Zegama Briefing

Posted on May 25, 2013 by talkultra

Athletes assembled for the 2013 Zegama briefing. We have been guaranteed good weather!

Episode 35 – Jornet, Forsberg, Canaday, Olson, Clayton, James and Transvulcania

Posted on May 17, 2013 by talkultra

Episode 35 – It’s all about Transvulcania! We have a special co host, Anna Frost or ‘Frosty’ as she is affectionately known. We have post race interviews with the men’s winner, Kilian Jornet. The ladies winner, Emelie Forsberg. We catch up with 3rd place, Sage Canaday, 4th place, Timothy Olson, 7th place, Cameron Clayton and top 50 runner, Dave James. In addition to all the Transvulcania excitement we have a blog, 15 minutes of fame with Robbie Britton, Talk Training, up and coming races and of course the news.

Show Notes:

00:00:45 Start

00:05:35 News

Transvulcania La Palma – La Palma

Kilian Jornet – 6:54:09 NEW COURSE RECORD*
Luis Alberto Hernando – 6:58:31 (*beat the old course record)
Sage Canaday – 7:09:57
Timothy Olson – 7:11:53
Patrick Bringer – 7:17:19

Emelie Forsberg – 8:13:22
Nuria Picas – 8:19:30
Uxue Fraile – 8:44:48
Nathalie Mauclair – 8:46:14
Emilie Lecomte – 10:14:05

00:10:58 Kilian Jornet & Emelie Forsberg discuss Trnsvulcania 2013 and what is coming up in the future.

00:31:06 Back to news

Ellie Greenwood pulls out of Comrades!

Quad Rock 50

Josh Arthur (Crested Butte, Colo.) pushed his win streak to three. Arthur kicked up and down 12,000 feet of climbing and descent in 7:44, finishing 4 minutes off the course record. Paul Hamilton (Fort Collins, Colo.), racing his second ultra, tagged the line at 7:50 for runner-up honors. Defending champ Ryan Burch (Fort Collins, Colo.) atoned for a disappointing Lake Sonoma finish with a third-place 8:00

Kerrie Bruxvoort pushed the women’s course record way down to 9:24. Becky Wheeler (Casper, Wyo.) was second in 9:42 and Kris Klotzbach third, for the second straight year.

Ice Age 50

Cassie Scallon at Ice Age, she trashed a course record that had stood since 1995 by 17 minutes, finishing the 50-mile race in 6:48. Last month she won the Lake Sonoma 50 in course-record fashion too. Fave for Western States? Denise Bourassa (Bend, Ore.), last year’s Ice Age winner, was second in 7:53, 67 minutes behind Scallon. Lee Conner was third in 8:36.

David Riddle (Cincinnati, Ohio) dominated the men’s race in 5:56, the race’s third-fastest time ever and only 3 minutes off Andy Jones’ record from 1988. Brian Condon (Madison, Wis.), a 2:30 marathoner, had an incredibly successful 50-mile debut with a second-place 6:07. Zach Bitter (Marinette, Wis.), last year’s U.S. 50-mile trail champ, was third in 6:08

Grand Canyon Rim to Rim to Rim

Rob Krar 36-year-old pharmacist blasted across the Grand Canyon and back — 42 miles — in 6:21, shattering Dakota Jones’ former fastest known time by a whopping 32 minutes. Krar’s time is mind-boggling for its gap on everyone else, on a well-tested 42-mile trail. Prior to Krar’s attempt, only three men, DakotaJones, Anton Krupicka, and Dave Mackey have finished in less than 7 hours.

IAU 24 hours – Steenbergen in the Netherlands

Jon Olsen (USA) took top honours in the men’s race. He ran a distance of 269.675km leading the way. John Dennis (USA) finished in 2^nd place running a distance of 262.734km followed by Florian Reus (GER) running 259.939km.

In the women’s race, Mami Kudo (JPN) won the gold medal with a distance of 252.205km. Sabrina Little (USA) finished in 2^nd place running 244.669km followed by Suzanna Bon (USA) who ran 236.228km.

Malvern Hills Ultra

Two races 85m which only two finished!

Andy Arnold in 26hr 9 min and Tommy Houghton in 26hr 49m

The 52 mile even had more finishers…

Darryl Carter 7:47, Kevin McMillan 8:46 and Toby Courage 8:50

Louise Staples was 1^st lady in 10:24

00:42:38 Blog – Dakota Jones has just produced a very funny piece for iRunFar HERE

“I knew before leaving that my Lake Sonoma course record had been broken. Sage Canaday had tattooed my splits onto his arm and run several minutes faster than my time from last year. I called him to congratulate him on the effort, but inside a deep bitterness was brewing that I knew would have to be satisfied someday, most likely violently. So you can imagine my surprise upon learning that both my Grand Canyon double crossing record AND my Transvulcania record had been broken in the span of a week (Rob Krar – 6:21:47 at the GC; K-dog – 6:54:09 at TV). With those records went my few claims to success in the ultrarunning world, and with those claims went my credibility as an athlete. I felt lost. After much thought I realized that my only recourse would be to do what any self-respecting loser would do: deny the point of the records at all and deride the people who put stock in them.”

00:46:10 Talk Training with Marc Laithwaite

01:05:40 The Interviews – Sage Canaday, Timothy Olson, Cameron Clayton & Dave James all discuss Transvulcania and what lies ahead for the future months.

