Athje45ywse5tgoutdoor fitness november 2015

NATURE’S GYM, SWIMMING, CYCLING, RUNNING W W W. O U T D O O R F I T N E S S M AG . C O M

BEAT ALL BARRIERS

SPEED WORK SMASH YOUR MARATHON & PARKRUN PB

OBSTACLE RACE SPECIAL

›› THE RACES ›› THE TRAINING ›› THE CHAMPION

JONATHAN ALBON

RUN IN THE CLOUDS

W IN T E R CYCLING & RUNNING JACKETS

NOV 2015 £4.50

ON TES T

15 DREAM UK TRAILS COUGH & COLD FIGHTING NUTRITION

ISSUE 48

SKYRUNNING

PLUS SKI SCOTLAND, MTBING, EXTREME TRIATHLON

IT’S A BIG WORLD.

GO RUN IT.

ASICS.COM/GORUNIT

Contents November STARTLINE 008 The Great Outdoors 012 Startline DNA test to avoid a DNF

014 New Products

Face up & fuel up for autumn

016 5 Things we learnt from Jonathan Albon

017 Sports Science Dose up on D

018 Travelling Light kit for a 20,000km cycle

020 Summit for the Weekend

CHALLENGES AND HEROES 032 Less Cloud More Sky Skyrunning

036 15 Dream UK Trails 040 I am Ironman Do our trio make it?

044 Running Man

Kevin Carr’s round world run

048 Welsh MTB Utopia Whistle-stop tour

052 Ben Nevis Braveheart Race review

Roaches, Staffordshire

022 Events Guide 025 Great Outdoors Challenge 026 Competition Winner

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Sally Hall

028 Adventure Travel Cairngorm Mountain

FOOD 084 Defend yourself Immune enhancing nutrion

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ON THE COVER

088 Breakfast of Champions 092 Superfood Moringa

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036 15 Dream Rails 058 Obstacle Course Special 066 Speed Work 084 Cough & Cold Fighting Nutrition 096 Running & Cycling Jackets

GEAR 096 Running Jackets 098 Cycling Jackets 100 Superbike Ridley Helium C10 104 Long-term tests

SUBSCRIBE NOW AND NEVER MISS AN ISSUE

80 WHERE TO BUY ASICS GEL-KAYANO 22 & LITE-SHOW JACKET

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53-12 Ltd Colchester, CO1 1BW www.53-12.com

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Alton Sports Four Marks, GU34 5EY www.altonsports.co.uk Berkhamstead Sports Berkhamstead, HP4 1AQ www.berkosports.co.uk Brandshop www.brandshop.co.uk/sports-player Chain Reaction Cycles www.chainreactioncycles.com DW Sports Nationwide www.dwsports.com

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Fast Feet Sports Ltd Bishop’s Stortford, CM23 2LS www.fastfeet.co.uk Greaves Sports Glasgow, G1 3PW www.greavessports.com Harrods Knightsbridge, London SW1X 7XL Hobbs Sports Cambridge, CB2 3HX www.hobbssports.co.uk

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John Lewis Nationwide www.johnlewis.com Pilch Intersport Norwich, NR2 1JE www.jarrold.co.uk ProBikeKit www.probikekit.co.uk Pro Direct Sports www.prodirectrunning.com

TRAIN 058 OCR Special Pick the right OCR & Specific Training

066 Speed Work

Blast 5km to blast 42km

070 Wasdale X Men & Women The cast

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074 Training Diary 076 Ask the Experts 106 Reader Challenge

Rat Race www.ratracestore.com Sportsshoes www.sportsshoes.com Start Fitness Newcastle, NE1 5JQ www.startfitness.co.uk Sweatshop Nationwide www.sweatshop.co.uk Wiggle www.wiggle.com For other ASICS recommended retailers in your local area, please visit www.asics.co.uk

Andrea Harrower

ASICS.COM / GO RUN IT

OBSTACLE COURSE SPECIAL PAGE 58

OUTDOOR FITNESS NOW ON THE iPAD!

Welcome November When I’m out running, a hill climb or a bit of uneven ground can be a bit of a pain.

You know you’re in a rhythm and then all of a sudden, you’re not. Your breathing elevates and you can struggle to get back into that comfortable pace you had just a few steps before. So if you’re a lover of obstacles course you must have no rhythm! No rhythm maybe, but a great ability to enjoy and appreciate a staccato pace.

This issue has a distinct obstacle course race (OCR) flavour, for a start we have an interview with Spartan Race World Champion Jonathan Albon on page 16. Albon knows a thing or two about clearing obstacles. Indeed the fitness and skill required for an OCR can be quite involved for those with elite aspirations. Hence, we sent our action man, Maxwell Roche to learn some of the techniques needed to fly over any rhythm breaker that OCR organisers conspire to throw

in your way – see page 62. Roche did have to train indoors, but what he learnt will give him every chance of leading from the pack in an outdoor OCR. So you’re inspired and thinking of having a go at an OCR, after all they do look like a lot of fun.

Note: I do think that some of the people who have done for example, the Tough Guy, may emphasise the words “look like a lot of fun” after the actual experience, when they’re freezing and suffering from the tea shakes! But once thawed most will be looking forward to their next OCR fix. We’ve therefore provided a guide to picking the right (or next) OCR for you, whether you fancy a fast warm course with clean obstacles, or a long, leg-draggingly slow dirty and cold one - where the slightly sadistic organisers might want to electrocute you, burn you and flog you! What is it about the human condition that appreciates a little (or a lot of) suffering?

Speaking of suffering this issue also includes

the culmination of Outdoor Fitness’s Braveheart Triathlon series, the race itself - see page 52.

You’ll have read Sean McFarlane’s training plans in the magazine over the last few months and many of you will have followed them and have entered the Braveheart. Now, we talk to some of you guys, the conquerors of one of the toughest tris out there and review the race.

This issue also sees another culmination and yes, probably some more suffering. Our trio of aspiring (reader training diary) Ironmen Wales triathletes have raced; are they victors or have they been vanquished? See page 40 to find out.

We all need a challenge to get us out of bed everyday when it comes to training and doing sports and events, triathlons, OCRs or otherwise. And that bit of suffering won’t hurt in the long-term; we need it to feel human, to feel alive and to feel satisfied, to feel that we’ve put our body and mind on the line and beaten the obstacles, the course, the swim, the bike…

JOHN SHEPHERD Editor

HEROES OF THE MONTH IRONMAN WALES TRIO Colin, Huw and Richard, tackled Irnoman Wales. Not a bad ask for guys who can’t swim, have destroyed knees and hate running. P40

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THE BRAVEHEARTS Yes, all you men and women who completed this most epic of challenges. You are all heroes whether you stormed round the course or took it a little more leisurely (if that were ever possible). P52

KEVIN CARR He should be named Kevin running man; he’s the quickest man to leave his front door and er, run round the world! P44

GENIUS 700 TUNED PLUS

R O W D Y, MEET CONTROL. NO SHORTCUTS SCOTT Plus bikes bring new levels of traction, stability, grip and control to our proven frame platforms. With a full range from the trail-friendly Scale Plus hardtails to the full suspension Genius 700 Plus and Genius 700 LT Plus models, SCOTT has a Plus bike for any trail, any time.

Experience the trail in high definition, on the most capable bikes ever produced.

SCOTT-SPORTS.COM | @BIKEONSCOTT © SCOTT SPORTS SA 2015 | Photo: Markus Greber

THE GREAT OUTDOORS Click, what a picture! Put it in the Landscape Photographer of the Year album!

Picture Nadir Khan

A RIBBON OF SUNLIGHT

This dramatic image of mountain bikers in Snowdonia, spotlit by sunshine on the crest of a ridge, with the snow-dusted cliff face of Y Lliwedd in the background was runner-up in the “Living the View” category of the Landscape Photographer of the Year Awards 2015.

The category seeks the finest images of people interacting with the British outdoors, including mountaineers, canoeists, climbers and hill walkers, and the awards are among the most prestigious for amateur and professional photographers alike.

This is the ninth year of the Awards, established by leading landscape photographer Charlie Waite, to provide an “on-going platform for capturing images that best symbolise our land and our times, and that will stand as a record of our country.”

Both the winning and commended entries will be published in a coffee table book, and will also be displayed in a central London exhibition, although the location has yet to be confirmed.

More info: Landscape Photographer of the Year: Collection 9 is out now (AA Publishing, £25).

The Landscape Photographer of the Year awards are held in association with VisitBritain and Countryside is GREAT, take-a-view.co.uk.

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THE GREAT OUTDOORS Robin Hood, Robin Hood orienteering through the glen. Can you and your merry bunch of men stay on target?

Picture Richie Hopson / Red Bull Content Pool

ORIENTEERING OUTLAWS

Entries have just opened for one of the most exciting orienteering events in the sport’s calendar. The Red Bull Robin Hood challenges runners to navigate their way around Sherwood Pines forest.

Racing against the clock, competitors have 75 minutes to visit 30 controls, with additional controls where extra points can be earned. The sport requires brains and brawn to plot the most efficient route between the controls, map read to find them, and the speed and stamina to tick off as many as possible within the time limit.

There are also six extra controls, where the orienteers have to take on different challenges, such as a rope climb or archery (the race is afterall named after the famous bow and arrow outlaw) to earn extra points. The event is open to men, women and teams of three, and there are decent cash prizes of £500, £300 and £200 for first, second and third places respectively.

More info, Red Bull Robin Hood takes place on 1st November and entry costs £10, Redbull. com/robinhood

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STA R T L I N E ON YOUR MARKS FOR A BRILLIANT MONTH IN THE OUTDOORS

DNA test to avoid a DNF

Analysis of your genes can provide a shortcut to finding your ideal training programme.

ACCESS TO STATE-OF-THE-ART science is helping everyday athletes answer intriguing questions about training and performance. DNA testing is providing a deeper level of understanding about the types of workouts and events for which cyclists are best suited. So if you’ve ever wondered whether you’re predisposed physiologically and psychologically to sprint or endurance challenges, or to one type of training or another, the answer may lie in your genes.

A DNA test identifies those training methods to which you will best respond naturally, how much recovery time you will need to get the best out of yourself, whether you are prone to soft tissue injuries and the volume of work required to develop a high endurance capacity.

