2010 UTMB, CCC, TDS, PTL courses

As those of you, Facebook fans, already know, this year TrailrunningSoul will be covering the Ultra Trail du Mont-Blanc life from Chamonix, in what might be the most competitive edition ever. Still having to figure out how that will be done, I will write a series of posts as we get closer to the event date. Though it’s still over two months from now, here’s the first of them: I took the GPS tracks the organization has released for all the four races (UTMB, CCC, TDS, PTL) and I put them on google maps. See below the results!
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SLS3 Compression Sox Review

[TrailrunningSoul: today we kick off a series of two gear reviews on products provided by the San Diego Running Institute, a store owned by Dr. Victor J. Runco which provides trail running shoes and equipment to the local runners. The SDRI also offers membership to the San Diego Dirt Devils and sponsors many trail runs and races. If you like the SLS3 socks, check out the link at the end of the review which will take you to their on-line store. Also, this review has been written by Derrick Spafford, member of the La Sportiva Running Team and owner of the Spafford Health and Adventure which offers running coaching, race management and much more. Welcome to TRS Derrick! ]

I have to admit that when I first thought about trying compression socks I had a hard time with it as I kept having flashbacks to the 1980’s and runners wearing knee high tube socks. How on earth could they be comfortable, let alone aid in performance in long distance running? Even seeing women’s marathon world record holder Paula Radcliffe competing in them, I was still a skeptic.
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Kilian Jornet Across the Pyrenees

Last year the world mountain running champion and double winner of the Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc added to his regular competition season two new challenges, the crossing of Corsica and the Tahoe Rim Trail. Two impressive ultrarunning records which put the Catalan runner even a little higher among the top athletes of this sport. That was the Kilian’s Quest. And this year he is back.
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2010 Trail Running Challenges

Here we go again. Time for great athletes to face impossible challenges… and still make it in the fastest time ever done! Runners, ultra runners and fastpackers head to the outdoors with the goal they have been carefully planning throughout the winter. You can also check out last year’s adventures (part 1, part 2), but now, without further due… here’s the list:
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Walsh Spirit Peak

I don’t profess to know everything about the development of running shoes but I am pretty sure that 30 years ago there was much less choice available and the majority of what was around were angled towards road running. Nowadays the situation is different with a huge range designed for trail and mountain runners.

Loads of manufacturers offering numerous models, colours, fabrics, outsole designs, lacing methods etc, etc and all backed by colourful advertising campaigns stating why their brand is best ‘because it was developed from running in mountains, on trails, in mud etc.’ as though all the rest developed their range on pavements and roads!!

Despite all the advertising speak there is growing movement that actually feel that a high percentage of the technical ‘improvements’ in shoes are actually the main reason so many runners suffer from running injuries. I won’t expand on this here as there is enough on going discussion, but I do feel that part of the problem is shoe companies trying to out-do each other with technical features that alter the way the individuals feet ‘prefer’ to run.
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Technology in the Marathon des Sables

I was waiting to write about this until the results were made public, but obviously this is not the kind of research you get conclusions in a few days. Let me explain what I’m talking about.

This year’s Marathon des Sables had not only more than a thousand runners trying to complete the 250Km but there was also a project underway to measure the physiological and bio-mechanical data of one of those runners through the competition. Read more » »

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