An incredible and inspiring weekend in the heart of the English Lakes with a committed team of athletes and employees of inov-8. It’s been a real pleasure to spend quality time discussing the brand, apparel and shoes. Watch out in 2015, inov-8 have some seriously quality products coming your way!
Here are just a small selection of images as a teaser….
all images are ©iancorless.com – all rights reserved
No reproduction please.
Check out inov-8 at http://www.inov-8.com
Day 2 of the inov-8 athlete retreat and after a morning of discussing new products (apparel, shoes and packs) for 2015, the inov-8 team and support staff travelled to Nether Wasdale for Middlefell Fell Race.
Covering 6.6-miles, runners climb to 1,700-feet on an out and back course in the heart of the English Lakes.
Dashing along roads, tracks and fields for approximately 2-miles, after Greendale, runners branched left and and started the ascent following the Wasdale route but after a short sharp and steep climb, the route then branches right at a natural fork and then ascends to the summit of Middlefell. It’s an out and back route so after turning at the cairn at the summit, runners re trace back to the start.
David Schneider ©iancorless.com
Wasdalefell is normally a small fell race, but today, an influx of inov-8 athletes almost doubled the numbers and the pace! With a strong representation from the UK, Norway, Switzerland, Catalonia, France and the Basque country, this small fell race became a truly International affair.
Erik Haugsnes ©iancorless.com
Pre-race discussions had been all about who would take the win and how would ‘Skyrunners‘ from Switzerland, Norway and Catalonia fair against out-and-out fell runner’s?
Aritz Egea ©iancorless.com
With the flat early 2-miles over, it was great to see, Swiss runner, David Schneider leading Baque, Artiz Eregea in the early stages, This strong European representation was also backed up with Erik Haugsnes from Norway. Tom Addison and Orlando Edwards was leading the ‘local’ attack and were closely followed by Gary Priestley and Morgan Connelly.
Early morning low lying mist had lifted leaving a relatively clear day, with light winds and a bite in the air. The push to the summit was followed with a turn and quad busting descent.
Orlando Edwards ©iancorless.com
Orlando was first to appear setting a relentless pace. Looking cool, calm and relaxed; he was giving a masterclass of fell running descending. Erik Haugsnes from Norway followed, closely pursued by Artiz Egea, Tom Addison and David Schneider.
Unfortunately, a wrong turn by Orlando on his way back to the finish messed up his race! Erik followed Orlando but soon realised his error and re-joined the course. With Aritz now in the lead, Erik and Tom followed and with 1km to go, Tom made his move and took out the win ahead of Aritz and Erik.
The ladies race had less runners participating in contrast to the men’s race. Sharon Taylor was a convincing leader from the start and finessed a clear leader ahead of Hazel Robinson and Lyn Thompson.
In true fell running fashion, the race finished at a pub and was followed with a beer and quality plate of local food.
It was a great day! A small quality race unfolded on the fells of Wasdale, and just as we all had appeared from nowhere, within just a few hours, we all disappeared again.
No sooner had I arrived in the English Lakes and in minutes I was dropping my bags and immediately turning around and heading out on the trails with inov-8 athletes for a 2nd run of the day. It was just an hour… up and then down in true fell running style.
It’s just the start, currently 12-athletes have arrived but later today, more runners will arrive and an intensive weekend will start in full.
Back at inov-8 HQ, breakout session are in progress, talking about new apparel, new run shoes and how the products are designed and why!
It’s all about being specific and appropriate to the required purpose. Innovative and committed are two words I hear repeatedly.
Leaving the HQ, our weekend will commence at a Youth Hostel deep within the English Lakes; keeping us close to the trail and at the heart of what we all love… being at one with nature.
More to follow as the weekend unfolds!
Follow on twitter #inov8retreat
All images and content ©iancorless.com
The new team inov-8 recruit has revelled in a phenomenal past 12 months and is now looking ahead to a 2014 calendar stacked with some of the world’s toughest ultra distance races.
Having smashed the course record at the recent 66-mile Pilgrims Challenge, Robbie is now preparing for his Skyrunning debut at Transvulcania La Palma the first race in the 2014 Skyrunner World Series.