By combining this information with an analysis of the type of athlete you are today, you can start to unravel the classic nature vs nurture argument, says cycling coach and trainer Dan Small from Mountain Goat Coaching.

“Take, for example, a cyclist who has an extremely powerful acceleration (an impressive sprint in cycling terms) but in contrast lacks endurance,” he says. “Does this mean the rider was genetically born to be a sprinter and has no hope of high endurance performance? Using traditional coaching methods, it would be all too easy to assume that this rider is genetically predisposed to become a sprinter. But could the opposite be true? The answer is that it’s actually more likely than you might think.”

DNA analysis pinpoints the sort of workouts, recovery and nutrition to which a cyclist is genetically predisposed to respond.

“In the past, it took years of trial and error to map a rider’s responsiveness to different training methods and patterns,” says Small. “But by harnessing the information revealed by DNA and combining physiological and psychological analysis it is now possible to accelerate the process and produce individually tailored training programmes with a completely new level of

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accuracy and within a startlingly short timescale.”

With everyone’s DNA unique, there’s no single training plan to suit every rider.

“There are many ways to train for a specific cycling event but only some will be effective for each individual,” explains Small. “We use a combination of the physiological adaptations required for the chosen event and a map of the individual’s training responsiveness. To fully map someone’s training responsiveness we analyse lots of pieces of information that are like jigsaw pieces, and each piece is unique to the rider.”

These other pieces include a rider’s

physiological performance, based on power and heart rate testing, a psychometric assessment and lifestyle analysis.

“A training programme developed without all the pieces of the jigsaw may still provide good results, possibly great results if by chance you are one of the lucky ones who happens to respond well to the methods used in the given programme. However, using a complete jigsaw will create a picture of how to reach your individual potential without leaving it to chance,” says Small. * A rider profile, including DNA anaylsis, costs £375 from biometric.bike

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OCR WORLD CHAMP Jonathan Albon

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COMP WINNER Sally Hall her last entry

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ADVENTURE TRAVEL Cairngorms

SPORT SCIENCE TESTS

n SWEAT TESTING Work out your perfect rehydration strategy by having your sweat tested. Sodium lost through sweat is highly individual, so tailoring your electrolyte intake to match the salts you lose can make a significant difference to your hydration levels.

More info, myh2pro.com n VO2 TESTING Your VO2Max is the maximum amount of oxygen your body uses in one minute, per kilo of bodyweight. The higher the score the fitter you are. It is possible to improve your VO2 Max by training harder and losing weight. A VO2 test calculates three key training zones to help your progress; your maximum fat burning zone (aerobic base), your lactate threshold (race pace for endurance athletes such as marathon runners and sportive riders) and your RQ1 (high intensity zone). These zones can then be used to create personalised training plans.

More info, trainsmart.com n BASAL METABOLIC RATE Your BMR is the amount of calories your body burns while at rest in a temperate environment. It’s a useful base for calorie-counting if you are trying to lose weight – basically, you have to consume fewer calories than you burn to torch fat.

More info, trainsmart.com

November 2015 outdoorfitnessmag.com 13

STARTLINE NEW PRODUCTS

Seasonal specials Face up and fuel up for the challenges of training outdoors in autumn and winter.

1 New Balance Hi-Viz Beacon Vest, £100 Stand out whatever the prevailing light conditions in this wind and waterresistant gilet. The vivid orange delivers high visibility in daylight, while at dusk a series of bands across the chest and back reflect headlights. With 10 minutes exposure to bright light those same bands will even glow in the dark, similar to the luminous hands on a watch. The Beacon is tailored for running and features two zipped pockets and a vent across the back.

More info: newbalance.co.uk

1

2 Lishinu Get fit with Fido by turning your daily dog walk into a manageable run with this hands-free lead. The retractable lead straps to your wrist, and extends from 45cm to 3m. Husky owners might find their training run times start tumbling.

More info: rokabone.co.uk 3 Skins A200 Women’s Thermal Compression 3/4 Tights, £75 Marrying compression performance with the added warmth of a thermal fabric, these running tights will keep you pounding the pavements and trails as the mercury falls. The brushed interior feels soft against the skin and helps with insulation, there’s a handy internal key pocket, and reflective tape alerts drivers to your presence in the dark.

More info: Skins.net 4 Wyldsson ProMix Snack Tubes, £15.99 for 10 Any healthy, tasty snack that keeps us away from the office vending machine is a welcome boost to our training efforts (how many times has confectionary undone the good work of your run, ride or swim? Yes, us too!). These tubes are packed with chopped nuts, seeds and a variety of unusual fruits such as mulberries, goldenberries and pomegranate. There are 10 flavours in all, so they don’t become samey, and you can pour them straight into your mouth from the tube, which is ideal if your hands are muddy. Each 45g tube delivers about 250kcal, depending on its mix, and includes more calories from healthy nut and seed fats than carbohydrates. Our favourite flavour? Cherry and dark chocolate.

More info: wyldsson.com 5 Reebok All Terrain Super 2.0, £90 Tis the season to get muddy, whether obstacle racing or cross-country running, and it heralds the arrival of these off-road trainers. The light upper is reinforced by a deep, aggressive tread pattern to grip on the muddiest of surfaces, while drainage ports let feet-fulls of water escape. There’s even a toe rand to protect the shoe and your feet from rocks and rope. Just don’t expect them to stay this bright and colourful.

More info: reebok.co.uk 6 Redshift ShockStop, $109 Minimise the road buzz from your bike with this innovative shock-absorbing stem.

Britain’s road surfaces are frequently coarse with dressed stone tipped onto asphalt, which translates to uncomfortable, fatigue-inducing vibrations rising through the frame and fork of your bike into your wrists, arms and shoulders. The ShockStop pivots up and down as you cycle over bumps in the road to smooth out your ride, and a choice of elastomers lets you select the degree of vertical movement. Lateral movement is unaffected, so steering remains unchanged.

The stems are available in 90-120mm lengths with +/- 6 degree angles.

More info: redshiftsports.com 7 CYCL Winglights, £34.99 Sometimes products arrive that are so smart and simple you wonder why no one has introduced them before. Like these Winglights. The mounts screw into the bar ends, and you simply clip-in/out the lights at the start and end of your ride. As you approach a turn, press the button on the end of the light and it flashes amber like an indicator. The Winglights are best suited to flat bar bikes, but even on drop handlebar racers would send a useful signal to traffic behind.

More info: cycl.bike

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STARTLINE SPORTING HEROES

5 things we learnt from Jonathan Albon, champion obstacle course racer

The all-conquering obstacle course racer has won 50 events, including Spartan races, Tough Guy, and the Scandinavian Toughest series.

A BACKGROUND ON the school cross-country team and roller-hockey in a sports hall doesn’t seem like the most obvious proving ground for the world’s finest obstacle racer, but Jonathan Albon has been a constant visitor to the top step of the OCR podium since 2012. The former London Underground building surveyor is now a full-time athlete based in Norway. He’s the current Spartan Race European champion and is about to defend his Spartan Race World Championship title.

1

I haven’t specialised my training until this year.

I sat down and thought what should a human being be like, what would we have been a thousand years ago and what sort of fitness should we have? It’s not someone who can lift 200kgs or someone who can run 3-minute kilometres for a marathon, it’s someone who can when asked, sprint and run a marathon.

2

At the moment I run 100-140K a week, and that’s up and down and off-road and a few recovery runs on the road. I live in Norway so I’ve got access to quite nice mountains - I can run 3kms from my front door and be 500m above sea level.

3

As well as that, for obstacle racing I do two or three circuit training sessions a week, as well as bouldering once or twice a week, which is good for your hamstrings. Bouldering is good because it’s a very different strength to lifting weights, which is static, and you also learn what sort of shapes your body needs to make in order to climb something. And I swim and cycle a bit too to stay injury free by cross-training. Bouldering is also a bit of fun if you can go with a couple of friends. Tricking yourself into working out is one of the best things to do, because psychologically you are ready for more next time.

4

One of the reasons I’m good at standard obstacle racing is because I’m a light runner, but I’m accustomed to strength training like bodyweight exercises. A lot of runners wouldn’t want to get too muscled because it would slow them down, but I’m not afraid of being a little stronger. In Spartan Races in particular, they are trying to make it so runners don’t win their events, so they have a lot of heavy carries and you end up with half obstacles and half carries and that doesn’t suit my body type.

5

I least like the coldness. I’ve had hypothermia a couple of times so now I know when it’s coming and that makes it worse. I have to submerge my head in icy water in January in Tough Guy and I really don’t like it! But I don’t mind the mud… and I’m usually winning so that makes it easier!

More info, spartanraceuk.uktKenton Cool is out now, randomhouse.co.uk

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SPORT SCIENCE NEWS STARTLINE

Cool drinks for warm waters

Triathletes and open water swimmers competing in tropical open waters should make time to drink during long course events to decrease their core temperature and improve their speed.

“Although it may take longer for swimmers to drink more, the time spent doing so may be compensated by an increase in swimming pace,” says a report in the International Journal of Sports Medicine.

“Increasing fluid ingestion, particularly cold fluids, during swimming in open water long-course events in hot water significantly decreases the core temperature and may prevent the hyperthermia usually seen in such competition.”

Dose up on D The majority of athletes are deficient in vitamin D, which is vital for sporting performance Taking the right dose of vitamin D has the capacity to dramatically improve sporting performance, according to a new study. The research indicates that appropriate vitamin D supplementation can increase aerobic capacity, improve muscle growth, raise force and power production, and decrease postexercise recovery times.

“Maintaining higher levels of vitamin D could prove beneficial for athletic performance,” report scientists in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition.

They cite research on elite male rowers, which found a high correlation between higher levels of vitamin D and VO2max. A study on rats also found a positive correlation between muscle recovery and vitamin D levels.

However, across the globe 88.1% of the world’s population are thought to be vitamin D deficient, and that includes sportsmen and women.

Vitamin D is found in various foods, such as

salmon, tuna, cod liver oil and shiitake mushrooms, as well as fortified cereals and milk. Taking it as a concentrated supplement, however, carries risks – the researchers say that both deficiency and high levels of vitamin D “can have negative side effects.” They also report than vitamin D needs to be consumed in conjunction with vitamin K for optimum absorption.

