The Coastal Challenge – Stage 6 – Drakes Bay to Drakes Bay

Posted on February 7, 2014 by talkultra

All good things must come to an end and today on the beaches of Drakes Bay, the 10^th edition of the 2014 The Costal Challenge came to a close.

It has been an epic race that has thrown daily excitement from all angles. The men’s race in particular has been a nail biter with a constant battle for the top slot. However, Mr.Consisitent, Mike Wardian produced the goods on a daily basis with some of the most impressive running I have had the pleasure to witness. Jeez does Mike like to win and boy does he know how to dig deep!

Mike Wardian TCC2014 Champion ©iancorless.com

Jo Meek from the UK dominated the 10^th edition producing a stand out performance on a daily basis. Setting her stall out on day-1, Jo won with a convincing 45-min margin. However, she didn’t relax, consistently pushing, consistently running scared, Jo took each day as an individual race and on the beach at Drake she was crowned the 2014 Champion.

TCC2014 ©iancorless.com

Today’s stage was very much a celebration of the previous 5-days racing. With the ‘GC’ established, a unanimous decision was made by all the front-runners that stage-6 would be a Tour de France style victory lap.

TCC2014 ©iancorless.com

It was great to see the fun and the laughter between all the runners on the trails. Tired and aching bodies once again managed to produce another effort to cover the wonderful circular route of the Corcovado National Park.

TCC2014 ©iancorless.com

Pura Vida TCC2014 ©iancorless.com

Starting with a gentle road incline, participants dropped into a long river section before climbing out and negotiating rocks and a waterfall. Climbing up through lush green vegetation, they then ran through plains and plantation fields before finally making the journey back to the start by weaving in and out of the coast. Beach after beach, cove after cove the finish line at Drakes was a welcome and well earnt reward for each and every participant.

TCC2014 ©iancorless.com

It was quite a sight to see the top-5 men run to the line as one!

TCC2014 ©iancorless.com

Michael Wardian said post race, “The Coastal Challenge was a test in so many ways. So much varied terrain. It suited different strengths and weaknesses. I feel really honoured to have the over all victory. The other guys really did push me and I had to fight… I guess it’s a shame a race can only have one winner. But it was a pleasure to have a victory loop on the last day. A memory I won’t soon forget.”

Julia Bottger TCC2014 ©iancorless.com

Julia Bottger and Jo Meek ran together early in the stage but Bottger said post race, “that was by far the most beautiful stage. I was just having fun out there so I hope Jo didn’t mind I pushed on ahead.” As Meek crossed the line, the relief was clear, “I really did not have anything left today. I just took it easy and had comfort in my almost 60-min lead. It’s been a real honour to have such an incredible race with such wonderful people.” Veronica Bravo smiled her way around the TCC course and placed a solid 3rd place. Her joy was visible on the line as the realisation that a tough week was over.

Veronica Bravo TCC2014 ©iancorless.com

Finish lines are all about emotion and I love to see 6-days effort unfold in a split second. Cheers and laughter, hugs and screams; it’s why we all do our sport.

Carlos Sa TCC2014 ©iancorless.com

Nick Clark TCC2014 ©iancorless.com

Beneito TCC2014 ©iancorless.com

Philipp Reiter TCC2014 ©iancorless.com

The Coastal Challenge is one of the toughest races out there… relentless heat, plenty of climbing and multiple terrain variations require a runner to be ‘rounded’. Each and every person, first or last, can take comfort in a great achievement and the medal should take pride of place as a just reminder of what was achieved in February 2014.

TCC2014 ©iancorless.com

Pura Vida!

RESULTS Stage-6

Mike Wardian all same time
Vicente Juan Garcia Beneito
Philipp Reiter
Marti Gaffuri
Nick Clark

Julia Bottger
Jo Meek
Veronica Bravo

Results and times to follow

GENERAL CLASSIFICATION Confirmed

Wardian 23:26:23
Beneito +0:25:32
Reiter +0:31:31

Meek 29:17:19
Bottger +0:57:02
Bravo +3:07:06

The Coastal Challenge – Stage 2 – Rafiki Lodge to Dominical Beach

Posted on February 4, 2014 by talkultra

Philipp Reiter TCC2014 ©iancorless.com

Sleep is a precious commodity in any multi-stage race. The ability to recover from one day’s effort and then go again requires discipline not only in training but also the ability to get to sleep early and ensure a full battery charge for the next day!