In his first inov blog, 27-year-old Robbie writes:
“My 2014 season is underway and I’ve already snared two victories, including the two-day Pilgrims Challenge 66-miler on the North Downs Way. Four years ago the Pilgrims Challenge took me a total of 15 hours to complete, and the on the second day alone I was running for nine hours. This year I broke the course record, clocking a total time of 8 hrs 8 mins for the two days combined. Next up is Transvulcania, on the island of La Palma, one of the Canary Islands. This is the first race in the 2014 Skyrunner World Series calendar and all the world’s best ultra-distance mountain runners will be there. I have been to La Palma once before, taking in a few epic days in the mountains before setting off to sail the Atlantic in a boat built by a crazy old man advertising for crew on Gumtree! At 51 miles, Transvulcania is a little bit short for me but it has more ascent – there’s 2,000m in the first 11 miles – than the 24-hour stuff. I will go there, chuck myself in the mix and see what happens. I am always up for challenging myself. After that I have the World 24hr Running Championships. The target this year is a top-10 finish. I’m already feeling good about my chances as I feel fitter and stronger than I was last year. And what year would be complete without a trip to the Alps? The 103-mile TNF Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc (UTMB) was shortened due to awful weather conditions the last time I ventured to Chamonix in 2012, but the atmosphere of the race got into my blood and this year I will return. I can’t wait.”
In 2013, Robbie won the high-profile 2013 South Downs Way 100 miler in a new course record, ran at the World 24hr Running Championships and completed the gruelling 152-mile Spartathlon race in Greece.
Next month Robbie will attend inov-8’s 2014 UK and European athlete retreat, to be held in the Lake District.
The Montane Lakeland 50 route has been chosen as the course for the British Athletics Ultra Trail Championships.
This is obviously great news not only for the Montane Lakeland 50 but also the runners who will participate.
Without doubt, the 50 and 100 routes are arguably two of the most desirable routes within the UK for trail running. It will be great to see how the race unfolds… will Ben Abdelnoor’s and Tracy Dean’s records fall?
An interesting point will come in regard to the course route. The UTLD100/50 have always been noted as ‘navigation’ events with no route marking. Of course, pretty much everyone who races (or plans to race) recces the route in advance of racing to ensure they are able to run fast (or as fast as possible) come race day… the inclusion of the event in the BAUTC does beg the question; will the course be marked to provide all runners a level playing field?
You can read the full post HERE
Episode 47 of Talk Ultra and we speak with Dylan Bowman, after placing 5th at Western States, Dylan was looking forward to tackling UTMB, however, things didn’t go quite to plan. Lakeland 50 winner, Ben Abdelnoor talks about training and fell running and we catch up with Tessa Hill who has just had a very succesful season on the Skyrunning circuit. Emelie Forsberg talks Diagonale des Fous in Smiles and Miles, Marc Laithwaite talks winter in Talk Training. We have the News, a Blog, Up and Coming races and Speedgoat talks golf…
Himalayan Trail – Philippe Gatta and Anna – https://iancorless.org/2013/10/29/great-himalayan-trail-philippe-anna-gatta/
00:13:42 NEWS
Diagonale des Fous (Reunion)
Men:
Francois D’Haene 22:58
Freddy Thevenin 25:40:16
Pascal Blanc 25:47:18
Ladies:
Nathalie Mauclair 28:45:32
Emelie Forsberg 31:29:05
Christine Benard 34:19:40
Javelina Jundred
Men:
Hal Koerner 14:56:53
Catlow Shipek 15:59:58
Joe Grant 16:50:10
Ladies:
Rhonda Claridge 18:34
Emz Eliason 20:58:55
Erin Churchill 22:56:21
La Course des Templiers
Men 1 Thomas Lorblanchet 6h43min04 2 Xavier Thévenard 6h47min46 3 Michel Lanne 6h48min34
Ladies 1 Nuria Picas Albets (ESP) 7h57min49 2 Malika Coutant (FRA 8h19min19 3 Aurélia Truel (FRA 8h21min47
Ceasers Camp 100-miles only 10 finishers
Stuart Wilkie 21:42
Mick Barnes 22:31
David Rowe 22:48
OMM
Elite
Mixed -Jasmin Paris and Konrad Rawlik 11:40:00
Female – Heather Dawe and Andrea Priestley 14:43:27
Full results – http://www.theomm.com/events/omm2013/
00:38:50 15 MINS of FAME – Tessa Hill
01:00:00 BLOGS
‘And somehow I reached the finish line of my first 100 miler. I don´t have enough words to describe the feelings. It was bigger than all my races I have done before. This was just something greater.’
01:03:55 Interview – BEN ABDELNOOR
01:24:28 TALK TRAINING – with Marc Laithwaite
01:48:12 INTERVIEW
This week’s interview is with Dylan Bowman. Dylan has not been running ultras for too long, however, he has impressed right from the start. Earlier this year he placed 5th at Western States and was in Europe and ready to run UTMB but unfortunately he picked up an injury while training.
