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Cavalls del Vent Preview

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IV edition of Ultra Cavalls del Vent, September 29th/30th

Total distance 84.2k Acc Altitude Change 12,180m Altitude Change 6098m

Bagà will reunite again this year the best trail running athletes of the world to celebrate the Ultra Cavalls del Vent (Salomon Nature Trails) race held in the national park Cadí-Moixero on the 29th of September.

The fourth edition of the Ultra Cavalls del Vent becomes a special date of the national and international calendar as one of the events of the Skyrunner World Series.

1000 entrants and 84.2 km of personal challenge, to test the limits of the body exceeding over 12,000 accumulated vertical meters in the privileged natural environment of the Cadi-Moixeró national park

The 2012 edition of the race is looking as though it may very well turn out to be an iconic race primarily for the inclusion of some key runners from Europe, the United States and New Zealand.

You can red the Skyrunning press release HERE

So who are the favourites?

MEN

**update 24th September Kilian Jornet now confirmed as a last minute entrant. This turns the race on it’s head a little and one has to say that despite such a quality field one can’t really bet against the ‘mountain master’. Only just last week he completed his Mont Blanc Crossing as part of his ‘Summits of my Life‘. With that ticked off as it were he obviously feels comfortable and content to race at Cavalls del Vent before heading out to Reunion Island to race against Joe Grant and Tony Krupicka at the Raid de le Reunion.

Tofol Castanyer fresh from victory at the CCC and a stunning time will certainly be one to beat on this course.

Miguel Heras has been plagued by injuries but only a couple of weeks ago placed 2nd at another mountainous Skyrunning event, Sentiero Grigne and therefore a return to form is certainly on it’s way.

Dakota Jones started off his Skyrunning account in fine form at Transvulcania La Palma. He raced Hardrock 100 with a top finish and he is now in Europe for several months. He was supporting friends at UTMB, he has been out running with Kilian Jornet and at Sentiero Grigne placed 4th overall behind Heras. The longer distance of Cavalls will suit Dakota and without a doubt he will be up at the front.

Joe Grant was second at Hardrock 100, loves the mountains, trains with Tony Krupicka and this course will suit him. However, he is planning on racing at Raid de Reunion (Diagonale des Fous) and he therefore may save a little for that.

Tony Krupicka like Joe Grant is also racing the Raid de Reunion and I was under the impression that he was running at Cavalls del Vent, however, he is not on the start list. Needless to say, if he is racing he will be up at the front. **update 24th September, Tony is now confirmed.

Philipp Reiter goes from strength to strength and performs well at every race he turns up at. He was up at the front at Trofeo Kima and just recently had a great win with Iker Karrera at the Transalpine. Philipp will be top five here!

Terry Conway is my rank outsider… needless to say I have an interest here. I was influential in getting Terry to the start line. It will no doubt be a baptism of fire. The altitude, the terrain and the field may well get to him, but, I think he will adapt and perform well. If he gets top 10 it will be an incredible result. His performance at the Lakeland 100 and beating his own course record by two hours means he is without doubt in form.

LADIES

Anna Frost can never ever be ruled out in a mountain race. However she has been injured and this is a comeback race. In true fashion though she has been out on the course training. She will go for the win, no doubt!

Nuria Picas is in fine form, always performs consistently and this is her home. She told me at Trofeo Kima that this was the A race for the year. Expect a real fight up at the front from Nuria.

Emelie Forsberg loves to run and she has all the ability needed to win this race. Her descending skills are superb and as she proved at Pikes Peak, if she is allowed some space she can push hard and take a win.

Emma Roca is local, placed top 3 at UTMB and will perform well here. On a good day she will be top 3 but in this field I see her placing just off the podium.

I will be Tweeting live from the race and uploading interviews, photos and audio as and when I can. Follow the race @talkultra or on Facebook HERE

Episode 18 Talk Ultra

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Episode 18 of Talk Ultra is available and as you can see from the image above it is a really top show!

Karl Meltzer joins me once again to co present the show. We speak about his outstanding win at Run Rabbit Run and what it’s like winning 33 100 mile ultras and taking home $11k for a days running.