01:06:15 Sage Canaday website HERE

01:20:25 Timothy Olson website HERE

01:41:55 Cameron Clayton website HERE

01:54:35 Dave James website HERE

02:12:10 15 min of fame – Robbie Britton – website HERE

02:28:00 Up & Coming Races

02:32:40 Close

02:36:48

Finally, a BIG thanks to Frosty for being an excellent co host.

Show Links:

http://traffic.libsyn.com/talkultra/Episode_35_-_Jornet_Forsberg_Canaday_Olson_Clayton_James.mp3

ITunes http://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/talk-ultra/id497318073

Libsyn – feed://talkultra.libsyn.com/rss

Website – talkultra.com

Island in the Sky – La Palma

Posted on May 14, 2013 by talkultra

Following on from Transvulcania I have just seen this incredible movie by Christoph Malin

Video link – http://vimeo.com/53845425

In Christoph’s words….

Inhale the fresh air, smell the refreshing scent of the green pine forests glowing above black volcano sands, no sound but the wind in the trees. A deep blue sky matches with the blue atlantic ocean far below. Epic volcanic trails lead trough an unique archaic landscape. Feel the elements. Be yourself, at the “Island in the Sky”.

This short film, a homage to the beautiful Island of La Palma – “Europe’s Hawaii” – was like a never ending project for me. More than one and a half years of work…. photographing, processing, re-processing, selecting and de-selecting footage, some weeks filming…

I had certain pictures in mind – the scenes, locations, and moods. Every interesting place I had spotted during many stays on the Island while Hiking or guiding Bike Groups was considered.

As often as possible I returned to Palma to let the film get reality (newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2011/08/15/new-astro-timelapse-video-the-island-showcases-astronomy-haven/), but more than once got thrown back – bad weather, equipment malfunction or whatever.

I hiked up Volcanoes, stayed awake all night on stormy ridges, slept like a dead on the beach next morning. Pre-processed nights footage at the Apartment later, to validate what scenes worked, or needed to be repeated. Hurried back up the mountains before sunset for new setups. Finally got some rest and watched the clouds and stars move. Feeling small in the universe. And tired and dizzy, as well.

Night-Timelapse filming is an art, a struggle to live from, tough on your biorhythm – and needs a lot of passion, love and dedication. Passion for the work, love for nature and wilderness, being alone in the night. Back at the office in the timelapse studio it needs dedication and endurance in front of my workstations working trough the image data.

Which is the toughest part for me – I am not the office guy. I hate sitting in front of a Computer screen too much. And that is what you do with Timelapse. Way too much. After cleaning up the project, 906.65 GB and 83846 RAW images and movie-sequences remained for processing. And there is no automatism, each software at the workflow needs to be fed with each sequence separately, to deliver results…

On some key scenes of this film I have even worked over several months, trying different variations on color-reprocessing, iterating them many times. I am still not sure if they are good now. You judge.

Thanks to all who support me, especially my family. Thanks to Babak Tafreshi of Twanight.org for providing the legendary GRANTECAN Intro and MAGIC-from-the-side Footage (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MAGIC_(telescope). Props to the Folks at IAC.es and Visitlapalma.es! Horay to the team at TWANight.org for tips and feedback! Awesome to Nikon NPS!

Jesse Hozeny has provided an awesome soundtrack with “Miles High”! This ended a long search!
itunes.apple.com/at/album/niyama-volume-one-two/id39888393

Equipment: Nikon D4, D700, D7000, D3s, AFS 14-24/2.8, AFS 24-70/2.8, AF 50/1.8, AF 16/2.8 and AF-DX 10/2.8 Fisheye. Dynamic Perception Stage Zero Dolly and MX2 Merlin Interface, Vixen Polarie: vixen.co.jp/en/lp/polarie_movie.html

Processing: Nikon View NX, Adobe Lightroom LR4, LRTimelapse, Apple Motion, Final Cut Pro X.

Now dive in, put your earphones on and relax…

Cheers.
Christoph Malin
That Guy with the Tent
Christophmalin.com

P.S.: Check some of my other films:
“Astronomer’s Paradise”, vimeo.com/36972668
“Urban Mountain Sky”, vimeo.com/40969904
“ISS Tronized”, vimeo.com/51499009

Transvulcania Race Summary

Posted on May 12, 2013 by talkultra

Transvulcania La Palma in 2012 was billed as the race of the decade…. that is until the 2013 edition of the race came around. Without doubt the race was stacked and finally we would have a show down of the best of the best racing head to head in the men’s and ladies fields.

The start of race week saw a couple of key withdrawals, firstly the ‘Queen’ as Nuria Picas calls her, Anna Frost. Anna has been plagued with niggles since late 2012 and as much as she would have loved to race, she made the correct long term decision and withdrew.

Miguel Heras, also withdrew midweek. Knee issues had not improved and he would therefore, like Frosty, play safe.

Pre race build up was quite incredible as one elite athlete after another arrived at Hotel Sol La Palma on the coast. I did a series of pre race interviews which can all be viewed on the ‘home page’ of this website. One of those interviews had been with Anton Krupicka (Here), finally he was fit, healthy and he was looking forward to the opportunity to one again race Kilian on a course that he had only encountered as a spectator in 2012. But would he race…. ?

