ASIA’S FIRST TRAIL RUNNING MAGAZINE January / February 2017
UTMB WINNER
TRAINING
FAQ
Ludovic Pommeret
on Mental Training
Racing in China
NUTRITION
Nutrition Tips for High Altitude ASK THE COACH
NEW
How to Build Up to 100km
YEAR
NEW GEAR
LINO LOPES
From Fat to Phat www.asiatrailmag.com 1
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CONTENTS #20
40 64
Photo: Capela Nuno
70 44
Photo: Sunny Lee Photo: Alexis Berg
Photo: Redbull Female Summit Quest
ON THE COVER 10 Facts on UTMB winner Ludovic Pommeret
05 EDITOR’S NOTE
44 PROFILE
70 NUTRITION
09 RACE NEWS
50 TRAINING
Mt. Gaoligong Ultra
From Fat to Phat Sport Psych 101 — FAQ
Nutrition Tips for High Altitude Training
74 NUTRITION
MaXi Race China - Jiangnan
REGULARS
Yangze River Three Gorges Mountain Marathon
54 GEAR
76 RACE DIRECTORY
Lantau70 Oxfam Trailwalker Hong Kong Asian Skyrunning Championship Hong Kong The North Face 100 Hong Kong Taiwan Action Asia 50 The North Face 100 Singapore King of the Hills - HK Island Grand Trail Extra
FEATURES ON COVER 40 RACE
10 Facts on UTMB winner Ludovic Pommeret
New Year Gear
60 ASK THE COACH
78 MARKET PLACE
How to Build Up to 100km
62 WOMEN'S CORNER
Book review: Fresh Cuisine Recipe Book
Running + Vacation = A Wonderful Type of Adventure
ASIA’S FIRST TRAIL RUNNING MAGAZINE January / February 2017
UTMB WINNER
TRAINING
FAQ
Ludovic Pommeret
on Mental Training
Racing in China
NUTRITION
Nutrition Tips for High Altitude ASIA’S FIRST TRAIL RUNNING MAGAZINE
64 GEEK RUNNER Seize the Day: The Power of
Morning Habits for Trail Runners
NEW
How to Build Up to 100km
YEAR
NEW
UTMB WINNER
TRAINING
FAQ
Ludovic Pommeret
on Mental Training
Racing in China
GEAR
NUTRITION
Nutrition Tips for High Altitude ASK THE COACH
NEW
How to Build Up to 100km
LINO LOPES
YEAR
NEW
From Fat to Phat
GEAR
www.asiatrailmag.com 1
HONG KONG HKD 48
68 NUTRITION Winter Nutrition to Prevent Cold Injuries
January / February 2017
ASK THE COACH
SINGAPORE SGD 9.90
MALAYSIA MYR 12
THAILAND THB 250
INDONESIA USD 5
PHILIPPINES PHP 235
TAIWAN TWD 200
JAPAN JPY 750
LINO LOPES
From Fat to Phat www.asiatrailmag.com 1
HONG KONG HKD 48
SINGAPORE SGD 9.90
MALAYSIA MYR 12
THAILAND THB 250
INDONESIA USD 5
PHILIPPINES PHP 235
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Digital Edition
To read Asia Trail online, visit www.asiatrailmag.com
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EDITOR’S NOTE
EDITOR: Clement Dumont
RACE NEWS EDITOR: Richard Cowley COPY EDITOR: Dominik Sklarzyk
CONTRIBUTORS: Amanda Sloan Anna Boom Ben Duffus Caroline Demer Clint Cherepa Dominik Sklarzyk Karen Lo Katia Kucher Michelle Lau
PHOTOGRAPHERS: Jon Lee Sunny Lee
GRAPHIC DESIGNER: Anna Saraste
PUBLISHER: Asia Sport Connection Limited 39, Tung Wan Tau, Mui Wo, Lantau Island, Hong Kong
FOR ADVERTISING, PLEASE CONTACT: Sabrina Dumont +852 5193 8707 sabrina@asiasportconnection.com GENERAL INQUIRIES: info@asiasportconnection.com SUBSCRIPTION: visit www.asiatrailmag.com Issue #20 Bimonthly ISSN 2409-5036
© 2017 Asia Trail. All rights reserved. The publisher makes every effort to ensure that the magazine’s contents are correct. However, we accept no responsibility for any error or omissions. All material published in Asia Trail is protected by copyright and unauthorized reproduction in part or full is prohibited.
The wild and beautiful MaXi Race China, just 3h from Shanghai. Photo: Sunny Lee
Come Join China’s Awesome Trail-Running Evolution
W
hen I first participated in trail-running events in China, which was five years ago, these contests were rather chaotic, their courses poorly designed, and their opportunistic organisers lacking any real trail-running knowledge (luring runners with cash prizes, which resulted in non-stop cheating). I still remember one race where I passed a runner three times, while he never passed me — or another such memorable event, where this time a running contestant passed me, that is, on a motorcycle, smiling. And then there was the regrettable issue of littering, of participants showing no respect for the sublime environment they had the chance to run through.
Although today littering education is still something that needs to be continually emphasised — and that goes for other countries’ races, too — in the short span of the last two years, I have seen a dramatic improvement in the level of organisation of China’s trail events. Hong Kong used to be the sole hub of well-organised and popular races, but China at large needs no longer to be envious of Hong Kong’s race games — apart perhaps from the number of participants, but this too should change, rapidly. To attract the best local runners and seasoned overseas athletes, many events in China continue offering cash prizes — but they now require runners to use tracking GPS devices, which effectively prevents cheating. Doping, however, may be something to keep an eye on. With its vast and diverse landscape, there is no question about China’s immense potential as a world-class host of unforgettable trail-running events. This future is just around the corner, and we eagerly anticipate and look forward to it. As for this year, we are proud to report that the seven events our very own team Asia Trail took part in were all exceptionally well organised.
Are you getting bored of doing the same events in your region, over and over? Bring your best game to China, a country whose breathtaking beauty offers endless running opportunities and amazing places to discover. To convince you of China’s rising popularity as a superb running destination, we here at Asia Trail will continue our mission of increasing the coverage of races taking place across this splendid country. In this issue alone, just have a look at the MaXi Race China, Ultra-Trail Three Gorges, and Mt. Gaoligong Ultra (co-organised by none other than Chris Kostman, the organiser of California’s Badwater Ultramarathon, arguably the planet’s toughest race) — three unrecognisably different events, and all with extraordinary views.
asiatrailmag.com @asiatrailmag asiatrailmag
#asiatrailmag
EDITOR: Clement Dumont
5
eering
gin Swiss En
learned m a e t n O the iss Alps, w S e h t ntains. p in u u o g m in e h w t o in Gr t running e, u o b a o w t trail sho rt c o e f r g e in p h t e a n th t t to desig u o t oe so ligh e h s s e a w : t n n e a rt Wh at is impo ble h w d e r e b rise. Relia m n e u s m e e r r o e f w be the peak h c a e r o t and fast . the valley venture. d down to u lo C n the new O g in c u d o r Int
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RACE NEWS
A unique atmosphere imbued the start and finish area, situated in the 600-year-old village of Heshun.
Is China Becoming the Country of Must-Do Ultras? Mt. Gaoligong Ultra – China www.badwater.com/event/mgu Photos by Alexis Berg
C
hris Kostman — the organiser of what many people believe is the toughest race on this planet, that is, the Badwater Ultramarathon: A 217km race in California’s Death Valley, where temperatures can reach up to 54 C — headed to China as an honorary race director of Mt. Gaoligong Ultra, a new 168km trail race. The Chinese party XingZhi Co. Ltd. is also the organiser of the successful 400km Ultra Gobi Race, and seems to specialise in tough and emblematic ultras (being in the process of acquiring the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc license for China).
tured a mounting 8,800m of elevation (to put that in perspective, that’s just 48m shy of the total elevation of Mount Everest!). Participants were treated to the beauty of South China, as they ran through the sundrenched mountains on single-track trails, jeep roads, and cobblestones during this autumn season.
gether during the entire race, finished together in an identical time of 21h 16min 44s. The entire village turned out to cheer the two of them across the finishing line, situated in the ancient 600-year-old village of Heshun. UK’s Nathan Montague finished 3rd man across the line, in a time of 21h 32min.
Held in Tengchong, Yunnan Province, close In the men’s race, Englishman Dan Lawson to the border with Myanmar, the race fea- and Australian Mick Thwaites, who ran to-
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The first edition of the Mt. Gaoligong Ultra attracted an elite international field of 57 runners, many of them from the USA. The race itself had a total of 14 checkpoints and a 36h cut-off time.
In the women’s race, only eight brave participants finished the gruelling course — Marcia Zhou, from the USA, duking it home 1st, in 30h 27min, Andrea Kooiman (also American) clocking 2nd, and Oksana Riabova (Asian-based athlete from the Ukraine) securing 3rd.
RACE NEWS
The 71-year-old American Bob Becker finished the short version of the race (that is, an impressive 124 km) in less than 30h. Nearly 75 years ago, during World War II, Becker’s father, a member of the Army Air Corps, confronted the Japanese army here, around the town of Tengchong. Coming to pay a tribute to his father who never received the slightest military honour, Becker appeared always smiling, but often with tears in his eyes. 10
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RACE NEWS
Near the Myanmar border, the Gaoligong Mountains (高黎贡山) are a hidden treasure. 11
RACE NEWS
Tough, Wet, and Scenic MaXi Race China – Jiangnan www.maxirace.cn
T
Photos by Sunny Lee he convenience of Shanghai’s highspeed trains makes you feel that those otherwise-remote places are easily accessible. In just 2.5h, you are transposed from the busy megalopolis to the quiet and beautiful Jiangnan, an area which hosted the first edition of MaXi Race China. Despite heavy rain lasting all night — which had organisers question shortening the course (whose length included multiple river crossings and steep muddy climbs) — 300 runners took the start with high spirits, ready to challenge Mother Nature.
If nothing else, these brave participants had at least the chance to line up in the rain with Ludovic Pommeret, that is, the 2016 winner of the Ultra-Trail du MontBlanc, together with Salomon runners Greg Vollet, Japanese Sota Ogawa, and Ital-
ian Martina Valmassoi, plus Trail Running half of the course, and with this concluded World Champion Nathalie Mauclair. his intense running season. Vollet, known to be among the fastest technical downhill With an early start in the dark and in rain, runners, seemed to enjoy the slippery departicipants quickly realised the context scents, despite limited feeling in his cold of this course with a first steep climb. It feet (due to the multiple river crossings). was soon followed by a roller-coaster of The young Japanese Ogawa paced wisely ups and downs, exhausting oscillations and took over Pommeret in the last 10km, that discouraged many on their first ultra but alas, a wrong turn cost him second attempt. Meanwhile, Vollet and Pommeret place. Valmassoi, a short-distance specialwere comfortably setting the pace in front, ist, finished her longest race ever in 10h exchanging the lead at turns on the first 18min, for an impressive 4th place overall. 30km. On the 105km, while many runners decidVollet was able to keep a steady pace, ed to cut short by stopping at 65km, the while Pommeret slowed down and rap- first runner to have completed the longest idly lost sight of Vollet. It was only after distance was Lian Lingling, who beat the 8h 21min of relentless effort that Vollet field in 16h 44min. Seven women managed completed the gruelling 66km — arriving to finish the 105km; of them, Xiaohong Xu 22min ahead of ultra specialist Pommeret was the 1st home, in 22h 41min, while fawho ended up with sore legs on the second vourite Mauclair stopped at checkpoint 3.
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RACE NEWS
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RACE NEWS
MaXi Race China - this kind of races that feel you lucky to run on such remote trails. 15
RACE NEWS
Yun Yanqiao on his way to win the race in preparation of HK100. 16
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RACE NEWS
Runners Surmounting the Magnificent Wu Gorge
Yangtze River Three Gorges International Trail Running
Y
angtze River — China’s longest river, and the third longest in the world — is renowned for the Three Gorges Dam, the largest hydropower station in the world. But no dam would be seen by the runners on the 55km course, instead, competitors were granted an impressive view of vibrant red-leaf trees as they descended to Wu Gorge. Clouds were at the rendezvous, but did not obscure this special atmosphere, as contestants traversed
the gorge along the banks. Meanwhile, a 1,200m stair climb still awaited the runners at the end of the thousand-year-old ancient path. In addition to numerous breathtaking views, foreign runners were pleased to pass villages with curious kids running along and cheering them on.
first 1,200m climb — and with this taking the lead and never looking back, and ultimately winning in an impressive time of 5h 13min 3s. He was followed home by Qi Min, in 5h 27min 32s, and Ji Zhengquan, in 5h 34min 28s. In the women’s category, Xiang Fuzhaoh pushed to the end to win over Zhang Hongfen, by a 2min sliver, in a Without much surprise, Chinese pre-race time of 6h 34min 23s. favourite Yun Yanqiao took a conservative start and steady ascent to the top of the 17
RACE NEWS
The Art of Pacing by Infamous Hong Kong Topless John Ellis Lantau 70
www.lantaubasecamp.com Photos: Sunny Lee
O
n many occasions, John Ellis demonstrated how well you can perform by starting at a slow pace. Ellis regularly finishes in the top-three spots at Hong Kong’s most-competitive races — that’s after a start in the middle of the pack. At the Lantau Trail 70, however, John was so far behind that no one dared think he’d be the first to cross the finish line — which he did. Asia Trail asks Ellis a detailed report on his recent inspiring win at Lantau 70.
Kong elites secretly dream of winning.