“Coaches, medical practitioners, and athletic personnel should recommend their patients and athletes to have their plasma 25 (OH)D measured, in order to determine if supplementation is needed. Based on the research presented on recovery, force and power production, 4000-5000 IU/day of vitamin D3 in conjunction with a mixture of 50 mcg/day to 1000 mcg/day of vitamin K1 and K2 seems to be a safe dose and has the potential to aid athletic performance,” they conclude.

For more on Vit D and immunity see page 84

Rest and recovery are central to maximising the gains from your training, and that includes getting a good night’s sleep. Trouble is, training close to bedtime, consuming products containing caffeine, variable wake-up and go-to-bed times and even a cheeky daytime nap can all lead to sleep deprivation.

Now scientists working with elite football players have outlined pharmaceutical-free “sleep hygiene” plans to make pushing zzs as restorative as possible.

Writing in the Journal of Sports Medicine, they say that: “sleep deprivation is best alleviated by sleep extension; however, sleep hygiene strategies (i.e. consistent sleep pattern, appropriate napping, and active daytime behaviours) can be utilised to promote restorative sleep.”

The researchers add that light has a profound impact on sleep, and they recommend strategies that support the natural circadian rhythms of the light–dark cycle such as red-light treatment prior to sleep and dawn-simulation therapy prior to waking.

“Consuming high-electrolyte fluids such as milk, high-glycaemic index carbohydrates, some forms of protein immediately prior to sleep, as well as tart cherry juice concentrate may promote rehydration, substrate stores replenishment, muscle-damage repair and/or restorative sleep,” say the scientists.

November 2015 outdoorfitnessmag.com 17

Pictures Shutterstock

Shut-eye skills

STARTLINE CYCLE TOURING KIT

Travelling light So what exactly should you pack for an epic 20,000km bike tour from London to Cape Town? Here’s the kit list packed by adventurers Emily Conrad-Pickles and James Davis for their year-long mission.

GEAR SELECTION IS critical for a 12-month cycling expedition that will cross three continents, 27 countries and stretch 20,000km from London to Cape Town at the foot of Africa.

Every item of kit has to justify its weight and space and make travel progress and life that little bit easier and more comfortable.

Adventurers Emily Conrad-Pickles and James Davis will have to contend with temperatures of up to 55°C in the Sahara desert and ride over 10,000ft mountain passes in Ethiopia, so they need gear that can cope with a wide variety of conditions and that will

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last a tough 12 months on the road.

Here’s an outline of some of the key items the pair are tightly packing into their Tardis-like panniers - sponsorship from Vaude provided them with most of the key essentials.

Conrad-Pickles and Davis aim to raise £50,000 for the charity World Bicycle Relief, which empowers people across Africa by donating bikes so that access to healthcare, education and economic activity is no longer barred by distance. The money raised could fund 500 bikes.

More info, london2capetown.org

BIKES The Dawes Ultra Galaxy Touring Bike is a classic tourer built around a Reynolds 853 steel frame, with triple chain rings of 48/36/26T and a 10-speed 12-30T cassette. Disc brakes provide beefed-up stopping power for the burdened bikes, while indestructible Schwalbe Marathon tyres will have their puncture protection tested to the maximum by thousands of miles of variable road surfaces.

SADDLE This is the most important contact point with the bike, so it needs to be comfortable.

The Brooks B17 leather saddle is based on a 100-year old design, and its softer leather should provide instant comfort.

TENT The three-person Vaude Ferret XT tent will give the couple useful space for sleeping and storage, yet weighs just 3.6kg and packs down to 55 x 22cm.

PANNIERS A pair of the waterproof Vaude Aqua Back Plus rear panniers can stow 51ltrs of gear, with internal storage pockets making it easy to locate smaller items.

SLEEPING BAGS The down insulated Vaude Cheyenne tips the scales at just 900g, but packs enough warmth to work well from spring through to autumn conditions.

POWER Away from the grid, electricity supply has to come from a battery pack. The Goal Zero Sherpa 100 charges from the mains or the sun, and can hold enough power to recharge a smartphone 14 times, a digital camera 10 times and a tablet two to four times.

TABLET The pair’s Amazon Kindle is loaded with instruction manuals, contact lists, important documents and books.

MEMORIES Taking photos and video throughout their expedition; Conrad-Pickles and Davis will store their adventure on two Samsung M3 Slimline 2TB hard drives.

HORN Wary of traffic on roads unaccustomed to cyclists, the intrepid couple will warn other road users of their approach with

the deafening 140 decibel Hornit.

That’s a mere whisper in Cairo and Istanbul!

the pressure in the tyres. It’s only 30cm long, but makes inflation easy.

WATER SOURCE A pair of these Water-to-Go bottles will filter out over 99.9% of all bacteria and viruses, making refills at taps and fast-flowing streams a safe option.

COOKING Fuel could be hard to find on their odyssey, but the MSR Whisperlite International stove is capable of burning gas, kerosene and even unleaded petrol.

Compact MSR pans keep hot food on the menu.

HEAD TORCHES For camping and late arrivals, the Petzl Tikka XP head torches will light the way.

POCKET KNIFE Whatever the problem the tried and tested Victorinox Pioneer Alox should hold the solution.

MULTI-TOOL If there’s a mechanical issue with the bikes, the Crank Brothers M19 multi-tool should fix it.

FIRST AID Cuts, grazes, chafing, bites… hopefully a medicine cabinet of Savlon, Sudocrem, Vaseline and Celox Gauze will stay in their first aid kit for the entire ride.

PUMP This Lezyne Micro Floor Pump is tasked with keeping up

CROCKERY A range of Sea-toSummit collapsible mugs, plates and even a “kitchen sink” save space yet allow a degree of civilised eating and drinking.

HYDRATION PACKS Water storage is going to be vital through Africa, and the Camelbak Octane hydration pack will improve their carrying capacity when refills are few and far between.

CYCLING GEAR Top-to-toe Vaude kit will provide lightweight, breathable comfort for long days in the saddle. The baggy cycling shorts have a removable chamois pad for ease of washing and allow the shorts to be worn purely as shorts on rest-days.

November 2015 outdoorfitnessmag.com 19

STARTLINE SUMMIT FOR THE WEEKEND

OUTDOORFITNESSMAG.CO.UK

OUTDOOR FITNESS Kelsey Media, Cudham, Tithe Barn, Berrys Hill, Cudham, Kent TN16 3AG

EDITORIAL

EDITOR John Shepherd of.ed@kelsey.co.uk CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Jonathan Manning CONTRIBUTORS Stephen Ashworth, Rob Barker, Paul Barton, Nik Cook, Ian Coreless, Nick Dines, Damian Hall, Andrew Hamilton, Hardwayround.com, Nick Hutchins, Henry Iddon, Rob Kemp, Patrick Kinsella, Nadir Khan, Andy McCandlish, Sean McFarlane, Anthony Pease, Grant Pritchard, Maxwell Roche, David Rowe, Ellie Ross, Jacob Tipper DIGITAL EDITOR Andrew Cumner-Price andrew.cumner-price@kelsey.co.uk

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Summit for the weekend ROACHES, STAFFORDSHIRE

Other worldly rock clefts, a dinosaur ridge line, Gun Hill and Hen Cloud; with descriptions and names like these the Roaches are a must-see and do.

Why: This rocky outcrop on the western edge of the Peak District is a favourite haunt of outdoor fans. Climbers cling to the gritstone rock, walkers yomp along its skyline ridge, fell runners leave trainer tracks in its soil, and cyclists admire its dinosaurbacked ridgeline from a short distance away. A short climb leads to the 3km ridge, which includes the standalone peak of Hen Cloud, one of the finest viewpoints in the national park.

Run here: A short, sharp climb will soon have your feet in the clouds, for a fairly level run with spectacular views in all directions.

There’s sand, peat and rock underfoot, and the going is typically pretty good, despite the occasional sizeable puddle. Local running club Mowcop Runners organises the Roaches Fell Race, which covers 15 miles and 3,700 feet of ascent – this year’s event takes place on 15th November, and entry costs £6 – more info, mowcoprunner.com Climb here: As its name suggests (Roaches derived from Roches, the French for rocks), this is an excellent spot for climbing. The excellent grip on gritstone makes it a favourite for climbers, and routes up the wind-carved cliff face vary from “Moderate” to “Extremely Severe”, so there’s something for every level of climber. If you’re a beginner, a one-day introduction to rock climbing, including knots, basic rope work, movement and technique costs £130 with local instructor Rock and Ice, rockandice.net

Shutterstock

Road cycle here: The Roaches rocky profile provides a handsome background to cycling routes around the western edge of the

Peak District and the Staffordshire Moorland. Nearby Gun Hill seems to feature in the Stoke on Trent stage of every Tour of Britain, and is one of the most popular places for spectators to watch the race, while sportives criss-cross the shadows below the ridge. If you fancy an organised event, sign up for the Wiggle Peak District Punisher (ukcyclingevents.co.uk) or the Bostin Peaks Spring 2016 Sportive (bostinevents.com).

Walk here: The rewards of spectacular views far outstrip the effort to reach the crest of the Roaches. Once you’re on the ridge, it’s easy going and as this is open access land you have the right to roam. Starting at Hen Cloud will involve a double climb, but it’s worth it. Walk north along the ridge, then continue to Lud’s Church, a giant otherworldly cleft in the rocks, where it’s possible to walk from one end to the other between towering cliff walls. It takes a little navigation to find the concealed entrance, but it is waymarked.

Maps: Find your way around with Ordnance Survey Explorer OL24 White Peak Area.

Plan your trip: Replace lost calories with a well-earned snack or meal at the Roaches Tea Rooms in Upper Hulme (roachestearooms.co.uk). The Lazy Trout in Meerbrook is a lovely pub in which to kick-back and relax after a hard day on the gritstone (01538 300385). The Three Horseshoes Inn Country Hotel & Spa is ideally located close to the foot of the Roaches for a weekend’s activity, and B&B costs from £50pppn (3shoesinn. co.uk); while Ye Olde Rock Inn at Upper Hulme has a self-catering flat for four (yeolderockinn.org.uk).

