all images ©iancorless.com no reproduction or copying please
Julien Chorier and Hoka One One team mates (Caroline Chaverot & Pascal Blanc) freed up some time to head out on the trails of Gran Canaria and allowed me the opportunity to capture some images ahead of the 2014 The North Face Transgrancanaria.
Ten years on and the Skyrunner® World Series goes nationwide. The successful 15-race model with three distances, Vertical, Sky and Ultra, will be reproduced, where possible, in many ISF member countries, which currently count 27.
Earlier last year, France was the first country to launch the Skyrunner® National Series which includes some of the best races in the country in the 42 km to 80 km range. USA followed in December with a full calendar featuring five Sky, five Ultra and four Verticals.
South Africa launched with three SkyMarathons and the new, much acclaimed Lesotho Ultra Trail in November. Two more races are to be announced.
The UK as we know, lacks the higher altitude common to skyrunning, but it lacks nothing of the tough, challenging courses that have produced skyrunning stars of the highest level. The first race announced earlier this month has 4,000m of vertical gain over 80 km – enough to satisfy even the most demanding Skyrunner.
Today, Italy, birthplace of skyrunning, announces their calendar, which perfectly reproduces the World Series format with five races in each discipline – Vertical, Sky and Ultra. In a country that boasts over 120 affiliated races and 90 associations, the calendar is spoilt for choice. The National Series was created to mirror the SWS format and includes some of the country’s top races, such as the Giir di Mont, the Trans D’Havet (last year’s European Ultra Championships) and the Cervino Vertical K, where the first Vertical Kilometer took place 20 years ago at the foot of the Matterhorn. The Italian Championships (one race per discipline), will be announced at the end of the month.
The concept of launching National Series lies in promoting the skyrunning philosophy at grass roots level and to offer runners in many different countries an opportunity to experience the skyrunning concept on home ground – to participate in well-organised, quality events with the passionate support of organisers and supporters; to enjoy spectacular courses that embody the skyrunning spirit; to push themselves further and higher on challenging terrain; to enjoy strong competition and, to reap the rewards of race and Series’ prize money. The winners of each Series will win a place in the 2014 World Series finals (or the first 2015 races) together with travel contributions and other benefits.
Particularly welcome has been the response from National Series organisers to create races and circuits that reflect the spirit and the values of skyrunning and where, no doubt, future stars will emerge.
Other National Series are in the pipeline, starting with one of skyrunning’s most important countries for both races and runners, Spain and Andorra.
Following on will be announcements from Australia & New Zealand, China, Czech Republic, Greece, Poland, Russia…
iRunFar – an in-depth article on the US Series launch
Skyrunner® South Africa Series
Spain’s Carreraspormontana – report
Winner of the Ultra Trail Mount Fuji (UTMF) in 2012, two times winner of the Grand Raid de la Reunion, winner of the Hardrock 100, 2011 and the 2013 winner of the Andorra Ultra Trail Vallnord (Rond dels Cims), representing the Salomon International Team, Julien Chorier has decided on a new venture for 2014 signing a new contract with Hoka One One.
Julien, the consummate professional has always been attentive to technological advances and has been sensitive to the ambitions and the sensitivities offered by Team Hoka.
Signing a three year contract, Julien has decided to offer impetus to his passion for trail running and will act as ‘Team Captain’. In parallel, Julien will also participate in the development of the Hoka trail community in Europe.
An exciting 2014 awaits for Julien when he will return to Hardrock 100. It proves to be an exciting edition of the race with arguably the best field ever assembled.
“After great years in the Salomon team, I thank with my heart for all the support and advice given during these years , I have decided to give a new impetus to my career providing myself with a very important challenge: to race and test myself on new trails , create innovative dynamics in the Hoka team, to make my contribution to product development
and develop a Hoka community in Europe. Hoka honours, both athletically and professionally; my contract offers new opportunities to live my passion for trail . The desire to always innovate and move forward , the stated priority to draw naturally from the requirement of the highest level , involving me full in product development are all factors that convinced me of this new challenge.”
Without doubt, this new departure for Julien will provide exciting moments on the trails of Europe and of course, worldwide.
I personally still think back in awe and wonder at Julien’s performance at Ronda dels Cims in Andorra, 2013. It was a consummate performance of a professional in the form of his life, dominating a race from the front.
