Copyright Joel Wolpert
‘Running Times’ correspondent Joel Wolpert caught up with trail runner Anton Krupicka to see how he runs through the Colorado winter.
YouTube link HERE – filmed Feb 2011
As do all of Wolpert’s films, this one features local music: songs by Denver, Colorado bands The Lumineers and Paper Bird.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=kjDLorXfkao
Big shout out here to my buddy, James at GoTrail for getting this incredible project off the ground and showcasing some of the best in trail movies.
I am eager to see the Marco Olmo film, ‘The Runner‘ but I am equally stoked to see that friends, Dean & Greg from The African Attachment will be showing ‘Collective Dreams‘. Collective Dreams is a film that delves into the professional world of trail running – a sport rapidly growing and changing around the world. At its core, trail running is a solitary pursuit born out of a love of the mountains. The film follows a group of individuals finding their way in this new professional world and, as they learn and gain experience, they are brought together by this common bond as a team and as friends.
The Trails in Motion Film Festival is a project aimed at creating an artistic and engaging platform to showcase the imaginative and awe-inspiring trail running film productions of both local and international film makers.
The objective is to not only capture the true spirit of trail running through the screening of high quality films and documentaries, but ultimately develop an exciting social and visual experience for everyone who shares a connection with the trail and a deep appreciation for the creative expression of others.
An initiative by GoTrailmedia
Guest Host – Ryan Sandes
It has only taken four short years for ultra-marathon ace Ryan Sandes to rise to the very top of his game, earning the prestigious honor of winning all four of the 4Deserts events. He received this record-breaking accolade after a first place result in the Last Desert event in Antarctica at the end of 2010. The human running machine from South Africa led the 250km event from start to finish, battling challenging sub-zero temperatures and treacherous conditions with ice underfoot on the hilly course.
With his focus now shifted to some of the world’s premier single staged 100 kilometer and 100 mile endurance races, Ryan continues to work hard at achieving his goals, all the while maintaining the balance of life. More recently, Ryan’s achievements have included a win at the 2011 Leadville Trail 100, the 2012 TNF100 in Australia, a second place finish at the 2012 Western States 100 as well as a record breaking run through the Fish River Canyon in Namibia towards the end of 2012.
Mountain Of Greatness
Marco Olmo – The Runner
Marco Olmo is a living legend of extreme ultra-running. In his “previous lives”, as he says, he has been a farmer, a truck driver and a workman. Running has became his reason for living, the way to take revenge on his hard destiny. At the age of 58 he has became Ultra-trail World Champion, winning the Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc in France, the hardest and most important endurance race in the world. make no mistake about it, this is no easy feat: over twenty hours of uninterrupted running, 167 km (over 100 miles) and a circumnavigation of the tallest mountain in Europe. An almost unimaginable specialty, where mental and physical training and personal motivations are fundamental.
Despite age, physical problems and always younger and more prepared opponents, he doesn’t want to stop. For one year he prepares for the new edition of the Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc. This competition, which for two consecutive times has consecrated him as the champion, could become the last of his career. Marco must win, to show himself that he can still do it.
This is his story.
Meet the Film Makers HERE
NO, it is the ATV 19+
Copyright Reebok
Just when you think you have seen it all… run shoes with five toes, run shoes that look like a goat hoof or shoes that are built on inches of marshmallow and then Reebok bring us the ATV 19+. Lets face it, Reebok don’t really have a great reputation for ‘great’ run shoes. Will this nippled alien beast change that?
I haven’t seen these shoes yet. But they are about to be released onto the world on Feb 1st. Are we ready for it? I have no idea…
Bill McInnis, head of advanced innovation at Reebok thinks we are. Apparently he is a former NASA scientist! He says:
“The ATC 19+ has 19 bumps (hence the name) on the bottom of the shoe which are designed to grip as much terrain as possible each time you move. ATV? ‘All Terrain Vehicle’ – In other words, the shoe is designed to mimic how a real ‘ATV’ grips any terrain that is put beneath its wheels. The shoes ‘dig’ through the top layer of the surface and get traction on the layer underneath”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMsPej0LIP8&feature=player_embedded
Jury is out on this one… on first impressions I can’t imagine it working too well in the wet, particularly on roads/ pavements or in the mud. But hey, I shouldn’t jump to conclusions… just because they look weird doesn’t mean that they wont perform.