Thanks to race directors Shane Early and Martijn Doekes, of Lantau Base Camp, the race is a real community event, with plenty of support from the locals in Mui Wo and Discovery Bay. Plus, adding to its aura, you have the race’s history, being the revival of the old Phoenix Walkathon, a fund-raising event held by the Hong Kong Ecotourism Society from the 1990s to 2000s. I think this event really epitomises what Hong While lacking the hype and fanfare of some Kong trail running is all about. of the other Hong Kong races, Lantau Trail 70, with its imposing 3,600m of elevation There’s the juxtaposition of hills and congain, is one of those events that most Hong crete, with thigh-burning slogs up Sun-
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set and Lantau peaks in what is a horrific 13km first section, a sliver loaded with 1,500m D+. A tireless ascent which soon after metamorphoses into two 6km mind-numbing flat catchwater stretches, executed under the blistering sun. As is typical for Hong Kong, the weather is always a factor, and with the widely spaced checkpoints at this event, the race atmosphere is motivationally good, especially at the checkpoints, where relay runners are waiting to go. The 2016 edition started in sweaty conditions, with a 2km schlep up South Lantau Road. It always surprises me when people
RACE NEWS
“Chasing is a funny business. You can literally have hours of nothingness before you catch a glimpse — and the game is on.” John Ellis
run this section, because though it’s just the start, they are already panting heavily, with their heart rates sky-high — though it’s hard not to get dragged along in the excitement, especially with relay whippets like Tom Robertshaw leading the charge. In fact, Tom would anchor the victorious Salomon HK relay team with an eye-popping first leg of 1h 52min 32s, and with that claiming the coveted AWOO King of the Mountains jersey. For me, you can’t win a race in the first 5km, but with an uphill start in warm weather, you can definitely lose a race — so it was an easy run-walk up the road,
then a measured hands-on-thighs march up the stairs to Sunset Peak (869m). By then, my shorts were drenched, so I made an effort to sip from, and splash myself with, every passing stream. As we approached the top, Mui Wo local ‘Bike Man’ was counting out everyone’s position, and I was 88th. A lucky omen?
After scuttling down Sunset, it was another big climb up Lantau Peak (934m). Up high, the breeze-and-cloud cover combined to provide some welcome relief, especially as I had run out of water at Pak Kung Au. Despite the brief respite, the rest of the day was relentlessly warm and hu-
mid, and increasingly so, as we baked under the early afternoon sun. Up ahead, last year’s winner Wong Kawai blitzed through checkpoint 1, Ngong Ping (13km), in just 2h 1min 30s — but I was fairly happy with my comfortable 26th position, despite being 29min back.
Quick checkpoint turnarounds are essential — so after sculling a litre of Tailwind, plus a quick squirt of Coke from Mark Walton, I was headed off again. My game plan — get to the drop bag in good shape and still competitively positioned — was going great. 19
RACE NEWS
“For me, you can’t win a race in the first 5km, but with an uphill start in warm weather, you can definitely lose a race.” John Ellis There is a devilish climb out of Tai O. Though relatively short — only 200m D+ before a small respite — it’s a mess of relentless steps and full-sun exposure, and just imagine this during what was invariably the hottest part of the day. I passed Lantau local Scottie Callaghan lying flat out in the sun, waiting for the cramps to pass. After a quick chat and fascinated glance at his calves doing their best ‘Alien’ impersonations (unbelievably, he did finish!), it was onwards (and, unfortunately, upwards) some more.
This next section can be a real chore if you’re not feeling good — there’s stopstart climbs and tricky rocky trail underfoot, virtually no easy kilometres — but it’s quite fun if you’re fresh. I fastidiously kept stopping at every stream, and even started spraying myself from my water bottles to stay cool. I passed a chatty Zein Williams and then Marie McNaughton, struggling with a ‘gut bomb,’ duking it out for the women’s lead — but admittedly, even then, it was clear who would have the legs that day. My own legs were in great shape, so I rolled out some comfortable 4:45 splits
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on the catchwater, thankful for the cloud cover. Towards the end of races, it can get pretty lonely, so it was nice to have a fresh pacer as we pushed the up-and-down trail around to checkpoint 4, Shui Hau (50km).
I was lucky to have my two super-crewers Emily Woodland and Mark Walton — the two know exactly what’s needed: filling bottles, shoving more ice-cold Tailwind and Coke down my throat, and giving me the race low-down (telling me that Kawai was only a few minutes up while Jeremy was starting to hurt but may be too far ahead). I have massive respect for Jeremy Ritcey, but was feeling strong, so quickly promised myself the win and scurried up the stairs.
Chasing is a funny business. You can literally have hours of nothingness before you catch a glimpse — and the game is on. I didn’t see Kawai until around 4km into the catchwater, and he was still moving pretty well, but my 4:50 splits were enough to comfortably pull ahead. I knew Jeremy was somewhere in front, and my last chance to catch him might be that small but wicked climb up Tai Ngan Wu Teng (270m), so I had to keep pushing.
After an impromptu stop for water and gummy bears at the makeshift checkpoint just after Pui O, I continued around the village on Chi Ma Wan Road, and bumped into Jeremy well ahead of my expectation, just before that nasty climb. As a runner, you know when someone is done, and, unfortunately for Jeremy, he was paying for his early pace in the humid conditions. I gave him a quick pep talk about how good Kawai was looking and then coasted into the finish in 9h 3min 39s via that lovely coastal path into Mui Wo.
Second was Jeremy in 9h 14min 23s, who bravely put himself through the wringer to avoid dropping another spot, arriving only 7min ahead of a very relaxed Baptiste Puyou (9h 21min 6s) — the latter might possibly have finally learned the art of pacing! For the women, Zein finished a magnificent 9h 38min 59s for 1st (and 5th overall), in her longest solo run to date, comfortably ahead of Marie’s 10h 19s and Tsang Woon Ming’s 10h 46min 14s, while the teams’ podium featured Salomon HK, Team Garlic, and Raidlight.
RACE NEWS
Amazing Performance of Nepal Team on MacLehose Trail Oxfam Trailwalker Hong Kong www.oxfamtrailwalker.org.hk
By John Ellis, GoneRunning.hk Photos by Sunny Lee
T
he 35th edition of Hong Kong’s Oxfam Trailwalker featured 5,150 runners and hikers — but the real question: Would it stand up to the excitement of the 2015 race, with an unexpected and hard-fought home-grown victory by Team 2XU UFO, in an imposing 11h 58min? As in recent history, there were no changes to MacLehose’s modified 100km, 4,500m D+ course. The route follows a loop around Sai Kung, before heading east
through the New Territories to Yuen Long via a mix of road, coastal paths, contour trail, a Hong Kong-size serving of concrete and rock steps, plus a healthy smattering of medium-size hills such as Kai Kung Shan (399m), Pyramid Hill (562m), Buffalo Hill (604m), Beacon Hill (457m), Needle Hill (532m), Grassy Hill (647m), and Tai Mo Shan (957m — Hong Kong’s tallest mountain). Though unlucky last year (after being
misdirected by a race marshal), firm favourites were the much-improved AWOO Team Nepal, featuring Bhim Gurung (2014 Trailwalker winner), Purna Tamang (2013 The North Face 100 Hong Kong champion), plus Tirtha Tamang and Bed Sunuwar (who finished 1st and 2nd, respectively, at the 2014 Hong Kong 100). Pre-race chatter speculated an assault on the 2013 race record (clocked in by Team Columbia in 10h 58min, on a slightly shortened course).
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RACE NEWS
AWOO Team Nepal was untouchable, leading from start and finishing over 2h ahead of the second team. 23
RACE NEWS Given this expectation, other team favourites were largely resigned to fighting for silver. These included a very strong Salomon mixed team of trail stalwarts Jeremy Ritcey and Claire Price, plus up-and-comers Jacky Leung and Tom Robertshaw, last year’s champions 2XU UFO with Tsang Chun Kit (Ying), Law Chor Kin, Lam Shing Yap (Thomas), and Tang Sun Kam (SK), and the ultra-consistent 2XU all-men’s team of Dan Parr, Anders Kartik Jensen, Nicol Boyd, and Peter Lee.
As predicted, AWOO Team Nepal surged to the front from the get-go, clocking through Sai Wan Ho (checkpoint 1, at 16km) in 1h 23min, well ahead of Salomon’s 1h 38min, 2XU’s 1h 40min, and KK Chan’s Cosmoboys’ 1h 42min. AWOO continued to stretch their lead, pushing hard despite
some warm and humid midday conditions, passing Gilwell Camp (checkpoint 4, at 45km) in 5h, exactly, some 55min ahead of Salomon and an hour ahead of the other chasing teams. From here, there could be no doubt about the winning team — but would their winning time indeed be a new record? Despite a very strong finish, AWOO Team Nepal broke the tape in 11h 1min 10s — only 3min off from obliterating the old course record! Behind them, the race for second place was just heating up. Salomon’s early pace was starting to take its toll, with the team starting to slow. Their 14min lead at checkpoint 6, Smugglers Ridge (61km), was cut to just 5min at Tai Mo Shan’s checkpoint 8
Female Columbia team successfully completed the Trailwalker, smiling all the way with a great team spirit.
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(78km), before 2XU overtook them on the penultimate stage down Route Twisk. With fresher legs, 2XU claimed the runner-up prize, in 13h 3min 41s, but not before some misdirection from a race official caused them to miss their elusive sub-13h target. Salomon finished 3rd overall and first mixed team, in 13h 12min 47s, trailed in by 2XU UFO in 13h 33min 21s, and Cosmoboys in 13h 42min 24s. The fastest women’s team was EFCC Kong Fok Church, in 17h 22min 42s. After the final team crossed the line, in 47h 12min, on Sunday afternoon, a total of 4,581 Trailwalkers had officially finished the course, for an 89% finisher rate, up 1% from last year’s, despite this season's difficult weather.
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RACE NEWS
A Demanding Run in Deep Taiwan Forest MSIG Taiwan Action Asia 50 www.actionasiaevents.com Photos by Sunny Lee A year of dedicated training paid off for Chiu Wen-hsiao, a Taiwanese trail runner whose dominance afforded him his victory on the challenging 50km field, which he swept in 6h 24min. Chiu finished nearly an hour ahead of his nearest rival, and more than 90min faster than his last year’s timing (where he was fourth), as well as breaking the course record by 25min.
The course started at Shihmen Reservoir, the picturesque tourist spot, entering the deep forest of the Shihmen mountain area before looping back to the reservoir. Though the highest point of the course is only at an elevation of 591m, runners tackled many small steep hills for a total of 3,016m D+.
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Chiu — who has taken part in the race every year since it began in 2014 — said he did not think too much when running, and simply wanted to improve his time and conquer himself: “I really enjoyed the ridgeline of Baishi Mountain, where I could see the full skyline of the city of Taoyuan. It was wonderful,” Chiu reflected. All top-five men in the 50km race were from Taiwan. Yung Sheng-chen, of the Hoka One One Taiwan team, was 2nd (7h 18min), and 3rd was Tang Weifu (7h 23min), the latter returning from an injury. Chang Keiko won the women’s category in 8h 22min, a significant improvement from last year, when she abandoned the race before checkpoint 4.
“I think the most difficult part of the course is between checkpoints 3 and 4, which rises in elevation quite quickly. The part I like most is from the start to checkpoint 1, where I saw the sunrise and the full view of Shihmen Reservoir,” said Keiko. Two other Taiwanese rounded off the women’s podium: Yin-hsia Lin secured 2nd, in 9h 8min, and Stella Chen snatched 3rd, in 10h 22min. On offer were also shorter race distances of 21km and 13km. Taiwan’s Chen Hsiuching, from Wild Kids, won the 21km women’s champion title, in 2h 37min, while Wu Yu-chia won the men’s 21km, in 2h 3min, in what was his first time running at the scenic Shihmen Reservoir.
RACE NEWS
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RACE NEWS
Popular Fast Trail in Singapore The North Face 100 Singapore www.thenorthface100.com.sg Photos: TNF Singapore
S
ingapore was the penultimate stop on The North Face 100 series across Asia, as runners tackled a 50km course traversing the island country. Singapore’s infamous lack of hills helped significantly lower the race’s elevation-gain component, compared to the other races in the series, though heat did its treacherous part in making runners’ life tough as they slogged it out across Singapore’s trails. Runners were treated to several distance offerings, including a team-duo distance of 100km, where both runners ran 50km each, with their time being counted towards a total time, and there were also the traditional solo 50km, 25km, and 13km distances.
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With nearly 2,000 runners taking part in the race, it was the 13km and 25km that proved to be most popular, with 81.6% of all participants taking part in these shorter distance, and with less than 20% undertaking the onerous 50km.
In the men’s 50km race, French pro-triathlete Jose Jeuland smashed the opposition, coming home in a quick 4h 27min 35s, with De Buchere over 30min behind in 5h 3s. Shin Yen Ho completed the podium, being the 3rd male overall, clearing the tape in 5h 11min 18s. In the women’s 50km, Hong Kong running superstar Wyan Chow clocked 1st female overall in a time of 5h 17min 47s — a comfortable time indeed, being more than an
hour ahead of 2nd place Jenny Lem, who herself finished in 6h 26min 15s. Laura Koh rounded off the podium more than half-an-hour behind Lem in 6h 55min 50s. In the 25km race, Pablo Diago ran a storming performance, finishing in 2h 10min 18s, with Jenny Haung winning the female 25km in 2h 28min 33s. Roles were reversed at the 13km event, as there was an overall female winner, but it was close between the top-three men, with Mark Cabrita finishing 1st male in 1h 2min 8s and Vanja Cnops going one better than Cabrita, finishing 1st overall in 59min 22s.