The day before the race, Tony complained of fever, chills and aches and then at approximately 1800 he confirmed, “I am going to pull out. I race to win and I don’t like to bail. The way I feel now will just not do me or my performance justice”. Needless to say it was a huge blow not only for Tony, who certainly needs some good luck at the moment, but the race and all the other runners.

The Race

Early starts of 0200 to 0300 and then 1000+ runners assembled at the lighthouse at Fuencaliente. It is just an incredible start and atmosphere. On the strong of 0600 they left the coast and turned left, headed immediately onto the GR131 trail and like a series of ants with head lamps and red tail lights they disappeared into the darkness.

The Men’s race

The mens’s race ultimately came down the three runners, Sage Canaday, Luis Alberto Hernando and Kilian Jornet. But that would not do justice to those runners behind, Timothy Olson ran a very clever race starting a little steadier and working his way up through the field to a solid fourth. Cameron Clayton, played an early role pushing up front with Sage but paid the price and dropped back a little. Of course we should forget dark horse, Patrick Bringer who eventually finished fifth.

During the race one key issue arose… stomach problems! Francois D’Haene, Philipp Reiter, Joe Grant, Luke Nelson and Adam Campbell were all hit by a bug (maybe what TK had?) and spent much of the 83km’s either running for the bushes or vomiting. A real shame!

But up ahead, Luis Alberto Hernando showed all his skills as Skyrunning world champion and forged up the tough and sometimes technical course to have an approximate two minute lead ahead of Kilian Jornet at Roques de los Muchachos, the high point of the course at 2956m.

Kilian put all his incredible descending skills to use on the ‘drop’ from the summit to the sea and the port of Tazacorte. This is the place in 2012 when he stumbled and the heat hit him! Not this year, he pushed ahead and arrived to an incredible finish in the town of Los Llanos to the applause and cheers of 1000’s of spectators. Not only did he win but he set a new CR*. Luis Alberto Hernando arrived just over four minutes later and he looked ecstatic (and tired) with a second place. Completing the podium was Sage Canaday who performed exceptionally well in his first European mountain race.

Kilian Jornet – 6:54:09 NEW COURSE RECORD* – pre race interview HERE
Luis Alberto Hernando – 6:58:31 (*beat the old course record)
Sage Canaday – 7:09:57 – pre race interview HERE
Timothy Olson – 7:11:53 – pre race interview HERE
Patrick Bringer – 7:17:19
Francois d’Haene – 7:17:43
Cameron Clayton – 7:17:47
Miguel Caballero Ortega – 7:30:49
Cristofer Clemente – 7:37:40
Marcin Świerc – 7:52:21

The Ladies

Emelie Forsberg one again proved herself to be a star in the making. She literally only started running again just over a week ago and she had a battle royal with Nuria Picas. They pushed each other along the 83km’s of the Transvulcania course but ultimately Emelie found something in the latter stages and crossed the line first, just outside ‘Frosty’s’ CR from 2012.

Nuria, gave the race everything and was tired and emotional on the line. She has a big heart, not only in terms of her generosity but also passion and power. She loves to race and in particular, she loves to race against Emelie. Without doubt the two of them created a spectacular show on the trails of the GR131, today, it was Nuria’s turn to be second behind Emelie, just over six minutes difference.

Final spot on the podium went to Uxue Fraile. She ran a very smart race. She started behind many of the front runners and slowly worked her way up through the field. She had experience of the course as she placed fifth in 2012. What was impressive was how much quicker she covered the 83km’s. In 2012 she was ninety minutes behind Frosty, this year she was just over thirty one minutes behind Emelie.

Emelie Forsberg – 8:13:22
Nuria Picas – 8:19:30 – pre race interview HERE
Uxue Fraile – 8:44:48
Nathalie Mauclair – 8:46:14
Emilie Lecomte – 10:14:05
Karine Samson – 10:37:05
Mar Ferreras – 10:47:57
Raquel Antonia Delgado – 10:51:33
Luciana Moretti – 11:02:54
Lidia Gomez – 11:16:37

You can listen what Anna Frost had to say in a pre race interview HERE

It was an incredible day, an incredible experience, a beautiful island, a beautiful course with an incredible field. The race fulfilled all expectations and our congratulations go to Kilian & Emelie on two incredible performances.

Links

Transvulcania La Palma – HERE
Skyrunning – HERE

RACE DAY IMAGES HERE

Transvulcania RACE DAY ! a quick selection

Posted on May 11, 2013 by talkultra

More to follow….. promise 😉

Nuria Picas – Transvulcania 2013

Posted on May 10, 2013 by talkultra

Nuria Picas Transvulcania 2013 – copyright Ian Corless

In my final pre race interview for the 2013 Transvulcania La Palma I speak with Buff athlete Nuria Picas. Nuria had an incredible 2012. She raced with passion, strength and humility. Always smiling, always happy, she is a pleasure to be around. Her ability to run from VK to Ultra is quite incredible and as she showed last year, when she is racing the best in the world, she always has the ability to respond and perform at the highest level.

The 2013 ladies race on paper will come down to a battle between Nuria and Emelie Forsberg. However, with Fernanda Maciel, Emilie Lecomte and Jennifer Benna in the wings, it could be anybody’s race.