02:30:54 MELTZER MOMENT
GOOD
BAD
UGLY
02:37:40 SMILESandMILES with Emelie Forsberg – smilesandmiles@yahoo.com
03:02:36 RACES
Argentina
The North Face® Endurance Challenge Argentina – 50 km | 50 kilometers | November 09, 2013 | website
The North Face® Endurance Challenge Argentina – 80 km | 80 kilometers | November 09, 2013 | website
Australia
New South Wales
Carcoar Cup Ultra Marathon | 60 kilometers | November 03, 2013 | website
Great North Walk 100 km | 100 kilometers | November 09, 2013 | website
Great North Walk 100 Miles | 100 miles | November 09, 2013 | website
Queensland
Run to Paradise Ultra Marathon | 74 kilometers | November 03, 2013 | website
France
Aveyron
Trail des Hospitaliers | 75 kilometers | November 03, 2013 | website
Marne
SPARNATRAIL classique | 55 kilometers | November 10, 2013 | website
Germany
Bavaria
Chiemsee-Ultramarathon November | 108 kilometers | November 09, 2013 | website
Lower Saxony
KILL 50 | 50 miles | November 09, 2013 | website
North Rhine-Westphalia
Bottroper Herbstwaldlauf – 50 km | 50 kilometers | November 10, 2013 | website
Hong-Kong
Salomon LT 70 | 70 kilometers | November 09, 2013 | website
India
Bangalore Ultra Marathon – 100 km | 100 kilometers | November 09, 2013 | website
Bangalore Ultra Marathon – 50 km | 50 kilometers | November 09, 2013 | website
Bangalore Ultra Marathon – 75 km | 75 kilometers | November 09, 2013 | website
Italy
Tuscany
Eroica Running Ultramaratona | 65 kilometers | November 03, 2013 | website
Morocco
Trans 333 | 333 kilometers | November 15, 2013 | website
Namibia
100 km of Namib Desert | 100 kilometers | November 09, 2013 | website
Desert Ultra | 250 kilometers | November 15, 2013 | website
Nepal
Everest Trail Race | 160 kilometers | November 03, 2013 | website
NEPAL Action Asia 3 day ultra 100km | 100 kilometers | November 01, 2013 | website
Nepal Action Asia Ultra 3 day marathon 60k | 60 kilometers | November 01, 2013 | website
New Zealand
Steelformers Around the Mountain | 100 miles | November 09, 2013 | website
Taranaki Steelformers 100 mile Around the mountain Solo | 100 miles | November 08, 2013 | website
Taranaki Steelformers 150 km Around the mountain Running and Walking Relay | 150 kilometers | November 09, 2013 | website
The Taniwha – 60 km | 60 kilometers | November 09, 2013 | website
United Kingdom
Northamptonshire
XNRG Druid Challenge 2013 | 84 miles | November 08, 2013 | website
Uruguay
ULTRA Maratón Altas Cumbres Serranas 100K Ultra | 100 kilometers | November 02, 2013 | website
ULTRA Maratón Altas Cumbres Serranas 60K Ultra | 60 kilometers | November 02, 2013 | website
USA
Alabama
Pinhoti 100 | 100 miles | November 02, 2013 | website
California
Almaden Hills 50K Run | 50 kilometers | November 02, 2013 | website
Chino Hills Spring Trail Series 50K | 50 kilometers | November 09, 2013 | website
CTR Lake Chabot Train Run 50 km (Nov) | 50 kilometers | November 09, 2013 | website
Folsom Lake Trail Run – Fall 50K | 50 kilometers | November 02, 2013 | website
San Lorenzo River Trail Run 50 km | 50 kilometers | November 09, 2013 | website
Two Cities Ultra Marathon | 50 kilometers | November 03, 2013 | website
Georgia
Georgia Sky to Summit 50k | 50 kilometers | November 09, 2013 | website
Idaho
NorthWest Nazarene University 100 Mile Run & Relay | 100 miles | November 08, 2013 | website
Illinois
Chicago Lakefront 50K | 50 kilometers | November 02, 2013 | website
Indiana
Owen Putnam State Forest 50K | 50 kilometers | November 02, 2013 | website
Owen Putnam State Forest 50 Miles | 50 miles | November 02, 2013 | website
Maryland
Rosaryville Veteran’s Day 50k | 50 kilometers | November 09, 2013 | website
Massachusetts
Stone Cat 50 Mile | 50 miles | November 02, 2013 | website
Missouri
Ozark Trail 100 Mile Endurance Run | 100 miles | November 02, 2013 | website
Nevada
Bootlegger 50K | 50 kilometers | November 09, 2013 | website
Coyote Springs 100K Trail Run | 100 kilometers | November 02, 2013 | website
Coyote Springs 100M Trail Run | 100 miles | November 02, 2013 | website
Coyote Springs 50K Trail Run | 50 kilometers | November 02, 2013 | website
Coyote Springs 50M Trail Run | 50 miles | November 02, 2013 | website
Ragnar Relay Las Vegas | 195 miles | November 08, 2013 | website
New Jersey
NJ Trail Series One Day – 50K | 50 kilometers | November 09, 2013 | website
New York
Mendon 50K Trail Run | 50 kilometers | November 02, 2013 | website
Oklahoma
Turkey & Taturs 50K Trail Race | 50 kilometers | November 03, 2013 | website
Tennessee
Nashville Ultra Marathon 50 K Race | 50 kilometers | November 02, 2013 | website
Nashville Ultra Marathon 50 Mile Race | 50 miles | November 02, 2013 | website
Nashville Ultra Marathon 60 K Race | 60 kilometers | November 02, 2013 | website
Nashville Ultra Marathon 70 K Race | 70 kilometers | November 02, 2013 | website
Upchuck 50K Trail Running Race | 50 kilometers | November 09, 2013 | website
Virginia
Mountain Masochist Trail Run | 50 miles | November 02, 2013 | website
Washington
First Call Veterans Day 50K | 50 kilometers | November 09, 2013 | website
03:05:23 CLOSE
03:09:40
LINKS:
http://traffic.libsyn.com/talkultra/Episode_47_-_Bowman_Abdelnoor_Hill_Forsberg.mp3
Following on from Scott Jurek’s trip to the UK and his one day trip to the English Lakes, Nick Mead follows up with an interview for ‘The Running Blog’ in The Guardian.
