Last week I made a decision that I’ve never made before, I didn’t line up on the start of the Snowdon Skyline.

Maybe I’m getting older (definitely) or maybe just a little wiser (probably not) but it is absolutely the right decision for my body, however my head and heart had a hard time letting go. Somehow I feel like I’ve let myself down when in reality it is the exact opposite.

Commitment to your health, as well as your races.

Growing up my family didn’t have loads of spare cash, as many families don’t and I wanted to do all the extra classes (unless I was bad at them my mother reminds me and then I wasn’t interested which feels very familiar and is why I won’t play pool with George) so my sister and I were allowed to pick one or two.

The rule in the house was if you committed to something then you were to show up to every practice and every game no exceptions. It is one of the many qualities that I am so grateful my parents instilled in me and has been the backbone of my running and hairdressing career. If I sign up I show up and get it done, no matter what.

In my running career which now spans more than a decade I only have two DNF’s to my name both in small local races which were down to injury  but never a DNS. Gutting it out is how I learnt my craft, it’s how I refined my racing strategies and built up experience.

Leading by example

Maybe it’s the fact I’m a coach now but I do want to lead by example and I’d never recommend an athlete do these races so close together. There are so many exciting races out there that you just can’t do them all, at least you can’t do them all well and keep running for years.

My problem is I like to race long but I also like to race technical and those calendars just don’t line up. Three weeks ago I raced the TDS [a 145km sister race in the Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc series] and stepping over the finish line I knew it had been a hard race that I’d left a little extra out on that course.

I couldn’t even talk about racing Snowdon for a few days as it was just too daunting but I’d been here before, surely a few days of sleep and I’d start to get my head around it. There were heavy thoughts about keeping my UK Sky Running crown but to do that I’d have to place first or second in the final two races of the year and with Snowdon being the UK Champs my race game would need to be strong.

Photo: George Woods

Recovery is so important for a long career

How’s your recovery going? Are you recovered yet? As a runner I’m sure we’ve all had to field these questions. Recovery takes time, more time then I’d like it to, it’s more than just catching up on your sleep and refuelling your body.

Recovery is something you feel in your bones, it’s regaining that motivation to get running again. When you finish a big race you will be less fit then when you started but the temptation to race again soon is huge! Goodness knows I am certainly guilty of slapping on a smile and trying to fool my body and mind into thinking I’m ok to race again.

Learning from 2018

Last year I raced Lavaredo Ultra Trail and two weeks later the Lakes Sky Ultra, then went onto the UTMB, stupidly climbed Mont Buet three days afterwards and two weeks later was at the Glencoe Skyline. Unsurprisingly I felt rubbish but my desire to run that route outweighed the fatigue.

As soon as I started I knew it was going to be a battle and even though we were on the bad weather shortened course the finish couldn’t come quick enough. I simply don’t want to feel like that again. I don’t want to delay actual proper recovery by another month just to satisfy my desire to be out in the mountains and see my mates.

Making the smart decision

Even as I write this though a little voice is saying ‘would it be so bad? Maybe you should just do it, it would be so much fun!’ Don’t worry I’ll head out for a run soon and be swiftly reminded that 60 minutes is more than enough right now.

Ultimately it’s a case of FOMO and I was very jealous of others this weekend when I wasn’t shimmying across Crib Goch but it is never the wrong decision to be kind to yourself.

So I took my coach’s advice and did something fun that didn’t involve running and will look forward to feeling fresh again much sooner. I put my energy into my sport in a different way, going along to cheer on some of my athletes at the Centurion Chiltern Wonderland 50 miler.

Anyway there is always next year for Snowdon…

Sophie Grant is a UKA Athletics Coach, GB Trail international and part of the Centurion Running Coaching team. If anyone can convince you that #vanlife is a good idea, it’s Sophie. 

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The post Did Not Start appeared first on Fast Running.

The Catalan athlete broke his leg earlier this year but is once again winning everything from 22km Sky races, mountain marathons and breaking records like the longstanding Bob Graham Round. He is a phenomenal athlete.

And as every year passes people keep asking me the same question. What makes Jornet so special?

With one of the greatest ranges of victories in races, from three kilometres to 170 kilometres in length, what is the magic bullet that makes this man so great? Is it just one factor or just the perfect storm of genetics, lifestyle, mental attitude and talent?