“Fell runners leave trainer tracks in its soil, and cyclists admire its dinosaur-backed ridgeline from a short distance away” November 2015 outdoorfitnessmag.com 21

STARTLINE EVENTS

Events Diary: Nov – Dec

There’s something for everyone in our events guide…

31ST OCTOBER WIGGLE DEVILS PUNCH SPORTIVE Alton, Hampshire

Routes of either 51 or 74 miles loop around the Devil’s Punch Bowl. £33, ukcyclingevents.co.uk 6-8TH NOVEMBER THE DRUID CHALLENGE Ivinghoe Beacon, Buckinghamshire

84-mile ultra from Ivinghoe Beacon to Wroughton in Wiltshire. £150-£165 full event or £55 for individual days, xnrg.co.uk

unusual, multi-terrain course from Cowley Recreation Ground, along the Grand Union Canal to Cassiobury Park, Watford.

Traffic-free apart from one minor road crossing. £21/£23 (with transport £28/£30, ) purplepatchrunning.com, 14TH NOVEMBER WIGGLE PURBECK HILL-ASAURUS MTB Swanage, Dorset

Routes of 22 or 26 miles take in the chalky ridges of the Jurassic coast. £33, ukcyclingevents.co.uk

7-8TH NOVEMBER WINTER WOLF RUN Stanford Hall, Leicestershire

27TH NOVEMBER WESTPORT SEA TO SUMMIT Westport, Ireland

Run wild in this 10km off-road run featuring a series of man-made and natural obstacles.

Head to Ireland’s County Mayon, There’s a brilliant mix of disciplines in this adventure race, including mountain running and sea running (depending on the tide) as well as a hilly cycle route. You’ll climb Croagh Patrick and finish with a 4km run that includes obstacles and the sea.

Choose 30km or 56km

£39, thewolfrun.com 8TH NOVEMBER GRAND UNION CANAL HALF MARATHON Cowley Recreation Ground, Uxbridge

A lovely flat, scenic, and

race distances. €59, westportsea2summit. ie 29TH NOVEMBER MANCHESTER CHRISTMAS PUDDING 5K Manchester, Lancashire

Dress up in your best Santa outfit and run this charity race, with Christmas puds and festive goodies on offer.

Sign-up or go to these great events ›› NEAR HORIZON 21ST NOVEMBER WILDMAN Ash Vale, Surrey

The first of a three-race off-road duathlon series whose names give an indication of what’s in store – WildMan, IceMan (see left) and MudMan. Run 10km, bike 18km, then run a further 5km over hills and through bog on this army testing ground. £49, humanrace.co.uk

£16.76, nice-work.org.uk

›› DISTANT HORIZON 5TH DECEMBER WELSH ULTRA RUNNING SERIES: BRECON BEACONS Talybont on Usk, Powys

Run 10, 26 or 40 miles off-road through the spectacular Black Mountains.

25-26TH JUNE 2016 RACE TO THE KING South Downs Way, East Sussex

Start getting the miles into your legs now for this new ultra event that races 52 miles along the South Downs Way from the National Trust Slindon Estate to Winchester Cathedral. Walk it, run it, take two days and camp or complete it in a day… the choice is yours.

From £49, racetotheking.com

£TBC, mightcontainnuts. com

›› LIFELONG HORIZON

5TH DECEMBER ICEMAN DUATHLON

Polish up your mountain bike skills and pluck up your courage for this epic one-day, off-road circuit that covers 80km. Fifteen different chairlifts take the sting out of the ascents, but the downhills will demand all your skill and attention. Imagine a British red or black run then tilt the earth on its axis to 45 degrees and you’ll have an idea of the thrills to expect. Places fill up fast, so get ready to register when booking opens on 10th February.

Run10km, bike 18km and run 5km off-road through the “tundra” of Surrey’s Frimley Woods. Relay event also available. £49, humanrace.co.uk

(Download our Complete 2015 Event’s Guide at: outdoorfitnessmag.com)

22 outdoorfitnessmag.com November 2015

STAR EVENTS NEAR & FAR

24-26TH JUNE 2016 PASS’PORTES DU SOLEIL Morzine, France

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EVENTS STARTLINE

Pictures Shutterstock and Ali Ogden

The 37th Great Outdoors Challenge

13TH - 27TH MAY 2016

THE GREAT OUTDOORS CHALLENGE is a unique and very special Scottish hiking institution. Since 1980 thousands of people have taken up the opportunity to backpack from Scotland’s west coast to the east as part of this annual event each of them following their own carefully crafted route.

The event is non-competitive; eight days should be the minimum allowed (and that for a straightforward low-level crossing) - most people take between 12 and 14 days.

Every Challenger’s experience is different. You can climb Munros or stick to the glens; walk solo or in company; wild camp every night or dip in and out of civilisation. Whatever option you choose you will be supported by a team of

experienced volunteer route-vetters and by the Challenge Control team.

As a 2016 Challenger, you’ll begin your journey at one of our 13 sign-out points between Torridon in the north and Ardrishaig in the south. Then, over the course of a fortnight you’ll make your way to the eastern seaboard, somewhere between Fraserburgh and Arbroath. You will need to carry all your equipment on your back and to navigate your way across the country. It’s going to be a fantastic adventure.

The Great Outdoors Challenge is supported by our sister publication The Great Outdoors magazine and supported

by Hanwag in association with Fjällräven.

More info, tgochallenge.co.uk

RISE TO THE CHALLENGE

1

There will be 13 signing-out points along the west coast of Scotland, strung between Torridon and Ardrishaig.

Challengers can finish anywhere between Fraserburgh and Arbroath on the east coast.

2

The Challenge demands a good level of competence in navigation, survival techniques, campcraft and general hillcraft. It should not be

your first experience of backpacking in Scotland (an exception can be made for walkers from overseas, to whom the organisers are always willing to offer particular help). It is also renowned for its sociability and camaraderie, and you will always find fellow Challengers willing to help in any way they can.

3

The challenge can be completed solo or in groups of up to four people.

Anyone seeking further advice before applying for the Challenge is welcome to contact the event coordinators, Sue Oxley and Ali Ogden by email at: tgoc@newtonmorehostel.co.uk or by calling 01540 673360.

TO ENTER THE CHALLENGE PICK UP A COPY OF THE OCTOBER OR NOVEMBER EDITION OF THE GREAT OUTDOORS MAGAZINE OR DOWNLOAD A PDF FROM OUTDOORFITNESSMAG.COM/TGOCHALLENGE/ November 2015 outdoorfitnessmag.com 25

STARTLINE COMPETITION WINNER

Sally Hall MTB Competition Winner Outdoor Fitness teamed up with the SCOTT MTB MARATHON SERIES, SCOTT Sports, CYCLE-TEC and TORQ Fitness Consultancy, to offer one of our readers the ultimate mountain biking prize. Our winner Sally Hall now concludes her series exploits.

Pictures Rob Barker The MTB Marathon series is over for this year, the bike has reluctantly been prised from my hands and given back to Scott, but by no means am I going to stop riding. If anything I have a greater hunger to get out more, push further, faster and harder, try new disciplines and do more events.

Before I sum up the season, let’s track back to the fifth and final Scott MTB marathon series round at Ruthin. It was a double dose of fun with the Exposure Lights Big Night Out (ELBNO) on the Saturday evening with a choice of two distances - the Equinox (30km) or Maxx D (40km) before the big 75km one on Sunday.

My brother suggested we do the Equinox on the Saturday, so I wouldn’t get too fatigued before Sunday. A mass start led us out of Ruthin, naturally it started with a climb to spread the field out and get everyone warmed up. The route included Tarmac, forest tracks, grassy climbs and …. descents into a field of cows. I’m not really a fan of those country beasts, particularly in the dark, as you often have no idea where they are. Luckily after no close encounters of the cow kind, it was back to climbing, but this time in mud and rocks, which was quite tricky with just torch-light.

My brother got a puncture in his tubeless tyres (typical!), so after a quick replacement we rolled around a corner to the feed station, where to our delight they offered a hot cuppa alongside Jelly babies, banana cake and other goodies - just superb! After that it seemed like the hard work was done and it was downhill from there on in. I’m not sure what it is but the thrill of descending at night with essentially tunnel vision is really fun. We were greeted at the finish with a finisher’s mug courtesy of Exposure Lights and free tea (can you guess I love tea!), now that’s my kind of ride.

Absolutely brilliant!

The following day, I woke up feeling good, my legs didn’t feel heavy and I was looking forward to those 75kms. Porridge and a brew fired me up. It was set to be a good day weather-wise and there was another great turn out of riders, from the young to the young at heart. It was a very civilised 10.00 start. I hadn’t checked the route and I soon found it started with a lovely climb… that just kept going and going. It was probably about 10kms and this was the easiest way up apparently. Suitably warmed up we reached the top to the first

26 outdoorfitnessmag.com November 2015

Round 5 took just over 5 hours for me, and with a little bit of lingering at the feedstations and a ride the night before, I was pretty happy with that. of many stunning views. These were soon forgotten though as we encountered more steeper gradients.

About 25kms in I was wondering where the feed station was - for once I was actually drinking a fair bit due to all the climbing in the sunshine. Thankfully at 33kms it arrived. I topped up my drink bottle and after a handful of Jelly babies, it was back on the bike. A few roads passed, a place called Loggerheads came and went which for some reason made me smile - and then it was in and out of picturesque woodlands. The ride was not as technical as some of the previous Scott series rounds, but the route passed through some stunning areas and that just made it that bit more enjoyable. There was about 2,200m climbing though.

Round 5 took just over 5 hours for me, and with a little bit of lingering at the feed stations and a ride the night before already in the bag, I was pretty happy with that.

MY TRUSTY STEED I got asked about the Scott Contessa Spark 700 RC I used throughout the series, so let me give you a little bike review. It was light, weighing just over 25lbs, which aids you on climbing and occasional pushes when it was simply too steep. The ride position was far more aggressive than I was used to, putting me into a far more leant forward position than my Lapierre Zesty. It took a few rides to adapt to this. Ease of climbing was partly also down to the gear ratios on its 2x10 (24T/26T) Shimano XT set up and the Twinloc technology that gives you the full lock out on both fork and shock, making climbing efficient and smooth. With a quick shift you half open the suspension for when you’re on the rougher, bumpier tracks to soften the impact. On the descents you can fully open it up to the 120mm travel and have a whole load of fun. The bike was surprisingly capable on the steeper, technical descents, which I wasn’t expecting from a XC-style, lower travel

bike. All in all the bike looks great, performed well and had no mechanicals all season. I truly am sad to see it go.