Lets see what happens after Feb 1st!
Copyright Reebok
As a footnote. I have just seen this YouTube clip. Oh dear… any credibility that Mr McInnis gave the shoe in his ‘clip’ above seems to disappear rather quickly here.
Episode 27 of Talk Ultra – Fast man of the moment, Sage Canaday tells us about how he got into running and all about his transition to ultra. Joe Grant gives us an update on how his prepartion is going for his attempt at the 350 mile Iditarod Trail Invitational in Alaska. We also speak to Dave James who had a win at Coldwater Rumble recently and heads out to The Coastal Challenge in Costa Rica on Feb 1st. We have talk tainining, a year in the life of, the news, a blog, a Meltzer Moment, up and coming races and we have the start of a new special on the build up to the 2013 Marathon des Sables.
00:00:00
00:00:45 Start
00:10:00 ‘A year in the life of…’ – this week it is Tyler’s turn to tell us what he has been up to since Christmas.
00:21:35 The News
00:33:20 An interview with Dave James who had a recent win at the Coldwater Rumble and heads out to The Coastal Challenge on Feb 1st 2013.
Email from Andrew Bentley – Following the tragedy in Glencoe this last weekend four climbers killed, is there any chance would you be able to put a shout out about this http://www.justgiving.com/Luke-Bradley Chris Bell was a keen bike and triathlon racer, winning numerous races, some of which I was fortunate enough to be his team mate for. Chris was always the faster one- his dedication to being fast was unmatched.
01:00:23 Back to the News
01:05:00 Joe Grant needs no introduction… his 2nd place at the 2012 Hardrock was a great result. In February 2013 he will be taking part in the 2013 350m Iditarod Invitational Trail. He gives us an update on how his preparation is going.
01:37:50 Back to the News
01:43:30 Blog – Gary Robbins – http://www.gary-robbins.com
01:44:10 Talk Training with Marc Laithwaite – running as we get older.
02:13:22 Interview with Sage Canaday
As a 2-time Olympic trials qualifier, Sage has competed at a national class level. In 2007 he was the youngest participant in the Olympic marathon trials at the age of 21.
A native of Oregon, Sage ran for Newberg High School and placed 13th in the state cross country meet his senior year. Determined to run DI in college, Sage traveled across the country to run for LetsRun.com co-founder Robert Johnson at Cornell University. At Cornell Sage not only qualified for the 2008 US Olympic trials marathon (junior year) – he also won the Ivy League Conference title for 10,000m on the track and qualified as an individual for the 2007 NCAA Championships in cross country.
Sage ran as a Brooks-sponsored elite runner on the post-collegiate Hansons-Brooks Distance Project team from August of 2009 to February 2012. His running resume from their website can be found here. During his time at Hansons, Sage placed 17th overall at the 2010 Bank of America Chicago Marathon (8th American in the race), and placed 5th in the 2011 Rock n’ Roll New Orleans Mardi Gras half marathon with a personal best time of 1:04:32. Sage also ran a personal best marathon time of 2:16:52 at the Rock ‘n’ Roll San Diego Marathon that year (2011). In his final race wearing the Hansons singlet, Sage placed 43rd in the US Olympic Trials marathon in Houston with a 2:18:24.
At the start of 2012 Sage started ultra marathons and trail running. In his ultra debut had earned a 2nd place overall finish at the Chuckanut 50k in Bellingham, WA in March after missing a turn and running off course for 8 minutes. In June 2012, Sage won the Mt. Washington Road Race in 58:27…the fastest time ever by an American on the all uphill course. In July 2012 Sage won the White River 50 in 6:16 and bettered Anton Krupicka’s course record by over 9 minutes on the 50 mile course.
Sage looks to continue competing at a high level on the roads and trails at distances from the half marathon to 100k for the rest of the year with a focus on representing the US at the 2012 World Mountain Running Championships in Italy.