At The Costal Challenge, this ‘strength of will’ is tested to the max… each day starts at 0330 to ensure an adequate breakfast and a race start that coincides with the sun. It’s important; the heat beats down here in Costa Rica with a strength and power that can wilt the most ardent sun worshiper.

Today’s route involved two tough climbs in succession and then a long drop down to the coast before a final 8-km along the beach that involved two water crossings.

The last water crossing less than 1-km form the finish #TCC2014 ©iancorless.com

The 10^th edition of the TCC was always going to be a stunning race; the quality of the elite line up was second to none. Stage 2 did not disappoint…

From the off, Wardian, Gaffuri, Clark, Reiter, Beneito and Sa marked each other’s move on the tough first climb. It was all-together at the summit with just seconds spreading the whole group. Gaffuri, loving to run downhill fast moved to the front and pushed hard but even Sa who must have been feeling his ‘extra’ miles from the previous day matched his effort.

Martin Gaffuri TCC2014 ©iancorless.com

Meek opened up a gap in the ladies race right from the start but today’s stage was for more to the liking of Bottger and although initially Meek gained some time, the gap was matched and held.

Jo Meek on the second climb TCC2014 ©iancorless.com

At the checkpoint before the second climb, the banter in the men’s race was superb. So much so, Reiter, Wardian and Gaffuri thought an impromptu sprint trying to be first for the water was a good idea…

Sprint for the aid station. TCC2014 ©iancorless.com

Reiter was first to leave the aid station and he committed himself. He started to open up a gap and push. A remarkable run considering on day-1 he suffered in the heat; not helped by long travel and little sleep.

Clark and Wardian pursuing Reiter at the bottom of the second climb TCC2014 ©iancorless.com

Continuing to open up a gap, one would have assumed that Reiter would have succumbed to Wardian’s natural speed when on the flat. However, in the final 8-km’s of beach, Reiter pushed on and held for a great stage win. Wardian placed second and Beneito and Clark finished together taking 3^rd and 4^th. The men’s race without doubt is poised for some heated competition over the coming days; Wardian leads Beneito and Clark by 3:42, Reiter is just over 22-mins back after his unfortunate day-1. I wonder, can Reiter pull back that time? It would take something remarkable from Reiter in this quality of field. Nick Clark post race said, “Wardian didn’t close on Reiter as we expected in those e final stages, he may have gained a little more time on me but a time gap of 4-mins is easily pulled back. It’s all to up for grabs.”

Julia Bottger on the second climb TCC2014 ©iancorless.com

Bottger caught Meek on the second climb and lead much of the way on the descent; however, with approximately 20-km’s of relatively flat road and beach to the finish we all expected Meek to open up a gap and start to pull away. She certainly opened a gap and enough of a gap to secure a comfortable stage-2 victory, however, it wasn’t a performance of complete dominance as expressed on day-1. Post race I asked her how she felt, “That was a tough day. You can’t run those climbs; it’s all about economy of effort and hiking. I am less used to technical descents so I played safe, however, over the last km’s I could get in my run stride and take the lead again.”

Jo Meek just before the finish TCC2014 ©iancorless.com

Meek has a 46:02 lead going into stage-3 and barring a disaster; I can’t see her loosing such a margin. She no longer needs to be aggressive and certainly, Meek can ease off a gear and see if Bottger wants to take up the challenge to pull back time.

Veronica Bravo TCC2014 ©iancorless.com

Third place lady, Veronica Bravo is now 1:32 in arrears and has a comfortable margin of almost 50-minutes over 2013 The Coastal Challenge winner, Gemma Slaughter for 3^rd place.

RESULTS Stage-2

Philipp Reiter
Mike Wardian
Vicente Juan Garcia Beneito

Jo Meek
Julia Bottger
Veronica Bravo

General Classification after Stage 2

Mike Wardian 7:14:05
Vicente Juan Garcia Beneito 7:17:47
Nick Clark 7:17:48
Philipp Reiter 7:36:27
Martin Gaffuri 7:45:37

Jo Meek 8:40:45
Julia Bottger 9:26:47
Veronica Bravo 10:12:57
Gemma Slaughter 11:02:34
Wendy Tseng 11:35:13

The Coastal Challenge #TCC2014 – Pre race audio and images

Posted on February 1, 2014 by talkultra

The stage is set for the 2014, 10th edition Coastal Challenge. Without doubt a quality field will toe the line in Quepos tomorrow for stage one of the race (route preview here).