SO AT THE END OF IT ALL….. My training plan is now over, but was highly effective. I thought I had a good level of fitness before I started but clearly there’s always room for improvement. The endurance side of it, I just loved but for the interval training and higher intensity sessions I really needed to knuckle down and commit. It’s quite easy to say, “Oh, I’ll just skip this session”, but that’s a slippery slope. It’s far better to just get on with it, as it will be worth it in the end.

My rides now have been a bit more sociable not having to maintain a specific pace. Looking forward I have a few aims: first is to try out this cyclo-cross malarkey and see what all the fuss is about over the next few months. It’s a great alternative to cold road rides. I’ll also be looking into a few of the 12-hour events for next year one being Torq in Your Sleep. I’ll aim (hopefully) for number one spot, having now got a 3rd and 2nd place trophy. They’ll be a few longer sportives on the road bike too that I might dabble with.

Finally, I’d like to say a massive thank you to the Scott MTB Marathon Team for putting on a series of fantastic events and working tirelessly to make them run so smoothly and for my entry into them all.

Thanks to Scott (scott-sports.com) for the use of a lovely bike and for all the lush kit that I get to keep. Then there’s Torq Fitness, for all the fitness consultancy, education and training plans (made me feel like I was a pro) and for keeping me going over the season with all the highly effective, scientifically proven and tasty energy products. If anyone is in doubt as to whether it works or not, I can say first hand that it does (torqfitness.co.uk). Thanks to Rob Barker for the use of his photographs, he’s captured some great images, not just of myself, but all the other riders, go check them out at, robbarkerimages.com. Lastly to Outdoor Fitness for following my season and for you the reader for putting up with my ramblings. I hope if anything, they will have encouraged you to get out and ride and maybe enter an event – perhaps even the 2016 MTB Marathon Series. Next year’s dates will soon be available at, mtbmarathon.co.uk.

November 2015 outdoorfitnessmag.com 27

STARTLINE TRAVEL

Scotland Cairngorm Mountain Ellie Ross takes the overnight train to Scotland’s top ski-resort for weekend of snow-filled action.

AT THE FRONT of a train packed with earlymorning passengers, I press my nose against the window and peer out at my surroundings. This is not your average commute. Ahead, peaks painted white with snow are bathed in the first rays of sunlight as they bump their heads against a brilliant blue sky. A golden glow catches on the pristine slopes and makes them sparkle like diamond dust. In front of me, metal tracks rise skywards, stretching up toward the mountains as far as I can see. We’re heading higher and higher and into a deep-frozen, magical landscape. I’m at Cairngorm Mountain in the Scottish Highlands for a weekend of skiing and adventure activities.

To get to the UK’s top winter sports resort I take the Caledonian Sleeper from London on a Friday night and by 8.00 I’m standing on the platform in Aviemore, just a 20-minute drive from the resort. By 9.00, I’m taking the first funicular up the mountain from the bottom of the ski station. The carriage is crammed with groups of young professionals, pensioners and schoolchildren - all kitted out for a day at Scotland’s most popular ski resort. I cram in next to a man from Cumbria, who tells me he wants to regain his ski legs after a long break from the sport. “I’ve never been here before but saw there was snow this weekend,” he says. “It’s easy enough to get here last-minute.”

Within four minutes we’re 3,600 feet up, next to Britain’s highest restaurant, the Ptarmigan, and swathes of perfectly-groomed pistes. To get my bearings, Jim Cornfoot, Cairngorm land manager and senior ski patroller, shows me around some of the resort’s 18.5 miles of pistes.

I’m in good hands - Cornfoot has worked in these Highland Hills for 23 years and knows them like the back of his glove.

We snap on our skis and slide over to a flat section of crisp corduroy; opposite the restaurant. Cornfoot tells me that Cairngorm is the most-snow-sure of Scotland’s five resorts, with a season that starts in November and runs into May. “The mountain plateaus at the top, so we have a big beginner area up here,” explains Cornfoot, as a toddler trailed by an instructor sails past. He adds: “This sets us apart from other resorts, where people have to learn lower down, on slushier slopes.” These beginner pistes not only benefit from the altitude but are also wide, with a gentle gradient.

The funicular makes it easy for novices to access good snow cover up here without having to learn how to use a drag lift first. “When they get tired they can either take the train back down or have a break in the restaurant,” adds Cornfoot.

At the bottom of the resort is another place to refuel, The Storehouse, the first venture of Cairngorm’s new owner, Natural Retreats, who took over the resort in June 2014. Diners can ski

28 outdoorfitnessmag.com November 2015

to the door and fill up on fresh, locally sourced dishes, such as a £14.25 platter of salmon and mussels and a £6.95 haggis panini. (Natural Retreats has committed to a five-year £6.2 million investment plan at Cairngorm, including upgrading lifts, re-landscaping the slopes and a new freestyle area.)

Cornfoot shows me the rails and jumps where thrill-seekers can get some big air; but luckily we push off in the other direction. We weave our way down the soft, wide Ptarmigan Bowl, passing a man skinning uphill with his dog by his side, and just a handful of skiers and borders. I trail behind cautiously, not allowing my skis to race away with me just yet, we pause halfway down to take in the mountains that are still gloriously sunlit.

“That’s Loch Morlich,” Cornfoot says, pointing his ski pole at a brooding expanse of water below in the valley, encircled by forest. “It’s good for fishing and canoeing in the summer.” He also picks out Inverness’s wind turbines, the white peak of Ben Nevis and, just below us, the dark patch of Aviemore, where he learnt to ski on a golf course aged three. “The great thing about Cairngorm is that there is so much to do here, besides skiing. We have mountain biking, hiking, dog sledding, watersports - even whisky tours.

It’s brilliant for families and as a backup if the weather turns bad. Alpine resorts tend to be set up only for skiing and don’t offer so many alternatives.”

After a muscle-easing swim and sauna at my hotel, the Macdonald, I stroll past outdoor clothing shops to The Winking Owl pub. I wash spicy haggis pakora down with a pint of locally-brewed Trade Winds. For a wee dram on the way back to the hotel, I stop in at Ski Doo, a cosy basement bar cluttered with ski paraphernalia, skiers and locals.

The next day, the breeze picks up, transforming the summit into a wispy white place and briefly robbing me of most of my sensory indicators. But as I dip below cloud-level, I’m rewarded with endless, silky snow, and even fewer people than the day before.

I spend hours going up and down the slopes, cutting satisfying turns in pillow-soft powder next to the funicular railway that’s still whisking passengers up and down the mountain. My tired thighs feel a familiar pang as they fill with lactic acid, my heart is thumping and, despite sub-zero temperatures, I’m boiling hot. Finally it happens: I point my skis further and further downhill until I’m positively flying down the slopes. I may not have mastered the style part yet, but the crisp air nipping my cheeks is all the proof I need that my speed has definitely increased at least one notch.

As I drive down to Aviemore to catch my train home, Cairngorm’s snowy peak is cast in an evening light and illuminated, I can’t wait to come back.

9

November 2015 outdoorfitnessmag.com 29

STARTLINE TRAVEL

Cairngorm mountain facts & figures NEED TO KNOW Length of season November - May (but December - April is generally the most reliable time to get snow).

Best time to go for beginners, March or April is good because the weather warms up, and the snow is still decent. For advanced skiers who keep warm by moving around, any time within the season is good.

Levels catered for There are 18.5 miles of pistes that cater for all abilities, but the resort is geared towards beginners, with the majority of pistes graded green and blue.

That said, Cairngorm has a decent amount of advanced runs, off-piste and a freestyle park.

A one-day pass for Cairngorm Mountain Resort costs from £34.50, cairngormmountain.org ACCOMODATION The Caledonian Sleeper travels to Aviemore from stations including London Euston, sleeper.scot Double rooms at the Macdonald Aviemore Resort start at £76ppn B&B, macdonaldhotels.co.uk Natural Retreats operates sustainable accommodation and leisure facilities from South Cornwall to John O’Groats, Lanzarote and the US, naturalretreats.com WHAT’S ON OFFER FOR BEGINNERS? 1 The pistes due to the mountain’s summit plateau, beginners at Cairngorm benefit from gentle and easy slopes right at the top, where the snow is better because of the altitude. In fact the highest runs at Cairngorm are green (beginner) level. If the wind whips up on the mountain, visibility is usually better on the lower slopes, which also has beginner runs.

2 Lessons There is one ski school on the mountain, which offers lessons from £40 per day (theskischool.co.uk). There are more ski schools in nearby Aviemore, such as Free Ski (free-ski.co.uk) and School of Snowsports (schoolofsnowsports.co.uk).

3 Getting to the pistes is easy unlike many resorts at Cairngorm you haven’t got to master a drag lift to reach the top of the

30 outdoorfitnessmag.com November 2015

slope for your first attempt at skiing. The funicular will drop you off right next to the beginner slopes at the top, with no embarrassing tumbles on the way.

4 Places to refuel there are restaurants right next to the beginner slopes, perfect for resting new ski legs. At the top is the Ptarmigan, with its panoramic views and restorative hot chocolate. At the bottom is the new Storehouse restaurant that sells snacks and coffee.

5 New improvements A new, 300m-long beginner tow is being introduced for the 2015-2016 season at the bottom of the mountain, and the mid-station area will be re-landscaped to smooth out bumps, making it more beginner-friendly.

PICK OF THE PISTES FOR BEGINNERS 1 Ptarmigan Bowl (green run) Right at the top of the mountain, this piste has reliable snow, a gentle gradient and is wide, which is good for group lessons. It’s accessed by the funicular and is next to the Ptarmigan restaurant for slopeside snacks.

2 Ciste Fairway (green run) A longer piste but still with a gentle gradient - this is a good run to move on to for building up stamina and for practicing turns.

3 Lower Slopes (green run) Further down the mountain, these are perfect if the weather turns, as they are below the cloud line.

4 M2 (blue run) One of the most scenic, this is the longest blue run that takes you right down to the base station.

FOR INTERMEDIATE & ADVANCED SKIERS 1 The White Lady (red run) This is one of the most iconic pistes in Scotland, and is where all the races were held when skiing first started here in the sixties. It has some of the resort’s finest views of the valley and Loch Morlich below.