Comeback man Mike Morton tells me how he missed the Badwater 135 record by 75 seconds and he also talks about setting a new US benchmark for the 24 hour.

Prof Tim Noakes in many respects needs no introduction. It is nearly 30 years ago that he wrote ‘The Lore of Running’ and maybe with new addition to the nutrition section it still today the perfect reference book. He has a new book called ‘Waterlogged’ with new theories on hydration for sport.

I also get to talk to Dean Karnazes. Love him or hate him (unjustified in my opinion) he is maybe one person who has encouraged and is possibly responsible for the boom in ultra running. I maybe ask him one or two awkward questions and we discus whats next…

Talk Ultra is available through the usual channels:

ITunes HERE

Libsyn HERE
 
Website HERE

 

Kilian Jornet – Mont Blanc Crossing

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Kilian Jornet has successfully completed the second of the challenges of his personal project Summits of My Life.

This led him to complete the demanding crossing from Courmayeur (Aosta Valley, Italy), to Chamonix (France) single-handed, reaching Mont Blanc via one of its most technical climbing routes, the Innominata Ridge.

A challenge which was completed without any assistance and with the least possible material, following the purist philosophy of the project Summits of My Life.

Jornet’s adventure started at 3:53 am, at Church Square in Courmayeur (1,000 m), on a perfectly clear and starry night, with just his headlamp for company. He advanced rapidly through the valley towards Vall Veny (1,500m), the start of the technical path that would lead him to the Monzino Refuge (2,590m) where he arrived at 5:25 am, feeling good.

From there on, the complicated stretch began. It was one that most concerned the Catalan runner, as he would have to face the glacier that would take him to Bivac de les Eccles at an altitude of 4,041m.

Jornet’s doubts vanished as soon as he saw the condition the glacier was in. Night temperatures had frozen it, so he could easily cross it using crampons. “I was concerned to know in what state I’d find the glacier and the crevasses. Once I saw that there was no danger, I felt relieved,” commented Jornet.

Once he had overcome the hurdle of the glacier without problems, Jornet arrived at Bivac Eccles (4,041m), where he had to face the second step that worried him most in this crossing: a rappel using a 20m-rope he was carrying and a long technical stretch of level V difficulty, before continuing to the top of the Innominata Ridge. Jornet completed the long stretch smoothly, climbed up the technical Innominata Ridge, which he had already tested a few days before, and began the ascent to the summit of Mont Blanc, reaching it 2 hours and 47 minutes after starting to climb Innominata Ridge. “Once I had completed the rappel and the tough long stretch, where I did not find any snow, I could breathe more easily. I knew I could manage the Innominata, as I had done it a few days before. It is a very technical route with slopes of 60 °, and climbing passes of difficulty V+, so I had to use all my senses. Luckily I didn’t find a lot of snow or ice on it, “said Kilian, who crowned the summit of Mont Blanc (4,810m) at 10:15 am, 6hrs and 17 minutes after leaving the Church of Courmayeur.

Jornet commented that he had to “open a new path” as he could not find one to follow on his way to the summit of Mont Blanc.

Once at the summit, Jornet stopped for just 5 minutes to collect his material together, and prepared his descend via the Voye Royale, the normal descent route from Mont Blanc via the Gouter Refuge, les Hocuhes finally reaching the church square of Chamonix, where he stopped the clock with a time of 8:42:57 hours.

Jornet flew down from the summit of Mont Blanc (4,810m). It took him just 2 hours and 19 minutes to reach his target, Chamonix (995m).

On arrival at the square in Chamonix, having left the Italian town of Courmayeur behind, covered the 42km that separate it from Chamonix and climbed the technical Innominata Ridge, Jornet commented that, “I am absolutely delighted. It is a challenge that I really wanted to accomplish. The weather was perfect throughout the journey and I felt great physically which, after crossing the glacier and the first long rope stretch, meant I could enjoy the spectacular beauty of the landscape.”

Jornet himself was surprised at his time. “My goal was to do it in less than 10 hours, and thanks to the good conditions I found I was able to reduce that time,” commented Jornet. A record time, considering that normal expeditions which tackle this route take 3 days to do it.

