Salomon S-Lab Skin Belt

Posted on January 8, 2013 by talkultra

Red and black is the new black… at least as far as the 2013 Salomon S-Lab range of products are concerned. The Sense Ultra has this colour way, the new S-Lab 12 Set Pack and the new S-Lab Skin 2 Belt.

I first saw the S-Lab Skin 2 Belt being used at ‘La Course des Templiers‘ in the latter stages of 2012. Several of the Salomon Team used the belt.

As with all products in the S-Lab range it is about finding a solution to a problem! Light, minimalist, practical and comfortable are all important key elements that go into the design of a product like this.

At some point, many of us will have used a belt pack and like so many other people the biggest problem has been ‘bounce’ from the bottles. Salomon are getting around this problem by providing a belt that fits close to the body. It is provided with 2 small 200ml bottles but actually the belt pack may actually be far more comfortable and versatile using the new ‘Soft Flasks‘.

The soft flask when first released was only available in small sizes but Salomon are now releasing a range of new larger sizes to be used with the new 2013 range of products such as the new S-Lab 12 pack and the new Hydro handheld flasks with glove.

Other key elements are storage options. It has zipped pockets, stretch pockets and bottle pockets. It has 2 bottle pockets on one side and six pockets on the other, two of which have zips.

The belt is really two halves coming together to make one whole item. The two halves are connected with Salomon’s snap clip closers, which are lighter than alternative buckles. They ensure the pack remains very secure once fastened. This secure fastening can mean that fastening and unfastening can be a little fiddly but once on the fit is great! You have the option to choose which way round to position the bottles and pockets depending on your requirements or personal preference, realistically it has no front or back.

It really is practical and spacious. It has a large, well thought out pocket system. A total of six pockets. I added small zip cord to my belt as a lack of a ‘pull’ on the zip pockets means they are not easy to open on the move or if wearring gloves. A small omission that is easily rectified. The zipped pockets are ideal for valuables such as money, keys, phone, camera etc

Two large pockets sit on top of the zipper pockets, they are open and ideal for energy bars or items you may need to access easily. Two narrow, angled pockets at the edge of the belt are perfect for holding energy gels or salt tabs etc as they can be easily pulled out as and when needed.

Ultimately you either like belt packs or not. But if you have used a belt pack in the past and just not liked it through poor fit or bounce, then you may well find that this is the product to convert you! The Skin S-Lab Belt is made with Salomon’s high attention to comfort and fit. Using ‘Sensifit’ the belt fits really well to the contours of your body. Adjustable waist straps offer flexibility to enable runners to get a comfortable fit and reducing bounce even when fully loaded in addition the mesh construction keeps it breathable

Salomon Running website HERE

Ultimate Direction – Signature Series

Posted on January 6, 2013 by talkultra

A new year and new products…

The Ultimate Direction ‘Signature Series‘ have been talked about, watched on You Tube and discussed at many a race and on social media for some time.

Released in November 2012 the packs are about to arrive in the UK anytime soon. You will have to do some ‘Google’ work to find a stockist and then cross your fingers and hope that they have any products left.

The Signature Series was designed by three of the most successful, most well-known ultra runners in the world. Using power mesh for zero bounce and state-of-the art cuben fiber for its unsurpassed strength to weight ratio, our Signature Series vests integrate load carrying, performance, and comfort into one unified system. With water bottle pockets in the front of the vest for quick and easy access, the Signature Series represents the next generation of ultra running hydration packs for runners.

AK RACE VEST

Designed by Anton Krupicka, the AK Race Vest brings minimalism to the world of hydration. Even though it weighs in at only 6 ounces (10 with bottles), the AK Race Vest still has plenty of capacity for food, clothing, and a phone, so you can use this vest for anything from 10 to 100 miles.

SJ ULTRA VEST

The SJ Ultra Vest is the result of collaboration with Scott Jurek, the world’s most dominant ultra runner. Weighing in at 7.5 ounces (11.5 with bottles) and offering 9.2 L of storage space, the SJ has the best weight-to-capacity ratio of any hydration pack on the market.

PB ADVENTURE VEST

Peter Bakwin wanted a pack that could do anything from running to hiking, climbing to skiing. Featuring 12 L of volume and a variety of features, The Adventure Vest allows you to stay hydrated and comfortable on any size adventure from quick outings to all-day expeditions.

