Speedgoat 50k Preview – The Mens Field

Posted on July 24, 2013 by talkultra

Two ISF Skyrunning events in one day and both of them ultras! Trans D’Havet in Italy and Speedgoat in the USA. In many respects, although two races in the same series, they are chalk and cheese. Trans D’Havet is a point-to-point mountain race with some altitude, technical running and tunnels… yes, tunnels! Apparently 6km’s in total. Speedgoat is a 50km trail race in Utah’s Wasatch Mountains and to clarify, the rules have been amended this year to inform all participants that they ‘must’ stick to the trail. Last years top two, Kilian Jornet and Rickey Gates are not returning but third and fourth are; Max King and Anton Krupicka. With 12,000 dollars up for grabs and $1000 premium for the first man and women to reach Hidden Peak at mile 8.3., Talk Ultra’s Mr Speedgoat and the ISF have lined up a great field of guys looking to secure points in the Skyrunning World Series (three events score)

But look at the field… Timothy Olson, Sage Canaday, Max King, Anton Krupicka, Cameron Clayton, Mike Wardian and so on, it really is a top quality field and a tough one to call.

I have to say, that despite the presence of Olson and Krupicka, I am going to to lean towards a Canaday, King and Clayton smack down with Olson and Krupicka causing some trouble in the latter stages.

Sage Canaday has performed at the top level since moving into the ultra world and although he may still be on a learning curve between 80 and 100k, I feel that this shorter race will suit his speed. He still needs to learn on technical running but as he showed at Transvulcania with the final podium place, he can nail it when required.

Max kIng in 2012 just held off Anton Krupicka in the latter stages. He made the decision to shy away from longer races in 2013 and just last weekend placed on the podium in the US Mountain Running Champs. But it wasn’t a win! He has all the speed required to win this race and although I see him as a main protagonist, I don’t see him in the top spot.

Cameron Clayton is new to ultras and has an impressive record. He has a gung ho attitude of glory or go home. He brought that to Western States and he went home… however, the shorter distance of Speedgoat will suit him and he will be out front from the gun with Sage. Question is, can he hold on?

Anton Krupicka, La Palma copyright iancorless.com

Anton Krupicka will be fit, no doubt. But other than a second place at Cavalls del Vent in 2012, he has raced little and been plagued with issues. He was fired up for Transvulcania and then got a bug. He missed Ronda dels Cims to do his own project, Nolans 14 and then didn’t go well. So what can we expect? To be honest, I am not sure. Without doubt he prefers the longer distances but he placed fourth last year and as he has proved in the past, he can race well over the 50km to 50 mile distance.

Timothy Olson has just repeated his victory at Western States and will be riding high. However, Like Anton he likes the 100 mile distance. At Transvulcania 2013 when he placed fourth behind Sage, he said post race that he was just warming up. He has all the class needed to win Speedgoat but I think Canaday and Clayton may just have the edge over 50km.

Luke Nelson raced at Transvulcania and said post race that it was a learning curve. He has all the ability to mix it up but I see him somewhere between five and ten and not in the top five.

Benoit (front) at MDS copyright iancorless.com

Benoit Laval, founder and CEO of Raidlight clothing will toe the line. He is an accomplished runner and although he placed third at Lantau 50 earlier this year and raced at Marathon des Sables, I don’t see him in contention for the podium at Speedgoat.

Michael Wardian after a prolonged rest from injury continues to bounce back with some impressive running. Although still racing on a regular basis he does seem to have eased back but in the process has had some great results. For example, just recently he ran 3:12 for 50km to set a world record indoor, a far cry from Speedgoat but you can never rule him out and almost certainly he will be running up at the front pushing the pace.

Thierry Breuil from France may mix things up however, he was recently fifth at the Trail Running Championships and although that course is nothing like Speedgoat, he may find his feet and have a great run.

Other contenders: Jorge Maravilla, Jason Loutitt and Jason Schlarb.

Links:

Speedgoat 50k – HERE

Skyrunning – HERE

A ladies preview will follow

Mont Blanc Marathon summary

Posted on June 30, 2013 by talkultra

The Skyrunning Mont Blanc Marathon, part of the Skyrunner® World Series weekend has really been a truly incredible experience. Mont Blanc, location of the 2014 Skyrunning World Champuionships, the 2013 event was so much more than a test run for next year!

