MARMOT24™ – A NEW 24-HOUR MOUNTAIN MARATHON

Posted on November 21, 2013 by talkultra

The World’s first 24-hour mountain marathon, the inaugural Marmot24, will be held on the weekend 2nd and 3rd August 2014.

This exciting new event combines the very best elements of the predominantly British mountain marathon phenomenon with aspects of the more international, 24-hour rogaining events. With mountain running and navigation at the heart of the event competitors will have 24, 12 or 6-hours to visit as many checkpoints as possible on a score format course. With the 24-hour race starting at noon Saturday, the 12-hour race starting at midnight Saturday and the 6-hour race starting at 0600 on the Sunday morning, everyone will finish at 12 noon on the Sunday in an exciting and dramatic finale to a memorable weekend of racing.

©JonBrooke

Seven times OMM Elite winner, Steve Birkinshaw was quick to state that, “A non-stop 24-hour mountain marathon has been missing from the UK calendar, the Marmot24™ fill this gap. It sounds like a great event that I am really looking forward to competing in.”

©RobHowar

Race Director, Shane Ohly explained his thoughts about the new race, “I’ve actually been injured since August and this has given me some extra time – when I would normally be running – to think about concepts for events and as Steve Birkinshaw said, a 24-hour mountain marathon really was the missing piece in the current range of mountain marathon events in the UK. So, by this time next year, there will be high quality mountain marathon events each month from the Highlander in April through to the OMM in October. There will also be a great variety of events with the 3-day format Great Lakeland 3Day™, score format races like the RAB Mountain Marathon and even an overnight winter event with Marmot Dark Mountains each January.

Marmot24 will have a central event centre within the event area where all teams will start and finish. The location of the controls is such that competitors can choose to pass through the event centre during the race, with the two-person teams making the choice whether to rest, or eat, whilst the four-person teams can tag-in their team mates; swapping tired runners for fresh runners. The event centre will be a hub of activity with a large marquee, race control, retail shop, catering and camping for competitors and supporters. Supporters are actively encouraged and they can provide help for the competitors at the event centre.

©JonBrooke

With events like the Dragon’s Back Race™, the Great Lakeland 3Day™ and Marmot Dark Mountains™, Shane Ohly and his team from Ourea Event have been steadily building a reputation for delivering high quality mountain running events in recent years. This years 2013 OMM Elite winner, Nick Barrable, was happy to lend his endorsement, “Experienced race organiser Shane Ohly, always puts on a good show and I am sure that much fun will be had.”

Marmot UK Sales Director, Hugh Harris said, “After the great response to Marmot Dark Mountains™ (MDM), we wanted to extend Marmot’s support of mountain based events. MDM is brilliant, but it’s deliberately extreme and targeted at experienced, and seemingly masochistic participants! After working very successfully with Shane Ohly and his company Ourea, on MDM, we asked him to create a brand new summer event for us that would be open to a much broader range of participants. The result is Marmot24, and we’re really excited to be launching it this week.”

Key Event Information

Website: www.Marmot24.com

Date: 2nd & 3rd August 2014

Venue: Northern England

Entry: from £55

Courses: 24-hour, 12-hour and 6-hour

Coffee Table Book – iancorless.com

Posted on November 20, 2013 by talkultra

My 2013 Coffee Table Book is slowly coming together. It is still very early days with a great deal of designing, editing and layout work to be done within the next 7-10 days.

Once designed and a ‘test’ proof has been received, the book will be available for delivery in 8-12 days from ordering.

10×8 inches in size, landscape in format with a hardcover and dust jacket, the book will have 20-pages minimum, however, I anticipate 30-pages to be more appropriate. As you can imagine, selecting images has been a difficult task. So many to choose from…!

Content will be varied and cover locations, places, landscapes, people and of course iconic moments from the 2013 racing season. A minimum of 30 images will be included within the book.

Delivery within the UK is anticipated to be available from Dec 2nd which should allow adequate turnaround and delivery options for pre Christmas. However, at the moment, delivery outside the UK cannot be guaranteed until the New Year.

Price per book £48.00 (plus postage and package)

If you’d like to express interest or pre order, please fill out the form below and I will contact you directly. Many thanks for your support.

← Back

Thank you for your response. ✨

HOME – Salomon Running TV S3 E02

Posted on November 20, 2013 by talkultra

Anna Frost has spent the past 8 years wandering the globe competing in some of the worlds top trail races. Her win at Transvulcania in 2012 cemented her place as one of the top ultra trail runners in the world. Following that race, Anna was plagued by a string of injuries and forced out of the racing circuit. As a result, in late 2012 she decided to return to her home in Dunedin, New Zealand.