Sage’s Personal Bests and Career highlights:
03:00:50 A Meltzer Moment with Speedgoat Karl
03:06:20 Marathon des Sables spécial with Stuart Rae
03:21:05 Up & Coming Races
03:22:40 Close
03:26:06 end
http://traffic.libsyn.com/talkultra/Episode_27_Canaday_Grant_James.mp3
Libsyn – feed://talkultra.libsyn.com/rss
I have been testing the The North Face Single Track Hayasa on a varied terrain for a couple of weeks now. My initial review of the shoe can be read HERE
First thing you will notice is that my initial shoes were blue! No, no miracle. I made a comment in my review that I had gone a half size larger. My normal size is UK9.5 and I had taken a UK10. I did express a concern that I thought the additional half size may very well be too much. I was correct.
My first test in the shoes, a hilly 6 miler had my foot moving just a little too much within the shoe. Nothing terrible, nothing uncomfortable but it just didn’t feel quite right.
So, I am now in a UK9.5 and they feel ‘sweet’. Actually like the black and yellow too!
The Hayasa has a 10mm drop but is low to the ground and as such it still promotes a very mid to forefoot run technique. The lacing I love. It would appear the laces have an element of ‘elastic’ within them so not only can you pull the shoe tight on your foot but once tied the laces don’t come loose. A real bonus. However, the laces are way too long… not a problem, I cut mine down and then just melted the ends with a match so they wouldn’t fray. The shoe is ‘very’ breathable and actually on some of the recent really icy days, on occasion they felt a little cold (perfect for hot weather then). The toe box is roomy and the upper is light and holds the foot secure.
Still early days but I have now done seven runs in them, two on the road (one 6 mile and one 10 mile) two trail runs (both 8 miles) and two snow/ice runs with YakTrax attached (7 miles and 10 miles).
I am really enjoying the Hayasa. You are close to the ground so you can really feel a connection with the surface and this promotes good technique. On the road they feel light, responsive and although the grip is more than a conventional road shoe I haven’t felt any negative effects. On trail, again the connection with the ground and the feel is superb, however, when the ground gets muddy the grip fails. It certainly is a shoe for a more compact, harder or dry trail. The surprise has been on the snow and ice. Admittedly I have YakTrax attached so that negates the sole but what I have loved is the connection with the ground from such a light shoe. You really notice the benefits when running through soft snow or hard icy trail… the Hayasa provides immediate feedback allowing you to adapt to the terrain accordingly. The Snake Plate I am sure is really adding to this.
Cushioning is good for such a lightweight shoe. Considerably more testing and runs to be done but at this early stage it’s a big thumbs up.
Snake Plate™The patent-pending Snake Plate™ consists of a forefoot plate that winds back and forth between the medial and lateral sides of the foot. Because it is not one solid element, it is not as uncompromisingly rigid from side to side and front to back. The result is a forefoot plate that allows the foot to do what it is physiologically designed to do: flex, bend, and contort to changing terrain. At the same time, the Snake Plate™ delivers rigidity where and when it is still needed. The thickness, composition and size of the Snake Plate™ vary from style to style as appropriate. For example, a thicker, more rigid Snake Plate™ addresses the technical, ever-changing demands of a mountain run. A thinner, more flexible Snake Plate™ reconciles flexibility with a decreased demand for protection while on smoother dirt paths.
Check out the The North Face HERE
It’s time to go off-road on some of nation’s most majestic trails. Each stop in the trail relay series features a two-day outdoor adventure as teams run looped trails at national parks and outdoor resort venues. Each race has a central location where runners will take off with staggered start times, run one of three loops of varying difficulty, then return to handoff to their next teammate. That central area, called Ragnar Village, will feature a Salomon and Suunto tent where runners can check out the latest trail running gear, including shoes, outdoor watches, apparel and hydration packs, and get trail running tips from Salomon pro staff. Suunto is Ragnar Trail Relay’s official timing sponsor and sister brand to Salomon, and will manage the race start and finish times at each event. Teams will typically finish the 120-ish mile course in 20 hours on average.
“Our passion for trail running drives us to grow the sport,” says Ashley Williams, vice president of marketing at Amer Sports Americas. “Yet as we continue to develop products, one thing stands out as a key to this growth– team. Now, by combining the trail running expertise of Salomon and Suunto with the team bonding of Ragnar, everyone wins.”
