Tag Archives: ultra Trail Mt Fuji

Episode 34 – Hollon, Hicks, Davies & Stephenson

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TU34

On this weeks show we speak to 22 year old Nick Hollon who just recently finished the infamous Barkley Marathon. We catch up with Natalie White who tells us all about the future plans for UK based Inov-8 who are 10 years old in June. We have chat with Ozzies Brendan Davies and Shona Stepehenson who placed 5th and 2nd respectively at UTMF in Japan. In Talk Training we speak to Mitch from Stride UK. We also speak to Chris Mills in 15 mins of fame. We have a blog, the news, up and coming races and of course, Speedgoat.

00:00:00

00:00:45 Start

00:09:50 News

Evesham Ultra

Robbie Britton 6:47:17, Mark Davies 07:11:58, Mark Denby 07:12:04

Hayley Stockwell 8:47:51, Joan Clarke 8:57:08, Sandra Goldsack 9:12:54

Lizzy Hawker

once again continues to inspire, she recently broke her own speed record from running Everest Base Camp to Kathmandu – 319km in 63hr 8min.

She is now pack in Nepal to do the Mustang Mountain Trail Race – multi stage 277k in 8 days

Iznik Ultra

130km

1  Mahmut Yavuz 13:52 2 .Aykut Çelikbas 14:15 3 . Mustafa Poyraz 15:14

1. Elena Polyakova 15:00 2. Muazzez Özçelik 19:53 3. Bakiye Duran 22:55

80km

1. Tanzer Dursun 8:13 2  Ahmet Zeren 8:19 3  Özgür Tetik 8:2

1.Amy Sproston 7:12 2.  Alessia De Matteis 9:29 3  Sirin Mine Kiliç 9:55

Leona Divide

50k

Yassine Diboun 4:03:33, Jeremy Humphrey 4:09:59 and Aaron Keller 4:33:19

Rachel Lipman 5:21:56, Gwendolyn Ostrosky 5:30:59 and Ruth McCoy 5:41:43

50m

Robert Krar 5:53:51, Jason Wolfe 6:43:10 and Jason Schlarb 6:44:54

Melanie Peters 7:30:47, Jenny Capel 7:59:23 and Kristina Folcik 8:31:05

UTMF 

1. Hara 19:39 2. Chorier 19:48 3.Chaigneau 19:50 4. Gary Robbins 20:20 5. Brendan Davies 20:38

1. Krissy Moehl 24:35:45 2. Shona Stephenson 25:56:52 3. Hitomi Ogawa 26:15:25

IAU – 100km European Championships on April 27th

Asier CUEVAS 6:53:14 Michaël BOCH 6:56:49 José Antonio REQUEJO 6:57:02

Irina ANTROPOVA 7:42:52, Sue HARRISON 7:48:12 and Sophia SUNDBERG 7:53:21

http://www.5000mileproject.org – British couple, David and Katherine are  running 5000m across South America in 1 year! They started on July 28th. I have had some email chats with David and we hope to hook up within the next month or so.

Zion 100

Pierre Loic Deragne 17:52:10, Andy Pearson 17:55:12, Matt Cecill 18:42:22

Jennifer Benna (and 5th overall) 19:01, Larisa Dannis 20:22:23, Pam Reed 24:09:23

Hoka Highland Fling

Lee Kemp 7:02:50 (new CR), Ricky Lightfoot 7:09:30 and Matt Williamson 7:21:51

Tracy Dean had a real battle to the line with a calf injury but held on to win by just over 1 min ahead of Fionna Cameron 9:12:21. Third was Sandra Bowers in 9:17:02

00:2415 Brendan Davies – Brendan recently raced at Tarawera ultra in New Zealand. Part of the Inov-8 international team, he recently raced at the Ultra Trail Mt Fuji in Japan. He says it is the hardest race he has ever done… he was 5th. We caught up with Brendan just days after the race. Website HERE

00:36:37 Back to News

00:38:30 Shona Stephenson – Shona, a personal trainer and mum of two girls also raced at the Ultra Trail Mt Fuji. Like Brendan, she is also part of the Inov-8 international team. Shona secured an impressive second place behind US based Krissy Moehl, we caught up with Shona when she arrived back home in Australia. Website HERE

00:56:08 Back to News

01:05:10 Meghan Hicks – has raced at Marathon des Sables several times before. However, in 2013 she returned with several objectives. Her main priority was to make the podium but her ultimate goal was to win the race…. we caught up with Meghan at her home in Utah, less than 14 days after the iconic 28th edition of the MDS. Website HERE

