The sun quite literally has been shining on the camp providing us with perfect training days to replicate scenarios that one would find in the Sahara at MDS or technical situations that one would find in races like The Coastal Challenge or Everest Trail Race.
We did a long Coastal Run of 24km on Thursday morning in a self-sufficient manner, the camp attendees broken down in to 4-groups, Gemma Game, Sondre Amdahl, Elisabet Barnes and Ian Corless each leading 4-8 participants at a pace relevant to the group ability.
The coastline here is stunning offering a wonderful views with the smell of the sea in the nose and a wind blowing in from Africa.
There was plenty of climbing too and tough, technical and hard terrain. Of course what goes up, must come down.
In the afternoon, after a relaxing lunch, Jodie Moss who placed 8th at the 2019 MDS did a talk on heat acclimation and how one should prepare for specifically MDS and the differences one needs to consider if going to a humid race like TCC.
The day concluded with a night-skills session with Sondre and Elisabet leading. All about the skills needed and required to run at night and they then did a short 5km run.
Friday was all about the ‘Long Day!’ For the first time on our camp, we did a point-to-point route of almost marathon distance that crossed the island from Uga and back to Club La Santa.
Ironically, the day started with a little light rain as we were transferred to Uga. It soon left us though leaving us with a perfect, if not windy day.
The terrain is constantly mixed in Lanzarote and the volcanic landscape at all times exciting. We managed 1800m vertical in constantly challenging terrain that replicated a day at MDS perfectly.
Many got an opportunity to use poles and test them, vital if they plan to use them in a race. There is a real technique and once mastered, a real benefit can be gained especially if walking will make a up a bulk of your multi-day pace.
We had just one aid station at 22km (Thanks John and Carmen), so, for much of the day, everyone was carrying a pack of 4-5kg, ideal preparation for self-sufficient multi-day.
The ‘Long Day’ proved to be stunning with the fastest group completing in around 4h 15m and the walkers in 6h 40m. They all now have a real confidence boost knowing that a day at MDS, TCC or ETR is completely doable.
The day concluded with Elisabet Barnes leading a talk and practical session on foot care.
It has been a great couple of days!
Info the 2021 Training Camp will be updated soon HERE
Episode 181 of Talk Ultra brings you three interviews from the Talk Ultra back catalogue to launch the new show, ’theINTERVIEWS.’ We go back to 2012 and 2013 of Talk Ultra and we have interviews with Gordy Ainsleigh, Kilian Jornet and Timothy Olson.
Talk Ultra is now on Tunein – just another way to make the show available for those who prefer not to use iTunes – HERE You can download the Tunein APP HERE
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In 1974 Gordy Ainsleigh was the first to run the Western States Endurance Run in under twenty-four hours. Ainsleigh had finished the Western States (WSER) in 71 and 72 on horseback, but in 73 his new horse was pulled with lameness at the 29-mile checkpoint. With the inspiration and encouragement of Drucilla Barner, the first woman to win the Tevis Cup and Secretary of the Western States Trail Foundation, Gordy, in 1974, joined the horses of the Western States Trail Ride to see if he could complete the course on foot in under twenty-four hours. Twenty-three hours and forty-two minutes later Gordy arrived in Auburn, proving that a runner could indeed, travel the 100 miles in one day. History was made…!
First recorded in February, 2012.
*****
01:06:20 Kilian Jornet
It’s the day after the Matterhorn Ultraks and just four days after Kilian Jornet’s successful attempt on the Matterhorn Summit record attempt from Cervinia. It has been quite a few days for this iconic mountain and although Kilian has excelled on both occasions, we all know, the mountain is still the boss.
Kilian arrives with Emelie Forsberg looking relaxed and fresh after a late breakfast. I congratulate him (and Emelie) once again on topping the podium at the Skyrunning Matterhorn Ultraks race and ask him how he feels, ‘I am a little tired but feel good. I was certainly tired in the race but I didn’t push too hard. I just did what I needed to do to win the race’.