In this episode Anna reconnects with her identity and roots as she questions what running means to her.

More inspirational work from The African Attachment and Salomon Running but the star of this film is Frosty….

©theafricanattachment

©salomonrunning

Music:
“Make Me Fly”
By No Dancing!
Written by Henk Labuschagne
Produced by Francois de Klerk

“Wrecking Ball”
By Holley Maher

Additional Race Footage:
Transvulcania – Dream Team Television
Marathon du Mont Blanc – Mouss Productions

ISF Sky Ranking

Posted on November 19, 2013 by talkultra

Kilian Jornet & Marco De Gasperi Mont-Blanc Marathon ©iancorless.com

The top 100 men and 50 women in the ISF Sky ranking announced today offer more food for thought after the Ultra rankingannounced earlier. Twenty-one races in five continents were selected in the Sky category. The top 100 men count 487athletes from 37 nations while the top 50 women are calculated out of 216 athletes from 29 nations.

The overall ranking has been devised for the three skyrunning disciplines based on 54 races in 2013 (24 Ultra, 21 Sky and 10 Vertical). One of the principal aims was to take into account the quality of the field and the time relative to the winner, along with a proprietary ISF algorithm and other factors.

Some considerations on the ranking per country for the two distances:

In the Ultra distance France, Spain and USA count four, three and three athletes respectively in the top ten overall. If we take the mean value of the points of the top three ranked athletes per nation, the men’s results show Spain leading (247,649), followed by USA (245,363) and France (236,344).

The women’s Ultra ranking presents a more varied picture however, with, apart from the nations mentioned above, Sweden, Italy and New Zealand featuring. Again, taking the mean value of the top three per nation, Spain leads with (194,477), followed by France (192,846) and USA (190,065).

The Sky discipline with respect to the Ultra counts more nations in the top ten men’s and women’s rankings, with athletes fromfive nations. Again, Spain’s prowess dominates with four men and four women in the top ten overall. In both cases Italy, the cradle of skyrunning, boasts two men and three women in the top ten. In the men’s field, using the above mean value,Spain again leads the ranking with (262,317) followed by Italy (235,146).

The women’s Sky ranking is led by Spain (251,559) followed by Italy (234,246).

Here’s a general overview on the calculations previously published in the Ultra news:

“The ranking was elaborated on the basis of the participation and results obtained by the athletes in the international races selected by the ISF.

In calculating the points, the ranking is based on a proprietary ISF algorithm specifically studied for outdoor running, taking into account a consolidated algorithm used by the International Ski Federation.

Fifty-four races were selected for the 2013 season (24 Ultra, 20 Sky and 10 Vertical) – see ISF announcement in March. The selection was aimed at identifying the world’s most prestigious races with the greatest number of elite athletes participating, as indicated in the ISF news in January.

In each selected race, the first 30 men and first 15 women were counted. For each athlete, points were calculated on the basis of: the final position, the time relative to the winner and the number of elite athletes ahead or behind.

The final points were calculated on the average of the three best results of the season obtained by each athlete. For athletes who did not participate in at least three of the selected races throughout the season, a penalty of 11% was applied to those who participated in only two races, and 22% was applied to those who participated in just one.

The 2014 ranking will be based on 2013, but with a more precise indication of the elite athletes based on the previous year’s ranking.

The ISF ranking will be complete at the end of the 2015 season as the points will be calculated on the average of the previous three seasons with a weighted coefficient for each year.

The ISF assesses the yearly performances in their whole within the context of the results and performance

in each race. As in other disciplines, it does not analyse the performance in absolute terms due to the many variables in outdoor running (vertical climb, type of terrain, climate, level of the competition… etc), the comparison between different races or different editions of the same race, would be too approximate.”

Following on from the Ultra and Sky distances, the Vertical will be announced next. Subsequently, all the runners will be listed by country.