The VK on Friday was an exhibition of exploding lungs and legs full of lactic acid as 400 runners climbed 1000 vertical meters over a 3.8km course – follow HERE

Today however, Sunday, was the classic marathon with a stellar field toeing the line to tackle a tough but fast course over the Mont Blanc mountain range. Wet and misty weather from Saturday cleared to one of the most glorious days in the mountains I have had the pleasure to witness.

Course records fall at the 2013 Mont Blanc Marathon

If you have never seen the Mont Blanc mountain range, a photo may give an impression but the awe inspiring majesty of these enormous beasts is a sight to behold and remember. They are truly incredible.

At 0700 two thousand runners departed from the square in Chamonix. The early pace was relentless over the first 10km’s due to relatively flat and very runnable terrain.

A lead group of men sped past at Argentiere pushing the pace hard. As expected, the main protagonists of the day were present; Kilian Jornet, Marco De Gasperi, Luis Alberto Hernando, Florian Reichert, Nicola Golinelli, Didier Zago, Alex Nichols, Tofol Castanyer and Salomon Team Manager, Greg Vollet amongst other.

First lady was Stevie Kremer. Pushing the pace hard very early on she shouted as she passed, “they are not far behind”. As it happened, at this early stage in the race she already had a ninety second lead over Emelie Forsberg.

On the trails the terrain changed and started to undulate. Kilian Jornet, Marco De Gasperi along with Luis Alberto Hernando and Nicola Golinelli started to pull away from the rest of the filed. Stevie Kremer extended her lead from ninety second to three minutes and this pattern continued.

At the Col de Posettes the race was blown apart with Kilian Jornet and Marco De Gasperi pushing each other stride-for-stride. Four minutes later Luis Alberto Hernando arrived. Nicola Golinelli was pursued by team mate Didier Zago and then we had Alex Nicholls and Florian Reichert. The pace was relentless.

Alex Nicholls and Florian Reichert

Stevie Kremer flew down the descent and I waited… three, four, five, eight, ten and then Emelie came in sight… she was ten minutes and thirty seconds behind Stevie. Quite incredible! Emelie did say post race that she was having stomach issues, “I take nothing away from Stevie’s incredible performance, but today I just couldn’t push, I had no additional energy”.

Stevie Kremer on the Col de Posettes

From Tre les Champ at 1363m and approximately 32km into the course, the final 10km was all uphill! A relentless climb was broken with some relief just after Flegere before the final push to the summit finish at Plangraz, 2016m.

First around the bend was Kilian Jornet. Waving to the crowds he approached the line, turned, gave his usual one arm wave and then bent double as he tried to recover from the effort, 3h30’41 a new course record!

Marco De Gasperi was second just over a minute later. the two sparring partners had pushed each other to the line and in the process had once again provided an incredible racing spectacle that we can only look upon in disbelief.

Luis Alberto Hernando completed the podium. Post race he expressed his thoughts, “I have been training for longer races and I found the early relentless pace difficult to keep up with. However, from half way I improved and felt good. Maybe I am a little tired?”.

Stevie Kremer absolutely dominated the ladies race and blew the old course record off the scale by some twenty five minutes, her time of 4h03’16 placed her within the top 20! As she approached the line she could finally relax and that incredible smile appeared on her face. It was a stunning performance and one that many of us will never forget.

Emelie Forsberg arrived twenty two minutes later, despite her issues during the race she smiled and waved to the crowds. Emelie in her meteoric rise in the sport has become a firm crowd favorite and the cheers from all who watched acknowledged this.

Celine Lafaye completed the podium closely followed by Silvia Serafini. The Mont Blanc Marathon really was a showcase event. The anticipation for the 2014 World Skyrunning Championships will now start in earnest, with the inclusion of an 80km event, the race weekend will provide participants the option to race over the three classic Skyrunning disciplines:

VK
Sky
Ultra

Notable mentions must go to the incredible performances from the inov-8 International Skyrunning Team and Arc’teryx, both placed runners in the top ten.