Highly anticipated, I hope to get a sample in the not too distant future and provide a review. Watch this space… !

Episode 25 Talk Ultra

Posted on December 26, 2012 by talkultra

Episode 25 – MERRY CHRISTMAS. A super stacked festive show with some incredible stars of 2012. Our show includes interviews with Ellie Greenwood, Timoth Olson, Western States RD Craig Thornley, Ryan Sandes and Lizzy Hawker. We announce the winners of ‘A Year inthe life of…’. Talk Training is about heart rate training and Karl, Ian Sharman and myself review the year. Merry Christmas to you all and thank you for making 2012 a great year!

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

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

Website – talkultra.com

SHOW NOTES:

Merry Christmas everybody and we would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your fantastic support in 2012. The Talk Ultra community is nothing without all of you.

Here is to a fantastic 2013 !

00:00:00 Intro and hold your breath….. a Christmas jingle from Ian

00:02:40 Show start

00:11:40 Ellie Greenwood talks about an incredible 2012 season and what lies in store for 2013

00:32:50 Back to the show

00:38:30 Craig Thornley is the new RD for Western States. He takes the reigns in 2013 and in our interview we discuss the iconic 100 miler

01:05:58 Back to the show.

01:09:36 Timothy Olson discusses setting that CR at Western States and how life has had to adapt to the birth of his first child.

01:28:25 Ryan Sandes tells us about a superb 2012 and how he has become one of the premier ultra runners in the world.

01:48:20 ‘A Year in the life of….’ we announce the winners!

01:51:30 A quick chat with the female winner – A Year in the life of…

01:56:20 A quick chat with the male winner – A Year in the life of…

02:02:00 News

02:22:40 Blog – Joe Grant – Alpine Works

02:23:50 Talk Training with Marc Laithwaite – Hear Rate Training

02:51:12 An interview with Lizzy Hawker… Lizzy needs no introduction. In 2012 she won UTMB for the 5th time, won Run Rabbit Run and then set a CR at Spartathlon, all within a few weeks. We discuss her career and what makes her tick.

03:19:28 A Meltzer Moment with Speedgoat Karl

03:21:40 Up and Coming Races

03:22:55 Close

03:28:30

Caldera de Taburiente – La Palma

Posted on December 16, 2012 by talkultra

An easy day should surely be followed with a longer day right? Good! Niandi and myself did follow the ‘Los Llanos‘ experience with a wonderful 7 hours on the trails of the LP13 in the National Park of the Caldera de Taburiente. What a day!

I had read about the PRLP13 being a super hard hike (Here) and how we could take a Taxi to Los Brecitos…. nonsense! If you are going to do it, then do it! That’s all part of the fun.

We started the trail at 0900 in the valley and had decided on an anti-clockwise direction going through the Barranco de las Angustias ravine which is all about boulder and rock hopping, crossing the river multiple times and some scrambling. It’s mostly slow going and if you are not technically proficient you do need to take care. (NOTE: If you plan to do this you must check that no heavy rain has happened in the previous 24/48 hours or more importantly that any is due for your own excursion. The water level rises very quickly).

Niandi is not the best at this really technical stuff but she embraced it, smiled and bounced from rock to rock when she could. Hats off to her… she very rarely says ‘I can’t’. She takes a breath and gets on with it; respect!

As we have grown to accept with La Palma the terrain changes constantly. Running through the ravine we would then climb and drop back down. Sometime we could run, others we would scramble. I loved it. It would make a great race route but only for the proficient… moving over this terrain at any speed requires real skill.

Finally arriving at the end of the ravine a dam was in front of us. The water here changed colour to incredible oranges from iron discolouration. We moved to the left and moved onwards and upwards finally joining incredible single track. We had gone from rocky ravines to pine forests.

The Roque de Idafe like some huge rock finger pointing to the sky in front of us. We now started to climb up and up. Although this was running terrain the gradient means sometimes you jog, sometimes you hike, No worries. All part of the fun.