We held an impromptu press conference and had an opportunity to chat to each of the lite runners on how they have prepared and how they thing this 10th edition will unfold. As you well be able to tell from the audio… spirits are high and we are going to see a very exciting race.

AUDIO HERE

http://traffic.libsyn.com/talkultra/TCC2014_pre_race.mp3

Unfortunately, Anna Frost has to make the difficult decision to remove herself from the race on doctors advice. However, she will follow, help out and participate in her own unique way. You see her interview HERE

The Coastal Challence #TCC2014 – Stage 1 Preview

Posted on February 1, 2014 by talkultra

Day 1 – Quepos to Rafki Lodge

RACE START SUNDAY FEB 2nd 0930 +/- Costa Rica Time

Total distance for day-1 of the 2014 and 10^th edition of the TCC is 33.5km. Although the depart will still be from Quepos, the start point has been changed to avoid approximately 10km’s of road that in the past was used to ‘ease’ the runners into the race. However, through general consensus, this road start was not only a little uninspiring, but also it also caused runners to go off far too fast. Today, the runners will head straight into the forest and head for the final destination of Rafki Lodge in the Saverge Valley. A total elevation gain of 850m will see runners pass through 3-checkpoints; Palmas (10km), the small village of Cruce al Saverge (21km) and then at the end of a long pontoon bridge at Andarivel (29.6km) before the final push to the beautiful grounds and hotel of Rafki Lodge. In terms of terrain, it’s a relatively easy day with some wide double track. The biggest issue will be the heat… get your pace and hydration wrong on day-1 and you may just not recover as many found out in the 2013 edition of the race.

Follow the race at www.iancorless.com
Twitter @talkultrs
Facebook/talkultra
#TCC2014

Ones to watch:

Ladies

Gemma Slaughter – 2013 champion – Canadian
Julia Bottger (Salomon Germany) – German
Anna Frost (Salomon International) – New Zealnd
Jo Meek (unattached) – United Kingdom

Men

Nick Clark (Peal Izumi) – United Kingdom
Michael Wardian (Hoak One One/ UVU) – USA
Philipp Reiter (Salomon International) – Germany
Carlos Sa (Berg) – Portugal
Vicente Juan Garcia Beneito (Lurbel) – Spain
Martin Gaffuri (New Balance)- France
Karim Mosta – France

Local ones to watch:

Marcelo Jiminez
Daniel Calderon (Altra Ambasador)

The countdown has begun to Africa’s first Ultra SkyMarathon®, the Lesotho Ultra Trail.

Posted on November 29, 2013 by talkultra

With less than 36 hours to go before the 55km ultra trail race through the Tsehlanyane National Park in the heart of Lesotho’s Maloti Mountains, anticipation is building amongst the trail running community for this, the second South Africa Skyrunning Association (SASA)-sanctioned event on the South African trail running calendar

After the success of the Matroosberg SkyMarathon® in October, skyrunning fever is running high, setting the ground for the imminent announcement of a national skyrunning series in 2014.

Presented by Maliba Lodge, KZN Trail Running and The North Face, the Lesotho Ultra Trail will see a selection of South Africa’s best trail runners facing the challenge of an ultra-distance, high altitude course boasting more than three kilometres of vertical ascent, peaking at 3155m above sea level.

Big names include South African trail star and winner of the Verdon Canyon Challenge in France AJ Calitz (K-Way/Vivobarefoot), mountain running legend and winner of the 2012 Otter African Trail Run Iain Don Wauchope (The North Face), 2013 SA Ultra Trail winner Nic de Beer, Stellenbosch-based mountain runner Andrew Hagen (Vibram) and Gauteng trail speedster Lucky Mia.