YouTube HERE

Links:

Nuria Picas – HERE
Buff – HERE
Transvulcania 2013 – HERE
Skyrunning – HERE

Transvulcania 2013 – Banana plantation visit

Posted on May 9, 2013 by talkultra

Runners in the 2013 Transvulcania La Palma visited a local banana plantation this afternoon. Fun and informative…. did we get a glimpse of the men’s podium?

Zegama – Aizkorri 2013 Preview

Posted on April 11, 2013 by talkultra

Zegama – Aizkorri needs no introduction to those who follow Skyrunning. It is a course that has created many a story over the years.

Located in a natural park, Aizkorri-Aratz, it brings respect and excitement to every mountain runner that toes the line.

In July 2002, the Village Council decided to revitalise and bring life to the local area, in order to achieve these objectives the Zegama-Aizkorri Mountain Marathon Association was created. Today, the AIA-renovated Alpine Marathon has a reputation in the world as one of the world’s most prestigious mountain marathons.

Part of the Skyrunner World Series it is the ultimate mountain marathon test. In 2008 the European Championships were hold on this very course. When Kilian Jornet was asked about Zegama, he quite simply said:

“Zegama? It’s Zegama!”

In other words, nothing more needs to be said. It has a reputation that demands respect from the higher echelons of the mountain running world.

2012 Summary

Zegama followed just 7 days after Transvulcania La Palma in 2012 and therefore we almost had a re run of the La Palma race. Of course, conditions were a little different. The dry heat of La Palma was replaced by torrential rain, mud, cold and the occasional snow blizzard.

The American contingent who had raced well on La Isla Bonita transferred en-mass to mainland Spain with a couple of additions. Nick Clark representing Pearl Izumi and the ‘hot tip’, Max King. Max had everything in is his favour; speed and a mountain pedigree.

As it happened, the American contingent had a lesson on European mountain running and never got in contention. For many of them they could hardly stand up in the tough conditions and as Nick Clark crossed the line he exclaimed

“Now THAT is a mountain race!”.

It was a shock to the system. Dakota Jones victorious just a week earlier had taken the race easy, a pre-race plan as he had nothing to prove after topping the podium at Transvulcania. In comparison, Kilian Jornet had something to prove and now had some running in his legs… midway through the race he applied the pressure and once again proved that he is the king of the mountains.

In the ladies race Oihana Kortazar showed her dominance over this Sky distance and we started to get a glimpse of a star in the making, Emelie Forsberg. Nuria Picas also set her stall out for a year-long process of podium places over all distances, from marathon to ultra. Anna Frost tired after a dominating Transvulcania performance decided not to race at Zegama and keep some powder dry for another day.

2013

* PLEASE LOOK FOR UPDATES posted 26th April marked in BLUE

The 2013 race is going to see some great representation from top ranking teams: Salomon, New Balance, Adidas, La Sportiva, Arc’teryx, Valetudo Skyrunning, Inov-8 and Scott.

Zegama this year is two weeks after Transvulcania and although that would work well for additional recovery, it doesn’t necessarily work well for travel budgets, so, we wont have Sage Canaday, Timothy Olson, Anton Krupicka, Joe Grant and the ‘other names’ joining the Zegama party.

The Mens Race

Kilian Jornet copyright Ian Corless

Kilian Jornet will be a dominating force at Transvulcania La Palma and I see him on top of the podium, two weeks recovery is a life-time for Kilian and after his dominating performance in 2013 I see him replicating the win at Zegama. He has just flown around the Transvulcania La Palma course and set a new course record. Respect!

His sparing partner, Marco De Gasperi, a legend in mountain and Skyrunning unfortunately has now pulled out of the race with a knee problem. This is a great shame, we all love to see Kilian and Marco go head-to-head.

Marco De Gasperi copyright Ian Corless

This almost certainly means that we will have a re run of the 2012 Zegama race and also the 2013 Transvulcania… Kilian’s main competition will now come from Luis Alberto Hernando. Luis was second behind Kilian at Zegama last year and is almost certainly in some of the best form of his life at the moment. He pushed hard at Transvulcania just over a week ago and was leading the race at the final summit, ultimately loosing his lead to Kilian on the descent. His race on the island of La Palma is even more impressive considering it was his first ultra.

Transvulcania 2013 copyright Ian Corless

Missing from Transvulcania and deciding to run the ‘Sky’ distance in 2013 is Andy Symonds. Andy comes from a traditional fell/ mountain running background and just like Tom Owens, he will love the conditions here. Both Andy and Tom have withdrawn from Zegama I am afraid. In an email from Andy Symonds, he says, “We’re both injured!! can you believe it.. Tom’s got some pretty bad tendon rumpture in his foot and I’m limping with a duffed iliopsoas… neither of us have run for several weeks (much more for Tom). And so, no Zegama this year.. booo.. :-(” A real shame not to have these two top performers at the race. Speedy recovery guys.

Andy Symonds copyright Ian Corless

Miguel Heras missed Transvulcania due to injury so we currently have a question mark if he will run at Zegama. In form he is one of the best runners in the world, so, he will most definitely mix it up at the front. Tofol Castanyer recently raced the Three Peaks in the UK and had a good race but was not used to the ‘navigation’ element of UK fell running, he too has the potential to win, particularly when running on Spanish soil.