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RACE NEWS
Wong Ho Chung on his way to win the 50km. Photo: Jon Lee 30
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RACE NEWS
Hot Weather Pays Off for Local Runners The North Face 100 Hong Kong www.thenorthface100.com
By John Ellis, Gonerunning.hk
S
o far, Hong Kong is having an unusually warm racing season, with, coincidentally, the hotter days coinciding with the big races. The North Face event was no different, with one runner registering 30°C atop Lung Shan; weather at this event did indeed play a big part in the final results. Unsurprisingly, the 100km race boasted a strong field, including Hungarian Csaba Nemeth (previous winner of Lavaredo Ultra Trail, and fourth-place finisher at none other than the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc), Japanese ultra-trail gun Kazufumi Oose, and hometown-hero Stone Tsang — and at the women’s field New Zealand champ Marie McNaughton was the strong favourite. The race launched at a frenetic pace, with a leading group forming around Oose, Nemeth, and fellow Hungarian Tamas Karlowits-Juhasz, plus Chinese Qiang Li. After checkpoint 3 at Luk Keng (28km point), Oose and Karlowits-Juhasz were joined at the lead by Tsang and TNF teammates Ka Wai Wong, Tom Robertshaw, and Henri Lehkonen. After checkpoint 5, Fanling (50km), the race complexion changed, significantly, with all the leading runners starting to wear down and suffer on the big climbs up Tai To Yan (556m) and Tai Mo Shan (957m). After leading from the start, Oose dropped back to seventh, while Tsang was also clearly struggling but managed to dig deep and move to the front by Yuen Tun Ha, that is checkpoint 8 (78km). Karlowits-Juhasz and Wong also pushed through the carnage but ultimately could not catch Tsang, who claimed the win in 14h 7min 7s. Behind him, a fast-finishing John Ellis nabbed 2nd from Karlowits-Juhasz, in the final kilometre, recording 14h 28min 10s against his rival’s very
close 3rd at 14h 30min 29s. Speaking after the race, Tsang reflected on what was an emotional contest: “I am happy to win my sponsor’s TNF race in my home, Hong Kong, but I cried after crossing the finish line because I survived. I had a very difficult time after checkpoint 5, Fanling, both quads had serious cramping and my body was so exhausted, but I still needed to push hard because I knew I had a chance to win.” The women’s race went largely as expected, with McNaughton moving into 1st by checkpoint 3, and cruising to an easy win in 15h 37min 58s. Behind her, Sandi Abahan — TNF 100 Philippines winner — settled into 2nd early, and steadfastly held on to this spot, finishing in 17h 1min 27s, trailed in by China’s Yin Hung Tsang in 17h 48min 19s. The 50km race also featured some quality racing, with a four-way battle emerging early on between two TNF athletes: Vlad Ixel (reigning 100km champion) and Wong Ho Chung, plus France’s Pierre-Andre Ferriere and China’s Guomin Deng. Wong had moved into 1st by checkpoint 4, Hok Tau (38km), but not even 6min separated the top-four runners. With a race-best of 1h 50min 48s on the final stage along Pat Sin Leng, Ferriere was able to catch Ixel in the final stages, sneaking into 2nd in 5h 59min 24s — only 95s ahead of Ixel! — but it was Wong who finished 1st, in 5h 54min 19s. The women’s 50km saw Nicole Leung take the lead at checkpoint 2, Wu Kau Tang (15km), and hold on to this lead for the win, in 7h 23min 18s, narrowly ahead of Emily Woodland from Britain in 7h 28min 39s, with Leanne Szeto farther back in 7h 55min 16s.
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RACE NEWS
World Champion and UTMB winner Caroline Chaverot pushing down Lantau Peak.
Asian Skyrunning Championship in Hong Kong MSIG HK50 Series www.actionasiaevents.com
By John Ellis, GoneRunning.hk Photos by Jon Lee - Asia Trail
O
nce again, a star-studded field descended upon Hong Kong for this tough 54km suffer-fest, as this year’s MSIG Lantau 50 doubled as the Asian Skyrunning Ultra Skymarathon Championship.
to Tung Chung, for a total of 3,500m D+.
Starting at dawn, race conditions were unusually humid, which proved to play a factor later on, especially given a frenetic early pace. A foursome of Europeans in Baronian, Martin, Pommeret, and Clemente led through Ngong Ping (10km point), before Martin and Baronian surged to clock through Shek Pik (32km) in an incredible 2h 58min, almost 3min ahead of last year’s record time set by François D’Haene.
Local interest was sky high, with a worldclass field that included reigning Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc champions Ludovic Pommeret and Caroline Chaverot, fellow Hoka runner Julien Chorier, Salomon teammates Christofer Clemente and Thibaut Baronian, US Skyrunning Series runner-up Cody From here, it was the vertical kilometre Lind, and Nepalese young guns Sunmaya which decided the race, with Martin climbing well, and Baronian being overtaken Budha and Purna Laxmi Neupani. by Clemente. Martin would ultimately Following the same technically challenging take the win, in a new record time of 5h route as last year, the race started with a 41min 51s, with Clemente pushing him 550m climb up the cable-car boardwalk all the way home, himself arriving in 5h from Tung Chung, before linking up with 44min 38s. Equally 3rd, in 5h 55min 49s, the Lantau Trail, and along the way fea- were both Baronian and fellow Frenchman tured a vertical climb from Shek Pik Res- Pommeret, with Lind just snagging a subervoir at the 32km point to Lantau Peak 6h time to finish 5th. (934m) at 39km. After a steep descent to Pak Kung Au, runners faced a final 450m As per pre-race expectations, the women’s climb up Sunset Peak (869m), before a race was comfortably won by Chaverot, long downhill trail to Pak Mong and back who ran through the field to finish 6th
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overall in 6h 27min 9s. The element of surprise, however, was 18-year-old Budha from Nepal. In her first-ever international event, Budha paced beautifully to finish only 25min behind Chaverot — yes, the International Association of Ultrarunners’ World Trail Champion — in 6h 52min 30s, for 2nd woman, plus 9th overall, and collecting a number of major male scalps in the final stages. Rounding out the podium were last year’s winner, Maud Gobert, in 7h 28min 49s, fellow Nepalese Neupani, in 7h 45min, and Kenya’s Susan Chepkwon, in 8h 16min 5s.
At the weekend’s other events, it was a Japanese sweep of the MSIG Lantau VK, with Miyahara Toru and Yoshizumi Yuri winning the Asian Skyrunning Championship VK crowns, securing new records of 38min 17s and 45min 59s, respectively. Dai Matsumoto, also from Japan, won the men’s MSIG Lantau 27km, in 3h 1min 23s, while locally based Brit Zein Williams took the female win in 3h 38min 59s.
RACE NEWS
Lantau Peak (934m), the steepest climb of the race.
IAU Trail Running World Champion Nicolas Martin (France) set a new course record on the 50km in 5h 41min 51s, closely followed by Cristofer Clemente (Spain) in 5h 44min 38s.
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RACE NEWS
“Looking as much like a 1970s tennis pro at the local club as much as a runner, Jeff Campbell led from the start with bold and fast running,” says race director Keith Noyes.
Catch Me If You Can
King of the Hills Mountain Marathon - Hong Kong Island www.seyonasia.com
Photo by Wong Ho Fai
W
ith a strong tropical monsoon came a torrential downpour. And this the night before Hong Kong’s King of the Hills Mountain Marathon. Though thankfully the weather did hold up the morning of the race, providing majestic views of the bustling cityscape. Starting at Wong Nai Chung Reservoir, runners ran over Mount Buttler and along the Tai Tam Reservoir, before climbing Violet Hill and finishing next to Wong Nai Chung Reservoir — this for 18.5km and 1,200m of elevation gain. Canadian Jeff Campbell — who’s a regular at Hong Kong’s races, dominating the
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events this year — took an early lead, and never looked back as he pulled away on Violet Hill, finishing in a time of 1h 37min 58s. Austrian Michael Skobierski was giving chase to Campbell, but the former couldn’t quite manage to keep up with him, and so Skobierski accepted 2nd place overall in 1h 39min 5s. Kevin Scanlon, a runner from Ireland, was a few minutes back in 3rd, wrapping it up in 1h 42min 13s, just 2s ahead of Guy Connell. Italian Giuseppe Mollica was 5th male across the line, in 1h 44min 36s.
Zein Williams, once again, proved that she is the woman to beat, snatching the women’s race in 2h 46s. Kwan Yee Tung Chris
came 2nd woman — and 1st in the Female 40 category — in 2h 13min 33s, with Vivian Lee finishing 3rd, in 2h 15min 59s. Woon Ming Tsang was 4th lady to clear the tape, in 2h 17min 10s, and Stephanie Roland came 5th female overall, in 2h 19min, exactly. Regrettably, the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department refused a permit for the iconic full-course marathon, leaving the half marathon for the runners as the only option. The next race in the series will feature the full- and half-marathon distances on gorgeous Lantau Island.
www.mbtrunning.com
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RACE NEWS
Grand Trail Extra By Frederic and Alexis Berg
Tessa, USA. Photo by Alexis Berg – Grand Trail Extra
“By contradicting the forces of nature, we have erased ourselves. Man is an animal built for running; slowly, but for hours, more than any other living being. This incredible ability of running for many tens of hours is embedded in each of us. It can reappear.” — Extract from “Grand Trail Extra.”
Grand Trail de Clermont, France. Photo by Alexis Berg – Grand Trail Extra 36
| ASIA TRAIL • JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2017
If you can identify yourself in the muse of this paragraph — written by author Frederic Berg — this beautiful series of cahiers is for you. Delving even deeper than in their first book, “Grand Trail,” the talented photographer Alexis Berg explores the raw emotions of ultra runners, his artistic approach to photography capturing subtle nuances and awe-inspiring moments. This is more than just a photobook — the powerful images, though themselves silent, tell a moving story, which will make you want to travel the world to run and explore new horizons. A must-have! Order online with free shipping worldwide. EUR 19.50 | 120 pages | en.GrandTrail.info
RACE NEWS
How many runners from Asia can you count at the 2016 Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc? Photo by Alexis Berg – Grand Trail Extra 37
RACE NEWS
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RACE NEWS
Jim Walmsely, Colorado, USA. Photo by Alexis Berg – Grand Trail Extra 39
RACE
10 Facts on Ludovic Pommeret
10 FACTS ON LUDOVIC POMMERET
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Pommeret finished 2nd at the MaXi Race China. Photo: Sunny Lee 40
| ASIA TRAIL • JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2017
n two occasions, Asia Trail had the unique chance to talk with Ludovic Pommeret during his Asian trip. Over two successive weekends, Pommeret participated at two races: The MaXi Race China, in the beautiful Taihang Mountains, where he finished first runner-up, and then the Asian Skyrunning Championships, in Hong Kong, for a third place on the podium. These triumphs were a part of him announcing the end of a long and successful running season, with the win of the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc followed by a fourth place at the IAU Trail World Championships in Portugal.
RACE
The first Hoka Mafate prototype!
Pommeret with his inseparable poles at the MaXi Race China. Photo: Sunny Lee.
ONE Pommeret is the first athlete to have run a race in a pair of Hokas. He tried the shoes once two weeks before the Diagonale des Fous ultra race. His shoes got wet, so he decided to risk it and wear the prototype Hoka Mafate on the second half of the race… and never stopped wearing Hoka One One since then. TWO It took him five attempts before winning the emblematic UTMB, at the ripe age of 41.
THREE He prepared for the UTMB very specifically, over a period of 14 weeks, trail running a total of 900km, with 50,000m of elevation gain, and biking another 850km, with 16,000m D+. His training plans are designed by his coach Philippe Propage, in accordance with the athlete’s work and race schedule.
FOUR His not-so-secret race diet: One SEVEN In 2016, he took part in 22 trail gel per 30min, plus pure water. At the races and six cross-country ski races. He UTMB, he consumed no less than 40 gels! finished all of them.
FIVE
After starting with the leading group, Pommeret experienced stomach issues and ended up walking for 3h to drop back to the 50th position. He then steadily paced and took the lead 20km from the finish, securing the best performance of his career.
EIGHT In the winter, he competes at cross-country races, and also does one ‘white’ trail race a month (that is, a race in the snow).
NINE
He frequently uses trekking poles in races. During his two 50km races in Asia (MaXi Race China and MSIG Hong SIX During the 3h-long stomach is- Kong 50), he relied on poles. sues, he did not eat anything, apart from drinking Coca Cola. For the first part of the race, he relied on Nutrisens gels, but then TEN Twice at the Diagonale des Fous switched to Overstim.s gels during the sec- (170km, at Reunion Island) he finished ond half, because he could not buy enough first runner-up. As such, this race will be gels in Chamonix! Perhaps unsurprisingly, his main goal for 2017, together with the in 2017 he is becoming an Overstim.s am- World Championship in Italy (if he qualibassador — and why not, better to stick fies). with a winning recipe! 41
5th édition 16 - 20 august 2017 Ultra Trail 169 km 11 000 D+ 9 adults’ races from 40 km to 169 km 1 children’s race Ut4M 160 Xtrem The Holy Grail! The race taking in all of the summits leading you on paths and trails in not just one mountain range, or even 2 or 3, but 4 different ranges.
Ut4M 160 Challenge Accessible to all trail runners, it is the 160 in 4 stages, each day a massif: enjoying cultural evenings on various themes that only a big city can offer, recovery space with physiotherapist, podiatrist, hydro cryotherapy and... a bivouac to simplify the lives of runners and share further experience and emotions.