In the women’s field, Canadian ultra trail star Stacie Carrigan will be dicing one of the most competitive women’s contingent of any southern African ultra trail race to date, including Matroosberg SkyMarathon® winner Robyn Kime (The North face), 2013 SA Ultra trail champ Tracy Zunckel (Race Food), 2011 Otter African Trail Run winner Su Don Wauchope (The North Face) and SA ultra running legend Linda Doke (Salomon).

With Lesotho offering world class skyrunning terrain and warm hospitality, the Lesotho Ultra Trail is set to become one of the continent’s premier off-road ultras.

For more information about the race, visit www.lesothoultratrail.com of follow the race live via Twitter [www.twitter.com/lesothoultra]

Article ©lesothoultra

Feature on AJ Calitz

AJ Calitz in Europe, early 2013. Zegama-Aizkorri

In just the last two months K-Way athlete AJ Calitz has been on the podium, won or set course records at many competitive trail races. As the year winds down, so does his racing schedule. This weekend’s 55-kilometre Lesotho Ultra Trail race will be his last for the year.

Two weeks ago Calitz took part in the annual Salomon SkyRun – only a week after winning Red Bull LionHeart.

“I didn’t expect to still feel LionHeart in my legs, but I did – unfortunately,” he says.

“SkyRun was a tough one,” Calitz says, recalling the challenging terrain and adverse weather conditions that led to the course being shortened and runners diverted off the mountain and down to safety.

After getting horribly lost between checkpoints one and two, Calitz managed to catch up to the chasing group. He stayed with them – safety in numbers.

“The weather was horrific with torrential ice-rain and winds of 100kph. It was very dangerous on the Dragon’s Back, but luckily I had all my emergency kit to keep me going.

“I really had a terrible day from the start and with the cold and navigation problems I didn’t eat as well as I should have. I felt the effects of this towards Balloch,” he explains.

Reaching Balloch he was already very cold. “I just couldn’t warm up again,” he remembers. He decided not to carry on.

But then, his K-Way teammate Annemien Ganzevoort – the leading woman runner – came in and told Calitz that she was carrying on. He decided to join her.

“If something happened to her in those conditions and I could have gone along – but didn’t – I would never have forgiven myself… and I really didn’t want to have a DNF on my first SkyRun either. So, we suited up in our K-Way mountain-trekking and cold-weather gear and carried on. We were halted by race organisation just short of Edgehill Farm though.”

“It’s amazing how weather like that can draw athletes closer together… where you switch from competing to surviving in only a few moments. I love this kind of racing. It’s not all about the winning or prize money or whatever the reason why you run, but it becomes an expedition and a truly valuable life experience,” says Ganzevoort.

While Ganzevoort takes a well-deserved rest, Calitz has one more race before he can put his feet up.

Lesotho Ultra Trail is a marked route that is 55-kilometres in distance and, staged in the Mountain Kingdom of Lesotho, the 3200-metres of accumulative ascent comes as no surprise. The course description promises stream crossings, loose rocks, steep descents and “two notable climbs”. The section between nine and 22 kilometres is run at over 3000-metres in altitude.

The men’s (and women’s) field is very competitive and Calitz is expecting to work hard to gain ground on Nic de Beer, Iain Don-Wauchope and Lucky Mia.

“I’m just going to take it as it comes,” he adds.

Although your money can be safely bet on Su Don-Wauchope or Robyn Kime for a win in the women’s race, the odds are fairly good that Linda Doke, Tracey Zunkel, Chantal Nienaber, Megan Mackenzie or Stacie Carrigan (Canada) could be up front too.

Salomon Skyrun in South Africa faces extreme conditions

Posted on November 18, 2013 by talkultra

Lady Grey, the start of the 2013 Salomon Skyrun powered by Red Bull, was ravaged by some of the worst weather seen in the 16 year history of this extreme race. Testing from the begining with monsoon conditions greeting the runners at the 4am start on Saturday morning, fierce winds gusting up to 80km/hour were the order of the day as rain and low cloud cover made visibility very poor. The runners were battered by these conditions throughout the day, as the temperatures plummeted and the terrain became very tricky for both athletes and marshals. The very real risk of sever hypothermia and exposure to the brutal elements, left event organisers with no other option but to shorten the race. Always a difficult decision however the safety of runners was top priority. The Salomon Skyrun is an extreme mountain challenge at the best of times but when conditions are as hard as during this year’s race, the need to carry all compulsory equipment as well as a solid event organisation are critical to ensure that all athletes come off the mountain safely. “This year’s race will be spoken about for many years to come by all who were at the Salomon Skyrun 2013 and can only add to the reputation that makes this race one of the toughest ultra-mountain runs in South Africa, if not the world” said Race Director Adrian Saffy.