Our conversation turns the TNF UTMB and we discuss how the race will unfold for the men and women. Kilian and Emelie are animated at the prospect of Julien Chorier, Miguel Heras, Anton Krupicka and the other contenders going head-to-head. Emelie gets excited at the thought of Nuria Picas in the ladies race, it’s her first 100-mile race and of course Emelie knows the Catalan well. We could talk all day but eventually I settle down with Kilian in a quiet corner and we discuss the Matterhorn.
First recorded in September 2013.
*****
01:43:16 Timothy Olson
Timothy Olson had won the 39th annual Western States 100 race in the record time of 14:46:44, trimming the course record of 15:07:04, set by Geoff Roes two years earlier, by over twenty minutes. In this interview, we found out about the demons of Tim’s life, drugs, alcohol and a road to ruin. Ultra-running quite literally saved his life… It still stands as one of my all-time favourite Talk Ultra interviews.
First recorded in 2012.
Show Length 02:39:17
*****
Information for the INTERVIEWS – please follow the show
*****
Hosted on ANCHOR (HERE) the INTERVIEWS will also be available to listen on many other players, including SPOTIFY (HERE).
TALK ULTRA podcast will be released as normal providing you long shows as it has always done with ideally two shows per month. The back catalogue will be released randomly via the INTERVIEWS and not chronologically.
Please support Talk Ultra by becoming a Patron at www.patreon.com/talkultra and THANKS to all our Patrons who support us. Rand Haley and Simon Darmody get a mention on the show here for ‘Becoming 100k Runners’ with a high-tier Patronage.
It was a double run day today in Lanzarote starting at 0800 with a really great 9-miles with sunrise with trails along the coast leading to the volcanoes around the village of Soo and then a re-route back down to Club La Santa.
We then had a very quick turnaround to a 2-hour presentation by Running Reborn coach, Shanne Benzie. Shane is a the forefront of discussing and analysing run technique to increase performance and reduce injury, as usual it was fascinating.
A break for lunch and then the afternoon was split in to two 2-hour sessions.
Groups 1 and 2 remained on the run track and had analysis with Shane Benzie while groups 2 and 4 ran along the coast to play on one of the volcanoes climbing to the summit and descending.
You can move around the video image by using the toggle button that appears on the left of the video screen.
And then coasteering one of the technical paths returning back to Club La Santa.
Back at Club La Santa, the groups swapped with 3/4 remaining on the track with Shane and 1/2 heading out on the trails.
The day concluded at 7pm with everyone exhausted and exhilarated after a very full day.
Dates for our 2021 Camp will be announced soon HERE
This interview goes back to 2012 and episode 12 of Talk Ultra.
Timothy Olson had won the 39th annual Western States 100 race in the record time of 14:46:44, trimming the course record of 15:07:04, set by Geoff Roes two years earlier, by over twenty minutes. In this interview, we found out about the demons of Tim’s life, drugs, alcohol and a road to ruin. Ultra-running quite literally saved his life… It still stands as one of my all-time favourite Talk Ultra interviews.
First recorded in 2012.
Episode 0h 53m 8s
Hosted on ANCHOR (HERE)the INTERVIEWS will also be available to listen on many other players, including SPOTIFY (HERE).
TALK ULTRA podcast will be released as normal providing you long shows as it has always done with ideally two shows per month. The back catalogue will be released randomly via the INTERVIEWS and not chronologically.
New for 2020, TALK ULTRA podcast will bring you the INTERVIEWS from the extensive podcast back catalogue.
The USP of Talk Ultra has always been long shows designed to be listened to during long journeys, or ideally, during a long run!
Over the year’s we have been asked to release the interviews that make up a show, typically 3, as stand-alone interviews. So, for 2020 and moving forward, we will release the interviews, randomly and not in chronological order.
Talk Ultra podcast will still be released and published as normal.
Released using ANCHOR, the INTERVIEWS will be available on many different formats and importantly, Spotify.
Our first show will go back to February 2012 and an interview with Gordy Ainsleigh who has a special place in ultra-history as being the first person the run the Western States Endurance Run on foot.