2 East Wall of Number 2 Gulley (black run) This is a long traverse into the gulley that’s in the sun in the afternoon. It’s for experts and is one of the least busy slopes on the

mountain.

3 East Wall of White Lady (off-piste) This is easy to access, just off the White Lady and is a big area, so ideal for cutting fresh tracks through untouched powder.

4 Freestyle park It may not be a piste, but it’s a good place for advanced skiers and boarders to show off their tricks, using rails, jumps and a half pipe to get some air. It was designed with help of Team GB snowboarder and Cairngorm local Jamie Trinder.

OTHER ACTIVITIES IN THE AREA FOR NON-SKIING DAYS 1 Mountain biking Pedal along some of Scotland’s best singletrack, with rewarding Highland views when you get to the top.

MTBHighlands, based in Aviemore, will take you on a range of routes from beginner to expert, with guides if needed. Prices from £35pp, mtbhighlands.co.uk 2 Rock climbing Strap on a helmet, clip into a harness and scale rock faces around the Cairngorms National Park. Just don’t look down. Prices from £40pp, including equipment and tutoring, activeoutdoorpursuits.com 3 Canoeing get up close and personal with the lochs - by paddling through them.

Wilderness Scotland offers a range of trips and tours, including six days canoeing on a selection of the Highland’s lochs, including Loch Morlich. Prices from £975pp, wildernessscotland.com 4 Quad bike trekking Quad bike tours take you through the Cairngorms National Park and are a good way to see the wildlife. Prices from £45pp, quadtreksaviemore.com 5 Windsurfing feel the breeze in your hair as you sail across Loch Insh on a windsurfer.

Prices from £19pp, lochinsh.com 6 Clay pigeon shooting Load your gun and aim for flying clays at Rothiemurchus, a family-owned estate a five-minute drive from Aviemore. Prices from £45pp, rothiemurchus.net MORE INFORMATION About skiing in Scotland, ski-scotland.com.

CHALLENGE SKYRUNNING

LESS CLOUD MORE SKY Skyrunning is all about altitude, ascent and lung-busting endurance, Ian Coreless goes to Skyrunning’s HQ to find out more and takes in a race with some of the sport’s greats.

Words & Pictures Ian Corless

trickle of piano noise from the local music school weaves its way through open window shutters left ajar to allow some breeze, the heat of the day is stifling.

Cobbled streets, stone arches, a wonderful old square, the chatter of children playing and the smell of freshly brewed cappuccino in the air. It feels and sounds like a scene in a movie.

Biella, or should I say, the International Skyrunning Federation (ISF) HQ (and home of Lauri van Houten and Marino Giacometti its directors/organisers) is atop a hill in a walled village close to the Aosta valley, just over an hour from Chamonix and in close proximity to Monte Rosa and the Matterhorn. It seems the perfect location for the home of pure mountain running. Biella lies in the foothills of the Alps in the Bo mountain range near Mount Mucrone and

A

32 outdoorfitnessmag.com November 2015

Camino.

“We moved here as the sports brand Fila were based here. In the 90s they were a key sponsor for Skyrunning,” says van Houten, “When Fila folded, we were left with a dilemma; should we stay or should we go?

Stay we did and it feels natural and relaxed to be here now.”

Mountains dominate the life of van Houten and Giacometti. It’s not a job; it’s a passion that dominates 12 plus hours of every day.

You will see the dynamic duo at all the Skyrunner® World Series races every year.

In total, that’s 15 events in three disciplines, VK (Vertical kilometre), SKY and ULTRA. But these worldwide events are just the visible face of what the ISF does. Behind the scenes it’s a frenetic highly pressured scene of telephone calls, emails, logistical planning and negotiations that make the Skyrunner World Series tick.

It’s a scenario far removed from 1989 when Giacometti set a record running from the

village of Alagna to the summit of Monte Rosa. Twenty-five years of mountain running and today, iconic names such as Bruno Brunod and Fabio Meraldi are once again being talked about in the same breath as Kilian Jornet.

Bruno Brunod says: “Older generations were already Skyrunners. My grandfather crossed the mountains working for example.

‘We’ as Skyrunners added more speed but in essence it has always been the same thing, Skyrunners have always existed.

What I liked was going quickly to the summit. I felt the same when I was a kid in the pastures, I always ran up and down the summits that surrounded me. It is something I felt inside, something I liked.”

In 2012, Skyrunning went through something of a revival. After careful and strategic planning, the ISF launched the new Sky Ultra Marathon Series with Transvulcania La Palma and a seminar, Less Cloud, More Sky. The sport moved up

a notch and became something that runners all over the world aspired to. It’s been called the “the next big thing” but as Giacometti explains: “There is nothing new in Skyrunning. It is just now that everyone is catching up with our vision from so many years ago.”

Midway through the 2014 season, between Ice Trail Tarentaise and Trofeo Kima, I spend time with van Houten and Giamcometti at their home in the mountains (the “Casina”) Corteno Golgi to get an inside look at what makes this couple tick and how the calendar and its logistics fall into place.

The Casina is close to Giacometti’s birthplace of San Antonio. Spread over two floors it is almost two completely different buildings. Upstairs is all wood, a combination of rustic and modern – it’s a wonderfully relaxing place that has been heavily influenced by van Houten. Downstairs is the original building, un-touched for years and one that harks back to Giacometti’s past. The garage is

a Skyrunning museum of ice axes, helmets, shoes, race bibs, clothing, videos and old slides.

Surrounded by green fields and mountains on either side I suddenly see Giacometti in a new light. He is home! He points at peaks and explains his childhood; his passions and I suddenly feel very honoured and privileged.

“The African Attachment (TAA) arrive tomorrow Ian and you are going to be able to spend a couple of days in the mountains with Marino,” says van Houten. “They are filming a piece on Skyrunning and they want to take Marino back to his childhood, revisit old haunts and film him running in the mountains.”

I had met Dean Leslie and Greg Fell from TAA at Transvulcania La Palma back in 2012 and since then we have kept in-touch and often crossed paths at races all over the world. I am excited at the guys arriving and the opportunity to work alongside them and shoot stills, a real perk of the job. Photographer,

Kelvin Trautman is directing the film and although I haven’t met him before, we soon hit it off and I realise what is in store - two awesome days in the mountains.

The evening is amazing. The sky is adorned with clouds and as we climb with cameras, Giacometti runs to the instructions of Trautman. Looking for ridges and technical lines, Giacometti embraces the challenge and is arguably having the most fun he has had in ages. Days don’t get much better than this… at the summit of Monte Padrio the light is incredible and as the sun disappears for the day we are rewarded with a colour palette of orange, red and gold. Giacometti is in silhouette on the Skyline and I realise I am in a moment, a moment that I won’t ever forget.

The following day starts early with a short drive and we are suddenly looking at Giacometti’s childhood home. He laughs as he recounts boyhood memories: “I used to go mushroom picking in this area.”

Following him up the trail, Trautman wants November 2015 outdoorfitnessmag.com 33

CHALLENGE SKYRUNNING

Giacometti to go back 50 years to those mischievous days as a boy. Immediately Marino finds a mushroom, he removes his Buff and ties a knot in one end to create a cloth bag. Moving left to right on the trail, the bag slowly fills with treasures from the land.

“In the Valle Campo Vecchio I would go skinny dipping in the river.”

Giacometti may well have regretted this sentence as just an hour later he was running along grass banks barefoot and then submerging himself in the ice cold river water from the mountains.

The warmth of the log burner in the Casina provides that ultimate feeling of contentment that one longs for after a day in the mountains.

Giacometti’s body was aching, his legs heavy from the repeated running but beneath a tired façade I knew he had had a good day.

“We have plans for some very exciting races at high altitude that will be very technical in future years,” say Giacometti adding, “2012 was an important stepping-stone. Less Cloud.

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More Sky was an important phase in the development of Skyrunning. One thing that was apparent is the desire from runners for technical and high altitude sport. So, here we are following our heritage for a new era.”

I wondered was it a happy coincidence that the revival of Skyrunning coincided with the rise of Kilian Jornet? “It is no coincidence!” says van Houten. “Bruno Brunod was Kilian’s hero. Kilian followed his dreams from the inspiration Bruno provided, Kilian is now the epitome of Skyrunning.”

Jornet first arrived on the scene in 2006 and he impressed immediately. He was a natural Skyrunner. As the profile of Jornet has grown, so has Skyrunning. It seems a natural process of evolution of the sport and to that end Giacometti confirmed his plans for the future: “We need to expand, to grow and introduce Skyrunning to a new audience. We will go back to our roots moving forward. We would love to do a race from Cervinia or Chamonix to the summit of Mont-Blanc but this is not

for everyone!”

As the day comes to an end, final preparations are made for Trofeo Kima Kima as it is affectionately known - is a shining beacon that personifies Skyrunning.

TROFEO KIMA, ITALY 2014

Top Swedish skyrunner Emelie Forsberg looked into the lens of the TAA camera, smiled in a way that only Forsberg can, and with a nervous and infectious giggle whispered the words, “Two years ago in my first year of racing I was fortunate to race at Trofeo Kima. I looked at this course and thought; really, you can run a race on this?”

I too had found my first Kima experience equally mesmerising. My breath had been taken away by the drama and severity of the course. I had never seen anything quite like it and the impact was profound. Hopping from one section of the course to another via helicopter added some serious icing to the Kima cake.

SKYRUNNING AND CLOUD THINKING

Ian Coreless asks Lauri van Houten some questions: IC: Lauri, what are, your dreams?

LV: To expand Skyrunning and see the growth continue with the collaboration from those who love the sport as we do.

A vertical wall of rock and suddenly a flash of red and white. Kilian Jornet appears, hand-over-hand as he descends via chains and then flies past us with a wave as though running a 5-kilometre race. He looks so incredibly relaxed.

Kasie Enman is the first lady and this provides some confusion. Forsberg had had a convincing lead; what had happened?

Finally, Forsberg arrives fifth and in tears but running like a demon. It turns out she had gone off course and lost almost an hour. Trying to claw back time she takes risks….. fourth place, third place and then second, was it possible to take back victory?