Attention now turns to the Skyrunning Ice Trail Tarantaise and the European Championships in July – Information HERE

Links:

Skyrunning HERE
Marathon Mont Blanc HERE

IMAGES FROM THE RACE AVAILABLE HERE

Results

1° Kilian Jornet 3h30’41 NEW COURSE RECORD
2° Marco De Gasperi 3h31’42 –
3° Luis-Alberto Hernando-Alzaga 3h36’14

1° Stevie Kremer 4h03’16 NEW COURSE RECORD
2° Emelie Forsberg 4h25’10
3° Céline Lafaye 4h35

Images from Mont Blanc Marathon

Gallery

Posted on June 30, 2013 by talkultra

This gallery contains 95 photos.

Kilian & Marco at Mont Blanc

Image

Terry Conway pre race interview Ronda dels Cims 2013

Posted on June 20, 2013 by talkultra

Terry Conway at Cavalls del Vent copyright iancorless.com

Lakeland 100 winner and course record holder, Terry Conway speaks to Ian ahead of the 2013 Ronda dels Cims. This will be Terry’s biggest race challenge yet. A race over 100 miles with altitude gain over 12,000m is not something that is easy to prepare for while living in the UK. However, Terry has paced his home in the English Lakes and has trained hard to prepare himself for the challenge ahead.

YouTube HERE

Links:

Terry Conway HERE
X-Bionic HERE
Ronda dels Cims HERE

Scott Nakoa Trail GTX

Posted on June 3, 2013 by talkultra

The Nakoa TRAIL GTX® provides complete waterproof protection and breathability for the performance oriented runner:

“Introducing GORE-TEX® into the SCOTT trail collection, the Nakoa Trail GTX® utilizes Gore’s lightest and highly breathable membrane to create a next-level trail running shoe.

Featuring a completely new sole design which extends the eRide™ platform and engages the high traction outsole while descending, the Nakoa delivers a more efficient and secure ride on the trail. The outsole features a new rubber compound with exceptional grip, ideal for a wide variety of surfaces. 100% waterproof and breathable, the Nakoa also features a push-through plate which protects the underfoot from bruising.

The Nakoa Trail GTX® women’s model features a new women’s specific fit and insole.”

The new SCOTT NAKOA TRAIL GTX® will be available in stores from the beginning of August 2013.

Watch this space for an up and coming review.

Link:

Scott Sports HERE

Zegama Race Summary

Posted on May 27, 2013 by talkultra

Kilan and Hernando copyright Ian Corless

It was close… oh so close! Seconds separated Kilian Jornet and Luis Alberto Hernando at the 2013 Zegama-Aizkorri. Post race in a chat with Kilian, we discussed the race and he was extremely satisfied to be pushed so hard in the latter stages of the race.

“I had relaxed and was running comfortably and then suddenly Luis appeared” Kilian said, “I had a race on my hands, we pushed each other very hard and it was only in the final kilometre that I surged and pulled away”.

Luis Alberto Hernando is the 2011 World Champion and is clearly in great form at the moment. Only a couple of weeks ago he participated in his first ultra, Transvulcania La Palma, and here he placed second again behind Kilian.

Kilian and Marco, Zegama 2013 copyright Ian Corless

Marco De Gasperi, after some deliberation (ankle injury) toed the line and led the race to the 21 km check point with his sparring partner, Kilian Jornet. Kilian and Marco love to race each other and we have witnessed some tremendous battles over the years. However, Zegama would not see a repeat, Marco pulled out to ensure that he did not stress his injury any farther.

Luis Alberto Hernando worked his way through the field and pursued Kilian and finally caught him. What followed was a tremendous game of cat and mouse as the two pushed each other to the limit on the long and final descent.

Kilian pulled away in the final moments of the race to miss Rob Jebb’s 2005 course record by just 20 seconds, his finishing time 3:54:38. Luis Alberto Hernando finished just seconds later and Tadei Pivk produced a stunning run to finish third in 3:59:07.

It was really close…. Zegama 2013

The ladies race had all the makings of a classic. Emelie Forsberg, Nuria Picas, Oihana Kortazar, Silvia Serafini and Stevie Kremer would do battle on this classic mountain course.