Tofol Castanyer copyright Ian Corless

Miguel Heras copyright Ian Corless

Michel Lanne from France had a great race over the tough and technical trail at Trofeo Kima in 2012 and has been racing regularly in the build up to this Spanish race. He will arriving in form and ready to take on the front of the race. Just this week he has been on the trails with Kilian.

Inov-8 have Alex Nichols and Ben Bardsley taking part and they may very well be two dark horses. Ben is well versed in fell and mountain running and will almost certainly come into the race a little under the radar… one person who knows and respects Ben’s ability is Andy Symonds. Expect a surprise! Also watch out for South African fast man, AJ Calitz, he may well struggle a little with the terrain, technicality and temperatures at Zegama. But a surprise can come from anywhere…

Other contenders are Michel Rabat, Nicholas Pianet, Dai Matsumoto, Toru Miyahara, Dawa Sherpa, Dave James and Daniele Capelletti.

The Ladies Race

Emelie, Frosty, Maud, Lizzy, Nuria copyright Ian Corless

The ladies race will be a battle royal and although the men’s field has a top quality field I can’t help but think that some real excitement and a nail biting finish will come from this select group of women. Of course, Oihana Kortazar is returning to hopefully repeat her 2012 victory. She will be fresh as she will have not raced at Transvulcania. However, I am going to go out on a limb and predict a podium place, if not a win for Stevie Kremer. Stevie (from the US and now living in Italy) may not be a name too familiar to many but believe me, she has all the class and ability to create some waves over the ‘Sky’ distance in 2013. She has just recently placed on the podium in a very tough race in Italy (overall podium, not the ladies) and after seeing her perform at Sierre Zinal and other races, I think Stevie will be the surprise package of Zegama.

Stevie Kremer copyright Ian Corless

Nuria Picas once again had a great race at Transvulcania 2013 and will come to Zegama ready to push hard and go full speed for the win. She had an incredible 2012 season and performed over all distances always making the podium and in most cases, she stood on top of the podium. She is a true champion and a great ambassador for the sport.

Nuria Picas copyright Ian Corless

Emelie Forsberg had a superb race in 2012 and she will be back fighting for the podium. She can go downhill like no other and as she showed last year, she took the final descent at break neck speed and got on the podium. She is wiser, stronger and more experienced now. She is going to be fired up after her incredible run at Transvulcania and just missing Frosty’s CR by a couple of minutes. I think back 12 months when I first met Emelie, Zegama really was her first big race… boy she has come such a long way in twelve months. What does the future hold for her?

Trofeo Kima 2012 copyright Ian Corless

Silvia Serafini is also another great potential for a podium place. I don’t see her on top of the podium… she is still very much a lady who likes speed and good running terrain BUT she is learning fast and has heaps of talent and ability. Just this last weekend, the 18th May, she set a new CR in The Great Wall run in China.

Silvia Serafini – copyright Ian Corless

Anna Frost gets a notable mention. She won’t be racing this year. She missed Transvulcania due to injury but just this last week has had some good news and she is now back on the trails, albeit slowly and one step at a time. She will be back!

Anna Frost ‘Frosty’ copyright Ian Corless

Emanuela Brizio will lead the rest of the ladies gunning for one of those coveted podium slots. Maud Gobert, Stephanie Jimenez, Debora Cardone, Sarah Ridgeway and Anna Lupton make up the main contenders for the 2013 edition.

Links

Follow the race via Talk Ultra on Facebook and Twitter
Race website HERE
ISF Skyrunning HERE

Calendar

SKY
1. SPAIN: Maratòn Alpina Zegama-Aizkorri – 42k, Zegama – May 26
2. FRANCE: Mont-Blanc Marathon – 42k, Chamonix – June 30
3. USA: Pikes Peak Marathon – 42k, Manitou Springs, Colorado – August 18
4. SWITZERLAND: Matterhorn Ultraks – 46k, Zermatt – August 24
5. ITALY: Skyrunning Xtreme – 23k, Limone sul Garda – October 13

TRANSVULCANIA LA PALMA 2013 Preview

Posted on March 19, 2013 by talkultra

Without doubt, the International Skyrunning Federation and the organization of the 2012 edition of the Transvulcania La Palma created a race that ultra runners throughout the world had been waiting for. A showdown! The best-of-the-best racing ‘head-to-head’ on a tough and technical mountain route on the island of La Palma.

Billed as the ‘race of the year’ the tough La Palma course did not disappoint. Both the ladies race and the male race created a topic of discussion, not only during and after the race but also before it… the build up, the media and the buzz was unparalled.

The 2012 race is now history; Dakota Jones triumphed over the volcanic course and in doing so created a moment in ultra history that will be talked about for years to come. Anna Frost for the ladies produced a performance that was nothing short of miraculous. She smashed the female course record and confirmed herself as one of the most dominant forces in mountain running. So strong was her performance, she actually almost made the top 10 overall.

Dakota Jones, 2012 winner and course record holder copyright Ian Corless

Anna Frost, 2012 winner and course record holder copyright Ian Corless

On May 11^th, once again we will have one of the greatest ultra fields assembling in ‘La Isla Bonita’ to climb, sweat and survive over one of the most beautiful run courses I have had the pleasure to witness.

