It’s VK day for Aussie inov-8 runners

P1130536Brendan Davies and Shona Stephenson have both had incredible starts to the 2013 season. Members of the newly formed inov-8 International Skyrunning Team they are now in Europe to test themselves against some of the best runners in the world.

The Skyrunning VK is something both will never have experienced before. Standing in Chamonix and looking up they see 1000 vertical meters ahead of them. At 3.8km’s long how hard can it be…?

The answer is easy. HARD!

Lungs will burn and legs will ache as each participant pushes to the limit. Who will cover the distance and conquer the elevation in the fastest time?

Just two days later, Brendan & Shona will line up for the Mont Blanc Marathon, a classic Sky race with an extremely competitive field. Racing the best in the world, these Aussie runners will face up against Kilian Jornet, Luis Alberto Hernando, Marco De Gasperi, Emelie Forsberg, Stevie Kremer, Anna Frost, Silvia Serafini and so on… as Brendan says, “It’s a dream come true to be in Europe racing on such incredible terrain against the best in the world, it’s a very exciting experience and one I am relishing”.

P1130546Southern hemisphere running is going through a boom period at the moment, Brendan and Shona are at the forefront of the sport. The vision of the inov-8 International Skyrunning Team is not only enabling the sport to progress within the UK but also on a much wider scale. Lauri Van Houten, Skyrunning Vice President, more than anybody is aware of the growth and expansion. 2012 was  a breakthrough year for the International Skyrunning Federation. The Skyrunner World Series attracted the best International runners from trail and ultra. The consensus from all participants is that what Skyrunning offers is mind blowing,

P1130553

 

Links:

inov-8 HERE

Brendan Davies HERE

Shona Stephenson HERE

Skyrunning HERE

 

 

Kilian will not race Western States

Press Release

It is with great sadness that we have learnt the death of Stéphane Brosse, in the middle of his challenge, ‘the grande traversée’ that he was sharing with Kilian.
Both loved the mountains, and knew each other for a long time sharing the same respect for one another.
‘La grande traversée’ was a project they had set up together, a challenge up to their passion and talent.
It is on the last part, just before going downhill, that the ridge they were on collapsed, taking stéphane within this spilling.
Kilian remained helpless whilst waiting for the rescue team.
All our thoughts go to Stéphane’s family in those difficult times.
We wish a lot of strength to Kilian to overcome this tragedy.
As Kilian wishes to stay with Stéphane’s family to support them, he will not be present at the Western State 100.

The Salomon Team

Anna Frost (Frosty) writes an excellent blog post here of her last time with Kilian and Stephane as they embarked on this tragic journey.