With a New Year looming it’s finally great to announce that in May 2019 I agreed to join forces with ULTRA X and myRaceKit to work with them in promotion of two events on the 2020 calendar:
Azores April 23rd to 26th
Jordan October 3rd to 11th
ULTRA X have had a great 2019 with events in Sri Lanka, Jordan, Mexico and the Azores, in 2020 they move forward:
Sri Lanka – March
Azores – April
Jordan – October
Mexico – November
Bolivia – tbc
China – tbc
ULTRA X have brought a new experience to the multi-day world offering race entry at accessible prices, easy registration, a global series, a community and club for all and uniquely, they a proposing a ULTRA X World Championship that will take place every 2-years, starting in 2021.
Although new to the multi-day world, ULTRA X had significant growth in 2019 and now with the help of myRaceKit, specialist equipment supplier for multi-day races, 2020 looks set to be a great year.
Rebeca from myRaceKit is an accomplished ultra-runner, here at the 2019 Marathon des Sables.
Many will know myRaceKit through two-times Marathon des Sables and multi-day specialist, Elisabet Barnes. Elisabet was the owner of myRaceKit until she sold to the new owner, Rebeca Ehrnrooth, Elisabet remaining as a shareholder.
Moving in to 2020, myRaceKit are the exclusive equipment partners for ULTRA X events including pre-race weekends. At the Azores and Jordan races, Elisabet Barnes and Sondre Amdahl will fly the myRaceKit flag amongst two hotly contested races with runners from all over the world attending.
Elisabet and Sondre training in Lanzarote in 2019. They will return again, January 2020.
AZORES
The ULTRA X Azores 125 is 2-day eventin April and is designed as introduction to the multi-day format. It is the first half-distance race Ultra X have offered. The Azores are truly spectacular situated 1000-miles in the Atlantic Ocean. Close to Portugal, this tiny archipelago of islands offers incredible trails along volcanoes, through amazing green valleys and past stunning lagoons.
Taking place on the island of Sao Miguel, nicknamed “the Green Island”. It is one of the nine volcanic islands based out in the Mid Atlantic. Governed by Portugal, this wild and remote archipelago is characterised by dramatic landscapes, fishing villages and green pastures. The climate of the Azores is very mild for such a northerly location, due to the marine influence, temperatures remain around 20c all year-round.
Racing takes place over 2-days, with 83km to cover on day-1 and 42km to cover on day-2. It’s not an easy challenge! Included in entry is accommodation during the race, race entry, rationed water, medical team, ground assistance and a medal at the finish. The race is self-sufficient, so runners must come prepared to survive for the duration of the race.
Ultra X Jordan (previously the Wadi Rum Ultra) takes participants through the land of Lawrence of Arabia. The mystical course takes competitors through historic sites, into dramatic Wadis and over magnificent sand dunes.
Wadi Rum’s nickname is ‘the valley of the moon’ and you will see why.
Its landscape, characterised by unique towering rock formations will truly blow you away, as will the challenge. As locations go, this place is unrivalled in its beauty.
A 5-day race, the race will cover daily distances of 46km, 50km, 70km, 46km and finally, 38km. As will all ULTRA X races, the event is self-sufficient, so, runners need to carry food, clothes, sleeping bag and all they need for the event. Rationed water and a tent is provided.
Speaking to Sam Heward from ULTRA X in October, I expressed how happy I was to be joining in 2020:
“It is great to see that Ultra X are creating new races, in new locations around the world. Ultra X 125 Azores is something a little different with it being just a two day race, this will appeal to many as a mini adventure and an opportunity to test themselves before stepping up to a 5-day format. I have heard much about the Azores and it’s a place I am keen to visit and explore.”
Pleasure to provide the images to accompany the words of David Roche for the article, ‘Death and Taxes and Running Injuries’
for Trail RUNNER Mag
It’s easy to idealize running.
Frolicking through forests! Jumping over rocks and bounding down mountains! On a training plan, the miles come so easily. But that’s not reality.
As a coach, I try to never lose sight of that fact. It’s so easy to write down “8 mile run” and not think about what that actually entails. That’s more than 10,000 steps, each one with significantly more impact forces than walking, each one with the potential to go horribly wrong. That training log entry seems simple, but it’s asking an athlete to do something that many people can’t do in the first place.