Following the philosophy of the project Summits of My Life, Jornet limited the material necessary to carry out this ambitious crossing, and says that, “I carried 400ml of water, which I had to ration carefully to get to the end.”

Details: Start: Courmayeur (Valle de Aosta, Italia) Finish: Chamonix (Francia) Distance: 42 Kilometers Total climb: 3,810 meters Route: Inominatta Ridge. A technical route with a total climb of 1,000 meters, 60º slopes and level V+ climbing passes.

Splits: Courmayeur-Val Veni: 40′; Val Veni – Ref Monzino: 1h30-50′; Monzino-Eccles: 3h30-2h; Eccles-Mont Blanc: 6h17-2h47 (5’ stop at summit); Mont Blanc – Gouter: 6h50 -27′; Gouter-Houches: 8h15 -1h25; Houches-Chamonix: 8h42’57’’ – 27′

Gear: static rope 7mm 20m; Dynema 120cm Vie de Carabin; helmet Petzl Siroco; headlamp Petzl NAO; crampons aluminium; Ice axe Petzl Sumtech; Suunto AMBIT; gloves Petzl Cordex; sunglasses salomon; cap; Duvet salomon; gore tex pants salomon; 1 gel overstim’s; 40cl water; overboots; long thighs; short + long teeshirt; trail running shoes; socks. Total weight: 2.512gr

Track: Movescount.com

 

Tor des Géants – Francesca Canepa

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Just a week after a stunning second place at the shortened UTMB, Vibram athlete Francesca Canepa turned up at the start of the 2012 Tor des Geants not really knowing what lay in store… lets face it, it is one hell of a challenge!

The route of the 2012 Tor des Géants ran along the Alta Via 1 and Alta Via 2 of the Valle d’Aosta, with the start and finishing line in Courmayeur, and it covered a total of around 336km (200 miles), with an altitude range of 24,000 metres. The landscape at the foot of the region’s Four-Thousanders makes the route especially spectacular.
Along the route they had a number of rest, rescue and refreshment points, as well as seven larger bases that divided the route up into seven sectors:
  • Courmayeur – Valgrisenche 49 km 3996 D+
  • Valgrisenche – Cogne 56 km 4141 D+
  • Cogne – Donnas 44 km 3348 D+
  • Donnas – Gressoney St Jean 53 km 4107 D+
  • Gressoney St Jean – Valtournenche 39 km 2601 D+
  • Valtournenche – Ollomont 44 km 2702 D+
  • Ollomont – Courmayeur 48 km 2880 D+

The Tor des Géants combines long distance but does not impose any compulsory stages. The winner will be the runner who completes the race in the shortest time and therefore the decisions on when and when not to sleep may very well be the difference between being on top of the podium or not.

The Tor des Géants is the first race of this kind to cover an entire region. It runs along the paths at the foot of the highest Four-Thousanders in the Alps and through the Gran Paradiso Natural Park and the Mont Avic Regional Park. It is a unique race.

Francesca Canepa

So, post UTMB I caught up with Francesca and interviewed her about her race and expectations for the Tor des Géants. You can read that HERE

At this current moment in time I have not had the opportunity to catch up with Francesca but it is important to say that for someone who was going into the race tired and using it as possible ‘training’ she performed remarkably.

Not only did she win the ladies race but she was 7th overall with a total time of 99:13:56. The race winner was Oscar Perez in a time of 75:56:31.

You can read more about Francesca on her blog site HERE

Information on the Tor des Géants HERE

VIBRAM HERE

Article on RUN247

‘Get Ready’ S3 EP 10 – UTMB

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Another great video from the ‘Get Ready‘ series of films that feature The North Face and possibly one of my favourite ultra runners of all time, Sebastian Chaigneau.

Seb running up Notre Dame de la Gorge

Seb is a great guy. He always has time to talk, chat, relax and give advice. We have actually a 60 minute interview with Seb ready to transcribe and and edit for Talk Ultra, so we must aim to get that out soon…

This film captures the 2012 The North Face Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc.