Earlier this year Fast Running asked how fast could Kilian run a marathon and even then didn’t predict a super world class time. We guessed at sub 2:14 – which is still pretty quick.

Jornet is a rare talent and it isn’t even necessary for him to have two working arms to win a 100 mile mountain race.

He is also one of the fastest descenders in the sport, and this could be one of the key factors to his success, but clearly it’s not the only thing. So let’s take a closer look at some of the reasons why the 30 year-old is in a league of his own.

Downhill is easy

It was whilst discussing ski mountaineering with a good friend that this idea first popped into my head. Ollie Webb is a good skier and had started entering races where you ski up a mountain and then ski down it again a few times.

“On the uphill I could hold my own,” says the British Airways pilot. “But as soon as we started each descent I noticed I was working my socks off just to keep up with those around me. They all looked like they were just cruising downhill.

“It wasn’t until the subsequent climb that what this meant really sunk in. I was knackered from going downhill and everyone else had used it as a rest”. The trail runner got me thinking about how this might be the case in our sport too.”

Background

The true child of the mountains, Jornet grew up at Refugi de Cap de Rec, a mountain hut at 2000 meters in the Pyrenees at the cross-country ski resort in Lles de Cerdanya. His father was a hut guardian and guide in the area.

At an early age his parents took him on long hiking trips across their home mountains and Jornet was a member of the Spanish junior Ski-mountaineering team.

The idea of recovering on those long descents during races was already part of racing for the athlete. The speed and fear of downhill running was never going to be an issue.

Efficiency

Here comes the idea. Killian may be super fast downhill, but others are too. British fell runners hare down slopes like they have lost control and have no regard for their own safety, but they aren’t winning all the 100-mile races in the world.

Killian might be one of the fastest, but the key could be that he’s also the most efficient.

If each descent in a race is a recovery for the Salomon athlete, when all others around him are working hard both up and down hills, then you start to see why his success grows the longer the race distance.

2018 races

The Norway based runner and adventurer has won races like the Mont Blanc Marathon and Compederossa Sky race in 2018 and in footage of both events you see him descending with his peers but always looking relaxed.

Others strive down hills, pushing to their limits whilst the Catalan skips over rocks and gracefully passes or just sits behind, letting his prey tire themselves out. The persistence hunter of the mountain running world.

Kilian vs Jim

Once again the hype will build this summer for the Ultra Tour de Mont Blanc. A 170km loop around Mont Blanc that goes through France, Italy and Switzerland.

In 2017 the talk was of Kilian and Jim. Jim Walmsley is the American speed merchant taking ultra running by the scruff of the neck. With bold claims and PBs fast enough to back them up, the sub-29 minute 10k runner brings serious pace into the mountains.

Fresh from a course record at the Western States 100, the Hoka One One athlete is once again targeting UTMB. Last year, Walmsley waited for Jornet and French vigneron Francois d’Haene at early checkpoints as he was simply too fast.

Fast forward to kilometre 130. Walmsley is laid out on a bench whilst the ‘slower’ runners d’Haene and Jornet battle it out to the finish line. Hats off to the American for rallying and crossing the line in fifth.

Walmsley can run down a hill as quickly as the Europeans, so what is it that caused this implosion? It could have been a number of things to be fair, including but not limited to underestimating the cold, not getting enough food in or just being less efficient in the mountains.

UTMB 2018

So this year the UTMB has another stellar field. Jornet, Walmsley, multiple world champion Luis Alberto Hernando, twice winner and recent disqualifyee Xavier Thevenard. Oh and a handful of Americans all after the first male victory at the event – the US women have won multiple UTMB titles.

Even still it is difficult to see anyone beating the Catalan and efficiency could be why.

Plenty of runners are faster. Many have made the UTMB their key race of the year, whereas Jornet will race nearly every weekend in the build-up and recovered from a broken leg this spring.

When it comes to the final few climbs when everyone has tired legs and is pushing towards the finish line, you get the impression that the Catalan is just getting started. His legs will be fresher than everyone else’s as he’s yet to work them on a downhill. Losing two years in a row won’t be an option.

What can we learn?

This conjecture is all well and good. I’m no mountain world beater myself, so it’s far easier to sit back and pick at the top end, but what can we potential learn from this.

Everyone wants to run faster downhill, but will that actually help? Especially for ultra runners going long, but even for a long descent in any race.

