Born to Run…Without Injury!

It has been interesting to read all the barefoot running debates which have been appearing thick and fast since Christopher McDougall’s excellent book, Born to Run hit the shelves last year. Although this book is regularly quoted as a major promotion for barefoot running if it is read correctly you find that only one person, ‘Barefoot Ted’ actually runs barefoot.

What the book is really about is ‘minimalist running’. Shoes have been worn for centuries, not as medical devices but as a normal, sensible way to protect your feet from rocks, thorns, glass, snake/insect bites etc., etc., even the featured Tarahumara Indians wear crude but effective sandals, the Romans, Ancient Greeks, Masai, native Americans etc., all wear sandals, moccasins or similar basic footwear. Read more » »

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An Unusual 2010 UTMB

First of all let’s get to the results of the 2010 The North Face Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc. British Jezz Bragg took the victory with a time of 10h30′37″, followed by US runner Mike Wolfe seven minutes back and Zigor Iturrieta from the Basque Country (Spain) was third with a time of 10h49′18″. On the women’s side also Brit Lizzie Hawker ran a great race to finish in 11h47′30″, followed by Nerea Martinez and Agnes Hervé, 1h2′ and 2h24′ min back. But let’s take a look, hour by hour, at what happened in the Mont Blanc during Friday and Saturday.
Read more » »

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2010 UTMB: Pre-Race Interviews Part 2

Here’s the second part of the interviews with top runners on occasion of the 2010 UTMB. Check out also part 1 of this interview and stay tuned on Facebook and Twitter for a live coverage of the race! Read more » »

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2010 UTMB: Pre-Race Interviews – Part 1

9 questions answered by a few of the best trail runners on the 2010 edition of the UTMB: Sebastien Chaigneau, Julien Chorier, Miguel Heras, Kilian Jornet, Karl Meltzer, Geoff Roes, Dawa Sherpa and Lizzy Hawker. Just a couple of notes before going to the juicy stuff: those are just the athletes I had the chance to get in touch with and, obviously, they are not the only ones with chances to take a top stop at this year’s race. I also wasn’t lucky to contact any women running the UTMB I’m happy to say that we have Lizzy Hawker on board!. But I’ll leave the article “open” in case I hear back from any other runners. [Update August 23rd: Added Ludovic Pommeret's comments]

So here’s the first 4 questions of the interview. Stay tuned for the second part in the next few days! Read more » »

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A Look at the 2010 Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc

As trail running is slowly getting more mature as a sport in its whole, performances of runners on competitions all over the world are getting better and better. To sneak into a top spot at the most popular races is becoming something you really have to sweat out. And the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc is not just another example. The 8th edition promises to be, as happened at WS100, a fierceful competition with an impressive field of runners. It’s the ‘race of all the superlatives’.
Read more » »

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Review: Hydrapak Gel-Bot and Softflask

Until recently I have never been a big fan of gels. Many used to come with strict instructions to drink water to enhance absorption or suffer the consequences of gastrointestinal discomfort or dehydration so I usually preferred to keep hydration/electrolytes and food/carbs/protein as separate issues.

I also see gel packets thrown away or accidentally dropped and from observing in particular road cyclists feeding during, for instance, the Tour de France I find it hard to believe that they can extract the full contents with one squeeze. Read more » »

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FluidPost, New Techonology for Trail Running Shoes by Montrail

A few weeks ago, during the Outdoor Trade Fair in Friedrichshafen, Germany, I had the pleasure to chat with the guys at Montrail and to get introduced to the upcoming new technology for their trail running shoes: FluidPost.
Read more » »

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