The Skyrun Lite remained unaffected by the decision and all athletes that reached Balloch completed the race in its entirety. The Skyrun Lite was won by Chris Cronje, with Murray Sanders in 2^nd place and Justin Short in 3^rd. The Ladies Lite was won by Laura O’ Donoghue, with Taryn Mc Donald in 2^nd and Janneke Laesk in 3^rd.

Iain Don-Wauchope took 1^st position in the shortened Men’s full route, with Hylton Dunn in 2^nd and Steven Erasmus in 3^rd. The runners will however have to wait another year in order to take a crack at 2012 winner Ryan Sandes’ lightening quick record of 12hrs36min. Salomon sponsored Sandes did not compete in this year’s event as he will be racing in The San Francisco 50 Miler at the beginning of December. In the ladies race, 1^st place in the full route went to Annemien Ganzevoort, with 2^nd going to Su Don- Wauchope and 3^rd to Tatum Prins.

There is no doubt that athletes will look back on this year’s running of the legend that has become the Salomon Skyrun with a mixture of frustration, relief and respect as so well put by AJ Calitz “ I was humbled by the route, weather and our Maker….felt pretty small out there in the mountains. The fact that everyone is safe is testimony to Pure Adventures incredible team. Well done Mike and Adrian, your team and the mountain rescue crews. 2013 is a year I will never forget…all the athletes are truly bound together by this EPIC experience. See you in 2014.”

For full results and pictures please visit www.skyrun.co.za

Results:

Men’s 100km

Iain Don-Wauchope
Hylton Dunn
Steven Erasmus

Ladies 100km

Annemien Ganzevoort
Su Don- Wauchope
Tatum Prins

Lite Men’s:

Chris Cronje
Murray Sanders
Justin Short

Ladies Lite:

Laura O’ Donoghue
Taryn Mc Donald
Janneke Laesk

2013 Salomon Skyrun powered by Red Bull

Posted on November 5, 2013 by talkultra

ARE YOU READY TO RUN IN THE SKY?

Trail runners and adventure junkies from all over the world are putting their final preparations together for the 2013 Salomon Skyrun powered by Red Bull, that will be taking place in Lady Grey on the 16^th of November 2013. Now in its 16^th year, the race has become known as one of the must-do ultra-wilderness-mountain-runs in the world. “The Salomon SkyRun is an Epic 100km Mountain run considered by many athletes to be the toughest Trail Run in South Africa. The event is made up of two options; the SkyRun Lite, a 65km one day run, or the big daddy of trail, the 100km SkyRun,” explains Race Director and Organiser, Michael de Haast from Pure Adventures. “What makes this event so unique is that it is fully self-supported and athletes must navigate themselves between the check points on the route.”

Some top names taking part this year include two of the greatest adventurers of our time, the legendary Steve Black and Sean Wisedale. Other top names include AJ Calitz, Salomon athlete Ryno Griesel and Dreyer van Huyssteen amongst the men, and Megan Mackenzie, Annemien Ganzevoort and Donna Green amongst the ladies. The race starts in Lady Grey at 4am on Saturday the 16^th and will take the athletes anywhere between 14 – 30 hours.

Michael has some great advice for the athletes, especially those doing it for the first time, for those who might have forgotten and for those who would like to take part next year:

1. You will more than likely have stomach issues. You may vomit. Somewhere between Balloch and the Turn, you may see God (or a lion) and that, in and of itself, will make you want to puke. Don’t worry; you’re not going to die. Just puke, deal with it and move on. Don’t let “I couldn’t keep anything down” be your excuse for a DNF.

2. Sometime during the day you might feel like you have a tiny little pebble in your shoe. For the next hour or so you’ll have this little debate with yourself as to whether you should stop to take the pebble out or just wiggle your foot around a bit to move the pebble to a more comfortable position. Don’t have that debate! That little pebble is possibly the beginning of a blister. If you deal with it the minute you feel it you’ll probably be fine. If you ignore it or wiggle around with it you may end up finishing but you’ll do so with a dagger in your shoe.