The Ut4M 40 series 4 formulas to choose. Arrange your trail weekend in Isere with your choice of mountain ranges.
Paris
Lyon
Ut4M
Where magic happens…
Grenoble. © Nacho-Grez
the Ut4M is a UniQUE event in France. one unique feature is that it takes place between the mountains and the city in the heart of the French Alps. Runners evolve on single tracks over the Grenoble area, olympic city through four mountains with magnificent surroundings without losing eye contact with the city. the route of the Ut4M innovates by not circumventing the peaks. they go through their peaks, providing competitors throughout the course magical and panoramic views of the race! the passing of a mountain to another, true “signature” of Ut4M, makes it one of the most difficult trails with climbs at 2400 meters above sea level and over 2200 meters of elevation gain. the variety of the landscapes, from the streets of Grenoble to the 4 mountains, will offer breathtaking views, between the forests, the wild steppes and high Mountain, or yet “illuminated views” during night sections with lights of the city below...
www.ut4m.fr
PROFILE
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From Fat to Phat
| ASIA TRAIL • JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2017
FROM FAT TO PHAT – LINO LOPES’ ULTRA JOURNEY By Dominik Sklarzyk Photos by Alexis Berg
A
t his peak weight, Lino Lopes — of a mixed Chinese and Portuguese background — was clocking in at 133kg. Seven years later, that record is long behind him. Today he’s still accumulating impressive stats, but these are not obesity records, they are podium places and personal bests, at some of Hong Kong’s, and the world’s, most-prestigious races. The passion for ultra distances awoke within him, for the first time, back in 2014, when Lino — somewhat against his own belief — successfully completed the TransLantau 50km, in 9h 21min. The rest is history: the Hong Kong Grand Slam (that’s five back-to-back 100km races); 1st at the 2015 Vibram Hong Kong 100, in 18h 45min; and, in 2016, none other than the well-known and respected Courmayeur-Champex-Chamonix (Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc’s sister race), in 24h 54min, which cost him two years of concentrated preparation — these being only the crème de la crème of his rise to ultra success.
Today, Lino — married, and a full-time dad of three vibrant daughters — speaks with Asia Trail about overcoming cravings, pursuing desires, and achieving dreams.
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PROFILE
From Fat to Phat
I was so unfit I actually found it difficult to play with my younger daughter. At that monent, something just "clicked".
What was your top weight? At my peak, I weigh as high as 133kg — this was in the summer of 2009, I was 32 years old then and was just returning from the UK, where I lived for 16 years. I’ve always been a big guy, but have never weigh that much. What caused the original weight gain?
I had a few lower-back issues, which resulted in two surgeries — the last one hindered my day-to-day abilities. Due to the heavy use of sedatives and analgesia post surgery, I was off work for a long period of time. During this recovery stage, I had limited movement, which resulted in depression. I found comfort in eating, and easily and steadily increased my weight. What was your ‘wake up’ moment?
In July 2009, I was so unfit I actually
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found it difficult to play with my younger daughter. At that moment, something just ‘clicked’ — I realised I had to do something if I wanted to be there for my kids, then and in the future.
ly noticeable, which drove me to try new things and exercise even more.
At the beginning, did you have moments when you just gave up and went back to eating?
How did you start shedding the weight?
By walking, running, and changing my diet! And then I started playing football and basketball again.
The first 20kg went easy. I immediately felt much better, and could run 10km no problem. Seeing the results, I decided to attempt my first half-marathon distance — which I completed in 2h 15min! How mentally difficult was the transition from being an inactive person to an active one?
Actually, I’ve always been active, it was only after the surgery that I had become inactive. So the transition wasn’t terribly difficult — the reward initially was quick-
Of course, I had relapses — even now I have weak moments. Ice cream and Chinese beef jerky are my enemies. But as time goes on, the urges are much easier to control! How do you deal with urges?
Getting the weight off and staying fit is an on going process, but with time this goal gets easier. When I do experience cravings, going for a run really helps, and thinking how bad I was and how good I am today makes the cravings become only a distant thought! When I do experience hunger attacks, I reach for healthier foods — like fruits or nuts — instead of the less-than-ideal
“
It was people in the running community that told me about trail running. I’ll never forget the first time running on the trails — I just fell in love with it!
Photo: Sunny Lee
”
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PROFILE
From Fat to Phat
choices. I also used too consume a lot of When did you first attempt ultra distances? fizzy pop drinks, so I swap those for sparAs years went by and the challenges got kling water! easier, it was then that I first heard the How did your diet look like before you term ‘ultra marathon,’ describing anything beyond 40km — the concept alone just started running? seemed crazy! My diet before involved consuming anything but what is healthy — a lot of fizzy One of my close friends challenged me to join him at the TransLantau 50km men’s drinks, sweets, ice cream. team, in 2014. I’ve been to the TransLantau before, but competing only at the 15km And what is it like today? races. With nothing to lose, I set myself a As for my diet today, my wife calls it hell, goal and devised a plan! (And with a bit of but I call it regime! These days, my daily Googling, I became an ultra expert overintake looks something like this: scram- night!) bled eggs for breakfast, with toast or peanut butter, and coffee with a touch of milk; The aim was to finish in under 10h, as I still lunch is Chinese soup and plain vegetables weighed around 90kg (an impressive 40kg (and coffee, again); veggies with meat for from my peak). I completed the TransLandinner (chicken breast or white fish, all tau in just under 9h 30min — and I fell in love with the sport! plain). I drink a lot of coffee, and enjoy sparkling What are your favourite types of races — water. For snacks, I love natural nuts with relatively flat, or technical with lots of ups and downs? dried fruits.
What kept you motivated to continue run- I hate flats, it’s actually where I lose most of the time, but I love downhills and races ning? with good all-round technical aspects, like Health! As a nurse you see a lot [Lino was the Vibram Hong Kong 100 and TransLana qualified nurse for 10 years], so I know tau 100 — both of which are my favourite the consequences of being overweight — races, as they are well-organised and have but the biggest motivation is my family, my everything you need to make for an exciting competition. three princesses and my wife!
Any advice for people struggling with eat- You live in a relatively flat area (Macau), with the highest peak under 200m — how ing disorders? do you prepare for hilly races? One major way to combat urges is to set one day of the week for when you can ‘let One thing I learned from elites is the noyour hair down.’ Normally Friday is this tion of ‘quality over quantity,’ so I have day for me — date night to spend with my concentrated on hill and stair repetitions. friends and family, during which I’m al- For my UTMB training, I did more longer lowed to eat anything! I also use it as an runs, up to 46km with 3,200m of accumulated height. I go to Hong Kong every other excuse for carb-loading. weekend when training for longer distancAfter getting your feet wet in competitive es (anything over 30km), but for the easyrunning, how quickly did you make the run weekends I stay in Macau, which is where I do all of my other training. transition to trail running? It was people in the running community that told me about trail running. I’ll never forget the first time running on the trails — I just fell in love with it! That was the 2010-2011 season, during which I raced at over 20 races in Hong Kong! 48
| ASIA TRAIL • JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2017
When training in Hong Kong, I take the late ferry over, arrive at my teammate’s house, and head out for training. As soon as we finish, I take a shower and head straight back to Macau. And all this while my family is sleeping (did this routine for two straight months leading up to the UTMB)! Crazy, but worth it.
When in Macau, I have a few routes of hills and stairs that I use for my training. But like you said, not much of elevation, with a maximum of 190m, so repetition of up to seven times is what I do to combat the lack of elevation! (This can be quite boring at times, but listening to music or talk shows helps.) And I love running down stairs and hills, it’s where I pass most of my competitors. Also, I cannot emphasize enough the importance of downhill training, as it makes your legs feel fast and strong. So much training, so little time?
I really try to balance between training and family — but the latter one always comes first, so most of the time you will see me doing training at night or earlier hours in the morning. The funny part is, this lateevening training is an extra benefit to me during night races.
Which races will you be attempting in 2017? And how will you train for them? For me, competing at a race is not an attempt, when I put my name down that means I’m doing it, and finishing it. I normally ‘calculate’ and visualise the race before pledging myself to it — and if I wouldn’t be able to do that, then I would not have registered myself for it!
Once committed, mentally and officially, I will train accordingly, and the exact format of my training will largely depend on the outcome I’m planning for.
This season, I’ve again set sight on the Grand Slam (five 100km races) and I’m training hard for this endurance feat (at the moment, I’m weighing 82kg, around 16% body fat, but I will get down to 78kg, or 13-14% body fat). This year’s goal is to finish HK100 sub 16h — working hard at my pace with my mentor Gi Ka Man, Hong Kong’s elite runner, to improve my pace! Do you have an ultimate goal in mind?
Yes — the UTMB! The calculation and visualisation are not materialising yet, and I’m still finding 100km very challenging, and so need to complete many more of these distances. Remember, as an ultra runner I’m still a ‘baby,’ with a long way to go — but I will get there!
From Fat to Phat
PROFILE
Monday: Recovery, plus fast stair/hill repetitions Tuesday: Core and legs Wednesday: Hill repetitions Thursday: Rest Friday: Stair repetitions Saturday: Rest Sunday: Long slow distance
WEEK 2
Simple, yet effective, this has been Lino’s training program for the past three years; a two-week model with plenty of hill and stair repetitions (given that he lives in Macau, whose tallest ‘peak’ is 190m).
WEEK 1
LINO’S TRAINING SCHEDULE
Monday: Recovery, plus fast stair/hill repetitions Tuesday: Core and legs Wednesday: Speed Thursday: Rest Friday: Speed Saturday: Rest Sunday: Easy run
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TRAINING
Mental Training
SPORT
PSYCH 101 — FAQ By Karen Lo
Mental training is a crucial component of sports performance, and ultra running is no exception. Physique is relatively easy to train and measure for improvements, but what about mental toughness? What are some ways to deal with mental setbacks during hard races? Today, Marie McNaughton, Ruth Croft, and Law Chor Kin — top elite ultra runners — ask some of their pressing questions about mental training, which are answered by Karen Lo of Inner Edge Ltd., Hong Kong-based sports and performance psychologist.
MARIE MCNAUGHTON: I’m most interested in how to best practice visualisation pre race, and how to stay positive when you are having a very difficult, or altogether bad, race. Generally, I can cope with one thing going wrong, but if I get a couple of curve balls, like get slightly lost and have cramps, I find it hard to get back on track and stay positive. INNER EDGE:
Like with all training, mental skills should be practiced regularly — and I would argue that the best thing about visualisation is the fact that you can practice it anytime and anywhere (except during training and competition). Before you go to bed, or while you are on your way to work, try to
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engage your mind in productive visualisation for about 15-20min.
Start by visualising your past successes. Whether or not they were top-ranked races, or challenging courses you’ve managed to conquer, start recalling these pleasant experiences and include in your projection all of the vivid details of each scenario using your five senses — that is, sight, hearing, taste, touch, and smell (please refer to Asia Trail #17 for more details on how to use imagery for visualisation). This helps reinforce past performance accomplishments and will build your confidence levels for future performance executions. Next, visualise past difficult or pressured race situations. Have you ever struggled
at certain sketchy sections? What were they like? But don’t picture yourself again struggling with the roadblock — try to substitute those negative experiences with more vivid and positive projections. If you’ve had cramps once while you were in hilly terrain, think about how you’d react were it to happen again. Are you able to deal with pain effectively, and can you keep going in times of adversity? Do you have a list of cue words, or phrases, that will help you get through trying situations? Picture yourself saying them and executing them, perfectly. The more vivid and specific the envisaged information, the easier it will be to recall at an actual race. Third, practice the ‘What ifs.’ Of course, every race can surprise you with unex-
Mental Training
PROFILE PROFILETRAINING PROFILE
Is Marie McNaughton on a positive self-talk while on her way to win Translantau100? Photo: Sunny Lee pected issues. If you’ve never done trail running in the spring, chances are you’ve never run through dangerously wet and muddy trails, hazardous conditions that could put you at risk for a nasty fall. Visualise yourself having extremely careful footing and the ability to steer clear of high piles of leaves. By programming the correct information into our long-term memory, we will minimise our chances of falling. While practicing visualisation, it is important to pay attention that we only want positive images — negative ones are redundant and unnecessary. Stick to real-life situations, and make each scenario as vivid as possible. Every little detail helps. MARIE MCNAUGHTON:
During a very bad race (when multiple things go wrong), I find it hard to keep the positive self-talk going. This is what usually goes through my head as I’m running: ‘My training wasn’t good enough — I overtrained, and I didn’t prepare well enough, or get enough sleep, and I’m going to do a rubbish time, or I don’t think I will fin-
ish at all...’ Would appreciate tips on how 'Short.' to get back in focus and stop the negative If all you need is undiluted motivation durself-talk. ing the climb, say something like ‘Power!’ or ‘More!’ Everyone uses different words INNER EDGE: and phrases for helping themselves get For one, we can, and definitely should, subthrough the course. What matters most is stitute negative self-talk with a more posithat you make sure you’ve practiced this tive version. Easier said than done. One imcue word well enough during training, so portant key is to plan in advance and have that you know when and where exactly to a list of cue words or phrases prepared for say it during your race. situations you know, or suspect, will make you feel bad, and practice using them durTo bring your attention back to the present ing training. moment, use present tense for your cue phrases. Marie, you mentioned your selfSelf-talk comes in two forms — instructalk accusing you of things like, “I didn’t tional and motivational self-talk. To reprepare enough.” That is something that mind ourselves of what we need to do at has happened in the past. Likewise, statecertain parts of the race, we can say things ments like “I’m going to do a rubbish time” like ‘Stay low,’ or ‘Big strides’ — or, for pure are things that have not happened, and motivation, we can urge ourselves with ‘I which in fact may or may not happen in got this,’ or ‘Go! Go! Go!’ the future. To maximise your competition strategy, put your focus on the present moLet’s suppose you’ve always been weak at ment. uphills — you take long strides and end up packing faster than usual. If you feel When feeling low, your cue phrases ought the need to remind yourself to take short, to be statements in the present, like: ‘I feel even steps, your cue phrase could be ‘Short good. I am confident. I am capable. I am and even, short and even,' or maybe just
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TRAINING
Mental Training
relaxed in my shoulders, strong on legs, soft on feet. I focus on nature around me. I hear my own footsteps. I think of more mindful things. I am motivated. I feel effortless. I can run to the best of my ability. I trust my body.’ Such statements will relocate your attention to the present, pushing mind-polluting thoughts about the past and future out of your head. Ruth Croft:
With smaller races, I have no trouble with confidence. I definitely find that going over earlier helps, mainly because it gives me the space to really start mentally preparing without distractions. I have always wanted to learn more techniques for positively approaching races, especially ways of dealing with low confidence going into races. INNER EDGE:
Sports-related self-confidence comes in a variety of flavours, such as one’s confidence in their ability to execute physical, psychological, and perceptual skills, or one’s dexterity for learning new skills. Individuals lacking confidence, usually fail to notice their sources of confidence — that is, what they have on hand. Think of a battle-ready soldier. It’s easy for someone in this situation to lose focus and begin worrying about what the opponents will do. At that point, it’s all down to how confident the soldier is in winning. When on the battlefield, what should the soldier attend to — his own guns and weapons, or his opponents’? Clearly, he should focus on what he has, not on what he does not.