World long course mountain running champion, Stevie Kremer pushed hard from the start and lead the race until over halfway but Emelie Forsberg paced herself extremely well. She took over the lead and then slowly pulled away to ultimately dominate the race for a stunning win in 4:48:12.

Emelie Forsberg copyright Ian Corless

The first half of the race was fast and furious, but as time and distance progressed experience came through. In particular, Nuria Picas, the 2012 Skyrunner Ultra champion and fresh from her second place at Transvulcaniawho was out of the top five in the first half of the race. She moved through the field, hunted runners down and then passed Stevie Kremer on the descent to be place second.

Nuria Picas copyright Ian Corless

Stevie Kremer (pre race interview here) running her first SkyMarathon performed superbly and without doubt is a star of the future. She openly said, “I need to work on my descending, it is what let me down today”.

Stevie Kremer copyright Ian Corless

As Nuria waved to the crowd she almost lost second place as Stevie burst around the corner of the finishing straight. The time gap shows how close it was at the finish, 4:49:55 for Nuria and 4:49:58 for Stevie. Without doubt we will be seeing Stevie on podium again throughout the 2013 calendar.

A notable mention must also go to Silvia Serafini (pre race interview here). Silvia was having a stunning race and was in third place for much of the race, but she twisted her ankle on the final descent. She finally finished within the top ten but the frustration of what might have been was clear to see on her face and she fell to the floor after crossing the finish line.

Silvia Serafini copyright Ian Corless

Zegama-Aizkorri is renowned for the severity of the course, the ability of the runners and the passion of the supporters. It’s a pleasure and a honour to witness the action unfold and the atmosphere is akin to a stage of the Tour de France.

The crowds and the passion, Zegama 2013 copyright Ian Corless

Skyrunning is not just about fast ascents, but even faster descents – a technique that distinguishes the sport. Many strong runners new to the sport, like Germany’s Florian Reichert, Japan’s Toru Miyahara and South African A J Caltiz, who excelled on the uphill, will be honing their skills on the downhill for the next Sky Series challenge in Chamonix on June 30 with the Mont-Blanc Marathon.

A full set of race images are available HERE
Images from the race briefing HERE

Kilan Jornet and Emelie Forsberg copyright Ian Corless

Race results

Men

1. Kilian Jornet (Salomon Santiveri) – 3h54’38”

2. Luis Alberto Hernando (adidas) – 3h54’50”

3. Tadei Pivk (Crazy Idea) – 3h58’07”

Women

1. Emelie Forsberg (Salomon) – 4h48’12”

2. Nuria Picas (FEEC) – 4h49’55”

3. Stevie Kremer (Salomon Agisko) – 4h49’58”

Video Highlight:

Zegama – A race in images

Posted on May 26, 2013 by talkultra

An absolutely incredible day on the trails and mountains of Zegama. Congratulations to Emelie & Kilian. Stunning!

: The crowds and the passion, Zegama 2013 copyright Ian Corless

: Silvia Serafini copyright Ian Corless

: Kilan Jornet and Emelie Forsberg copyright Ian Corless

: Nuria Picas copyright Ian Corless

: It was really close…. Zegama 2013

: Kilian and Marco, Zegama 2013 copyright Ian Corless

: AJ Calitz at Zegama-Aizkorri

: Stevie Kremer copyright Ian Corless

: Emelie Forsberg copyright Ian Corless

: Kilan and Hernando copyright Ian Corless

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

Sage Canaday – Transvulcania 2013

Posted on May 10, 2013 by talkultra

Scott Running athlete, Sage Canaday has been burning a trail quite literally in all his recent races. Not only has he been winning, but he has been setting CR’s in almost all his runs. Without doubt he is in form. Along with Cameron Clayton and Adam Campbell, Sage will bring speed and pace to the front of the Transvulcania race.

However, this course is unlike any other race he has run. The long up hill sections of very mixed terrain will break his running stride, in addition, it is going to be hot. These are things that Sage acknowledges may very well throw a curve ball into his race plans. The long descent from the top of the course to Tazacorte will also not be ideal for Sage. But as he says, he is learning every day. I am sure he will learn something new on May 11th.