2013 Sky ranking

Top 100 men

Top 50 women

2013 ISF Ultra ranking

Top 100 men

Top 50 women

Article ©ISF

Mud, Sweat & Tears – Nepal & ETR

Posted on November 19, 2013 by talkultra

You can read the complete article on Mud, Sweat & Tears HERE

Salomon Skyrun in South Africa faces extreme conditions

Posted on November 18, 2013 by talkultra

Lady Grey, the start of the 2013 Salomon Skyrun powered by Red Bull, was ravaged by some of the worst weather seen in the 16 year history of this extreme race. Testing from the begining with monsoon conditions greeting the runners at the 4am start on Saturday morning, fierce winds gusting up to 80km/hour were the order of the day as rain and low cloud cover made visibility very poor. The runners were battered by these conditions throughout the day, as the temperatures plummeted and the terrain became very tricky for both athletes and marshals. The very real risk of sever hypothermia and exposure to the brutal elements, left event organisers with no other option but to shorten the race. Always a difficult decision however the safety of runners was top priority. The Salomon Skyrun is an extreme mountain challenge at the best of times but when conditions are as hard as during this year’s race, the need to carry all compulsory equipment as well as a solid event organisation are critical to ensure that all athletes come off the mountain safely. “This year’s race will be spoken about for many years to come by all who were at the Salomon Skyrun 2013 and can only add to the reputation that makes this race one of the toughest ultra-mountain runs in South Africa, if not the world” said Race Director Adrian Saffy.

The Skyrun Lite remained unaffected by the decision and all athletes that reached Balloch completed the race in its entirety. The Skyrun Lite was won by Chris Cronje, with Murray Sanders in 2^nd place and Justin Short in 3^rd. The Ladies Lite was won by Laura O’ Donoghue, with Taryn Mc Donald in 2^nd and Janneke Laesk in 3^rd.

Iain Don-Wauchope took 1^st position in the shortened Men’s full route, with Hylton Dunn in 2^nd and Steven Erasmus in 3^rd. The runners will however have to wait another year in order to take a crack at 2012 winner Ryan Sandes’ lightening quick record of 12hrs36min. Salomon sponsored Sandes did not compete in this year’s event as he will be racing in The San Francisco 50 Miler at the beginning of December. In the ladies race, 1^st place in the full route went to Annemien Ganzevoort, with 2^nd going to Su Don- Wauchope and 3^rd to Tatum Prins.

There is no doubt that athletes will look back on this year’s running of the legend that has become the Salomon Skyrun with a mixture of frustration, relief and respect as so well put by AJ Calitz “ I was humbled by the route, weather and our Maker….felt pretty small out there in the mountains. The fact that everyone is safe is testimony to Pure Adventures incredible team. Well done Mike and Adrian, your team and the mountain rescue crews. 2013 is a year I will never forget…all the athletes are truly bound together by this EPIC experience. See you in 2014.”

For full results and pictures please visit www.skyrun.co.za

Images ©kelvintrautman

Results:

Men’s 100km

Iain Don-Wauchope
Hylton Dunn
Steven Erasmus

Ladies 100km

Annemien Ganzevoort
Su Don- Wauchope
Tatum Prins

Lite Men’s:

Chris Cronje
Murray Sanders
Justin Short

Ladies Lite:

Laura O’ Donoghue
Taryn Mc Donald
Janneke Laesk

Scott Jurek Interview – Sport-Magazine.co.uk

Posted on November 18, 2013 by talkultra

Image ©iancorless.com

You can read the article HERE

Nepal & Everest Trail Race – IMAGES

Posted on November 17, 2013 by talkultra

ALL IMAGES AVAILABLE TO PURCHASE FOR PERSONAL OR COMMERCIAL USE

HERE

White Flow Nepal – Fernanda Maciel #ETR13

Posted on November 16, 2013 by talkultra

Kalaish Children’s Home – Himalayan Youth Foundation

You can read this article translated by Fernanda Maciel into Spanish HERE

Thirty minutes, that is all it took to depart from Lukla, the trails and mountains of the Himalayas replaced by the noise and frantic activity of Kathmandu. To say that the Everest Trail Race had been an experience would be an underestimation. I have been extremely fortunate to travel to some beautiful places and follow some incredible races in the past couple of years, but the ETR, Nepal and the visual splendor of Everest and its sister peaks was a joy to behold.

As a photographer (amongst other things), Nepal was always going to tick several boxes on so many levels. I love to see culture, people and the life of a place unfold before my eyes and if I get things right, I hope to capture that in images. The diversity of the region; noise, congestion, and the buzz of Kathmandu, to the open trails and the simple pleasures of the Khumbu region was an experience that I will take with me forever. I will return to Nepal but it will be different next time. It will never be like the first time, the first time is unique.

As we landed in Kathmandu, runners and staff from the ETR started to say, ‘it’s over’. I couldn’t disagree more. We had a day and a half before our respective journey’s home and in that time I wanted to make the most of what was on offer.

A trip down Tamil Street to experience the banter, buzz and shopping experiences of a Bazaar is always a great experience. Here in Kathmandu it was no different. Like a step back in time, I bantered and bargained for the ‘best’ price on presents and souvenirs for loved ones at home.

The final day arrived. It’s a very definite thing the word ‘final’. I wanted to ensure that my final day was the start of something else and to that end I was elated to be involved in White Flow Nepal.