01:43:10 Blog – Anton Krupicka is back…. he always writes a very detailed daily post. Here is a highlight:

Sat-AM: 6:59, 11,500′ ~ Grand Canyon Double Crossing

Used the standard South-North Kaibab route and clocked a 6:59:24 roundtrip, which was a 17min PR for me and I think ~30sec under Mackey’s previously 2nd-fastest time (but still 6min short of Dakota’s FKT). I didn’t know if I was going to go particularly quick today, but thought I’d just see how the legs were feeling. After getting down to the river pretty quickly (despite being slowed a minute or two by a descending mule train), I decided to keep going steady and see how things shook out. Felt pretty solid all the way to the North Rim, hiking a fair bit above the Supai Tunnel, but then on the way back down I was definitely already getting pretty tired by time I made it back to the residence water spigot. Things got progressively worse on the run back to Phantom Ranch (stiff, achey, tired legs), but I pounded three bottles of water there (spending 4min at the spigot) and then climbed quite strongly all the way to Tip-Off, but above there things got pretty weak/queasy as I ran out of water about half-way up. At Tip-Off I thought there was a really good chance I could still get Dakota’s record–even take 5min or so off of it–but in the end I was just psyched to sneak in under 7hr. Great run, and a good confidence boost going into TV, as I know I still have a lot of running fitness to gain. Had another 12min of running on the day, getting to and from the South Rim. Splits: River, :46; Phantom Ranch, :53-54; Cottonwood, 1:54; Residence, 2:09-10; Bridge, 2:42; Supai Tunnel, 2:56; North Rim, 3:22; Supai Tunnel, 3:35; Bridge, 3:43?; Residence, 4:04-6; Cottonwood, 4:16; Phantom, 5:08-12; River, 5:19; Tip-Off, 5:49; Skeleton Pt, 6:14; Cedar Ridge, 6:37; South Rim, 6:59:24.

01:45:10 Talk Training – this week we introduce Mitch to Talk Training. Mitch is based in the UK and has a practice called STRIDE UK (http://www.strideuk.com). In our first episode we touch on the importance of flexibility and stretching.

01:59:45 Natalie White Inov-8 – UK based company Inov-8 have a reputation for making some of the best running shoes available. They have made some iconic products such as the famous ‘Mud Claw’. In 2013 they are introducing a new clothing range to the brand, they have created an inter nation racing team and they also celebrate a 10th birthday in June. Website HERE

02:17:45 Nickademus Holllon – Barkley ultra marathon is infamous. It strikes fear into any runner. So difficult is this iconic ultra that finishers are few and far between, Nick Hollon not only completed the race in 2013 but at the age of 22 he also became the youngest ever winner. We caught up with Nick to hear all about how he achieved a finish and also to find out how started in running… he has a great story. Believe me, he doesn’t like to make things easy! Website HERE

03:09:45 Back to Karl

03:14:00 Meltzer Moment – Speedgoat gives us his Good, Bad and Ugly.

03:18:40 15 min of fame – this week we speak to Chris Mills (24fifty.com). Chris is just an ordinary guy. He actually hasn’t run an ultra…. yet! But I am sure when you listen to him, you will find his story inspiring.

03:3210 Races – the up and coming races for the next two weeks.

03:40:05

Links

Ultra Trail Mount Fuji preview

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Asia’s answer to the TNFUTMB is the UTMF 100, a mountain 100 miler that circumnavigates the ancient volcano of the title name. It has over 9000 metres of elevation gain so it is not for the feint hearted.

utmf_map

The ULTRA-TRAIL Mt. FUJI is an unparalleled event that challenges the human spirit through the outdoor sport of trail running. By connecting mountain trails, local footpaths and forest roads around the foothills of Mt. Fuji, this 161km course allows participants to enjoy majestic 360 degree views of Mt. Fuji while experiencing the stunning natural beauty and culture of this region.

Tsuyoshi Kaburaki has been instrumental in this race and after his experiences at the TNFUTMB, he was sure that Mt Fuji was the only place in Asia possible to offer a race on a par with the iconic 100 miler that has its home in Chamonix. In actual fact, TNFUTMB race director, Michel Poletti is toeing the line at UTMF just two weeks after finishing the 28th edition of the Marathon des Sables.