It’s the same with sports. Assess what resources you do have, and think of how they will help you win. Before every race, remind yourself of what those resources are, because that’s where confidence comes from.
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KEEP A CONFIDENCE LOG:
Rather than perpetuating your shortcomings, after every training write down what your strengths are. What were some things that went well? If you don’t have time to jot down a few points each day, try to recall what you have performed well at on a weekly basis. By reflecting on performance accomplishments, you can reinforce your memories with positive skills or
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The unstopable Law Chor Kin regularly does back-to-back ultra races. Photo: Sunny Lee
strategies. The more successful experiences you recall, the higher your confidence levels will be.
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LEARN VICARIOUSLY:
We learn best through modelling after other people. Find a role model — maybe a person on your team, or a random opponent — and pay close attention to what he/she does well. Now imagine yourself executing the same skills, visualising the feeling of performing the skill perfectly.
Confidence levels can be built through modelling.
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RECALL DIFFERENT FORMS OF VERBAL PERSUASION:
Encouragement, whether its source is yourself or others, is important in enhancing athletes’ enjoyment of, and confidence towards, their sport. Have your teammates ever given you positive feedback or encouragement? What happened at that moment, and what were they like? Write the feelings down. These statements will come in handy for your future races.
Mental Training
TRAINING
LAW CHOR KIN:
‘unwanted,’ and wishing for it to go away, 03 DON’T REACT OR TRY TO FIX IT: we instead engage with the pain by facing Pain, fatigue, low times, all these are part of and paying attention to it. Follow these an endurance race. And only tough minds three simple steps to deal with physical Part of mindfulness is accepting what is happening. Be comfortable with being uncan overcome such symptoms. If there is suffering: comfortable, and, while paying attention to any mental training that can help train up it, trust that this pain will subside. a tougher mind, I am sure it will help. BE AWARE OF THE PAIN:
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INNER EDGE:
Dealing with pain and fatigue are two of the most common issues of every trail runner. Let’s use pain as an example. We’ve always wanted to ease pain while running. What do we do? Simple, we distract ourselves. Listen to some music, or focus on the beauty of nature. But what happens when these things don’t work, and the pain is still as strong as ever? We get frustrated and cringe at the uncomfortable thought of having to run in agony for another 4h. In such dire situations, ‘mindfulness’ can help us tackle the persisting pain; a method that has been proven to be extremely effective among athletes, clinically diagnosed patients, and even the general public. The basic concept is that rather than labelling the pain as something ‘bad’ and
What do you notice about the pain — are you able to describe it? Is it a throbbing or aching type of pain? Be curious as to how it peaks and valleys — does the pain stay in the calves, or does it eventually move away to other parts of the body? Does the intensity change for a while? Describe the discomfort and engage with it.
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AVOID PUTTING LABELS:
From our past discussion of self-talk (please refer to Asia Trail #16), we know that our thoughts and judgments directly affect our emotions. If we avoid negative labels, those thoughts will not cause us to feel anxious. As long as we don’t label it, pain can be ‘neutral.’ Learn about pain without judging it to be something ‘awful.’
Karen is the first Certified Consultant of the Association of Applied Sport Psychology in the Greater China Area. Follow her website where she trains people on the importance of mental toughness: InnerEdge.com. hk
References:
¹Baltzell, A. “Living in the Sweet Spot: Preparing for Performance in Sport and Life.” Fitness Information Technology: Morgantown, WV (2011). ²Bandura, A. “Self-efficacy: The exercise of control.” Worth Publishers: New York (1997).
³Taylor, J. and Wilson, G. S. “Applying Sport Psychology: Four Perspectives.” Human Kinetics: Champaign, IL (2005).
⁴Weinberg, R. and Gould, D. “Foundations of Sport and Exercise Psychology.” Human Kinetics: Champaign, IL (2011). ⁵Willard, C. “Mindfulness for Teen Anxiety.” Instant Help Books: Oakland, CA (2014).
PIKO X4
SmartCore the High-Power headlamp for Trailrunning 1500 Lumens light output 2h-80h runtime 200g total weight 3.3 Ah battery with capacity indicator and back light function More informations at www.lupine.de
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GEAR
New Year Gear
NEW YEAR GEAR
Garmin Fenix 3 HR Garmin.com | USD 499.99
One of the key features of this GPS watch is the impressive 20h battery life — which doesn’t make it the lightest watch out there, but one worth it for the avid ultra runner. With its barometric altimeter, you can track the altitude without relying on the GPS. The informative display offers your last few hours of your heart rate at a glance, and connecting to Wi-Fi lets you transfer all of your activities directly to your other devices. A great investment for the serious runners who spend many hours outside.
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Suunto Spartan Ultra Suunto.com | HKD 6,990
Suunto introduced its Spartan series as the succession of their Ambit line. A noticeable update, lifting the bulky shape of the Ambit, the Spartan smartwatches are good-looking and lightweight (only 77g). And the colour touchscreen display works with wet hands. We were also impressed by how fast this watch could acquire GPS signal. While there are many pre-set functions and sports-specific features, the downside is the lack of the possibility to customise your activities (which you could with the Ambit) — still, we believe it’s just a software issue, which Suunto could rapidly update. Overall, a nice watch that will appease all small wrists (especially ladies’).
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TomTom Spark Cardio + Music TomTom.com | SGD 329
This sleek-looking watch has several useful features: live per-kilometre pacer, speed gauger, time metre, and calories-burnt counter — a load of metrics together letting you know when you need to push it or slow down and pace better. The watch is multisport, so it can be used for swimming, treadmill workouts, and cycling sessions. The only downside to the watch is that the battery lasts only a few hours whilst using the heart-rate monitor, GPS, and Bluetooth for music.
Polar M600 Polar.com | HKD 2,780
For those who must stay connected, this Android Wear watch is packed with a multitude of useful features, including notification pop-ups and Bluetooth-connected music. The wrist heart-rate monitor is surprisingly accurate, which makes wearing and tracking your activities all day long quite addicting — and don’t forget to turn on the GPS when doing serious outdoor training. With all these features, the obvious downside is the battery life: ~6h when using the GPS while listening to your favourite beats.
Mountain King Carbon Trail Blaze Poles MountainKing.co.uk | USD 130
Foldable poles, collapsible in four sections; making the pair very compact and storable indeed. Very easy to assemble and disassemble, even with tired and cold hands, making your transitions between terrains quick and smooth. With only 106g per pole (at 120cm long), they are among the lightest poles on the market.
GEAR WAA Ultra Rain Pants WAA-Ultra.com | EUR 129
Waterproof pants, weighing a mere 120g. Being a part of the few mandatory gear required on a number of ultras, this is the pair of choice, able to fit the tiniest of storage pockets. Designed especially for runners, the pants will protect you from wind and rain when conditions go vile. It is an extension of the Ultra Rain jacket, which weighs the same little amount. WAA Ultra Sleeping Jacket WAA-Ultra.com | EUR 450
Designed for the Marathon des Sables, at 690g this innovative combination of a down jacket (750 fill) and sleeping bag will offer you the best warmth/volume ratio. Optimise your space in your bag while ensuring maximum protection on those cold nights in the desert (comfort temperature is 0 C). Instinct Evolution Vest Facebook.com/InstinctTrailHongKong | HKD 990
A new arrival to Asia, by way of France, Instinct Evolution is a functional and ergonomic vest tested by our team in humid weather — and it works well. We appreciate its ample nine-pockets storage. The two pockets on the chest can fit a 500mL soft flask, each. The elastic cross-lacing on the sides allows for quick adjustments on the go, ensuring perfect fitting, and hence stability, at all times. And all this at an attractive price. Oxsitis Hydragon Ace 17L Oxsitis.com | EUR 160
Already a popular hydration bag in Europe, we recently saw it in Hong Kong on the backs of the French elites Nicolas Martin and Ludovic Pommeret while the two were flying down Lantau Peak. A full-hydration pack that allows you to easily carry all the mandatory gear at ultras. Use the side Velcro to adjust the bag’s size — which will depend on how much you’re carrying — making this bag extremely stable. Did we mention its ample front pockets?
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GEAR
New Year Gear
ProStretch Plus ProStretch.com | HKD 580
Plantar fasciitis, Achilles tendonitis, and/or tight calves sound familiar? ProStretch is your answer — this accurate and efficient tool optimises your foot-stretching ritual by guaranteeing the exercises are done with your foot locked into the correct position. Keep this tool under your desk for a stretching routine.
Skint Wallet SkintWallets.com | HKD 195
A dedicated ultralight wallet made of a quality stretch fabric. We liked this sporty wallet, which weighs nothing but yet effectively secures your cards and cash (minus coins).
Giordano Low Alpine Flow Dry T-Shirt Giordano.com | HKD 160
The soft and quick-dry material brings next-to-skin comfort, while the flat-lock stitching minimises chaffing. A good value for its quality.
Giordano + Lowe Alpine Tricot Soft-Shell Jacket Giordano.com | HKD 890
The casual-wear brand Giordano joined forces with outdoor-brand Lowe Alpine to create a unique fusion of technical street-wear. This fashion jacket, with its water-repelling fabric, combines comfort and functionality — equipped with large side and chest pockets to store your digital camera, phone, and other accessories. This vest makes the transition from the street to the trail seamless. 56
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GEAR
Ultra Gear T-Shirt UltraGear.cn | USD 45
Founded in 2015, this Chinese brand created by passionate ultra runners offers a series of high-quality products. This particular t-shirt is made from a material that is comfortable, lightweight (even when wet), and anti-chafing.
Lululemon Surge Short 7� Trail Lululemon.com.hk | HKD 650
Our team tested previous models of these shorts and gave great feedback, unanimously. These updated shorts are no exception, made with a comfortable loose cut and a neoprene fabric added for optimal stretch. The zipped pockets offer generous storage, for your gels, and the rear pocket is a good size for a small mobile.
SCOTT Supertrack RC SCOTT-Sports.com | HKD 1,350
The argument for these shoes is that they manage to combine great comfort (with a seamless upper and form-fitting tongue), reliable agility, good traction (on both dry and wet rocks), and soft cushioning (being made with EVA material). We like the performance of these shoes, which are angled with a 5mm drop and weigh in at 270g (for a size US 10). The favourite model of SCOTT athletes.
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GEAR
New Year Gear
SCOTT Kinabalu Enduro SCOTT-Sports.com | HKD 1,290
Equipped with the well-known and ever-reliable Vibram sole, this shoe is the answer for those of us desiring one shoe for all types of terrains. Not the lightest SCOTT model, but it does provide good protection and a perfect grip (thanks to its 6mm lugs).
Millet Trilogy X Wool Jacket Millet-Mountain.com | HKD 1,999
A technical layer completing your protection on those chillier days. Good-looking and irresistibly soft, this technical layer is made with Polartec’s Power Wool stretch fabric, ensuring the freedom of movement, and great insulation, delivered at the lightest weight. It became our favourite layer, immediately!
Millet Trilogy Synthesis Down Hoodie Millet-Mountain.com | HKD 2,699
Being down-filled (700 fill) this jacket will definitely keep you warm, but also, thanks to its water-repelling treatment, it will protect you in wet conditions (which most down jackets don’t). We liked the innovative seamless construction.
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GEAR
Descente Motion Free Active Suits Descente.com | HKD 940
Equal parts fashion and technicality, this vest is a smart addition to your winter-gear wardrobe. Great for beating Hong Kong’s slightly colder days. And an excellent vest post race.
Descente Brushed Stretch Skin Tights Descente.com | HKD 430
Use these tights as your base layer, under your casual pants, and worry not about the frightful weather outside, as this pair will keep you snug and warm during your outdoor expeditions. Very comfortable, offering very light-feeling compression — seems like you’re wearing nothing.