Fernanda Maciel, ladies winner of the Everest Trail Race and second placed finisher overall had asked me several months ago would I be involved in this project. It all came about in a pre-race interview for the ETR (here).

Fernanda, following on from her White Flow Brazil project decided to utilize her free time in Nepal and in conjunction with the *‘Mountaineers for Himalayas Foundation’ (www.mount4him.org), Fernanda created White Flow Nepal with a primary aim to help the children at Kalaish Children’s Home.

The Kailash Hostel (www.hfy-us.org) is operated by the Himalayan Children’s Foundation. The ‘HCF’ is a Nepali charity organization who provides education and care to underprivileged children. Currently, 92-children are homed at Kalaish.

Evicted from three rental buildings, the children at Kalaish have been provided with a home due to donations and charitable endeavors. These donations allowed HCF to build a completely new hostel consisting of three buildings, a dining/administration room, boy’s dorm and girls dorm. Located in the quiet valley of Gorkarna just outside the center of Kathmandu, they have created a secure and stable environment for the children. The buildings were inaugurated by the US Ambassador to Nepal in 2007.

Education, healthcare, extra-curricular activities, a vegetable garden, music, dance, swimming, and mountaineering all provided to the children who come from the remotest parts of mountain villages in Nepal with an emphasis placed on children from the Tibetan border region. The main reason for this has been the lack of facilities on offer for the children in these remote areas. For example, the nearest school was a three to four hours walk away. Children are accepted from 5-7 years old and are cared for until they graduate. It’s an incredibly warm, welcoming and happy environment.

Fernanda wanted to provide some assistance, no matter how small. So armed with bags of clothes and with assistance from Overstims, Compressport and The North Face, Fernanda provided essential items to help facilitate the day-to day experiences of the children of Kalaish Children’s Home.

Our experience started at Hotel Shanker, we were picked up by staff from the school and joined by several of the older students. Departing from the center of Kathmandu we ran through the chaotic streets to the hostel in Gorkarna. Weaving in and around the traffic, passing homes, shops and farmland, we progressed along the 7km route and children from the school joined us at different stages. The closer we were to our arrival, the younger the children became until the final 200m when we where joined by the youngest!

It was quite an experience! The joy, the laughter, the cheers and most importantly, the smiles, made every step of this run a wonderful step to something more positive. I could see a bigger picture and after all I had experienced in the past 12 to 13 days I could see it all making sense in this final journey. We were doing something very small that was making and creating a massive impact.

At the school, Fernanda was welcomed like a queen. A banner had been placed on an external school wall congratulating her on her ETR victory. On the school playing field the children formed a large circle and then under the instruction of the ETR ladies champion, they all performed some simple stretches.

Inside the dining/ community room a surprise awaited. Once a month, birthdays are celebrated and today an extra cake had been made, one for Fernanda. Joining the ‘top table’, Fernanda blended in perfectly. Grinning like a small child, Fernanda embraced the celebrations and when it came to celebrating, she followed tradition by smearing some cake on the children’s faces. In a place were food is such a precious commodity, it was wonderful to see the children, irrespective of age, allowed to be children.

The whole experience was rewarding, uplifting and reassuring. Nepal and its people are special. Amongst the beauty and diversity I witnessed great extremes. Poverty on a scale I have not witnessed before and this was contrasted by some of the most dramatic and beautiful scenery I have had the pleasure to witness. The Kalaish Children’s Home and other places like this are the very very tip of the iceberg. They don’t even make a dent in the very apparent social issues that are so clearly present within the whole of Nepal. But, every little helps. In spite of this, I have the found the people, irrespective of wealth or social standing, the most welcoming, generous and friendly of all I have met. I leave Nepal not with something coming to an end, but with a beginning. I witnessed on the face of each and every child that our ‘disposable’ items could generate happiness, warmth and pleasure. It’s time to look within and think, ‘what can I do to help?’ Believe me, the donation of clothes, toys, books, writing materials or a donation of say £10 literally can make a huge difference.

I sincerely thank Fernanda Maciel, the staff and the children from Kalaish Children’s Home for providing me with the opportunity to experience something that will allow me the opportunity to look within and find a way to help in the future.

Namaste

Would you like to help? Why not donate to one of the faces Kalaish HERE make a payment to Paypal account: iancorless@mac.com all proceeds will go to the Kalaish Children’s Home.

Fernanda Maciel – Here

*Mountaineers for the Himalaya’s Foundation is a private, non-political, non-profit making, non-religious and non-governmental organization created by Mountaineers to help and assist children in remote and mountainous regions of Nepal, Pakistan, Tibet, India and Bhutan.