Our heads may be up in the clouds, but our bodies are on the ground, and they can feel the pounding. The process of building up endurance risks breakdown with each step. Running is a lot like life in that way. Every day that passes brings us one day closer to the ultimate breakdown.
What can we do in the face of our own fragility? We can keep moving forward.
That sounds melodramatic. I promise this article will not be too serious. But it is important to understand that we get running injuries for the same reasons that we die—our bodies are only capable of so many miles, even if our brains can expand to encompass infinity. Just as life requires death to have meaning, so too do runners have to get injured for the miles to be more than numbers in a training log.
So let’s celebrate the whole journey, including the parts that might be less fun to talk about. Let’s talk injuries.
As a racing season comes to an end it is time to look back over your achievements and yes, your failures over the last 12 months.
What went right, what didn’t go right? It is a question we should all ask ourselves.
What were my strengths?
What were my weaknesses?
Once you know the answers to the above, you have an idea of what to do over the winter months to make the following year a better one, not only in racing but training.
Planning is key. You need to periodize training so that you get the most from it.
Do you lack endurance?
Do you lack strength?
Do you lack speed?
Do you lack an ability to run on technical terrain?
Can you climb well?
Are you mentally strong?
The above list can go on and on.
Certain key elements should be present in any training plan and by answering questions similar to those above, you will start to understand what you need to do.
Winter has often been thought upon as time to do ‘base’ miles. These were long and steady miles with many hours building endurance. It is easy to fall in a trap and do too much of this. Don’t do what everyone else is doing, instead do what you need to do. Ultra-runners often have loads of endurance, after all, they race long distances all year. But with all that endurance, they can lack some strength and speed.
You need to look at yourself and ask, ‘What do I need to do?’
Decide on objectives for the following year and yes, you can even decide on plans for the year after too. Sometimes our long-term goals are so big or challenging that we need longer than a year to prepare!
Decide on A, B and C races, please remember that you can have multiple A goals, you just need to make sure that you can train, race and recover. The best thing to do here is to get a planner that shows the whole year and then add objectives marking them A, B and C – you will soon see if your targets are achievable. This is an invalidly process and actually takes very little time.
A target needs blocks of training and depending on the A-Race, that block will vary in length based on the challenge and the experience of the individual. A classic marathon plan may be 12-16 weeks, whereas for 100-miles you may work on 28-weeks.
In our scenario, we are saying that our A race is a 100-mile race, 28 weeks away.
Yes, it’s a long way off but don’t be fooled into thinking you have plenty of time. Key races have a habit of sneaking up on you.
Go through the questions again.
If this is your first 100, training will be very different to someone who is running there 20th for example. Endurance may well be a primary target, whereas the experienced 100 runner will have endurance but may well want to go quicker?
100-miles is a long way so *base training and getting the miles in is key. We have allocated 8 weeks for this in the plan below. Hours of easy miles progressively building up to a C race (marathon or 50k). It is always good to have a goal and a target to aim for. The C race is a training race and will have no taper, you would race through it as a training long run.
*A traditional pyramid training plan starts with base and then typically adds speed as an event comes closer. However, we are ultra-runners and it is important to be specific. High intensity training creates a lot of fatigue and this is why I am a huge fan of reversing the pyramid and getting speed work done during the winter so that the training plan that leads into an A race is specific to the demands of the race.
So, if you are an experienced ultra-runner looking to improve with years of running and loads of endurance, think about making weeks 1-8 speed based with a fast marathon as a C (or maybe even A) race objective at the end of this block.
When you enter your racing season this will be in the build phase so it’s a good idea to place a B race objective that will allow you to progress to the A goal or multiple A goals.
As you come to the end of the build phase, you should be in form and race fit. What you want to do now is fine tune that form, tweak it and hold it for the A race. If you are cramming long runs in or looking for speed, it’s too late. You basically misjudged the planning or started training too late.
Maintaining what fitness, you have is also about being specific to the A target.