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ASK THE COACH
How to Build Up to 100km
Photo: Alexis Berg
HOW TO BUILD UP TO 100KM BY BEN DUFFUS
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re you ready for a 100km trail run? With enough determination, you might be able to complete this arduous feat, as early as tomorrow. But chances are that it wouldn’t be a particularly enjoyable experience, and could even lead to injury. To avoid this, let’s take a closer look at what it would take to arrive at the start line confident in your ability to complete such a daunting distance.
Extending your weekly long run will be the most crucial step in your preparation. Let’s say, currently, your weekly long runs are 2h long — a gradual progression to 4h would involve lengthening the run by (on average) 15min each week (perhaps intermixed with an easier week every 4-5 weeks, to help your body absorb the training). Hence, the buildup would take around 6-10 weeks, and then regular 4h runs would ideally be sustained for at least another 4-6 weeks. And, preferably, a few 5-6h runs 3-5 weeks before the event would be wise, but may not fit into your
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busy schedule.
In an ideal world, your long runs would all be done on the actual course you’re training for. Although this is not usually possible, still, aim to mimic your race course in your long runs — a good place to start would be matching the amount of elevation change per kilometre. If, for example, your target race has 4,000m of vertical in 100km, then in your long runs aim for 400m of vertical per 10km. Chances are you’ll be hiking a lot of your race (especially if it’s hilly), so make sure you practice your fast hiking during your long runs. This is also the time to perfect your race day’s nutrition plan.
Are you currently doing any speed-work? If you are simply looking to complete a 100km race, getting in adequate long runs should be (just) enough, but if instead you’re looking to come close to your full potential, then speed-work is an absolute
must. It will not only improve your ability to sustain faster paces, but will also teach you to run on sore and tired legs.
Laying a speed-base will take 8-12 weeks, and in the beginning the emphasis will be on 1-5min repetitions: For example, six 3minlong hard efforts, with 2min recovery. This type of exhausting work may enhance your VO2 max (the trainability of which varies among individuals, but is likely to improve in runners who have never done this type of training before) and has also been shown to improve running economy (meaning that it’ll take less effort to run at a given pace).
Once the base is laid, it’s time to move on to 8-12 weeks of more race-specific tempo sessions — involving upwards of 30min of steady running with only short recovery periods. An example of this type of session is three 15min-long comfortably hard efforts, with a 3min jog between repetitions. This period will get you used to the struggles of being out of your comfort zone for extended
ASK THE COACH
periods of time and will increase your sustainable aerobic pace.
Does your goal race contain hills or stairs? Many Asian trail races do! Just as with speed-work, first you must spend 8-12 weeks building up strength with short, fast hill-work (like 10 2min hill repeats with an easy jog back down) before moving on to another 8-12 weeks focused on long, sustained climbs.
If you only have access to small hills, don’t worry! Because not only should you work on your ability to run up hills, but must equally address your ability to descend them. It is the descents that blow runners’ quads in hilly races, due to the increased eccentric loading. So even if your target race is flat, downhill training is great for strengthening your legs. However, this type of training is quite intense and needs to be eased into gradually, and should only be sustained for a maximum of six weeks during peak training. Given you only have access to a hill that takes you 7min to ascend, an example session would be to run hard up and down this hill, twice (in roughly 20-25min), then to take a 5min jog
recovery at the bottom, and then to repeat.
OK, you’ve done your long runs, improved your speed, and conditioned your legs for both uphill and downhill running? Now all that’s left is another 2-3 weeks of tapering before your race, to absorb all of the hard training you’ve done, leaving you feeling fresh at the start line. During the taper phase, keep the quality of training up (i.e., keep doing some form of speed-work), but gradually reduce the overall volume of training to sufficiently recover for race day. There you have it! Depending on your current level of training, and goals for the race, you are probably looking at 3-6 months of training to properly develop all the necessary energy systems, physical strength, and psychological grit for the rigours of a 100km trail race. The journey may not be easy, but the reward will be worth it!
EXTENDING YOUR WEEKLY LONG RUN WILL BE THE MOST CRUCIAL STEP IN YOUR PREPARATION.
Ben is an elite ultra marathon runner with podium finishes all around the globe. If you want help pursuing your trail running goals, he also offers online coaching at www.mile27.com.au.
Photo: Alexis Berg
Photo: Assaf de Courcy 61
WOMEN’S CORNER
Photo: Sunny Lee
Running + Vacation = A Wonderful Type of Adventure By Caroline Demer and Anna Boom, Women Out On Trails™ and running-vacation enthusiasts etting vacation time is hard enough, and with the average worker in Asia accruing a mere 5-15 days of vacation a year (according to a 2016 report by the International Labour Organization), making a destination vacation a running vacation combines two great ideas into one. ‘Runcations,’ or running and vacation, have become the new way to travel to trail races around the globe, while experiencing a new destination in a completely novel way.
Runcations have broad appeal to women trail runners, be they dedicated athletes
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or leisurely runners looking for new trails to discover on a foreign landscape. Those seeking to race the very popular ultra trail championships — such as the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc or Ultra-Trail Mt. Fuji — can travel to races that provide International Trail Running Association points in order to qualify to enter those high-profile races. Travelling to earn points with friends is a great way to set a goal, train, and earn the required qualifiers.
with women fuelling much of this growth (as stated by the Pacific Asia Travel Association, in 2016), travel-related businesses have already begun catering to this gender-specific market. The emergence of thousands of women-only running groups worldwide speaks to the growing trend. Races like the Nagoya Women’s Marathon in Japan and the Malaysia Women Marathon exclusively admit female entrants, and such events continue to grow in popularity.
With tourism in Asia expected to rapidly grow — both internally and externally — For women who want to enjoy their time by almost 5% for the next four years, and slanted more towards vacation and less
WOMEN’S CORNER
so towards gaining points or setting a personal record at the race, group runcations are a great way to see a new city and experience an exotic culture. There is much to see and experience when going out on foot. On the race course, time can be used to absorb the amazing views, chat with the local folks who came out to volunteer, and stop and take pictures to later share and remember.
Also bursting with popularity are multi-stage trail events, again female exclusive, such as the Queen of the Jungle Ultra Woman series in Thailand (Queen-Jungle.com). This requires a team of two women who must race together across Thailand while resting at villages every evening. With all the multi-stage race options available, a group of women can challenge themselves in their physical and emotional ability to compete in such a unique race.
There are also relay trail runs, in places like Zion National Park, Utah, or San Diego, California, both in the USA, or ones across Nepal, which feature incredible trails and challenging, mountainous terrains. Relay trail races offer a different type of challenge, focusing on team bonding, as each participant runs her leg solo, and does not want to let her team down. Supporting and celebrating each other’s goals is a great part of this experience. There are several benefits of travelling with other women to consider. New destinations and experiences are often heightened when they are shared with others. Another racer on the same course, competing on the same day, will have lots to say and will be able to understand what conditions the runner endured — this is especially true if the trail or weather conditions were brutal due to rain, storms, or extremely hot or cold weather. Plus, combined travel can be cheaper, as the cost is shared. A communal trip gives you access to group rates, and by sharing rooms and costs for car rentals or hailing taxis, the price per person drastically drops, sometimes by half. Having even just one other person out on the course cheering, rooting, and congratulating, draws the female-friendship connection even closer. And don’t forget, an important part of any culture is their distinct food and drink.
Although testing new items before a race isn’t for everyone, make it part of the celebration after the race.
Female travellers who vacation together create friendships and bonds that can last a lifetime. Going outside the normal routine and finding women who also share that drive for new adventures is very special and unique. It will help ward off the loneliness of travelling and racing solo, especially for the gregarious woman who craves conversation with others. There are exchanges and directions that other women have shared and travelled that can be added to the personal list of runcations, too.
Women-Only
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Travelling as a solo female is wonderful, but also has its downsides. Something every female runner should keep in mind on the trails is to always have a buddy or a guide. When in unfamiliar places, it is always best to have a friend along and a safety protocol in place before going out to explore. There is safety in travelling with others and there is greater safety in numbers. Due to the increased availability of running-oriented travel companies, there is now a wide variety of businesses specialising in active vacations. Trail-running companies such as the Run The World (RunTheWorld.it) offer guide-led destinations around the globe, with every sort of landscape on offer. Women Run Strong (WomenRunStrong.com) is a women-run trail company that provides spa treatments and caters to the traditional girls’-weekend type of vacation, with a local race in distances of around 6-10km on offer. All that is left to do, is to start planning, finding other women that have similar types of travel plans and goals. Runcation destinations for women are continually expanding, and the new and deeper friendships made during these special getaways makes runcations enticing, once-in-a-lifetime experiences, not to be missed. References:
¹International Labour Organization. “Travail Conditions of Work and Employment Programme.”
²Pacific Asia Travel Association. “Travel Demand for Asia Pacific to grow by 4.6% each year until 2020.” ³Alyanak, L. G. “How to Find Female Travel Companions (for women only)
Queen of the Jungle Ultra Woman series in Thailand. This requires a team of two women who must race together across Thailand while resting at local villages every evening. Queen-Jungle.com
2 Ladies' Run in Hong Kong. A women-exclusive trail event, offering two distances of 11km and 20km. www.lantaubasecamp.com
3 Suck It Up Princess Trail Relay Race at Mount Ishikawa, Okinawa, Japan. This is a trail relay consisting of difficult but short legs, and one leg where the team runs together. Teams of three must be all women or coed, with only one man allowed. WomenOutOnTrails.com
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GEEK RUNNER
Seize the Day:
The Power of Morning Habits for Trail Runners By Clint Cherepa “Either you run the day or the day runs you.” Jim Rohn Manikala Lai is now based in France where she regularly races. Photo: Capela Nuno
G
etting out for your trail run in the wee hours of the morning, before the rooster crows, can be challenging. If you want to rise, shine, and run, having good morning habits is a must. Many successful trail runners have put into practice morning routines that get them out the door feeling stoked and ready to tack on the kilometres.
have put simple routines into place that gradually turned into essential habits. The types of habits that help them succeed as runners.
Stevie Kremer, who won the 2016 Red Bull Summit Quest in China, has her day begin with a 4:42 a.m. wake-up call. She then leaves her house, around 5, for a what is roughly a 1.5h run. Around 6:30, Kremer gets back to her house, and is at work by What morning habits can you borrow 7:30. For her, routine is important. from successful early birds? “I love starting my day outside with a run, even in negative-degree weather. I find if I The Power of Habit don’t get up and do something in the mornA habit is defined as a recurrent, often ing, I have anxiety about it all day that I unconscious, pattern of behaviour that is won’t get to it. Also, the refreshed feeling I get after I run in the mornings can’t come acquired through frequent repetition from anything else. It’s part of my morning . “Champions don’t do extraordinary routine. It’s like my coffee that gets me gothings. They do ordinary things, but they ing,” reflects Kremer. do them without thinking, too fast for the other team to react. They follow the habits Many trail runners agree: Getting in a they’ve learned,” says Charles Duhigg in morning run can take the edge off for the rest of the day. What other benefits are his book “The Power of Habit.” there to ingraining the morning run as a Successful trail runners tend to accom- habit? plish extraordinary things, because they do ordinary things day after day. They You’re less likely to skip out: Putting your
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training off to later in the day increases the chance of it being skipped altogether, or of it being replaced by something else that may suddenly come up. Serenity of catching a sunrise: Nepal’s Manikala Lai took first place at the 309km Annapurna Mandala Trail in 2016. She says she likes to run “before the wake up of the sun.”
Lai likes the quiet of the morning for running, and adds, “I think morning is a good time to run and is best when it is a habit.” Cooler weather: Beating the heat of the day is that extra benefit of running early. A crisp morning run makes it easier to get in speed-sessions than to do so under the scorching midday sun. Easier to get in a second workout: When your training reaches the realm of two-aday workouts, or if you like to strengthtrain, running early will help you be able to accomplish this.
It’s easier to balance calories: An endof-the-day run can be difficult when you have had too big of a lunch, or when your digestion is not dialled in. An early-morn-
GEEK RUNNER
ing run is a good time to do a fasted workout, or to run after a light breakfast.
Lai likes to take her time waking up, and eats a breakfast of salty rice. Before the run, she will also do some light exercises, to wake up her body.
Become a Morning Runner
“Habits, scientists say, emerge because the brain is constantly looking for ways to save effort. Left to its own devices, the brain will try to make almost any routine into a habit, because habits allow our minds to ramp down more often,” says Charles Duhigg. Habits are behavioural routines that are repeated regularly and tend to be executed subconsciously. Many people would love to turn their running into a morning habit, but it just doesn’t happen all by itself. They get pumped to run early, and then, the eagerness fizzles. Don’t give up: Running early in the day can become as routine as brushing your teeth or tying your shoes.
Make Running a Habit – In 4 Easy Steps: 1. Decide to Run: It’s you who has the power to decide to be a morning runner. Today, decide to start running early, at least twice a week. This will get you on your way towards cementing a morning running habit.
2. Create a Cue: Habits are cue-dependent. For example, every day we have exterior cues that spur us on to brush our teeth, drink coffee, eat donuts, and stare at the TV. Your morning running habit can be cued just as easily as any of these other habits. Choose a running cue. For example, decide to run every morning after your first cup of coffee, set your shoes and running clothes out in the middle of the room, or put a note on your coffee pot — ‘Go Run!’ 3. The Routine Route: It helps to have a morning running route that you can do mindlessly. Let this be your fallback route, a safety net for your early running habit. When a person has to plan out a route, the run can often fall through. The time and
Stevie Kremer in China to prepare the Redbull Female Summit Quest
effort it takes to plan out a new route can be enough to make you push your run off to later on in the day. The distance need not be anything specific, the route can be 5km, 10km, or whatever works for you. After your cue makes its appearance, throw on your shorts, shoes, and shirt, and hit the running route. Habituate yourself to this route, until the point that you can run it with your eyes closed. Then, add a new route to the routine. Doing this will strengthen your running habit.