Bonne chance Julien!
Links:
Four weeks today The Coastal Challenge, Costa Rica will start. Celebrating ten glorious years, the 2014 edition of the race will arguably be the most competitive in the races history.
Kicking off the 2014 racing season, runners from all over the world will assemble in Quepos for an exhilarating journey along the Costa Rican coast and within the rain forests of this exciting and idilic land.
Unprecedented in the races history, an elite line up of runners will toe the line featuring:
The words are still ringing true in my ears, ‘the tenth edition of The Coastal Challenge is going to be special, very special indeed’.
Rodrigo Carazo and Tim Holmstrom from the TCC organisation have quite a race lined up!
In addition, Gemma Slaughter, 2013 female winner of the TCC will return to defend her title. Without doubt, Gemma will find the 2014 race very different to 2013. However, she does have experience and knowledge of what this race can bring; from a physical and mental perspective. I will be catching up with Gemma in the coming week for an interview on how she feels, how training has gone and what are her expectations for the 10th edition.
Frosty – ‘Costa Rica is exotic to me. A place I have never been but it intrigues me with images of its beautiful coast lines, native bush that seems a little bit like home (NZ) to me and the bright clear blue sea that is so luring. So when I heard there was a stage race that covers this coastline I wanted to know more.’
Wardian – ‘I definitely enjoy the challenges of multi-day races as there are a lot of factors to account for besides just running and that intrigues me and inspires me. I think of all the things I learned in my previous outings at multi day races; to be as light as possible and balance your energy expenditure throughout the race but also, and this is a little contrarian, but to push more than you think possible because it is possible to recover quicker than you think. I also, take care of the small things because over a week of racing they can make all the difference.’
Clarky – ‘I actually haven’t been to Costa Rica before. Last year I raced in Nicaragua at the Fuego y Agua 100k. Nonetheless, I’m sure conditions will be much the same. Coming from mid-winter in Colorado, the transition to 95+ degree heat and high humidity in Central America is very tough, but I felt like I handled it decently last year. January and February have always been base-building months for me as I prepare for goal races in the summer, so I definitely won’t be sharp, but any time I toe a start line I have my race face on. That will be the case in Costa Rica for sure, especially as it looks like there will be good competition to race against.’
Reiter – ‘It sounds like a great adventure to me. Running eight days in the jungle, crossing rivers, hopefully seeing some wild and dangerous animals, sleeping in a tent-village and of course tasting some new food and local specialties. Running is such a great sport that we can all experience, I am really excited to share the trails with others who are equally passionate. It’s what I love and want to experience.’
Bottger – ‘I have never been to Costa Rica before. I am really excited to see the trails and landscape over there. The climate will be very different, the terrain and of course the culture and people. It is just a very nice mix of a lot of new things and impressions. I have never done a multi day race like this before; sleeping in tents next to the beach in a foreign country, spending some days with great people and becoming a “family”. It’s going to be really exciting’
Meek – ‘I am always very attracted to a country that is hotter than the UK. That is a no brainer! It’s the challenge, the opportunity to compete in something so different. This race I don’t need to carry all my kit, so, unlike the MDS I will be able to just run, admittedly for repeated days. It will be interesting and it should mean I can go faster.’
The stage is set!
I will be reporting live ‘daily’ from the race and posting each evening a synopsis of the action with images (connections allowing).
Follow on Facebook: HERE Twitter: @talkultra and of course on this website.
If you’d like to read more about The Coastal Challenge, here are my links to the 2013 (9th edition).
SUMMARY of the 2013 edition of the race – HERE
Images from the TCC – HERE
The Coastal Challenge on RUN247 – HERE
The Coastal Challenge on TrailRunner – HERE
The Coastal Challenge in Spanish TrailChile – HERE
Daily Blog posts from the 2013 edition of the race:
Image ©kilianjornet ©summitsofmylife
Nº2 2013: EUROPEAN SUMMITS – MONT-BLANC
Mathéo and I synchronised our watches, switched on the stopwatch and gave each other five for luck before starting to run. It was 4:50 am, and it wasn’t cold in the church square in Chamonix. We were in shorts and thermal T-shirts, but nerves and excitement probably did not let us think about anything other than the challenge ahead. Mont Blanc, as majestic as ever, was just waking up and, from the square, we could spot the headlamps of those who had spent the night at the mountain refuge and were now preparing to reach the summit.