Ragnar Trail Relays will debut April 26-27 at the Zion Ponderosa Ranch near Zion National Park, Utah. Additional 2013 calendar dates include:
• April 26-27, Zion Ponderosa Ranch (Zion National Park, Utah)
• June 7-8, Big Bear Lake (Morgantown, West Virginia)
• July 26-27, Sierra at Tahoe (Lake Tahoe, California)
• August 23-24, Snowbasin (Huntsville, Utah)
• October 18-19, McDowell Mountain (Scottsdale, AZ)
• November 15-16, Vail Lake Resort (Temecula, California)
You can register at www.ragnartrail.com
Tarawera trails set for world-class endurance test on March 16 2013
It’s a ridiculously long-distance running race on some of the most beautiful trails in New Zealand’s North Island.
The 100 kilometre Vibram Tarawera Ultramarathon will be run on the magnificent bush tracks and forestry roads from Rotorua to Kawerau on Saturday March 16.
One of the world’s toughest endurance running races, it’s the brainchild of Paul Charteris. The Rotorua event organiser launched ‘the Tarawera’ 5 years ago and for many of the world’s best off-road distance runners, it has quickly become a ‘must-do’.
“The quality of the field is amazing,” says Charteris, with a grin. “The 2013 Tarawera Ultra will be the most competitive long distance running event in New Zealand since the 1990 Commonwealth Games marathon.”
It’s a bold claim.
“The race sold out months ago and the 430-strong field is stacked with the world’s best,” says Charteris to back this up. “The winners of nearly every major international ultra marathon race will be on the start-line.”
A lot of top Kiwi runners will also be in the field, defending local honour.
“The ultra-racing world is keen to see how 21-year-old Barefoot Inc sponsored, Ruby Muir from Napier will handle the distance”, continues Charteris. “She’s unbeaten – including winning her first ever ultra distance run when she stormed away from the field at the 2012 60k Kepler Challenge in Te Anau.”
Muir is expected to receive stiff competition from Dunedin’s Anna Frost, widely regarded as the top female trail runner in the world last year. Frost’s Salomon Racing teammates, Emelie Forsberg from Sweden and Candice Burt from the United States will also be on the start line, along with Australia’s Beth Cardelli.
Copyright Ian Corless
Cardelli won the last eight events she entered in her home country.
The top of the men’s field is a fleet-footed freight train of long-distance talent.
Mick Donges from Katoomba Australia is back to defend his 2012 Tarawera title against Christchurch’s Vajin Armstrong. The Kiwi finished second over the 100km distance the past two years and is keen to go one better.
Colorado-based runner Anton Krupicka, who ran a relay leg at Tarawera last year, has already fired a warning shot, posting online that he’s coming back to New Zealand for the win.
“This year, I’m looking forward to the technical trail between Humphries Bay and Tarawera Falls most of all,” says Krupicka. “The whole section from Okataina Lodge to the Falls will definitely be a highlight of the day, especially cruising at race pace.”
Copyright Ian Corless
UPDATE* on Anton Krupicka posted on his blog site:
“I decided over a week ago to not make the trip down to New Zealand for the Tarawera 100K in 10 days, and despite my hip showing significant improvement I know it was the right choice. I’ve done no long runs of any type since December and don’t have any desire to travel all that way to muddle through 62 miles with poor fitness and a very likely chance of re-injuring myself”
Other top runners to watch will be Brendan Davies, Australia’s ultra runner of the year and Timothy Olson, Jason Schlarb, Rickey Gates and Sage Canaday from the United States. France’s Francios D’haene and Greg Vollet lead the European contingent.
Interviews are available on Talk Ultra as listed below:
Olson and D’haene won the two biggest races in the world during 2012. Olson won the Western States 100-mile endurance run in California in record time and
D’haene won the coveted Ultra Trail Mont Blanc title in his home country, with over 2000 runners in the field.
Canaday throws some freakish speed into the mix. A 2:16 marathoner, he has recently switched to ultra distance racing and became the United States 100km trail champion just last week. You can listen to an interview with Sage Canaday on Talk Ultra episode 27.
For Race Director, Charteris, it’s been a dizzying few weeks.