4. Run for the Reward: All good habits end with rewards. Whether they are mental or physical satisfactions, the reward at the end of the run propels you to do it again. Here are some things you can reward yourself with: Drinking a glass of chocolate milk, writing your mileage in a running journal, knowing you can relax for the rest of the day, or enjoying the simple satisfaction of running before most people have even woken up. Kremer suggests: “Start slow and don’t overdo it. Set your alarm for 30min earlier than normal and get out for 30min. Then
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build from there. Try it for at least a week or two. That first week could be difficult to get used to, but once you get hooked there is no turning back. Also, if you do decide to get up a bit earlier, make sure you are going to bed a bit earlier, too. Don’t lose sleep because you’re running more.”
An hour or so before hitting the sack, start a nighttime ritual that involves turning the lights low and avoiding blue light (which has a very short wavelength, and is emitted by digital devices like computers and smartphones). Use pre-bedtime to get your gear ready for the morning run. Kremer likes to lay out her running clothes the night before. And her husband will make The Night Before sure that the coffee is ready for her early If you want to ritualise the habit of running wake-up call. earlier in the day, your preparation should Stone Tsang, an ultra runner from Hong start the night before. Kong, likes to wind down with some light Beginning with dinner, you can set yourself stretching before turning in for the night. up for a good start for the next day. At din- “Sleep is important, so I try to get to sleep ner, consider what you’re eating, and how early. I will do a small massage with arniit will affect your following morning’s run. ca to improve the recovery and relax,” says Consume a balanced meal a few hours be- Lai. fore you head off to bed, and avoid overeating or overindulging in spicy foods, as The Morning Routine this can cause havoc during your early run. Kremer reveals that one of her biggest
tricks is not pushing the snooze on the alarm clock — not even once. “I find it’s much more difficult to get up if I have snoozed for even five more minutes. Once the alarm goes off, I pop out of bed and I’m ready!” says Kremer.
Another aid is to make a running date with friends. The accountability of knowing that someone is waiting for you will surely help you get out of bed. Lai shares that, if you can’t find the motivation, it is easier to run with a group. Take a minute and analyse your morning habits and routines. Change them, little by little, and you’re bound to discover that getting out for an early-morning run will benefit you. As Duhigg says, “There’s nothing you can’t do if you get the habits right.”
Bad Morning Habits to Avoid Making drastic changes: When beginning good habits, it is best to start slowly. Don’t try to wake up 2h earlier. Instead, wake up 10-30min before your usual wake-up time. Try this out for a couple of weeks, and then, if you want to, get up even earlier.
Sleeping late: Staying up late, equals sleeping late. Burning the midnight oil is the perfect way to sabotage your early-morning run. As evening approaches, turn off the TV and shut down the Internet, as these are the usual late-night provocateurs. Try to gradually go to bed earlier and earlier, and correspondingly wake up earlier and earlier. Don’t skimp on sleep, as it will only add up to fatigue and invite injury.
Keeping the alarm clock too close to your bed: Hitting the snooze button is extra easy when your alarm is within arm’s reach. Keep your digital rooster away from your bed, so that you’re forced to get out of bed to turn it off. And, since you’re up, you might as well stay up.
Lying back down after you shut off the alarm: Returning to bed is just asking for trouble. Chances are, once your head makes contact with the pillow, that’s where you’ll be staying. So muster up the willpower to turn on the lights and get the coffee brewing.
Over-rationalising: When you wake up, you are at your weakest. Your mind can find dozens of reasons to skip out on that irrational early-morning run. Don’t over-rationalise. Just think, “This run is not optional.”
Having no reason: Motivation to get out on the run comes with good reasons. Do you have an upcoming race? Go to bed with a reason in your mind for running the next morning. Consider how hard it will be to fit it in later in the day, or how nice it will be to come home from work and chill with the family, because your training for the day is accomplished.
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Illustration by Kirk Wescom
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NUTRITION
PREVENT COLD-WEATHER INJURIES WITH WINTER NUTRITION By Michelle Lau
Trail Running World Champion Nathalie Mauclair having a tough day at the MaXi Race China in the cold conditions. Photo: Sunny Lee
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NUTRITION
A
s winter finally settles on runners in Hong Kong, and most parts of Asia, it is worth looking at how to manage training and nutrition in cold temperatures. Generally, cold weather should not prevent us from performing physical activity. However, cold temperatures are associated with a number of risks for runners, and key among these is hypothermia (when your body temperature drops below 37°C, or below what is your normal body temperature). For this reason, nutrition is key, as controlling your overall nutrient intake for your workout fuel and hydration (during your workout, before, and after) can make a huge impact on your performance; reducing recovery times between workouts and boosting injury-prevention in colder temperatures. The physiological demands of exercising in the cold are a bit different than those placed on you in a temperate environment. As the outside temperatures drop lower, your body tries to maintain its normal internal temperature, even as heat and moisture are lost with every breath. Dehydration, hypoglycaemia, and hypothermia are all threats to performance when exercising in the cold. A nutrition plan that will make you resilient to the chilly elements will have you consistently consuming adequate carbohydrates throughout your training. Include carbohydrates at meals and snacks, and before, during, and after exercise. Proper pre- and post-workout fuelling is essential for feeling and performing your best out in the cold.
Let’s look at how some simple nutritional considerations can keep you performing at your coolest peak.
Energy
Due to cold-specific factors like needing to wear heavier clothing and keeping warm through shivering, athletes can expend more energy when out in the cold. The increased calorie needs (which can be as high as 10-40%) can be fulfilled by eating your normal breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and then supplementing with frequent snacks throughout the day.
Regular volumes of exercise can be sustained by ingesting carbohydrate beverages (6-12%), such as sport drinks, and since carbohydrate availability might be limited, carbohydrate-loading before exercising in the cold (to maximise your muscle’s glycogen stores) might prove beneficial. Therefore, eating carb-rich foods such as crackers, potatoes, cereals, bread, and pasta will help maintain performance.
About 30-60min pre-training is a good time to snack. Consuming a small amount of protein with a carb-rich snack is ideal, as this titbit will help top off muscle glycogen stores, will build and repair muscle tissue, and may even help reduce post-exercise soreness. Depending on how you are training during a workout, your fuel intake will vary. For training under 60min, fluid intake for hydration should be your main focus. Consuming 2-4 ounces of fluid every 15min is recommended. Training beyond 1h, your fuel source should include 30-60 grams of carbohydrate per hour — the carbs may be in the form of sports drinks, gels, or whole foods, or, better yet, homemade sources, like granola bars.
For post-exercise recovery, a carb-rich snack, with moderate amounts of protein content, should be eaten within 30min after the work is done. The presence of the carbohydrate will replace your muscle’s fuel (glycogen) whose store was depleted during the workout, and the protein will help stimulate the development of new muscle tissue. Carbohydrate and protein should be paired together as snacks both before training and after, with the before-workout snack being carb-rich and the recovery snack being loaded up with protein.
Hydration
Compared to hot weather, thirst is less noticeable in cold temperatures. Fluid balance may be affected by sweating underneath the layers of insulating clothing, as body fluid is lost through respiration. Urine output might be increased as blood flow is redirected to the core via vasoconstriction, stimulating the kidneys to extract fluids. A serious concern is that many athletes avoid drinking sufficient water before exercise to avoid making a pit stop
during training.
Before exercise, athletes can monitor hydration status by noting the colour and volume of their urine and their body weight. Look for regular urination, with a clear to pale-yellow (straw) colour. Many athletes drink most of their fluid with meals, and eating food does indeed improve fluid consumption. A variety of fluids such as milk, juice, tea, sports drink, and coffee can be ingested during mealtime. Moreover, meals can provide the salt (sodium) intake necessary to retain body water — because compared to straight water, sodium-containing beverages can assist with fluid retention.
If you want to insure proper fluid intake, living in an environment where cold temperatures are particularly a concern, try warm fluids like tea and soups. Alcohol should be avoided during sports participation out in the cold. Not only can it have a negative impact on your performance and judgment, it is also diuretic (causing increased passing of urine), and dilates the blood vessels, thus further increasing heat loss. For every kilogram of fluid lost during training, drink the equivalent of 1.5 times the amount of body weight lost, to maximise recovery and decrease soreness post exercise. Dressing appropriately for training out in the cold weather will also help maintain hydration. Be sure to select moisture-wicking fabrics — these will expel sweat and keep your skin dry — and, as your body heat starts to rise, remove extra layers of clothing to cool down and not overheat.
No doubt, training in the cold brings its own set of nutrition and performance needs. Paying attention to your body’s state, and addressing any imbalances by consistently fuelling and hydrating, will improve performance, prevent injury, and accelerate recovery! Michelle is a certified nutritionist (MSc.) and nutrition expert who specialises in sports nutrition, weight management, and pre- and post-natal nutrition. For more health and nutrition tips, follow her blog, nutriliciousss.wordpress.com, or her Instagram and Facebook @nutriliciousss.
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Nutrition Tips
FOR HIGH-ALTITUDE TRAINING By Katia Kucher
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NUTRITION
Ruth Croft and Dong Li acclimatising for 5 days with regular hikes/runs above 5,000m, for the 2016 Redbull Female Summit Quest. 71
I
n the past few years, people are increasingly looking for greater challenges, and as a response, trail-running distances have increased, dramatically, races have become more challenging and technical, and high-altitude racing has also surged in popularity. Great examples include the Mount Everest Marathon (and ultra marathon, of course) and the 4 Deserts series of races — both events, and many others like them, are now very popular.
Regardless of the event, after signing up for a high-altitude race, knowing what to expect as far as symptoms of high-altitude adaptation (plus being aware of some nifty tips on ideal nutrition for such events) is crucial in avoiding the dreads of mountain sickness.
High-altitude training is a completely different beast. Even after allowing the body to fully adapt and acclimatise to high altitude, you will still not be entirely able to compensate for the lack of oxygen. Because even after successfully adapting to these extra-terrestrial conditions, your body will still experience a drop in VO2 max — exactly 2% decrease for every 300m of elevation above 1,500m — so don’t aim for a personal best at high altitude, as you will inevitably experience a decrease in your stamina and strength. To avoid any of the severe symptoms of altitude sickness, you must focus on the proper training and nutrition. Mild symptoms of altitude sickness are almost unavoidable, affecting up to 50% of people travelling to levels above 4,000m — and some individuals might even start experiencing symptoms, like headaches, decrease in appetite, nausea, uneasiness, at relatively lower heights of 2,500m. If you’re the unlucky one, the best way to handle these symptoms is to rest, hydrate, avoid alcohol, and maybe, if necessary, take some analgesics. Severe symptoms include intense shortness of breath, cough, severe headaches, hallucinations, and confusion — these are considered medical emergencies and require immediate descent, oxygen administration, and medical help. The ideal recommendation for acclimatising to altitude properly is above 3,000m; try not to gain more than 600m per day. 72
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cells), and at altitude the demand for red blood cells to produce oxygen increases — also, iron supplements might be especially Regular hydration is one of the most im- required by women and vegetarians. portant tips to succeed at altitude training. This can be more challenging that you Macronutrients and Calorie Ratios think, as you are dealing with colder, dryer weather, and as such you’re not feeling as High altitudes usually have people crave thirsty even though you are still losing a lot high-carb, low-fat and low-protein foods. of water. But it is key to remember that deUp in the clouds, many people find high-fat hydration aggravates symptoms of altitude foods unpleasant, distasteful, and hard to sickness and further decreases appetite. digest.
Nutrition Tips
The recommendation is drinking 3-4L of a mix of water and high-carbohydrate drinks per day. The ideal diet for maximising adaptation and lowering the risk of the much-dreaded ‘mountain sickness’ is a high-carb low-salt diet. Be weary, some people might experience a decrease in their appetite, which will cause a loss of muscle mass and might slow down performance levels. At altitude, iron levels are also an issue. Iron is used by the body to make haemoglobin (protein in red blood
As such, carbohydrates are very helpful in replacing depleted glycogen stores, requiring less energy to metabolise, and in preventing our body from using protein as energy. In contrast to carbs, fats require more energy to metabolise, therefore adding even more pressure on your already overtaxed and oxygen-depleted body. People used to consuming more high-fat foods usually will not consume as much carbohydrates, which will result in low
NUTRITION
The five selected women for the Redbull Female Summit Quest had five days to acclimatise before the race. Each day, they would climb up to 5,600m.
blood sugar levels, and can lead to confusion, disorientation, and lack of coordination. If you start craving some fats at these extreme heights, any nut butter is a good nutriment.
At high altitude, one’s caloric intake increases between 15-50%, depending on the individual and their level of training. The recommended daily caloric intake varies between 4,000-6,000 calories (once again, the exact number is highly individualised, depending on factors like one’s gender and size). Given that your appetite will decrease by at least 10-50%, highcarb drinks are well recommended. The ideal macronutrient ratio is 60-65% carbs, 20-25% fat, and 10-15% protein. As far as gender is concerned, women appear to have a bit of an advantage when it comes to altitude training. Women seem to suffer less from severe symptoms, they don’t experience as much decrease in appetite as men do, and are able to consume
food more easily. To figure out what works best for you, test out a variety of foods at altitudes above 3,000m. Discard any food that doesn’t seem appealing, and focus on the foods that you find the tastiest and easiest to digest — also try to work out alternatives, as people tend to get increasingly fussier the higher up they ascend. Easyto-grab energy includes noodle soups, hot chocolate, and packs of gels or chews — all easy to swallow and digest.