If you can turn the descents into a recovery, whilst not going backwards through the field, does that build the consistency of your performance and get you to the finish line quicker?

Often people confuse running quickly and getting to the finish line sooner

Sprint the first 400m of a marathon and you’ll be going quicker for sure. But you won’t have your best performance over the full 26.2 miles.

Sprint down the first hill of your race and you sure as hell won’t be doing the same on the seventh descent. Efficiency is key and to get this you need to practice it. Slow down, break less and take a more direct line. Even let your body recover a little from the previous uphill.

Look at the bigger picture and slow down. You might get to the finish line quicker.

The post What makes Kilian Jornet so special? appeared first on Fast Running.

This year 16,994 people applied for 7000 places in four different races, with athletes working for years to gather enough points to even apply.

If you are one of the many who misses out even after two attempts, at least the third consecutive year you are guaranteed a spot. So if you who thought running 170km in the mountains was tough, try getting on the start line.

For the 9,994 disappointed runners that don’t get to toe the line in Chamonix, France, Courmayeur, Italy or Orsieres in Switzerland this summer what to do instead?

Thankfully there are some great alternative Alpine races that you may never have heard of, that have not yet sold out and will provide an equal or tougher challenge as the UTMB. Some might not have the massive crowds and huge numbers of participants, but that’s a bonus for some runners surely?

1) Trail Aiguille Rouge (TAR)

This race may be a few weeks later but it’s a beautiful race on some of the lesser known trails of Chamonix within the stunning Aiguille Rouge National Park.

The entries don’t open until 1st April, but if you’re looking for an OCC alternative with a little more meat on the bones, this is a slightly more technical option.

Further info: www.aiguillesrouges.fr

2) Ultra Tour des 4 Massifs

is near Grenoble and has distances of 169k, 100k, 40k and 20km and is the week before the UTMB festival so still within the school holidays period. Registration is open now and it’ll keep your UTMB points ticking over, add to the experience and show you a mountainous area of France that fair fewer see.

It’s a little hillier too, with 11,000m over the 169km. Tasty.

Further info: www.ut4m.fr

3) Montreux Trail Festival

The festival is organised by bow tie wearing Swiss International Diego Pazos and shows some of the spectacular landscapes in the mountains behind Montreux, Switzerland.

With options ranging from 164km (and 12,000m) to the family relay with 800m run by the kids and Freddie Mercury and Queen themed 15 & 6km races, it’s truly a festival of trail in the town best known for its music. It is a little earlier in the summer, but in years to come this event will sell out too.

Further info: www.montreux-trail.ch

4) Tor des Geants

The Tor des Geants is the daddy of all mountain ultras, as difficult to get into as the UTMB, yet it’s little baby, the 130km TorDret wasn’t sold out last year and neither race has opened so far. The TorDret starts9 pm at night, straight into the mountains of Aosta and had quite a high attrition rate in it’s first edition, which may be because of it’s 12,000m of up and down over the course.

The people of Aosta are one of the main reasons to do or support either of these races, the support shown by the local, manning life bases over the huge times that they are open and always with a smile providing great Italian food, is phenomenal.

Further info: www.tordesgeants.it

5) Swiss Peaks Trail

Also in it’s second year is the Swiss Peaks Trail, with races of 170, 90, 45, 35 & 15km in the Swiss Valais Canton, normally known for it’s shorter mountain races such as Sierre-Zinal. They even have a 360km event for the ultra-masochistic amongst you, but all the other distances promise stunning views and cracking trails.

The website’s videos give you a small insight into Alpine wonderland.

Further info: www.swisspeaks.ch

6) Alpine Training Camp

Okay so maybe not a race itself, but another alternative is the Alpine Training Camp run by Natalie White and myself in the Chamonix valley in the middle of July. With only a couple of spots left, it is an excellent introduction to Alpine trail running or an opportunity for the more experienced amongst you to take your running to the next level.

With workshops on uphill and downhill running, using poles, nutrition advice with a leading professional and great days out in the hills with like-minded runners, you won’t regret it.

Further info: www.robbiebritton.co.uk/training-camps/

All in all I just want you to know that the UTMB isn’t the be all and end all that some think it is, wth excellent races already established and popping up in the Alps all the time.

If you weren’t selected for the UTMB this year, then don’t worry. Turn that frown upside down and find yourself a trail less traveled to adventure on.

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