 24^th. On IG, @iancorlessphotography and @marathonoman

We look forward to welcoming you to the Oman Desert Marathon experience.

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