High-Altitude Meals: Breakfast: Hot sweet-rice pudding, oatmeal, noodle soup, granola, energy bars, hot chocolate, tea, coffee.
Lunch: Bread rolls, bagels, crackers, sausages, cheese, energy bars, fig bars, energy balls, dried fruits, trail mix, nut butter. Dinner: Freeze-dried meals with some protein and rice, noodles, vegetables,
chicken noodle soups, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes. Dessert: Chia-seed pudding, dark chocolate, fruit purées, hot chocolate, tea.
Each individual will have different reactions and adaptation-times to high-altitude training, so focus on a personalised diet that is ideal for you. Make sure you test different kinds of foods, focus on hydration, and find foodstuff that is tasty and easy to digest — no easy feat, as the task will get increasingly challenging as altitude levels rise. Keeping a log, rating your fatigue during training, and monitoring your heart rate, weight, and mood, will help with managing your overall altitude training. Katia, owner of d.BeFit, is a NASM-certified personal trainer, is a NASM Sports Nutrition Specialist, is PT Global-certified, and is TRX-certified.
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BOOK REVIEW: Sweetening with Fresh Fruits ‘Fresh Cuisine Recipe Book’ By Amanda Sloan A Book Review by Asia Trail Available on Amazon.com and iTunes.apple.com. “Fresh Cuisine Recipe Book” was inspired by several reasons — though mostly its mission is to improve health through diet. This can be a challenge, and to help us along the way, Amanda has created a tool to inspire those of us wanting to make dietary changes. The book is built on her already-existing vegan and vegetarian cookbook, and the idea was born out of the many requests she received for glutenand sugar-free recipes. The recipes are healthy, balanced, and tasty. As nutritional needs are important, there’s plenty of protein-dense recipes. This book is great for vegetarians, vegans, and those wanting sugar- and gluten-free foods. Great for all
health-conscious people looking to build a healthier pantry.
The cookbook’s many tasty recipes are uniquely sweetened using fresh fruits, nuts, and spices. They are delicious, the results are gorgeous, and the practical recipes are easy to make. A wide selection and variety will suit different tastes. Cookbooks oftentimes recommend using syrups and dried fruit as ‘sugar-free’ options — but such recipes end up still being high in sugar. This book avoids the pitfall, instead, Amanda relies on fresh fruits, nuts, and spices, as these have an amount of sugar which the body can easily cope with. Of course, it’s always good to be cautious, and a good idea to not overuse fruits, certain nuts, or sweet veggies, especially if sensitivity to sugar is an issue.
Often recipes use these high-sugar substitutes (which sometimes may indeed be more nutritional, like dried fruit), but these ingredients remain high in sugar. On the other hand, fresh fruits, which are filled with juices and fibre, aid digestion.
Also, as intended by nature, anything raw contains complete amounts of vitamins and minerals. Fruits and veggies also contain roughage, a fibrous material which cleanses your intestines and liver, keeping your blood clean and flowing. Using nuts is a good idea, too. Ground almonds are quite sweet, and often used as a sugar replacement. Cashews, used to make vegan cream, make a tasty topping instead of icing for cake. Cinnamon is a natural sweetener and can be sprinkled on anything needing sweetening — plus, it’s so tasty!
Several servings of fruit per day is enough sugar intake. By the time a few raw nuts are added, plus several vegetables, your daily sugar levels have been met. Drinking enough fluids, especially water, keeps the body in balance. Eating small amounts regularly is also important, as this keeps blood sugar levels stable throughout the day. And eating healthy will help you feel emotionally balance.
Recipe
Chocolate Crackles - 2 tbs cocoa - 4 tbs coconut oil - 4 tbs toasted quinoa (boil 1 cup quinoa until soft and cool — then bake in greased dish with olive oil, at 180ºC, until golden brown) - 2 tbs each: sunflower seeds, pumpkin - seeds, cashews, slithered almonds - 4 tbs coarse coconut - 1 apple, grated 1. Warm the coconut oil slowly, until melted. 2. Add cocoa, followed by other ingredients. 3. Mix well, then place in cupcake cases. 4. Put on a tray, in the fridge, to set — and save remaining quinoa in a jar in fridge for a topping on another dish, like French Toast (p. 19 in Amanda’s cookbook)!
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NUTRITION
RACE DIRECTORY
Where To Race In Asia
DATE
RACE
DISTANCE
LOCATION WEBSITE
21-Jan-17
UltraTrail d'Angkor
16km, 32km, 64km and 128km
Cambodia
www.ultratrail-angkor.com
21-Jan-17
Green Power Hike
10km, 25km and 50km
Hong Kong
www.greenpower.org.hk/hike
21-Jan-17
The James Mountain Stampede Ultra
50km
New Zealand
www.stjamesmountainsports.co.nz/the-james-stampedeultra/
22-Jan-17
Tahura Trail
42km
Indonesia
www.asiatrailmaster.com/events/2017/1/22/tahura-trail
26-Jan-17
Knapsack Lap Race
3h or 6h
Australia
www.runningwildnsw.com/knapsack-lap-race/
28-Jan-17
Jumbo Holdsworth and Hooper Loop Trail Races
12km and 24km
New Zealand
www.runningcalendar.co.nz/jumbo-holdsworth-trail-race/
28-Jan-17
Tussock Traverse
6.5km, 13km and 26km
New Zealand
www.tussocktraverse.co.nz/
29-Jan-17
Rizal Mountain Run
50km
Philippines
www.rizalmountainrun.com
30-Jan-17
CNY Grand 3 Tour
18km and 35km
Hong Kong
www.xterace.com
3-Feb-17
The 9 Dragons Ultra
50mi + 50km; 50mi or 50km
Hong Kong
www.the9dragons.asia
4-Feb-17
The Cradle Mountain Run
82km
Australia
www.cradlemtnrun.asn.au/
5-Feb-17
Kilcunda Half Marthon and George Bass 17 km Coastal
17km and 21km
Australia
www.runningwild.net.au/coastal-runs/kilcunda-georgebass-coastal-trail-run.html
10-Feb-17
Coast To Coast
Adventure Race 243km
New Zealand
www.coasttocoast.co.nz
10-Feb-17
The Great White Rann–Run of Kutch
25km, 50km, 160km and 135mi
India
www.runofkutch.com
10-Feb-17
Run the Rann
21km, 42km, 101km and 161km
India
www.runtherann.com
11-Feb-17
Tarawera Ultramarathon
62km, 87km, 102km and relays
New Zealand
www.taraweraultra.co.nz
12-Feb-17
King of the Hills - Sai Kung
19km and 37km
Hong Kong
www.seyonasia.com/koth.php
17-Feb-17
UTKC Ultra Trail Unseen Koh Chang first SuperTrail
100km
Thailand
www.asiatrailmaster.com/news/2016/8/22/ultra-trailkoh-chang-first-supertrail-in-2017
18-Feb-17
MSIG Sai Kung 50 - HK50 Series
12km, 21km and 50km
Hong Kong
www.actionasiaevents.com
18-Feb-17
Heliworks Shotover Moonlight Mountain Marathon
5km, 10km, 21km and 42km
New Zealand
www.activeqt.co.nz/event/shotover-moonlight-marathon/
19-Feb-17
Unnamed Trail Challenge
24km
Hong Kong
www.xterace.com
25-Feb-17
Old Ghost Ultra
85km
New Zealand
www.oldghostultra.com
25-Feb-17
The Hillary Trail Race
16km, 35km and 80km
New Zealand
www.thehillary.co.nz/wordpress
4-Mar-17
Lark Hill - Dusk to Dawn
50km and 100km
Australia
www.wtfultra.com/lark-hill/
4-Mar-17
Motatapu Off-Road Marathon
42km
New Zealand
www.motatapu.com/event-summary/off-road-marathon
5-Mar-17
King of the Hills - Tai Po
14.8km and 36km
Hong Kong
www.seyonasia.com/koth.php
10-Mar-17
TransLantau
25km, 50km and 100km
Hong Kong
www.translantau.com
11-Mar-17
Sixfoot Track Marathon
45km
Australia
www.sixfoot.com
18-Mar-17
Kathmandu West Valley Rim 50
10km, 35km and 50km
Nepal
www.ultratrailkathmandu.com/west-kathmandu-valleyrim-50km/
18-Mar-17
Northburn Station 100 Miler Mountain Run
5km, 10km, 21km, 50km, 100km and 100mi
New Zealand
www.northburn100.co.nz
19-Mar-17
Race for Water
15km and 30km
Hong Kong
www.raceforwater.adropoflife.org
25-Mar-17
Hong Kong NE 50
25km and 50km
Hong Kong
www.xterace.com
25-Mar-17
Oxfam Trailwalker New Zealand
50km and 100km
New Zealand
www.oxfamtrailwalker.org.nz
25-Mar-17
The Dual Motutapu - Rangitoto Traverse
10km, 21km and 42km
New Zealand
www.thedual.co.nz
26-Mar-17
Merrell Challenge
20km, 30km
Hong Kong
www.merrell-challenge.hk
26-Mar-17
Ultra Asia Race - Vietnam
160km in 4 stages
Vietnam
www.canal-aventure.com
26-Mar-17
Up The Buff Trail Race
16km and 25km
Australia
www.upthebuff.com
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MARKET PLACE
ACTION X www.actionxstore.com
Causeway Bay Flat A, 1/F, Po Foo Building, 84-94 Percival Street, Causeway Bay Discovery Bay North Plaza, Shop G16AG16C, G/F, 92 Siena Avenue, Discovery Bay Sheung Wan G/F, 28 Bonham Strand, Sheung Wan T: +852 3102 2977 Daily: 11:00 - 20:00
ROUND THE WORLD www.roundtheworld.hk
Shop A, 51 Bonham Strand, Sheung Wan T: +852 2745 6988 Mon-Sat: 11:00 - 20:00 Sun: 10:30 - 19:30
STARLIGHT SPORTS Shatin Shop 284, Level 2, Ma On Shan Plaza, Ma On Shan, Shatin, N.T. T: +852 2613 8995
Tseung Kwan O
LANTAU BASE CAMP www.lantaubasecamp.com Shop J, Sea View Building, Mui Wo, Lantau Island T: +852 5463 6060
Mon-Fri: 8:30 -19:30 Sat-Sun & PH: 8:00 - 19:30 Closed on Tuesday
Shop B05, Level 1, Nan Fung Plaza, Tseung Kwan O, N.T. T: +852 2410 9096 Mon-Sat: 11:30 - 21:30
PRO RUNNER Shop L1A, Fitfort, North Point T: +852 2327 0488 Mon-Sat: 12:00- 21:00
GONE RUNNING
www.gonerunning.hk
Unit 8B, Trust Tower 68 Johnston Road, Wanchai T: +852 3461 9792
Mon-Fri: 12:00 - 15:30, 17:30 - 20:30 Sat-Sun: 12:00 - 18:00
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ALL WEATHER www.allweather.hk
13 1/F Tung Choi Street, Mong Kok, Kowloon T: +852 2384 8890 Mon-Sat: 15:00 - 21:00
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OVERLANDER www.overlander.com.hk
Base Camp@Causeway Bay 3/F Gold Swan Commercial Building, 438–444 Hennessy Rd, Causeway Bay T: +852 3695 0871
Base Camp@Mongkok Rm 12-23, 12/F, Hollywood Plaza, 610 Nathan Rd, Mongkok T: +852 2117 1810 Packcity (Mongkok) Shop 229, Level 2, Trendy Zone, 580A-F Nathan Rd, Mongkok T: +852 2116 2707 GigaSports Unit 1, Level 8, Megabox, 38 Wang Chiu Rd., Kowloon Bay T: +852 2629 5009
Shatin Shop 536, Level 5, New Town Plaza, Phase 1, Shatin T: +852 3427 9626 Tseung Kwan O Shop 1129, Level 1, Phase II Metro City Plaza, Tseung Kwan O T: +852 2628 9902 Tsuen Wan Shop UG57, Citywalk, Tsuen Wan T: +852 2117 1720 Mon-Sat: 11:00 - 21:30 Sun: 11:00 - 21:00
PATAGONIA www.facebook.com/ patagoniahk Tsim Sha Tsui G/F 25 Ashley Road. T: + 852 3622 2373
Mon-Sun: 11:00 – 21:30
Shop OT224, Level 2 Ocean Terminal T: +852 3188 2400 Mon-Sun: 10:30 – 21:30
Kowloon Tong Shop L2-06, Level 2 Festival Walk Tel: +852 3105 1223 Mon-Sun: 11:00 – 21:30 Causeway Bay Shop 730, Level Times Square T: +852 2506 0677
7
Mon-Sun: 11:00 – 21:30
Central Shop 2, 46 Lyndhurst Terrace, Central. T: +852 2155 9567 Mon-Sun: 10:00 – 20:00
Shatin Shop 516, Level 5, New Town Plaza Phase 1 T: +852 3188 8138 Mon-Sun: 11:00 - 21:30
PASSION RUN 2160 Rama4 Rd., Klongtoei Klongtoei Bangkok, Thailand 10110 T: +662 6729141 Mon-Fri: 11:00 - 20:00
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