1 Is your 100-mile target race on groomed trail with little elevation gain?
2 Is it an out-and-out mountain race with gnarly terrain and plenty of elevation gain?
It’s important to be specific now, the two races above require very different approaches. This is something that you will have understood in January (or earlier in the year) when you looked back at last year, looked ahead to this year and understood your strengths and weaknesses so that you could plan accordingly.
▪ Scenario 1 requires running, good form and leg speed.
▪ Scenario 2 requires hiking, climbing, leg strength and plenty of endurance.
You can’t perform well at every event and this is why A, B and C races are important. Yes, I know the elite runners manage to race several key races a year but look at the training and look at the planning. We have all seen top runners turn up at early season races and place just inside or outside the top-10.
– Francois D’Haene
Francois d’Haene always provides a good examples of how to:
▪ Build
▪ Peak
▪Win
▪ Recover
▪ Build
▪ Peak
▪Win
▪ Recover
▪ Build
▪ Peak
▪Win
▪ Recover
In 1 racing year, Francois won 3 x 100-mile races.
That is an incredible skill and for sure as racing becomes more aggressive, faster and more brutal, this training approach is going to become far more important for those who want to race to their own potential and maybe more importantly race year-on-year. We have all witnessed the damage that racing and training too much can do at an elite level runner. Listen to my podcast with Geoff Roes HERE as he provides a great insight into potential problems.
The above questions are a starting point. Read through the list and add your own questions to appraise what type of runner you are. It may well be that running for you is an escape and social thing, you may be happy to race week in and week out and you are not worried about gaining a PB or improving; if that is you, great. I’d still say planning some RnR is a good thing to avoid burn out.
If you are someone looking to perform and improve, you need to be more self-critical. Plan your training and periodize your training so that you are able to (hopefully) predict good form on 1 or multiple A race days in a year. This is not easy.
Carefully plan races in terms of importance, ‘A’ being the most important. Also make the races progressive and in line with your A race. For example, if your A race is a 100-mile race, a C race may be a marathon, a B race may be a 50K or 100K and then the Ais the big step of 100-miles.
Remember you can only hold form for a limited length of time and if you want to peak, you need to make sure that this planning stage is done early so that you understand what you are trying to achieve. It’s all about steppingstones.
Ask yourself, what is the purpose of the training blocks you are planning:
▪ Are you laying base training?
▪ Building fitness?
▪ Maintaining fitness?
▪ Racing?
A training block with 2 x ‘A’ races (the 2nd race being 100-miles) may look like this:
Base Training Phase
Week 1 – Base or Speed
Week 2 – Base or Speed
Week 3 – Base or Speed
Week 4 – Base or Speed (with the addition of a longer run)
Week 5 – Base or Speed (with the addition of a longer run)
Week 6 – Base or Speed (with the addition of a longer run)
Week 7 – Base or Speed (with the addition of a longer run)
Week 8 – Base with C Race probably a marathon.
Build Training Phase
Week 9 – Build
Week 10 – Build
Week 11 – Build maybe a C Race just as a long run?
Week 12 – Build
Week 13 – Build
Week 14 – Build with B Race 50K.
Maintain
Week 15 – Maintain/ Specific
Week 16 – Maintain/ Specific
Week 17 – Maintain/ Specific
Week 18 – Maintain/ Taper with A Race
Recovery
Week 19 – Recovery
Week 20 – Recovery easing back into Build.
Build
Week 21 – Build
Week 22 – Build
Week 23 – Build
Week 24 – Build
Week 25 – Build
Week 26 – Build
Week 27 – Taper
Week 28 – Taper and A Race (this scenario 100-miles)
Recover, Recover and Recover.
This article is not a hard and fast plan, it’s a guide for you to go away, look at your targets having assessed past targets and hopefully it makes you think about future objectives so that you can plan for a successful, injury free year of running and racing.
The Tarahumara have long gained a reputation for being incredible runners, we can thank Chris McDougall and his book, ‘Born to Run’ for this.
But I have fond memories of watching documentary, made by a friend of mine that told the story of the Tarahumara racing at Western States with Ann Trason back in 1995. I still have a copy of the movie that one day I hope to gain permission to re-release.