Unfortunately, no. Enman held on to a convincing lead and the records will show that the American was the 2014 Kima ladies champion. In the male race, Jornet had the race of his life and in doing so broke his own course record.

Fabio Meraldi makes an appearance at the

awards later in the day, and like a long lost son is embraced into the arms and hearts of the Skyrunning throng. “I remember the feeling, like a drug, feeling this moving energy! I still get goose-bumps just talking about it.”

The party atmosphere continues and minutes after the award ceremony, clouds turn from grey to black and a warning clap of thunder alerts everyone that a change is coming. The heavens open and rain falls from the sky like a series of rods rammed toward earth. It’s a biblical storm and we all look at each other and simultaneously shake our heads. Van Houten relays our thoughts: “Wow, thank God this rain and storm did not arrive during the race.”

Another race over, another successful event but there is no rest. This evening a glass of red and a nice meal but tomorrow it’ll be back to the grind. Another race is only weeks away and the process will repeat itself.

More info, skyrunning.com

IC: Will you ever be able to let go?

LV: “Why, why would I want to let go? This is my life: I love it. Maybe I would like less stress but I like challenges, I like work and I don’t like to be bored. One thing is for sure, I won’t be in the Bahamas filing my nails everyday, I can guarantee that will never happen.”

I smile knowing full well that her words are true and that in all honesty, I already knew the answer.

ABOUT SKYRUNNING

Skyrunning is the discipline of mountain running up to or exceeding 2,000m where the incline exceeds 30% and the climbing difficulty does not exceed II° grade. Poles, crampons and hands may be used to aid progress. Technical gloves and other equipment may be compulsory for some races.

There are numerous race variations, some such as the Skymarathon® - which requires a minimum distance of 30km and under five hours winner’s time, with a minimum 2,000m vertical climb. And there’s the Vertical – uphill races with a minimum average incline of 25% with some sections over 33% and Skyspeed races with 100m or more vertical climb and more than 33% incline.

This year the Skyrunner® Series went global, with more races, more places and the chance to count an extra race in the rankings. Twenty-seven races in nine countries stretched across five continents.

Africa, Australia and China made their first appearance on a global scale, together with the rugged mountains north of the Arctic Circle in Norway.

November 2015 outdoorfitnessmag.com 35

DREAM TRAILS CHALLENGE DREAM TRAILS

While our road-running cousins chase PBs, trail runners typically dream about finding and exploring new routes – the wilder the better. Discovering a secret stretch of singletrack wending through woods, crossing cliffs or tracing a ridgeline to a peak is a rare joy that puts a spring in every off-road runners’ stride. Here’s a round up of 15 dream trails from around the country.

Words Pat Kinsella Pictures Shutterstock

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BRADGATE PARK LOOP, Old John’s Folly

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DEWESTONE LOOP The author on Dartmoor

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THE DEVILS PUNCHBOWL, SURREY n 6 miles (9.6km) n Circuit n Beginner You don’t have to cover ultra distances or climb mountains to find dreamy trails - many are surprisingly accessible and eminently do-able.

The Devil’s Punchbowl offers fantastic, well-marked tracks that transport you into the Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Beauty, within a few kilometres of leaving your car. Combine the Highcombe Hike and the Hidden Hindhead trail to loop through gorgeous woods, cross colourful heathland and climb to the summit of Surrey’s second tallest point, Gibbet Hill, with stunning views over the weald (and a dark backstory of murder most foul). Look out for wild ponies and other animals en route.

More info: nationaltrust.org.uk/hindhead-anddevils-punchbowl Race it: 3counties10k.co.uk > Devil Run

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BRADGATE PARK LOOP, LEICESTER n 6.5 miles (10.5km) n Circuit n Beginner A mediaeval deer park in the heart of Charnwood Forest, once owned by the family of Lady Jane Gray (Queen of England for just nine days in 1553), Bradgate offers a historic and serene environment for runners, with great mixed trails. A circuit of the park reveals its diversity, starting off flat and easy before the trails proper begin with some hill climbs and more technical terrain. The steepest ascent is to the Old John Tower, a folly with sensational views across Leicester.

More info: bradgatepark.org Race it: racetime-events.co.uk > bradgatepark-xc

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DEWERSTONE LOOP, DARTMOOR n 4.5 miles (7km) n Circuit n Beginner Dartmoor is liberally covered in dream trails, but this is the perfect introduction to running on the moor. Starting in the National Trust car park at Shaugh Bridge, by the confluence of the

Meavy and Plym rivers, you follow sensational singletrack along the river banks before climbing up onto the evocative moorscape and crossing Wigford Down, passing eerie 800-yearold crosses, ancient stone circles and looking out for wild Dartmoor ponies and deer as you go. Crossing the River Plym at Cadover Bridge you follow a sublime trail through woodlands, tracing the Pipe Track until you get back to the car park.

More info: nationaltrust.org.uk/plymbridgewoods-and-plym-valley

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KINGSHOUSE TO KINLOCHLEVEN, SCOTLAND n 9 miles (14.4km) n Point-to-point n Intermediate The West Highland Way (WHW) has some serious celebrity trail fans: British ultra-runner Jezz Bragg says this long-distance path made him fall in love with off-road running and adventurer Sean Conway, who ran the entire length of Britain earlier this year, nominated this section of the WHW as his favourite part of the entire experience. Pick up the trail in Kingshouse, run through Altnafeadh and then brace yourself for a beasting as you climb out of Glen Coe to the path’s highest point, via the aptly named Devil’s Staircase. At the summit, marked by a stone cairn, soak up the vista and then begin the descent to the River Leven.

Follow the riverside trail into Kinlochleven, or you can carry on for 16 miles (26 kilometres) through Nevis Forest to Fort William, the WHW’s western trailhead.

More info: west-highland-way.co.uk Race it: westhighlandwayrace.org

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STREATLEY TO WATLINGTON, BERKSHIRE n 15.3 miles (24.6km) n Point-to-point n Intermediate Dating back 5,000 years, the Ridgeway is Britain’s oldest long-distance path (by a country mile) and while running it you’ll be following in the footsteps of ancient travellers and soldiers

November 2015 outdoorfitnessmag.com 37

CHALLENGE DREAM TRAILS

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HIGH CUP NICK

who left their mark along the way, in the shape of burial mounds and stone-age forts. The entire route is 87 miles (140 kilometres) long, stretching from the Chilterns in Oxfordshire over the Thames to the North Wessex Downs, but it can be broken into sections that make great day runs. Streatley to Watlington is a super-scenic stretch where the singletrack trail skirts the River Thames and historic Grim’s Ditch, and wends through wonderful wildflower carpeted woodlands. If you’ve got the legs for it, continue another 17 miles (27.2 kilometres) to Wendover to experience the most undulating section of the Ridgeway, with the trail ducking and diving through the Chilterns’ famously beautiful beech woodlands.

More info: nationaltrail.co.uk/ridgeway Race it: racetothestones.com

06

MIDDLETON-INTEESDALE–DUFTON DURHAM-CUMBRIA n 21 miles (34km) n Point-to-point n Intermediate to Advanced The 268-mile-long (431 kilometres) Pennine Way is one of Britain’s most famous trails – and one of its hardest. Beautiful and brutal all in the same gasp. And if you’re going to do that, it really has to be Middleton-in-Teesdale to Dufton. Don’t take my word for it, ask Damian Hall, the trail-running author of The Pennine Way (and regular Outdoor Fitness writer), who describes it thus: “You follow the River Tees first, passing three waterfalls, all of very different character. Then there’s some scrambling, some bog-trotting, you reach the highest point in England outside the Lake

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District (Cross Fell) and get to experience the glorious apocalyptic cleft of High Cup Nick – England’s Grand Canyon.”

More info: nationaltrail.co.uk/pennine-way Race it: thespinerace.com

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CLEEVE HILL TO BIRDLIP, THE COTSWOLDS n 16 miles (25.5km) n Point-to-point n Intermediate Rolling green hills, limestone villages, beech-wood forests and farmland – the Cotswolds Way is a veritable highlights show of England at its bucolic best. In its entirety the trail wends 102 miles (163 kilometres) through the Severn Vale from Chipping Campden to Bath, but the northern and middle sections offer particular delights for tasty trail-seeking runners. Pick up the track at Cleeve Hill, on the highest part of the trail, and run the open paths that cross Cleeve Common. Continue along singletrack through Dowdeswell and Lineover woods, climb to Wistley Plantation and Charlton Kings Common and then follow the escarpment to Leckhampton Hill. Quiet paths take you though Crickley Hill Country Park and across Barrow Wake before you thread the woods to arrive at Birdlip.

More info: nationaltrail.co.uk/cotswold-way Race it: 100milerun.com/cotswold-waychallenge

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SEATON–EXMOUTH, JURASSIC COAST, DEVON n 20 miles (32km) n Point-to-point n Intermediate The South West Coast Path traces 630 miles

(1,013 kilometres) of cracking coastline from Somerset’s Minehead to Poole Harbour in Dorset. The entire distance has been run in sub 15 days this year, but for us mere mortals, it’s best to bite off a section at a time. One of most dramatic stretches runs west from Seaton, along the Devon part of the Jurassic Coast, where the trail hugs the cliff edge all the way to Exmouth, via Beer, Branscombe, Sidmouth and Budleigh Salterton – offering stunning views all the way. An annual race – the Exe to Axe – covers the same route, but in reverse, from the River Exe to the River Axe. More info: southwestcoastpath.com Race it: sidmouthrunningclub.co.uk Ultra-runner Patrick Devine-Wright, who ran the entire 630-mile South West Coast Path in 14 days earlier this year, nominates Lands End and the Lizard as his favourite stretch, in particular the section around Kynance Cove.

“I reached it towards the end of a long day, and with mist swirling all around,” he says. “It was spooky and mysterious, with immense cliffs, sea stacks and rocky coves.”

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ROUND-SHEFFIELD TRAIL YORKSHIRE n 15 miles (24.5km) n Circuit n Intermediate The Steel City is completely surrounded… by a big trail. You can jump on the Round-Sheffield route anywhere if you’re doing all or part of it independently, or opt to do a circumnavigation of the city as part of a relay team in the Round-Sheffield race, which takes over the trails once a year. The route offers an

extraordinary diversity of trail terrain, from semi-urban paths through to park and woodland singletrack.