3. Finally, you will undoubtedly have a moment between Skiwdor and Edgehill when you feel like you need a Quad Transplant. Everyone feels this way. The downhill pounding you put your legs through at Salomon Skyrun grinds the muscles in your quads into sausage. Don’t let it bother you. Assuming the pain you’re experiencing is less severe than someone sticking a red hot poker into your quad, just slow down, stay hydrated, and shuffle on.

One of the main reasons why the race was first started in the mid 1990’s was to raise awareness and fundraising for the local charities and home based care givers who look after the local children whose lives have been seriously rocked by misfortune. The charities rely heavily on the race for support, and the organisers encourage athletes and supporters to bring along any donations including stationary, writing paper, clothes and money. These donations make a huge difference to these children’s lives and the charity chosen for this year is the House of Light.

For more information please visit www.skyrun.co.za, and find them on facebook and twitter.

Why We Run – Salomon Running TV S3 E01

Posted on October 30, 2013 by talkultra

“Ideally I would like to be a bird but running is a close second”

The African Attacment and Salomon Running once again take our sport and the visual story to the next leveel

Bernd Heinrich is a retired Professor living in a log cabin in the woods of Western Maine. He has held numerous running records throughout his life and has committed much of his time to the study of the natural world. In Episode 01 we look back at this man’s incredible life, his achievements, the lessons he has learned, and what we can possibly learn from him.

Music:
“Breathe”
By SignPost
Written for The African Attachment & SRTV
http://www.signpostsound.co.za

Additional Race Footage:
Transvulcania & Zegama – Kikazaru Producciones
Marathon du Mont Blanc – Mouss Productions
Olympus Marathon – Stamos Birsim

Matroosberg Trail Challenge – South Africa’s first SkyMarathon®

Posted on October 21, 2013 by talkultra

Excitement is building as the South African trail running community gears itself for the country’s first South African Skyrunning Association (SASA) sanctioned event, the Matroosberg Trail Challenge (MTC).

Staged in the Matroosberg Nature Reserve near Ceres in the Western Cape, the 36km race classifies as a SkyMarathon®, in which runners will exceed an altitude of 2 000m, enduring inclines exceeding 30%, with climbing difficulties of less than 11 degrees.

Runners from across the country will be on the start line on Saturday 26 October, with big trail names like AJ Calitz, Nic de Beer, Ake Fagereng and Charl Soumer contending for the top positions, with the likes of Derrick Baard, Noel Ernstzen, Luke Powers, Michael Owen and Leo Rust in the chase group.

The women’s line up will be equally competitive, with Robin Kime, Linda Doke, Annemien Ganzevoort and Chantel Nienaber predicted to give each other a good run for their money.

SASA is an associate member of the International Skyrunning Federation (ISF), whose founder Marino Giacometti saw the birth of the sports discipline of skyrunning some 22 years ago. He believed the name spoke for itself – it was about running where earth and sky meet.

The MTC is the first of two SASA-sanctioned events in 2013. The much-awaited Lesotho Ultra Trail, southern Africa’s first Ultra SkyMarathon®, will cover 55km in the Maluti Mountains in the Kingdom of Lesotho on 30 November. The starting line-up will boast one of the best ever fields in trail running in southern Africa, including Canadian ultra-distance trail runner of the year 2012 Adam Campbell.

Both races will form part of a national skyrunning circuit from 2014 – the details of which will be announced soon.

MTC race organiser Ghaleed Nortje is excited to have his race as the one that introduces local trail runners to skyrunning in South Africa.

“I’m really excited about the MTC being sanctioned by SASA, and by the prospect of it forming part of a national skyrunning circuit from 2014. Gone are the days when we trail runners had to drool over skyrunning events in Europe and the USA – our South African athletes can now be a part of the rich experience too, by participating in local skyrunning events,” says Nortje.

With just a few days to go before the race, all eyes are on the weather – just a fortnight ago the Matroosberg was still covered in snow. As with all mountain trail races, runners will be required to carry specific mandatory kit with them during the race to prepare for all weather eventualities.

To watch the action unfold come race day, follow the event on Twitter – www.twitter.com/MatroosbergTC and #MTC2013