Niandi loved this section of the LP13. It was beautiful and inspirational. The sune had now moved up high into the sky and warmed our backs. We finally arrived at our turning point at the end of the valley. Here is a Tourist information centre and campsite. From here you can go on several different routes. Some are out and backs, others circular routes.

We had a picnic lunch and then followed the signs to Los Brecitos. We now had the opportunity to pretty much run and power hike this whole section. Narrow single track made soft and bouncy by fallen pine needles… a carpet like feel under our feet. Niandi smiled and bounced her way down the trail. Such a contrast to the way out down the ravine. It is what makes running here in La Palma so special.

From Los Brecitos we had a small section of road and then we dropped back down the trail to our start point in the valley.

You don’t measure these runs via distance. It means nothing. To be honest we are not even running much of the time. It’s about time on feet and experiences and today was one of those days on the trail that you don’t forget.

You can see a selection of images HERE

In the evening we went and had Cerveza, Pizza and then sat outside at Cafe Eden being entertained by a local band playing Dire Straits, The Rolling Stones and so on… we both could get used to this!

European Skyrunning Championships 2013

Posted on December 15, 2012 by talkultra

Emelie Forsberg, winner 2012 Dolomites SkyRace®. © Pegaso Media

Every two years the European Skyrunning Championships are celebrated and 2013 is no exception. The big news is the inclusion for the first time of the ultra distance. The venue is all-Italian with the Vertical Kilometer® and SkyRace® in Canazei, Dolomites on July 19 and 21, while the Ultra will take place just six days later in the nearby Veneto Region.

The Dolomites will again host two of the events in the three-year history of the Championships. The record on the unforgiving Vertical Kilometer®course just 2,1 km long, stands at 33’16” by world record holder Italian Urban Zemmer and Antonella Confortola in 39’13” back in 2008 when the course was inaugurated.

The classic Dolomites SkyRace® favoured by the world’s top runners offers a new challenge after record-breaking performances here this year by Kilian Jornet in 2h01’52”, and the three top women, Sweden’s Emelie Forsberg, American Kasie Enman and Spaniard Mireia Mirò – all under record time. Forsberg’s record stands at 2h26’00”.

Trans d'Havet. ©Augusto Mia Battaglia

The challenging and often technical course represents one of the toughest proving grounds for the relatively short distance: 22 km but with 1,750m climb to the summit of the Piz Boè which, at 3,152m altitude, towers above the start and finish of the race in Canazei.

The much anticipated Ultra is embodied by the Trans d’Havet, a point to point 80 km long with 5,500m vertical climb traversing the Piccole Dolomiti in the Veneto Region. The route, technical in stretches, includes 6 km of tunnels dating back to the First World War, created by General D’Havet, to whose name the race is dedicated.

At the launch this year, the men’s winning time was 10h58’44”, no doubt destined to fall with the top European runners participating here in 2013.

Following on from the Dolomites SkyRace® on the 21^st, five days’ activities and fun-packed action are being organised for runners who want to stay over for the Trans d’Havet. More news on this later.

The European Skyrunning Championships are open with individual titles at stake in each discipline and a combined title based on the sum of the highest points scored in two out of three events. The national title is based on the score of the first three men and one woman in all three events.

2013 European Skyrunning Championships

Dolomites Vertical Kilometer®, Canazei, Trento, July 19

Sky

Dolomites SkyRace®, Canazei, Trento, July 21

Ultra

Trans d’Havet, 80k, Piovene R. Piccole Dolomiti, Vicenza – July 27

Caldera de Taburiente – La Palma

Posted on December 9, 2012 by talkultra

La Isla Bonita – Transvulcania La Palma

Niandi and myself have arrived on the island of La Palma – ‘La Isla Bonita’ – the home of the Transvulacania La Palma.

We are here for a working holiday. By that I mean we are here on holiday but still working as and when we feel like. We both have commitments that we need to fulfil while out on the island but we plan to be really flexible… of course I have another episode of Talk Ultra to get out. Based on how slow the wifi is here in our apartment that may be a real challenge.

Anyway, we decided NOT to to ease ourselves into this and went out for a full on 8 hours on the trail on our first day. Considering the longest run I have done in the last 17/18 weeks has been 75 min (due to dodgy knees) that was somewhat optimistic. However, I knew that this was not gong to be a run… more of a tough long hike with some jogging (mostly downhill).