As you may know, I was at the race and managed to catch up with Francos D’haene, Lizzy Hawker and Mike Foote after the race. You can listen to the interviews HERE or HERE on iTunes.

Seb the day after the race keeping his eyes protected

I spoke with Seb after the race and he told me how his vision disappeared and how frightened he became. I’m glad to say he is recovering well.

Here is a great movie that captures the atmosphere of UTMB 2012.

Ultra Trail 26 – Montane

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We are excited to announce the Montane UltraTrail26 series coming soon to a venue near you. Dates are November 18th 2012, with events to follow March 24th 2013 and May 26th 2013 and the series will take place across the North of England. The 26 mile trail events are designed to provide the perfect opportunity for runners to step up to longer trail distance events and provide great training opportunities for the Montane Lakeland 50 and 100 mile events.

 

Grizedale

The opening event of the UltraTrail26 series takes place from Grizedale Forest Visitor Centre, close to Hawkshead in the Lake District. Grizedale is a popular location for both trail runners and mountain bikers, due to the varied trails and great scenery throughout the forest.

The route will largely take place on forest trails with some minor sections of road to link the trails together. It offers great views of both Coniston Water and Lake Windermere. If you think the route will be flat.. think again. Grizedale Forest and surrounding areas provide challenging hills and rolling trails throughout the route. This course is a great opener.

TO ENTER THE EVENT GO HERE

Rivington

Event 2 of the UltraTrail26 series moves to Rivington, Lancashire. The event starts and finishes at Rivington High School and takes place on a variety of track and trails. The Lancashire moorland includes landmarks such as Great Hill, Rivington Pike and Darwen Tower and offers a variety of terrain and scenery.

Rivington is perhaps one of the less visited trail running areas in the North West, which is why, for event number 2, we chose to move away from Cumbria. The course is challenging, includes some hard climbing and moorland can be boggy underfoot. It’ll certainly be one to remember.

TO ENTER THE EVENT GO HERE

Howgills

The final event of the UltraTrail26 series takes place in the Howgills, which are ‘just about’ on the Yorkshire side of the Yorkshire and Cumbria Border. The event starts and finishes at Sedbergh School, in the town of Sedbergh, gateway to the Howgills.

The Howgills offer amazing running terrain and are infrequently visited by tourists. The fact that the Howgills are a collection of large, grassy hills, make all the climbs runnable. The fact that many of the climbs are steep and persistent, outweigh the grassy surface underfoot. The views are stunning and the trail running even better. This is a great way to end the series.

TO ENTER THE EVENT GO HERE

The Morton Machine

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Mike Morton made history at the weekend breaking Scott Jurek’s 24 hour distance and going past 170 miles ! Yes, 170+ miles in 24 hours…

His actual distance was 172.4576 miles.

He had this to say on his Facebook page:

Well words can not say how grateful I am for all the messages and comments I have been getting! I got home around 2 AM EST and there is no place like home! All three of us were out like lights!
The weekend has not fully sank in just yet. What has is a feeling of accomplishment. Twenty six months ago (or so) I committed to myself to put an effort back into running and the goal was to raise the bar on the 24 hour American Record. There have been other priorities along the way but I was able to stay on task and follow my plan about 90% of the time. The road to accomplishing my goal brought some great races in route and it all culminated last weekend. It feels odd having finished but I feel relieved and fulfilled. I’m free in a sense of a self imposed “monkey on the back”. I feel more motivated now, I’m able to get a new canvas to work with…
Not once have I felt nothing but an overwhelming amount of support from every runner along the way, I thank you all for that. I won’t even try to describe the thanks I have for my Wife and Daughter, they just remain devoted to me while I exploit their tolerance.
Thanks for all the support and comments!

You may remember that we caught up with MikeMorton way back in Episode 7. You can listen to the interview again, HERE or oniTunes HERE

A way of life

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The TAA (The African Attachment) boys once again coming up with some wonderful footage for Salomon Running TV S2 episode 08 ‘A way of life’ featuring the ISF Skyrunning race Pikes Peak and some footage of Leaville 100.

Great to hear Tony Krupicka say that the important thing is to run…. racing is a bonus.