Ladies first

Anna Frost is returning in the hope to defend her title. Once again she will arrive on the island weeks in advance and prepare meticulously in the hope not only of taking out the win once again but maybe beating her own CR and creeping into the top 10. She has had a quiet winter and raced at El Cruce 3 day stage race for a 3^rd lady place and just recently ran a relay with Rickey Gates at Tarawera ultra in New Zealand. *update 5th May, Anna is having some ongoing health issues and her presence in the 2013 Transvulcania is currently 50/50. Anna’s priority is her health and as much as we want ‘Frosty’ in the race,more importantly we want her healthy. Best wishes Anna.

**6th May – “I have decided not to race Transvulcania” Anna Frost has announced she will not run the 2013 Transvulcania – you can read a post HERE**

Frosty training on La Palma copyright Ian Corless

Nuria Picas will return to push Frosty to the limit. Nuria had an incredible 2012 and most certainly stepped up a notch. With incredible diversity and wins at iconic races such as Trofeo Kima and Cavalls del Vent, Frosty and the rest of the ladies will have their hands full stopping the Catalan charging over the course and taking the win.

Nuria Picas at Trofeo Kima copyright Ian Corless

Missing from the 2012 race, Emelie Forsberg, now more relaxed at the 50-mile distance will join her friends and sparring partners to make an incredible three Musketeers at the front of the field. Emelie burst onto the 2012 race season and impressed with every race performance, she can run down hill like no other as she proved at Pikes Peak. She also placed 2^nd or 3^rd behind Frosty and Nuria for most of 2012 but she finished of the season with an incredible win at San Francisco. Emelie has all the potential to win at Transvulcania. She started 2013 with a win over the marathon distance at Transgrancanaria and recently raced Tarawera as a relay with Francois d’Haene.

Emelie Forsberg at Templiers copyright Ian Corless

Silvia Serafini like Emelie has had an incredible rise in 2012. An incredible talent who is new to the longer distances may very well find Transvulcania La Palma a learning curve race. However, she has the ability, passion and dedication to push at the front. *Update May 5th via email: I decided together with Greg (Salomon International Team Manager) and Fabio (Team Manager) not to race at Transvulcania. I have to run the ‘Great Wall marathon’ the week after, and Zegama on the 26th.

Silvia Serafini at Royal Parks Ultra copyright Ian Corless

Emilie Lecomte is renowned for running long distance races and performing at the highest level. In 2012 she set a female record for covering the GR20 in Corsica and she finished the season with a win at Diagonale des Fous on Reunion Island. Without doubt she has all the ability to make her presence known at the front end of the race. I just wonder if 80km’s is just a little too short for her?

Emelie Lecomte, Quecha. copyright www.ledauphine.com

Emelie Lecomte, Quecha. copyright http://www.ledauphine.com

Fernanda Maciel from Brazil has had some great results. In 2008 she was 4th at TNF 80k in California. In 2009 she won the TDS and in 2010 she placed 4th lady at UTMB. She may well be a dark horse in the ladies with no Frosty and Maud Gobert, Fernanda may well make top three and if she has a great day, she may take the top slot. In 2012 she was first at The North Face Transgrancanaria 123k. In June, she finished second at TNF Lavaredo Ultra Trail. She placed at the TNFUTMB and in October, she ran the 860k Camino de Santiago de Compostela in Spain.

Fernanda Maciel copyright The North Face

Maud Gobert from France had a strong 2012 season and raced throughout the year but ultimately, the key performance came at the end of the year placing 3rd behind Emelie Forsberg at San Fran 50. After a quiet winter it will be interesting to see how she progresses. Maud was 6th at Transvulcania 2012 in 9:54:40. *Update 7th May, Maud will not race and go to Zegama two weeks later instead.

Maud Gobert copyright maudgobert.com

Notable mentions go to ~~Tina Lewis~~ *no longer racing, updated 1st May 2013, Karine Sanson, Uxue Fraile and Lidia Gomez.

The Men

Boy oh boy… the men will have a battle. On paper, the 2013 race has all the makings of a classic. Kilian Jornet, Miguel Heras, Anton Krupicka, Timothy Olson, Mike Foote, Francois d’Haene, Philipp Reiter, Cameron Clayton, Thomas Lorblanchet, Sage Canaday, Tofol Castanyer, Gustav Reyes and so many more.

With no Dakota Jones (winner 2012) and no Andy Symonds (2^nd in 2012) first roll call goes to Kilian Jornet. Kilian placed 3^rd in 2012 after being in the lead with Dakota and Andy for the best part of 74k. However, in the final km’s just after the long hard descent to Tazacorte Port, Kilian was hit with fatigue and dehydration. He crossed the line and promptly passed out. It’s not often we see Kilian look ‘human’ but at Transvulcania he did. We must point out that only 7 days previous he had taken off his ski’s after a long racing season. The question is for 2013 will he allow himself more preparation time? It certainly looks as though he has. Nobody doubts Kilian’s ability and his incredible 2012 season confirms that he is the main favourite for Transvulcania.

Kilian pre race at the 2012 Transvulcania copyright Ian Corless

Anton Krupicka injured for most of 2011 and 2012 returned with a bang in the latter half of 2012 and got a great 2^nd place behind Kilian at Cavalls del Vent. His 2013 season was due to see him start his year at Tarawera in New Zealand but he pulled out just 10 days. He did say he had a hip injury that was very much on the mend but he didn’t want to take any risks. He will be arriving in La Palma in form, in shape and without doubt running with only one objective, to win the race!