The Transvulcania course starts in the south of the island and heads up the spine to the dramatic Roque de Los Muchachos at 2426m and then from here you basically have a 32-36k drop back to the sea at Tazacorte and then a run into the finish at Los Llanos.

Niandi and myself don’t have the luxury of multiple cars or drop/ pick ups so pretty much all our days out will be out and back.

Today we went from the sea at Tazacorte Port and went straight up to 2400m, had a picnic, turned around and came straight back down.

An incredible day on the trails and while friends back in the UK struggled with snow and ice we had T shirts and shorts on for the whole trek. The course offers some tough technical terrain, the views are dramatic and once above the cloud one really does feel like a ‘Skyrunner’ quite literally.

I personally had a great day. The longest on my feet for months BUT dropping from 2400m to sea level in one go DID test the knees. It wasn’t pretty at times but I am happy.

Here are some images from the day:

No warm up, from Tazacorte you go up for 18k

Caves in the rock face – once homes!

Follow the GR markers

Niandi has a break

About 1800m up, still a way to go…

Running through the cloud was incredible

Just stunning

Once through the cloud layer the views are incredible and the temp was 20+ deg

After 7 hours on the trail, with just 1 hour to go we get to see the sun disappear.

Episode 23 – King, Kremer & Davies

Posted on November 29, 2012 by talkultra

We speak to man of the moment Max King after his incredible wins at UROC and JFK50. Oz fast man, Brendan Davies talks about the ultra scene down under and his win at GNW100. Pocket Rocket Stevie Kremer tells us what it’s like to move from the US to Italy and race at the highest level. Talk Training with Marc Laithwaite is about run shoes. We have the news with Ian Sharman, a blog post with Ellie Greenwood, up and coming races and of course Speedgoat Karl Meltzer.

Libsyn – HERE

ITunes HERE

RSS – HERE

Website – talkultra.com

Show Notes

00:00:00

00:00:45 show start

00:22:00 Interview with Brendan Davies website here

Apart from running, I enjoy a lot of other sports; mountain biking, adventure racing, rogaining, skin/scuba diving and still play social squash. I guess I do these things as I love pushing my mind and body to the limits and being rewarded with fitness, health and friendships that have positive impacts on all aspects of my life. It also gives me the quiet time I need to process all the garbage that life throws at you.

00:51:46 News with Ian Sharman

01:11:00 Interview with Stevie Kremer here

01:32:45 Back to the news

01:38:30 Blog – Ellie Greenwood blog post here

It gets to this time of year and with one racing year winding down it’s time to start planning a little for the following year. My schedule is never set in stone and I’m sure there will be changes before hitting some of these start lines.

01:42:07 Talk Training with Marc Laithwaite – run shoes

02:09:05 Interview with Max King

Date of Birth:
February 24, 1980

Place of Birth:
Sacramento, CA

Current Home town:
Bend, OR

Primary Race Distance:
Hmm, 3k to 50 mile. What’s primary mean anyway?

Other hobbies or sports:
Shoes, running up hills, skiing, mountain biking

What MHW/ Montrail gear and clothing is in your quiver for a typical day at/ on the trail?
Rogue Racers
Effusion Tights
Geist Jacket
Wicked Lite L/S
Power Stretch Glove
If it’s nice then the Ultra Refueler Shorts and Way2Cool shirt.

How were you introduced to your sport?
I wasn’t always a “team player” and I was terrible at ball sports. I used to crush the other kids in the PE mile though so I went out for track in 7th grade.

What inspires you?
Lots of things: A cold stormy run through deep forest on a flowing single track trail, seeing someone else make a huge breakthrough after months or years of hard training, or just the pre-race adrenaline that comes when all the best racers toe the line.

What advice would you give to newcomers to (your sport) today?
It’s all about having fun and working hard. There are no special secrets to anyone’s running success, it’s all hard work.

What’s your favorite pre race meal?
A Hammer Bar or oatmeal.

What the first thing you look forward to doing after a long run / race?
Eating, I like to eat. A lot. It might not show but I run to eat and I eat to run.

How do you balance your training schedule with your “real” job?
I quit my real job.

Do you have any pre-race/ pre-competition rituals?
Sure, but I can’t tell you or it would jinx my superstitions.