We are ascending well, within the estimated time. Upon arriving at the crack of Grands Mulet, we rope together for safety reasons as large amounts of snow have accumulated there this year. Halfway up, we spot Seb and Vivien, who have come to give us support and to film us. The sun is barely rising and the scenery is breathtaking. We are both using sticks to help us to climb and move faster. The marks we gouged into the ground a few days ago have lasted, and we follow them, so we can move fast and carry on with the ascent.
Read the full report HERE
Nuria Picas Templiers 2012 ©iancorless.com
Millau, Southern France. The iconic ‘La Course des Templier’ has often been regarded as the Holy Grail of Trail in France. Salomon athlete and Brit, Andy Symonds won the race a couple of years ago and it made him a household name. Of course living in France and speaking the lingo did help.
The Great Race of the Knights Templar was founded in 1995 with a humanitarian purpose. To financially support an orphanage in Chad
Sighting the Leadville Trail 100 miler in the US as an influence, Odile and Gilles Bertrand decided to embark on this adventure in March 1995. The project was launched and a date was selected, the last Sunday of October.
But the format of 100 miles as at the Leadville race was considered too long and Odile and Bertrand decided to offer a more appealing distance of 65 km.
In October 1995 before the fortress of St. Eulalie de Cernon 500 runners assembled and the first edition was undertaken. La Course des Templiers gave birth to trail running in France. This first edition of Templiers was won by Patrick Fox and Corinne Favre.
Race start 2012 ©iancorless.com
THE GREAT RACE OF THE TEMPLARS
. Distance: 72 km – altitude: 3200 m +
. Departure: 5:15 (note time change), Millau, Millau Plage road (attention, 1h 20 ‘night in the morning) and arrive in Millau, Millau Beach Road 1.2 km from city center
. 4 stations (Peyreleau, St André de Vézines, Pierrefiche, The Cade)
. Registration limited to 2500 runners
A weekend of racing – Festival de l’Endurance
The Templiers race is part of the Festival de l’Endurance. The main event takes place on Sunday, the Grande Course – THE GREAT RACE OF THE TEMPLARS is steep and rocky, so steep that the race organisers place ropes in many areas so that runners can ease their way through rough spots without falling.
To add to that magical ambiance, it helps to know that Nant was one of many points in a network of secret trails built by the Knights Templar, the monastic, international military order formed at the end of the First Crusade with the mandate of protecting Christian pilgrims traveling to Jerusalem. The Knights Templar, known for their architectural skills and fighting alongside Richard I were the first warrior monks and were prevalent in that part of France until their downfall in 1307.
The race route uses the secret paths of the Templars which ncludes two long tunnels that had been used as shortcuts to beat enemies to strategic locations. The region has become a popular tourist attraction primarily due to the success of Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code.
2013 RACE
Miguel Heras TNFUTMB
The 2012 edition of the race concluded the Skyrunner World Series but not this year! However, a quality field is assembled. Miguel Heras (Salomon) just missed out on the win last year so he will be looking for the top of the podium. However, he will have a re match with TNFUTMB winner, Xavier Thevenard (Asics). Thomas Lorblanchet, teammate of Xavier will also return, he has won this race several times before and without doubt be at the front of the race. Julien Rancon will be looking to repeat his victory but Michel Lanne may well be the favourite, he had some time way from the sport with a new baby and an injury but he is back.
Xavier winning TNFUTMB
The ladies race has the return of Nuria Picas (Buff) Nuria dominated the race last year ahead of Emelie Forsberg and Lizzy Hawker. Nuria has gone from strength to strength and after placing second at TNFUTMB and then shortly afterwards winning Cavalls delVent once again, she is for me, the outright favourite for the ladies race. Julia Bottger (Salomon) will also participate, however, I can’t help but feel it will be a little too short for her.
Nuria Picas winning Templiers 2012 ©iancorless.com
The main event takes place on Sunday.