Contact

Himalayan Youth Foundation – UK

18 Holeyn Hall Roade

Wylam

Northumberland

NE41 8BB

Tel 0044 1661 852278

IMAGE GALLERY:

Episode 48 – Jones, Maciel, Sleuyter, Lupton

Posted on November 16, 2013 by talkultra

Episode 48 of Talk Ultra brings you sounds and interviews from Nepal and we have an interview with ladies winner and 2^nd place overall, Fernanda Maciel. We have an interview with Dakota Jones and we catch up with Anna Lupton and discuss fell racing and Skyrunning. Recently, Steven Sleuyter placed 2^nd overall at the Grand to Grand ultra and we discuss his racing and how he plans and prepares for multi stage racing. We have the news, a blog, up and coming races and speedgoat Karl!

Nepal, such an amazing place and what an experience.

I went out on a sightseeing tour and here our tour guide, Prackasa provides an insight.

INTERVIEW with Tour Guide Prackasa

Leaving Kathmandu and heading to the start in JIRI was quite an epic journey, It involved a long journey on twisting winding roads that lasted 7-hours plus. When we arrived I spoke with Brit, Lynden Kemp.

INTERVIEW – Lynden Kemp

With the race underway I had so many remarkable experiences. Being a photographer in this environment is a dream come true.

While I was out on the trails I constantly came across animails, farms, sherpa’s, porters and children, in particular while descending from 4070m at Pikey Peak I came across three boys carrying huge baskets on their backs supported by the Nepalese head strap. They joined me for the descent and sand a song for me.

AUDIO – Children singing on the descent from Pikey Peak

The race ultimately was about Upendra Sunuwar who dominated the men’s race and Fernanda Maciel who not only dominated the ladies race but placed 2^nd overall.

INTERVIEW – I caught up with Fernanda Maciel when we arrived back in Kathmandu and you can listen to her thoughts and experiences of racing in Nepal.

On the last day of our trip, I was involved in a charity event with Fernanda Maciel. Running through the streets of Kathmandu we were joined by children from the Kalaish Children’s Home. This was an event created by Fernanda with the sole purpose of providing aid to children who are from poor or deprived homes. It was a wonderful way to end a trip and extremely rewarding.

The Everest Trail Race, Nepal and the Himalayas have been an incredible experience. The terrain and altitude provides a tough challenge but the rewards are high. It really is a place and a race experience I can’t recommend enough. You don’t have to be a great runner to take part but you do need to be fit!

Nepal has been quite an enlightening experience from so many aspects. I have written a daily post on my website – iancorless.com and I have provided links to all my images if you are interested.

IMAGES HERE

DAILY POSTS: HERE

Moving from one stage race to another, I caught up with Steven Sleuyter after his 2^nd place at the Grand to Grand multi day ultra. Here we discuss his racing, training and how he prepares.

INTERVIEW Steven Sleuyter

NEWS

Pinhoti 100

Jason Lantz 17:44:24
Evan Cestari 18:00:15
Jonathan Allen 18:13:55

Megan Rieger 21:22:39
Kristina Pattison 21:57:57
Dava Overton 22:15:32

Everest Trail Race

Men:

Upendra Sunwar 20:29:46
Lluis Puig 26:42:24
Francisco Salas 26:42:24

Women:

Fernanda Maciel 26:00:29 (and 2nd overall)
Yangdi Lama Sherpa 29:10:00
Shiri Leventhall 30:37:52

BLOGS

Sabrina Redden – http://sevenwildandfree.com/2013/10/09/721/

“As you can see, I’m far from being ready to be 30. Does this mean I get to push it back until I’m ready? I say yes! I think 30 is just jealous that I got called Teagan’s sister the other day and someone assumed I went to the kids school when I had my backpack on the other day.

So 30, suck it! I may have to say I’m “30″, but I refuse to grow up!”

Interview – Anna Lupton

TALK TRAINING – Trevor Prior talks to us about feet.

INTERVIEW

Dakota Jones has had a relatively quiet 2013, however, when he has run he has been on top form. Here we discuss his thoughts and plans for the future.

RACES

Antartica

Antarctic Ice 100k | 100 kilometers | November 20, 2013 | website

Australia

Queensland

Beerwah at Night – 50 km | 51 kilometers | November 16, 2013 | website

Victoria

30/50 Challenge – 50 km | 50 kilometers | November 16, 2013 | website

Upstream 50km Challenge | 50 kilometers | November 16, 2013 | website

Cambodia

Cambodia – The Ancient Khmer Path | 220 kilometers | November 29, 2013 | website

Costa Rica