So, standing on the start line of Tenerife Blue Trail a few years ago, my radar was finely tuned to the Tarahumara on the start line. Notably, Lorena Ramirez in a green dress with touches of red, a Salomon vest and jelly bean shoes. Her brother was standing next to her, almost as a guardian. He wore a mixture of traditional dress and modern shoes.
She came back once again in 2019, this time with a different dress, but the same shoes.
NETFLIX on the 20th November started to stream, “LORENA, LIGHT-FOOTED WOMAN” a short documentary 0f just under 30-minutes.
John Serba of decider.com had this to say after watching the film for the first time:
“Netflix may have another serious Oscar contender on its hands with Lorena, Light-Footed Woman — or Lorena, la de pies ligeros in its native Spanish… The film may be short, but it’s long on inspiration and breathtaking cinematography…”
Lorena lives along the Tarahumara mountain range in Chihuahua, Mexico. She has a simple life, shares a shack with her family. She is a shy person. I have met her multiple times and shared few words with her. For the camera she is reserved, and one can almost feel as though one is invading her space with a camera. She has assured me I am not.
The movie shows an abbreviated version of Lorena’s life. Actions speak louder than words, and with Lorena that is really important. I draw parallels to Mira Rai and how ‘training’ is not really a requirement in such a harsh environment, just living and functioning is enough.
Lorena does not laugh or smile much, bit in one scene, she opens a box with new Salomon shoes. She smirks, laughs and then says, “They feel wrong I am not used to running in them… I don’t think I will use them. The people who do are always behind me!”
Her brother then jokes about her sandals and adds up she has about 300-miles on them. Here, Lorena open up and laughs.
The scene changes and as a family, six of them go for a run. “Look we run up here with food..” says the Father. “…taking care of owls, running all over the place, up and down.”
As Chris McDougall coined in his book, Lorena was born to run…
If you love the pure art of running, the simple inspiration that running can bring (moving from one place to another via foot), then Lorena and he story will enlighten your life.
“How would you feel if you had to live in another country?” Her brother asks.
“I would miss it here a lot,” Lorena replies.
One can almost feel the tension, the dilemma that her running and travel brings. But she laughs with her brother when he asks and questions how serious she takes it.
Running up a steep hill, a cameraman almost falls as she whispers about fireflies, “I will keep running as long as I can, and as long as I have the strength.”
Leaving Tengboche the race retraces elements of stage-5 to Phakding but as opposed to previous year’s, at Sensa the runners did not go right to the Kumjung Valley. Instead they followed the main route Namche Bazaar the ETR then re-traces stage 5 all the way to Phakding and then as the trail heads back to Kharikhola, a left turn leads to the final climb and the swinish line in Lukla.
The stage is mostly downhill with 3183m of descent in comparison to 2105m of ascent over the 30km course. It’s a tough way to finish a race, but the rewards are worth it! After the high elevation from the previous day, the additional oxygen made the km’s easier.
Both Suman and Anna have been on fire all week and on the final day, it was no difference. The duo pushed and pushed but at all times looked in control and relaxed. Suman actually just looked to be having fun… Playing in the mountains. The pace of them both was quite ridiculous.
Behind Anna, Manuela and Nuria once again traded blows, pushing each other and in doing so, found greater individual performances.
For the men, it was a real battle with Hans, Miguel and Gerard not taking things easy and all fighting for the 2nd and 3rd places on the overall podium.
At the finish line, Manuela beat Nuria, 4:10:45 to 4:19:22 and in doing so, secured her overall 2nd place just as in 2018.
Hans was the first home after Suman, then Miguel and Gerard together. Suman crossed the tape in an incredible 2:46:25 and then the respective times were 3:01:24 and 3:06:39.
Suman Kulung and Anna Comet are crowned the 2019 Elements Everest Trail Race champions but all credit goes to each and every finisher. At 170km, this race may not be the longest but it is surely one of the toughest! The combination of tough technical terrain, relentless climbing and descending and of course altitude, all combine to make the ETR a race to do!
IAN CORLESS 