In 10 years I hope to be…
Doing the same thing I’m doing today. I envy those guys that are still improving at 40+ and hope that I’ll be doing the same.

Six-word bio:
Pain is weakness leaving the body.

When singing karaoke, what song do you sing to bring down the house?
If I could even sing, it would be: Bohemian Rhapsody – Queen

What music gets you fired up?
Linkin Park

If you were a super hero, who would you be?
Wolverine, he’s just plain bad ass. And yes, I’m a comic book geek.

02:48:40 Back to Karl

02:55:56 A Meltzer Moment with Speedgoat Karl

03:00:00 Up & coming races for the next two weeks

03:01:10 Show close

03:05:24

William Sichel – Monaco 8 day

Posted on November 11, 2012 by talkultra

Orkney-based ultra marathon runner, William Sichel (59) will return to the Monaco “No Finish Line” 8 Day ultra marathon this week to defend the title he won there last year.

In last November’s race (which had over 6,000 participants) William won the event outright and set a new course record becoming the first person to cover more than 1000km/624 miles during this event.

The Monaco event will be started by Princess Stephanie of Monaco, at 1pm UK time on Saturday 17th. The final gun will be fired at 1pm UK time on Sunday 25^th, after which, Albert II Prince of Monaco and Charlene Princess of Monaco, will present the prizes.

Normally William and his team operate on a shoe-string budget for the race, but this year one of the world’s leading hotels – Hotel Métropole Monte-Carlo will be sponsoring William and his support team’s participation in the event. William will also run for the Hotel Métropole team for the first time.

“It will be good to have some local support and back-up, as we usually operate in a very low key manner for this event.”

William is still looking for two more records to complete his Project 60@60.

“There will be a number of opportunities for records in Monaco but, because the course gets extremely crowded for long periods, especially at the weekends, it isn’t really conducive to record setting. Having said that, I’ll be doing my utmost to set more records.”

The 8 Day race is part of a huge festival of running which, last year, saw a total of over 6000 participants, lap the 1 mile circuit around the port in central Monaco, over the 8 day period.

Every lap completed generates one euro for children’s charities, donated by the Government of Monaco. The vast majority of participants come and go, during the 8 day period, amassing a huge sum for charity.

William is a member of the Orkney Athletic Cluband is currently engaged in Project 60@60 in which he is attempting to have set 60 ultra distance records, at World, British and Scottish level, including age-groups, before his 60^th birthday on October 1^st 2013.

Currently William has set 58 records, including 6 World Age-Group records.

Episode 18 Talk Ultra

Posted on September 21, 2012 by talkultra

Episode 18 of Talk Ultra is available and as you can see from the image above it is a really top show!

Karl Meltzer joins me once again to co present the show. We speak about his outstanding win at Run Rabbit Run and what it’s like winning 33 100 mile ultras and taking home $11k for a days running.

Comeback man Mike Morton tells me how he missed the Badwater 135 record by 75 seconds and he also talks about setting a new US benchmark for the 24 hour.

Prof Tim Noakes in many respects needs no introduction. It is nearly 30 years ago that he wrote ‘The Lore of Running’ and maybe with new addition to the nutrition section it still today the perfect reference book. He has a new book called ‘Waterlogged’ with new theories on hydration for sport.

I also get to talk to Dean Karnazes. Love him or hate him (unjustified in my opinion) he is maybe one person who has encouraged and is possibly responsible for the boom in ultra running. I maybe ask him one or two awkward questions and we discus whats next…

Talk Ultra is available through the usual channels:

ITunes HERE

Libsyn HERE

Website HERE

Kilian Jornet – Mont Blanc Crossing

Posted on September 21, 2012 by talkultra

Kilian Jornet has successfully completed the second of the challenges of his personal project Summits of My Life.

This led him to complete the demanding crossing from Courmayeur (Aosta Valley, Italy), to Chamonix (France) single-handed, reaching Mont Blanc via one of its most technical climbing routes, the Innominata Ridge.

A challenge which was completed without any assistance and with the least possible material, following the purist philosophy of the project Summits of My Life.