Anton Krupicka at Cavalls del Vent copyright Ian Corless

Sage Canaday has burst on to the ultra scene and has pretty much left the community looking on in wonder. A 2:16 marathon runner he has introduced that speed to the longer races and although as he says himself, he is still learning he is dominating and setting course records. He blazed a trail at Bandera 100k and set a new CR in early 2013 and just recently set the trail on fire at Tarawera. Mid race he was over 12 minutes ahead but at the end that had been reduced to just 3 minutes. Transvulcania is a runnable course but the elevation may be more demanding on Sage and his learning curve may very well take a sharp swing in the ‘up’ direction. However, with his speed and ability he can win the race. In particularly, if Sage is in contention at Tazacorte Port, the final kilometers of the race include road and if Sage gets chance to use his speed it could be devastating.

2012 Western States winner and course record holder, Timothy Olson is almost duplicating the racing calendar of Anton. They had planned to face up against each other at Tarawera and then follow with Transvulcania and TNF UTMB. Timothy without doubt has all the potential to create a stir. With a new sponsorship deal with The North Face, 2013 looks like it will be an incredible year. He raced early on in 2013 at Bandera 50k and although he won the race his pace wasn’t fast (by his standards). Going in to Tarawera ultra he said he had trained well and that he was in form. He was! Trailing Sage Canaday by over 12 minutes at half way he reeled Sage in and at the finish was just 3 minutes behind to take 2^nd place. I can’t help but feel that Timothy is just warming up and I am now moving him up to a ‘favourite’ for Transvulcania.

Miguel Heras had a mixed early part to 2012 but finished it of with a podium place at La Course des Templiers and a win at San Francisco. In form he is most certainly one to beat and he will be mixing it with Kilian at the front end of the race… can he win? Absolutely. He raced the 119km Trangrancanaria but pulled from the race relatively early on. *Update 7th May, Miguel Heras will not start the 2013 Transvulcania.

Miguel Heras at Templiers copyright Ian Corless

Francois d’Haene, 4^th at Transvulcania in 2012 and winner of the shortened TNFUTMB has all the potential to make the podium and even win the race. He just needs a perfect day. Like Kilian he has the advantage of already racing over the course. He will know how to pace himself. He raced at El Cruce early in 2013 and made the podium behind Max King. He has also just raced at Tarawera in New Zealand.

Francois d’Haene just after his win at UTMB copyright Ian Corless

German, Philipp Reiter, like Emelie Forsberg created a name for himself in 2012 with consistently top-notch performances. At the 2012 edition of the Transvulcania he had a few issues early on, which cost him a top 10 place. However, he battled on and finished side by side with Joe Grant. He raced at the 83km Transgrancanaria in 2013 and placed 2nd behind Ryan Sandes. I spent several days with Philipp in Gran Canaria and he is definitely looking to arrive on the island of La Palma to improve on his 2012 placing.

Philipp Reiter stretching his legs on an evening run in Gran Canaria copyright Ian Corless

Thomas Lorblanchet figured well in the 2012 race but had a breakthrough moment when he took the win at Leadville 100 ahead of Tony Krupicka. He has secured a new sponsorship deal for 2013 with Asics so it will be interesting to see how he performs.

Thomas Lorblanchet image from Asics http://www.asics.fr

*Tofol is not racing. Apparently we had some confusing information and Tofol had not planned to race at Transvulcania – apologies

Tofol Castanyer adds more Salomon weight to an already packed field. Tofol was the 2010 Skyrunning World Series champion. He always packs a punch when racing and his stunning performance at the CCC in 2012 proves this. He was 5th at Sierre-Zinal, he won at Giir di Mont Skyrace, 6th at Dolomites Skyrace and 3rd at Mont Blanc Marathon amongst others. He had a long 2012 season and suffered like many others at Cavalls del Vent. Without a doubt he will me a main contender at Transvulcania.

Tofol Castanyer at Cavalls del Vent copyright Ian Corless

Adam Campbell had a mixed 2012. I was with him in the Pyrenees for an Arx’teryx media camp mid year and his plan was to race TNF UTMB. However, a recurring injury saw him return home and not race at the iconic 100-miler that ultimately was reduced to 100k. Once recovered he managed to set a new Guinness World Record for the marathon by running in a business suit and then at San Fran 50 he competed with the best, including Sage Canaday, however, he managed to go off course and gave away any chance of a win. Adam once again had an injury issue early season but he has assured me all will be good by May.

Adam Campell copyright Ian Corless

Joe Grant has just finished the 350 mile Iditarod Trail Invitational in joint 2^nd place in just over 6 days. Having interviewed him several times about this event before and after one can only speculate how his recovery will be. He has openly said that the 6 day experience was much harder than he anticipated but relatively quickly afterwards he felt recovered. In fact, he has already been for an easy run to start the build up for his run season. Joe races Transvulcania in 2012 and finished just outside the top 10. He will be looking to move in the field this year but his big objective is improving on his 2012 2^nd place at Hardrock 100.

Luis A Hernando is a Skyrunning specialist and was the 2012 Skyrunning World Series champion and ranked 2nd last year. He loves the mountains and technical terrain and excels at the ‘marathon’ distance. The question is not his ability to perform at the highest level but if 83km’s will be be too far?