“It’s like organising a local bicycle race and having half of the Tour de France peloton show up for the ride,” says Charteris, as he scoped out a section of the course in Rotorua’s world-renowned Whakarewarewa Forest. “It’s humbling – and frankly, scary.”
Rotorua is renowned for hosting a number of international sporting events.
In 2006 the UCI Mountain Bike & Trials World Championship were in Rotorua and the Single Speed World Champs were held in the Whakarewarewa Forest in 2010.
On race day, running shoes will replace wheels on many of the same trails.
“A beautiful environment and superb athletes – it really is a recipe for a fabulous day of racing,” enthuses Charteris.
“And with this sort of fierce competition, there will be a large national and international media following for this race. It will be a big week for the region.”
2013 will continue to see the international success of the four events of the The North Face® Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc®! Yet again this year trail-runners from the world over will be at the rendezvous, keen to attend to face the challenge, and despite the increase in the number of qualification points necessary this year (7 instead of 5 for the UTMB®, 2 instead of 1 for the CCC®).
As in 2012, 3 600 candidates were unable to validate their registration this year due to lack of places.
Registration figures
Pre-registration was closed on the January 8th with a record number of 10 105 candidates (of whom 10.3% were women) for the 4 events of the The North Face® Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc®.
The UTMB® and the CCC® were over subscribed. It is obvious that the organisation are proud of the popularity and success of the event but a serious draw was necessary and will mean that numerous trail-runners will have to postpone their dream for at least another year.
It is worth remembering that those who were unlucky in the 2012 draw were able to register without going through the draw this year. The limit of numbers for each event meant that there was a draw for the UTMB® and the CCC®. 2 500 requests for registration for the UTMB® and 1 100 for the CCC® were not able to be accepted this year.
The TDSTM registers a score in permanent progression, with more than 1 300 requests. It may, taking into account over-booking, accept round 500 runners form the more than 3 600 unlucky in the draw for the UTMB® or the CCC®.
Full card equally for the PTLTM for which registration closed on January 3rd, with 88 teams registered.
A reminder that each race is limited to the number of participants possible in order to respect the quality of the race for the runners, the security, the environment and the quality of the organisation.
The The North Face® Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc® races are welcoming 74 nations:
A record number in the field of open country races!
International participation is as always important with a record level of 49.6% who are not French.
In the lead France with only 50.4%. Then there is Spain with (9.5%) and Italy (8.9%). It is worth noting that Japan is in 5th position with 3.6% of the participants.
The nations represented are : Albania / Algeria / Andorra / Argentina / Australia / Austria / Belgium / Belarus / Bolivia / Brazil / Bulgaria / Canada / Chile / China / Colombia / Costa Rica / Croatia / Czech Republic / Denmark / Ecuador / England / Estonia / Finland / France / Gabon / Germany / Greece / Hungary / Iceland / Indonesia / Iran / Ireland / Israel / Italy / Japan / Jordan / Latvia / Lithuania / Luxembourg / Malaysia / Malta / Mexico / Moldavia / Monaco / Morocco / Netherlands / New Zealand / Niger / Northern Ireland / Norway / Peru / Philippines / Poland / Portugal / Rumania / Russia / Scotland / Serbia / Singapore / Slovakia / Slovenia / South Africa / South Korea / Spain / Sweden / Switzerland / Thailand / Turkey / Ukraine / Uruguay / Venezuela / United States of America / Wales / Zimbabwe
A world-wide success which confirms the The North Face® Ultra-Trail du Mont Blanc® as a trail-running event which has become a dream for trail runners from all over the world.
Calcaterra and Kudo voted Athlete of the Year 2012
It is with great pleasure we announce that Giorgio Calcaterra (ITA) and Mami Kudo (JPN) have been voted as the Athletes of the Year 2012.
Both athetes have had an outstanding season and have proven themselves over and over again under pressure. The athletes were voted by member federations and the IAU Executive Council.