Jornet’s adventure started at 3:53 am, at Church Square in Courmayeur (1,000 m), on a perfectly clear and starry night, with just his headlamp for company. He advanced rapidly through the valley towards Vall Veny (1,500m), the start of the technical path that would lead him to the Monzino Refuge (2,590m) where he arrived at 5:25 am, feeling good.

From there on, the complicated stretch began. It was one that most concerned the Catalan runner, as he would have to face the glacier that would take him to Bivac de les Eccles at an altitude of 4,041m.

Jornet’s doubts vanished as soon as he saw the condition the glacier was in. Night temperatures had frozen it, so he could easily cross it using crampons. “I was concerned to know in what state I’d find the glacier and the crevasses. Once I saw that there was no danger, I felt relieved,” commented Jornet.

Once he had overcome the hurdle of the glacier without problems, Jornet arrived at Bivac Eccles (4,041m), where he had to face the second step that worried him most in this crossing: a rappel using a 20m-rope he was carrying and a long technical stretch of level V difficulty, before continuing to the top of the Innominata Ridge. Jornet completed the long stretch smoothly, climbed up the technical Innominata Ridge, which he had already tested a few days before, and began the ascent to the summit of Mont Blanc, reaching it 2 hours and 47 minutes after starting to climb Innominata Ridge. “Once I had completed the rappel and the tough long stretch, where I did not find any snow, I could breathe more easily. I knew I could manage the Innominata, as I had done it a few days before. It is a very technical route with slopes of 60 °, and climbing passes of difficulty V+, so I had to use all my senses. Luckily I didn’t find a lot of snow or ice on it, “said Kilian, who crowned the summit of Mont Blanc (4,810m) at 10:15 am, 6hrs and 17 minutes after leaving the Church of Courmayeur.

Jornet commented that he had to “open a new path” as he could not find one to follow on his way to the summit of Mont Blanc.

Once at the summit, Jornet stopped for just 5 minutes to collect his material together, and prepared his descend via the Voye Royale, the normal descent route from Mont Blanc via the Gouter Refuge, les Hocuhes finally reaching the church square of Chamonix, where he stopped the clock with a time of 8:42:57 hours.

Jornet flew down from the summit of Mont Blanc (4,810m). It took him just 2 hours and 19 minutes to reach his target, Chamonix (995m).

On arrival at the square in Chamonix, having left the Italian town of Courmayeur behind, covered the 42km that separate it from Chamonix and climbed the technical Innominata Ridge, Jornet commented that, “I am absolutely delighted. It is a challenge that I really wanted to accomplish. The weather was perfect throughout the journey and I felt great physically which, after crossing the glacier and the first long rope stretch, meant I could enjoy the spectacular beauty of the landscape.”

Jornet himself was surprised at his time. “My goal was to do it in less than 10 hours, and thanks to the good conditions I found I was able to reduce that time,” commented Jornet. A record time, considering that normal expeditions which tackle this route take 3 days to do it.

Following the philosophy of the project Summits of My Life, Jornet limited the material necessary to carry out this ambitious crossing, and says that, “I carried 400ml of water, which I had to ration carefully to get to the end.”

Details: Start: Courmayeur (Valle de Aosta, Italia) Finish: Chamonix (Francia) Distance: 42 Kilometers Total climb: 3,810 meters Route: Inominatta Ridge. A technical route with a total climb of 1,000 meters, 60º slopes and level V+ climbing passes.

Splits: Courmayeur-Val Veni: 40′; Val Veni – Ref Monzino: 1h30-50′; Monzino-Eccles: 3h30-2h; Eccles-Mont Blanc: 6h17-2h47 (5’ stop at summit); Mont Blanc – Gouter: 6h50 -27′; Gouter-Houches: 8h15 -1h25; Houches-Chamonix: 8h42’57’’ – 27′

Gear: static rope 7mm 20m; Dynema 120cm Vie de Carabin; helmet Petzl Siroco; headlamp Petzl NAO; crampons aluminium; Ice axe Petzl Sumtech; Suunto AMBIT; gloves Petzl Cordex; sunglasses salomon; cap; Duvet salomon; gore tex pants salomon; 1 gel overstim’s; 40cl water; overboots; long thighs; short + long teeshirt; trail running shoes; socks. Total weight: 2.512gr

Track: Movescount.com