You can see images from the 2012 race HERE
An all new season of Salomon Running TV! On October 30th, 2013 season 3 of Salomon Running TV begins and it promises to offer a completely new look on the sport we love so much. With a variety of characters and stories that span the globe — join us on our journeys and adventures!
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©salomonrunning
Photography by iancorless.com
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SPARTATHLON is a historic ultra-distance foot race that takes place in September of every year in Greece. Arguably, it is one of the most difficult and satisfying ultra-distance races in the world because of its unique history and background.
The Spartathlon revives the footsteps of Pheidippides, an ancient Athenian long distance runner, who in 490 BC, before the battle of Marathon, was sent to Sparta to seek help in the war between the Greeks and the Persians. According to the ancient Greek historian Herodotus, Pheidippides arrived in Sparta the day after his departure from Athens. Inspired by the report of the Greek historian, in 1982 five officers of the British Royal Air Force (RAF), who were also long-distance runners, traveled to Greece, led by Colonel John Foden. Their purpose was to ascertain whether it was possible to cover the 250 kilometers separating the two towns in one and a half days. The enthusiastic British team showed that the report by Herodotus was entirely plausible.
A man is indeed able to cover 250 km in less than two days and in fact in less than 40 hours. After the success of the project, the architect of the feat, John Foden, began to envision the establishment of a race that would bring long distance runners to Greece from around the world to run on the trail of the ancient runner Pheidippides. The next year a multinational team of British, Greek and other enthusiastic supporters of the idea, led by Michael Callaghan, a philhellene, organized the First International Spartathlon (Open International Spartathlon Race), wherein the name for the race combines the Greek words for Sparta and Feat.
The race was held with the approval and supervision of the Athletics Federation with the participation of 45 runners from 11 countries and included the participation of women. The organizational success of this inaugural race and its broad appeal were decisive to the subsequent establishment of the annual race.
Accordingly, in 1984 the International Association “Spartathlon” was founded. Since then a yearly race has been organized each September. Why September? Because that is the time reported by Herodotus for Pheidippides run to Sparta.
Information taken from http://www.spartathlon.gr ©Spartathlon.gr
The Race
The 2013 edition of the race will start on Friday 27th September with 350 participants and for any last minute dropouts; this entry list will be topped up from a waiting list of 160 runners.
UK entrants:
Countries represented:
Sweden, Poland, Australia, Japan, Germany, Italy, Hungary, Denmark, France, Spain, Netherlands, Finland, Argentina, Portugal, China, Malta, United States, Uruguay, Belgium, Austria, Brazil, Mexico, Czech Republic, Faeroe Islands, Switzerland, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Hong Kong, United Kingdom and of course Greece.
Spartathlon, for many is a bucket list race. It has a magic that cannot be found at other races. The distance, strict cut-off times, the heat and so on all add to the drama. The course is conducted point-to-point and elevation ranges from sea level to 1,200 meters (3,937 ft), over tarmac road, trail and mountain footpath. Aid stations are placed every 3 to 5 km and are provisioned with food, water and other refreshments as well as the runners’ personal supplies. The race is run under police and medical supervision with doctors, physiotherapists, and emergency vehicles being on call throughout the 36-hour race duration. The race is very demanding.
The course is not the most spectacular and 153 miles of roads may not appeal to many, particularly if coming from a trail or mountain running background. However, I’ve yet to meet anyone who has run this race and not loved it. For sure, the Greeks, French, Japanese, German and now a growing UK participation love this race and demand is continuing to grow.
Lizzy Hawker raced in 2012 and not only won the ladies race in 27:02:17 but placed third overall. The outright winner was Stu Thoms from Germany in 26:28:19.
For the 2013 edition of the race, all entrants are of interest. For many, Spartathlon is a journey about completion and not competition. However, two people are of interest and for opposite reasons. Firstly, Robbie Britton from the UK is coming to Spartathlon for the first time but he is potentially an exciting prospect for the overall with a solid 100-mile result at the South Downs Way 100 in a time of 15:43:53 and 239.008km at the World 24-hour championships. Robbie has said in his blog, “I’m right excited about getting to Sparta now and can’t wait for the great challenge of this historic race. We’ve got a solid British team heading out there; including a few Grand Union Canal Race winners, one of whom is attempting a double Spartathlon and it should be a great atmosphere out there. After a strong showing from the Brits at UTMB and The Grand Slam of Ultra Running, I guess we best put a bit of effort into Spartathlon now too…” Bog here
Secondly, Mimi Anderson will be doing Spartathlon her own way in 2013… she raced in 2011 and surprised herself with her performance. So much so, this year she is coming back to do it twice! Yes, twice.