2012 review

The 2012 and inaugural edition of the UTMF had initially had an incredible start list that had included Scott Jurek, Mike Wolfe, Sebastien Chaigneau and Tracy Garneau. However, all mentioned did not turn up and race. This opened up the race and Salomon athlete, Julien Chorier topped the podium in a time of 18:53:12. Running his first 100 miler, Arc’teryx athlete, Adam Campbell placed 2nd (listen to Adam on the latest Talk Ultra episode HERE) and Kenichi Yamamoto placed third.

The 2012 ladies race was dominated by Salomon athlete Nerea Martinez Urruzola in 24:05:04 with Hiroko Suzuki second almost three hours later and Nora Senn third.

What does 2013 have in store?

MEN

Well, from a European and Australian perspective we will see a quality race at the head of the race. The success of the 2012 UTMF has encouraged Julien Chorier, no1 to return and defend his title.

Sebastien Chaignea TNFUTMB copyright Ian Corless

Sebastien Chaignea TNFUTMB copyright Ian Corless

Certainly Julien is the pre race favourite, he has knowledge of the course, understands the demands required and of course he is the title holder. However, TNF athlete, Sebastien Chaigneau will almost certainly have a different outlook on how the race unfolds… he had a mixed 2012 and ultimately it was a year to forget by his standards. He came into 2013 motivated and his stunning performance at Transgrancanaria will mean Julien will need to be looking over his shoulder or maybe even ahead of him for this race.

Gary Robbins, no 102 (Salomon) from Canada is also going to be flying and ready for this race. Gary has an incredible story (listen to his interview on Talk Ultra HERE) and after being sidelined for almost two years, he returned in the latter half of 2012 and not only dominated but set a new CR at Hurt 100. He has a new outlook on his racing… he is going to race less, but when he races, he will make it count. Definitely my hot tip for the win.

Brendan courtesy of Inov-8

Brendan courtesy of Inov-8

Inov-8 athlete Brendan Davies, 1061 fresh from Tarawera ultra will be confronting the 3,776 m Mount Fuji and he will revel in the task ahead of him. Brendan has plenty of speed but will he have the climbing legs to be up at the front. He has said on his blog that he his in the form of his life. (listen to Brendan Davies interview HERE).

Christophe Le Saux - MDS 2013 copyright Ian Corless

Christophe Le Saux – MDS 2013 copyright Ian Corless

Christophe Le Saux, 1099 (Hoka One One) only last week finished in the top ten of the Marathon des Sables. He will be lining up to test himself. Logic says that fourteen days between ‘MDS’ and UTMF is not enough, but, Christophe loves the hard, technical and gnarly courses as he has proved at Tor des Geants in the past.

In addition to the above, Grant Guise, 108 from Australia, Jeremy Ritcey, 111 a Canadian who lives in Hong Kong and of course many of the local Japenese runners will figure.

LADIES

Nerea Martinez Urruzola is not returning to defend her title, so, this does mean the ladies race is wide open… arguably though, the competition has greater depth for the second edition of the race.

Krissy Moehl, 1106 (Patagonia) from the USA needs no introdction to the ultra world. Her reputation is well established and as such, her twelve years in the sport and her TNFUTMB win will all come into play in helping her make the top of the podium here. She was fourth at the renowned Hardrock 100 in 2012 and of course this will set her up perfectly for the 9000m of vertical at UTMF.

Hong Kong based Brit, Claire Price, 173 (Salomon)will have a great perspective of what is required on this demanding course. She recently won Hong Kong 100 and although this is the first time racing in Japan, the distance may be her stumbling block. She will need to respect the distance and the terrain. She finished Western States in 2012 but didn’t have a great race.

Shona - image courtesy of Inov-8

Shona – image courtesy of Inov-8

Finally, Inov-8 athlete Shona Stephenson, 1062 will be racing in her first international 100 miler ahead of what is a daunting year of races. She has already raced at Tarawera and Northburn 100 and will be racing at TNFUTMB and also participating in the Skyrunning ultra series in 2013. Shona has trained in the Blue Mountains and although she has great speed, will this lack of high mountains allow her to perform to her best in and around Mount Fuji?

Of course, local competition will have an advantage on this course. So expect some surprises!

STATISTICS

DATE Friday, April 26, 2013. Starting at 3:00 pm.
DISTANCE 161km
CUMULATIVE ALTITUDE GAIN 9,000m
TIME LIMIT 46hours
# OF RACERS 800
START / FINISH Yagisaki Kouen, Kawaguchiko, Fujikawaguchiko-cho, YamanashiPrefecture

Race website: HERE