The competition this year was quite close amongst the nominees. This proves the exemplary performances by our athletes in the international and national circuits. The top 3 vote getters in both male and female categories with the percentage of their votes in brackets were:
Male:
Giorgio Calcaterra (ITA): 34.8%
Mike Morton (USA): 33.0%
Steven Way (GBR): 9.5%
Female:
Mami Kudo (JPN): 25.0%
Michaela Dimitriadu (CZE): 24.8%
Amy Sproston (USA): 17.7%
Calcaterra is a repeat winner of this award having won it last year as well mirroring his world championships in the 100km World and European Championships. Kudo is a first time winner and was nominated based on her world best performance in the 24 hour.
The IAU would like to congratulate the winners and also all the athletes who made the short list. It was truly an outstanding ultrarunning season. We are looking forward to another exemplary performance season in 2013!
Nadeem Khan
Director of Communications
IAU website available HERE
No pun intended, okay, it is a pun… but I got my hands on these babies in 2012 at Transvulcania La Palma and Zegama. I was with the R&D guys from Salomon at Zegama and was provided with a couple of these beauties try while out on our run up to the top of the Zegama course.
The Salomon Sense Hydro S-LAB Set is an interesting concept. Many of us have struggled and played around with many different ways to carry fluid while out on a run. For many a bladder is too problematic; you don’t know how much you have drunk, awkward to refill, sometimes they hold a taste, potentially un-hygienic if you don’t clean them properly. Of course an option is a pack that takes bottles on the rear or on the front in chest pockets. For me, if I am doing a longer race or training run this is my preferred option. Bottles are user friendly, easy to refill and of course you can see how much you have drunk.
An issue can arise though when running lighter, faster or shorter. A pack may very well be just too much… bottle belts? Mmmm, well so many of them are just not comfortable. Way too much bottle bounce (that is until THIS came along, the S-Lab Skin Belt).
For me an option has always been hand bottles for my hydration and if required a light belt for carrying essentials (but not bottles).
Hand bottles, you either love them or hate them. Personally I love them… they help free up your body and make drinking easy and regular. However, they can have downsides. Start with a bottle that is too big and you will know about it in the arms, shoulders and neck after a first run of any length… so start light and small.
Another problem is, quite obviously, your hands are ‘full’. Now on a non-technical or easy terrain this may not be an issue but as soon as the trail becomes ‘technical’ your hands may well be required, or at least your fingers. Bottles then can be a problem…
Step in the Salomon Sense Hydro S-LAB Set.
On first look you may very well think that this is a simple drink method over engineered. I guess in some ways it is… BUT it works and it works like a dream.
It’s simple and comes in two parts – the glove and the flask.
Imagine a cycling glove that just slips onto your hand with all 4 fingers poking through a large opening and your thumb through a separate gap. The glove fits tight offering a secure comfortable fit with no seams to cause irritation.
Turn the hand over and you have two large elastic straps. Quite simply pull your soft flask through the securing straps and then pull the loose elastic cord that sits on top of the glove over the nozzle and pull to the required tension and there you have it. A bottle secured in your hand but with full hand movement.
Currently the soft flasks are available in limited sizes but apparently the range will be available from 150 ml to 1000 ml. Now I am not sure if a 1000 ml flask would sit comfortably in the hand but I do know a 500 ml flask does!
In use I found not only the freedom of my fingers a revelation over previous bottles I had used but I also found that when I slipped, stumbled or had to use my hands to move debris or trees I could do so without having to worry about what was going to happen to the bottle. In addition, opening gels or food wrappers was equally no problem. I had full hand and finger movement (admittedly not as free as if I had no bottle) but certainly I had more finger dexterity with the Salomon Sense Hydro S-LAB Set than any other bottle I have used.
The other plus? The back of the glove is soft towelling… get a runny nose or a sweaty brow, no problem. Just use the back of the glove and wipe away in comfort.
A perfect fit can be found as they come in an option of sizes S, M and L and I understand the standard bottle will be 250 ml. Just as a note, my size was medium but I also had a large so if I needed warm gloves I could then put the Sense Hydro S-LAB Set over the top and keep my hands warm.
This product has been tested in race environments by the Salomon Team and if you look back at Western States and say Transvulcania La Palma you will see this product being put through it’s paces by the likes of Kilian Jornet, Andy Symonds, Rickey Gates and so on…
In summary, it works, it’s comfortable and it provides added dexterity. Recommended.
Salomon Running can be viewed HERE
IAN CORLESS 