Mimi’s press release:
‘Marvellous’ Mimi Anderson, the 51 year-old grandmother from Smarden in Kent who is a triple long distance running Guinness World Record holder and already the legendary finisher of several ‘doubles’ of extreme long distance races for which the one-way normal run would be beyond most mere mortals, is about to attempt probably her most daring double – a two-way run of the iconic Spartathlon race held in Greece each year.
Traditionally there are about 20 runners from the UK each year and Mimi first ran the race in 2011 when she finished 3rd lady overall and the 1st UK finisher in 32 hours 33 minutes 23 seconds. She has decided to return in 2013 and having completed the normal race on her previous visit, she will be attempting the double this year (a distance of 306 miles), which is believed to have only ever been done once before. It has certainly never been done by anyone from Britain and no female has ever attempted it.
Mimi’s plan is to do the race first then, all being well, start the return leg at midnight on Saturday night. She will be running the race itself to achieve the best time she can and then attempting the return leg in in the same tough 36 hours maximum time allowed for the race.
Her husband Tim and friend Becky Healey will be crewing for her during the event and the reason for starting the return leg at midnight on the Saturday is to enable the crew to get some sleep – otherwise it becomes too dangerous for them to be driving safely!
Mimi will be running to raise money for her usual cause – the 10 Million Metres Campaign, which was set up by Alex Flynn when he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease 4 years ago. People can donate on the Justgiving site at www.justgiving.com/marvellousmimi1
The 2013 event for sure will be exciting for all involved and for those watching. If you would like more information, please go to the race website.
Links:
All entrants can be viewed here
Live Tracking for race day here
Extreme by name, extreme by nature, the names of Red Bull and Kilian Jornet are almost a match made in heaven, equally renowned for pursuing the extreme.
Red Bull pursue the extreme in everything that they do… skateboarding with Ryan Scheckler, Ryan Doyle with Parkour, Travis Rice on a snowboard and so on, irrespective of the athlete or the sport, Red Bull push the boundaries.
View a video of the 2012 Red Bull Extreme
It seems appropriate that the third edition of the Red Bull Elements, located at Talloires on the shores of Lake Annecy should once again have the presence of Salomon sponsored athlete, Kilian Jornet.
It’s not the first time for Kilian to experience a Red Bull Extreme event. He is a two-time winner after participating in Red Bull Elements with his Font Romeu Team. However, he can’t win single-handed. Red Bull Elements is a one-day multi-sport adventure race. Competing as a team relay, the race celebrates three elements – air, earth and water – through four sports,
Rowers, runners, paragliders and mountain bikers join forces to compete in the same outdoor world! The race is a pure concentration of endurance sports. Uniting all those involved. It creates a dramatic and extreme event.
On Saturday, September 14th, 216 athletes grouped together in 56 teams will start an adventure with rowers covering 14km in Talloires bay.
Image from redbull.fr ©redbull
Handing over to the trail runners, Kilian Jornet and his adversaries (such as Salomon teammate, Michel Lanne) will then climb eleven kilometers covering a vertical gain of 1914m with only 25m of negative gain!
Image from redbull.fr ©redbull
Image from redbull.fr ©redbull
At the summit, paragliders take over and they descend to a rendezvous with the final discipline; mountain biking. A final breakneck descent to Talloires village culminates the event.
Image from redbull.fr ©redbull
Of course, this event is not about Kilian Jornet. On the contrary, he is very much just one cog in a very important four-person team. However, my emphasis and sport is running and in particular mountain and trail running, so, the question remains; can Kilian improve on his extraordinary performance from 2012? Last year, Kilian Jornet completed the 11 km of ascent in less than 1h: 20m. For sure, Michel Lanne will push him all the way to the summit. I just wish I was in Annecy to watch the action unfold… it really looks quite an incredible event!
Links:
Race Website HERE
Race Information HERE
For more information and inspiration, take a look at:
IAN CORLESS 