You can read the full article HERE
Very happy to have provided the image of Scott (with rainbow) taken in the Langdale Valley.
Scott Jurek, ultrarunner and bestselling author of Eat and Run.
A dominant force in the sport of ultrarunning for years and a runner who has gained, Legendary status. Way back In 1999, an unknown runner, Scott took the lead in WSER100 (Western States Endurance Run and) never looked back and went on to win the race. Scott then followed this amazing result up with six more wins; an unprecedented seven WSER wins in a row. It is extremely doubtful that those consecutive performances will ever be bettered or equaled. Scott has won races all over the world and at all distances; Spartathlon, Hardrock-100, Badwater-135 and in 2010 he set an all American record for 24-hours (165.7-miles) which was recently broken by Mike Morton.
Scott become a household name when the book, Born to Run became an international bestseller. The book chronicled the story of running and how the sport has developed. It discussed shoe design and explored the amazing Tarahumara Indians. Scott travelled to Mexico and spent time and immersed himself in the local culture. The experience changed many peoples perspectives and although Scott is not a ‘barefoot’ runner, the book and the stories told pioneered the current trend for minimalist and barefoot running.
Hailed as one of the top runners of the decade by the Washington Times and he was crowned Ultra Runner of the Year three times by Runners World.
Since 2010 Scott has raced very little as he finished writing his book, Eat and Run and then travelled the world to promote it. In the book he combines his passions for running and his Vegan diet.
He returned to racing the 100-mile distance earlier this year at Leadville 100 and placed in the top 10. He has admitted that retirement is near. However, he does still have a few objectives on his bucket list.
So, what is on that bucket list?
Follow Scott on Twitter @scottjurek
Take a look at the images from his ‘Day in the Lakes’ with local runners and his wife, Jenny. HERE
It started like this, ‘Pardon for the last minute message, but I just found out I will have this Friday free when I arrive in London. Are you available to do a run? Is there something we could do in the mountains-trails within striking distance of London. I fly into Heathrow at 7am Friday.’ Scott Jurek
Now Scott and myself had discussed running together at some point in time, however, this message came as a bolt out of the blue. Ironically, I received this email as I was leaving Colorado after covering the UROC race in Vail. Scott lives in Boulder, so, we were actually only 90-mins away from each other!
I initially looked for trails close to London but Scott insisted, he wanted to come to the Lakes. So committed was he and Jenny that he changed his flights and arrived in Heathrow at 0500 on Friday after a 9-hour flight. They travelled across London and then jumped on a train to arrive midday in Windermere.
I was well aware that this was Scott’s first ever trip to the UK, so, it was important to provdie an opportunity for people to join us. I offered the chance for 8 people to join us. Quite simply, email in and names would be selected out of hat.
I contacted The Climbers Shop in Ambleside and they offered a venue for us to meet and they also provided the facilities for a ‘meet and greet’ with Scott later in the day at 5pm.
Needless to say it was a memorable day for all involved and Scott loved the Lakes, the views, the trails and the terrain.
Will he be back…?
Nothing is 100% but don’t rule out a return trip for an attempt on some ’rounds’ and you never know, the UTLD may just be on his bucket list before he retires.
I’d like to thank Scott Jurek and his wife, Jenny for a memorable day and being so committed to run with some serious jet lag and fatigue.
Marc Laithwaite, RD for the Lakeland 100 and 50 who gave up his day to join us. Not a difficult decision I imagine.
I’d like to thank The Climbers Shop for great last minute help and cooperation with a venue. The 8 runners who joined us for a memorable run on the trails and all those who came to the shop for autographs and photographs later in the day.
Images available for personal and commercial use HERE
IAN CORLESS 