Luis A Hernando and Tom Owens in the early stages of Zegama 2012 copyright Ian Corless

Dave Mackey **update April 1st 2013 – Dave Mackey has withdrawn from the race – needs no introduction. He has been running for years with a string of consistent results. He has also placed highly at Western States, 4^th in 2012 with a masters record, so he will be coming to the island of La Palma with high hopes. At Bandera 100k 2013 he finished 2^nd behind Sage Canaday but he will have been getting the miles in since then and you can be sure that he will be ready to mix it up and push hard against the best.

Dave Mackey copyright Ultra Pace Photos

Dave James has a very strong reputation on the US ultra scene. He is a USATF national champion and has run some incredible times over the 100 mile distance, his PR is 13:06:52.. He has already had an an impressive 2013. He secured another win at the multi stage, The Coastal Challenge in Costa Rica and then just one week later raced at Fuego Y Agua to get second place behind Nick Clark. He is racing The Lost Worlds Tuscany event and just 7 days later the Causeway Crossing. he will head to La Palma for Transvulcania, just two weeks later he will race at Zegama and then the big one! Ronda del Cims in Andorra. A super tough 100 miler that has a profile that looks like JAWS dental records. Without doubt Dave will be competitive but he has a busy diary… he is going to need to keep some powder dry.

Notable mentions also go to Gustav Reyes who placed 17th at Transvulcania, Armando Teixeira who was 2nd Transgrancanaria, 7th Cavalls Del Vent 2012 and 11th UTMB all in 2012 and Miguel Caballero who was 6th in the Skyrunning World Series last year. Also, Santi Obaya, Toti Bes, Zigor Iturrieta.

The surprise package may come from Marathon des Sables expert and champion, Mohamad Ahansal. Mohamad has just won his 5th ‘MDS’ and will be travelling to La Palma with great fitness. I for one will be very curious to see how he performs on this course and terrain.

Don’t hold your breath

2013 without doubt will once again be an iconic race. But don’t hold your breath… we have time to go yet and in that time we may even have more names to add.

The current records of 6:58:54 set by Dakota Jones in 2012 and 8:11:31 by Anna Frost are incredibly fast. However, we do have two incredibly talented and fast fields assembled. Will records fall in 2013? The 83km Transvulcania La Palma course course with 8525m of ascent and descent offers the perfect volcanic arena to watch one of the key races of 2013 unfold.

The growth of Skyrunning and ultra running has been incredible in just the last 12 months. Transvulcania La Palma has set the benchmark for all other races to follow. As 2010 Western States winner, Geoff Roes said:

“It was great to be at such a great race. It had everything you would want from a race. A point-to-point course with unique trail for the entire route. Tough climbs of mixed terrain. Amazing scenery. A finish line in the center of town with amazing crowds, it was like the Tour de France. It is certainly one of the most appealing events I have done. In my mind it has nothing lacking….”

I for one can’t wait to see what May 11^th has in store.

Links

Visit the Transvulcania La Palma website HERE
Visit the ISF website HERE
Are you racing at Transvulcania and need some info? Take a look HERE

“Find out everything concerning this Isla Bonita” : www.visitlapalma.es

The new SWS Team Partners supporting the Series, Salomon, Arc’teryx. inov-8 and La Sportiva, are joined at Transvucania by: adidas, Asics, Buff, Hoka, New Balance, Platinum Sigvaris, Salomon Agisko, Scott, The North Face and Quechua.

A Wild and Wet Cavalls del Vent

Posted on March 19, 2013 by talkultra

A Wild and Wet Cavalls del Vent

story and photos by Ian Corless

It always amazes me how a small town can be transformed into a bustling and thriving race headquarters in the space of 24 hours. I had arrived at Baga in the Spanish Pyrenees a couple of days ahead of the ultra Skyrunning Cavalls del Vent. A race billed as potentially one of the races of the year.

Not for the first time in 2012, the ISF (International Skyrunning Federation) and Salomon had pulled together an incredible field of elite runners to take part; Anton Krupicka, Tofol Castanyer, Miguel Heras, Philipp Reiter, Joe Grant, Terry Conway, Dakota Jones and of course, the mountain man himself, Kilian Jornet. The women’s race had equally impressive status but not the depth. Ultimately it would come down to a head-to-head battle between local legend Nuria Picas, Anna Frost (Frosty), Emelie Forsberg and Emma Roca.

In the days before the race I was fortunate to hang out with the runners, get out on the course and experience what it’s like to chase Kilian up a mountain… Unpleasant! The combination of altitude, ascent and technical terrain meant that this Brit had his hands on his knees and his lungs on the floor. But would I change anything? Of course not!

Kilian had recently had a VO2Max test. He told me that he had consistently hit 89.5 and maxed at 92.

Kilian is not a runner, he is an Alpinist; a mountain man. Running is just one aspect of what he does.

The team hotel had a great atmosphere. Chatting, eating, relaxing and preparing for the challenge ahead. It is what I love about ultra running. The mutual respect, appreciation and a love for what we all do transcends competition; it’s a lifestyle.

Race day came and although it was grey, temperatures were mild. Rain was expected to arrive at 11:00 a.m. and although it would be persistent no storms had been predicted.