More info/race it: roundsheffieldrun.com

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BEACON HILL–BURITON, HAMPSHIRE n 16.5 miles (26.5km) n Intermediate– Advanced n Point-to-Point This rollercoaster route is a combination of two sections of the 100-mile-long (160-kilometre) South Downs Way, tracing the spine of the Downs to their highest point, with spectacular views out over the Solent. Join the trail at Beacon Hill National Nature Reserve and ascend to the summit for an eyeful of Meon Valley. Take the “walkers only” path into the village of Exton, and then climb into Old Winchester Hill National Nature Reserve, where you’ll find an Iron Age hill fort. Drop down again, before climbing Salt Hill, from where you trace a ridge to 270-metre Butser Hill, the high point of the whole South Downs Way and crown of Queen Elizabeth Country Park. Inhale the hard-earned view and then enjoy the long grassy descent into Buriton.

More info: nationaltrail.co.uk/south-downs-way Race it: southdownsrelay.co.uk & centurionrunning.com/south-downs-way

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HORSESHOE RIDGE TRAIL, BRECON BEACONS, WALES n 9 miles (14km) n Circuit n Intermediate–advanced Following a trail along a ridgeline is running gold, and the Brecon Beacons offers serious treasure. This trail starts at the old pump house at Lower Neuadd Reservoir and quickly climbs onto the Craig Fan Ddu ridge. Stick to the ridge and run towards Corn Du. The route veers left to take you over the highest point in the Beacons, Pen y Fan, past a Bronze Age burial cairn. After a steep drop there’s more climbing, up onto the summit of Fan y Big, before a descent back to the reservoir via Craig Cwm Oergwm ridge. Not challenging enough? Try the 46-mile (73-kilometre) Beacons Ultra, which takes place during the frigid embrace of November.

More info: nationaltrust.org.uk > brecon beacons Race it: beaconsultra.com

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ANTRIM COAST, NORTHERN IRELAND n 20 miles (32km) n Point-to-point n Advanced The Causeway Coast Way runs for 33 fantastic miles (53 kilometres) along trails that hug County Antrim’s incredible shoreline – a World Heritage–listed site full of character, castles, myth, history, culture and natural drama. Some runners will be capable of tackling the whole route, but if you have to choose a section, start at the famous Giants Causeway and follow cliff-tops and coves to the end of the Way at Ballycastle. Highlights include Benbane Head (the trail’s highest point) Dunseverick Castle and the Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge. The route involves some beach running, so you need to check tide times.

More info: walkni.com > causeway-coast-way Race it: 26extreme.com > causeway-coastmarathon

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CLIMBERS TRAVERSE AND SPHYNX RIDGE, LAKE DISTRICT n 8 miles (13km) n Circuit n Very Advanced Elite Salomon sky- and fell-runner Ricky Lightfoot nominates this super-steep route as his favourite trail in the entire country, and this is the terrain that produced fell-running legend Joss Naylor. The route starts at Seathwaite and follows the Climbers Traverse towards Great Gable, passing iconic landmark Napes Needle. Leave the traverse to scramble up Sphinx Ridge, and then run over Great Gable’s stony summit plateau. To make a loop, follow a

trail towards Base Brown and, before you reach it, swing left to descend via the hanging valley of Gillercombe, and then take the flagstone path via Sourmilk Gill to Seathwaite.

Parts of this route are definitely not for the faint hearted, and it shouldn’t be attempted in bad weather, but the view down Wasdale Valley is sensational.

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LAIRIG GHRU, HIGHLANDS OF SCOTLAND n 19 miles (30.5km) n Point-to-point n Very Advanced Traversing the Cairngorms, arguably the UK’s wildest region, the Lairig Ghru is Scotland’s most famous hill-pass. The route tops out at 835 metres and demands full commitment – conditions can change quickly and the only shelter is Corrour bothy. Choose your time carefully, only attempt it if you’re an experienced wilderness runner with good navigations skills (the path disappears amid the stones at points) and take emergency gear. But the trail is as sensational as it is technical, and it can be one of the most rewarding challenges in the country. Join the route at Coylumbridge in Speyside, follow it through Rothiemurchus forest up through the treeline into the mountains and thread the gorgeous gap between mighty Ben Macdui (Britain’s second highest mountain) and Cairn Toul. The far trailhead is the Linn of Dee car park. An annual 27-mile (43-kilometre) race goes through Lairig Ghru between the police stations of Braemar and Aviemore.

More info: walkhighlands.co.uk > Lairig Ghru Race it: scottishhillracing.co.uk > Lairig Ghru

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ANTRIM COAST

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EDALE SKYLINE, PEAK DISTRICT n 21-miles (33.5km) n Circuit n Advanced This challenging fell route begins with a run up Ringing Roger, followed by a clockwise loop around the flanks of the Kinder Plateau, over Win Hill, the Great Ridge of Lose Hill and Mam Tor – where there’s a Roman Fort. Descend at Mam Nick and then climb back to Rushup Edge before traversing the quagmire at Brown Knoll to Edale Cross, then follow the southern edge path past the wind-sculpted rocks known as the Woolpacks and the Pagoda, and then up to Grindslow Knoll. The technical terrain and length of the loop make this a choice for more experienced runners. The trail is exposed and conditions can be brutal, but on the right day this is a stunning trail.

Race it: dpfr.org.uk > Don Morrison Memorial Edale Skyline race

November 2015 outdoorfitnessmag.com 39

CHALLENGE IRONMEN

I AM IRONMAN Our training diary candidates and ironman virgins have now completed their challenge, Ironman Wales. The trio can all now claim to be a part of that elite club of ironmen and they’ve graduated to the heroes and challenges section of this magazine! Not bad for a group of guys who between then have destroyed knees, couldn’t swim and hate running.

Words & Pictures Anthony Pease

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Spectators gather before the dawn to witness the athletes battle Tenby’s open sea.

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CHALLENGE IRONMEN RICHARD MANNING 47, Richard is a design engineer living in Llandeilo, South Wales

The two months leading up to Ironman saw my fitness slide due to various factors. I didn’t dare go running in case I exacerbated a couple of injuries and that led to a 1-stone weight gain (and I’m guessing none of that was muscle). I always knew running was my weakness so I’d planned on giving myself enough time from the swim and cycle to walk if needed.

My “plan” was to aim for a 90-minute swim, a 7-hour bike and leave 8 hours for the marathon – also allowing 15 minutes for transition. I arrived in Tenby on Saturday morning and walked up to register, drop off my bags and leave my bike. Once that was done I was surprised how relaxed I was - all the planning and faffing was done now. I even made it into Fecci’s for a banana split – now that’s carb loading at its best.

I slept in my van and surprisingly, had a good couple of hours sleep but before I knew it the alarm was waking me at 04:30. I’d planned a big breakfast of porridge, bananas and malt loaf but I ended up drinking a coffee and nibbling a few biscuits. It was soon into the wetsuit for the walk to the beach...

The swim went OK I guess. The swell was far bigger than expected (some estimate around 6-foot) and I saw/heard a few people losing their breakfast on the first loop. I came out of the water after that loop and my watch said 45 minutes – so I was bang on schedule.

The second loop was done in a very similar time so I wobbled up the beach and headed to transition on plan.

I’d come to Ironman from a cycling background so I wasn’t overly concerned about the ride. On the day though I really struggled and kept running out of gears on most of the hills. In the end I finished in around 7 hour and 30 minutes, so it wasn’t too far off my estimate. It would have probably been quite a bit slower if it wasn’t for the amazing crowds that lined much of the route. Heartbreak Hill is probably the best-known section but all round there were encouraging shouts and applause.

So, it was just a marathon left to do. At least I knew I’d get a PB, as I’d never done one before! To be honest it was a bit of a painful blur of Pretzels, Coke and Paracetamol but I slowly filled my arm with the four coloured bands that meant I was on my last run back into Tenby to the finish. On the start of the run back, I was caught up by Huw’s brotherin-law Neil, we jogged back down the hill together and decided to keep each other company until the end. We did walk a bit

I started running as the road turns onto the seafront and was quite wobbly by the time my feet felt the carpet under them.

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06:30 Huw makes his way to the beach

through town so that we could manage a run along the red carpet to the finish. How long is that finish? I started running as the road turns onto the seafront and was quite wobbly by the time my feet felt the carpet under them. Eventually I made it across the line and was declared an ironman. I wandered off into the recovery tent and was immediately hit by the smell of pizza - the best pizza I have ever tasted! It all felt a bit of an anti-climax after that - collect your bags, get your bike and hobble back to the van - which was on the other side of town.

Writing this a few weeks after the event I’m really pleased I signed up and completed it.

My biggest fear was that an injury might come back and mean I’d have to retire from the event. I knew that if that happened I’d want another go next year. Now I’ll never have to do this again! Lots of people have told me that I’ll be back, and that it’s addictive, but I really don’t want to do another one. I don’t like running. I’ve learnt to swim freestyle and I will continue to get in the sea whenever the opportunity arises. There are loads of challenging events out there and I’ll pick something different next year.

COLIN BARRETT 43, Colin is a peripatetic brass instrument teacher for Pembrokeshire Music Service

Just over nine months of training and here it was, the Ironman Wales weekend. After sleepless nights about my transition bags and ensuring I had everything I needed to get me through I found myself on North Beach around 06.30. Due to a rolling start I eventually got in the water and started my race about 07.10. The swim was tough for me to say the least. Big rolling waves made sighting difficult and I swallowed my fair share of water. However, I came out in 1 hour 51 minutes and made my way across town to T1. This took 13 minutes and then before I

knew it I was away on my bike. I knew I had to keep it steady or I would blow up way too soon and not be in a good place for the run. I managed to overtake a lot of people who were obviously better swimmers but not so strong on the bike. This gave me a real boost and confidence that I would claw back some time from an awful swim. I eventually finished the bike in 6 hours and 56 minutes which was longer than I wanted but the swim did take it out of me. T2 was 9 minutes and then I was out on the roads trying to put one foot in front of the other. The crowds were incredible and I was soon feeling comfortable and confident that I would actually complete this little challenge! Being a teacher in the area, a member of the Tenby Aces and living in the town, gave me the best possible support ever.

Smiling most of the way round the four 10km laps I eventually crossed the finish line in a time of 14 hours and 32 minutes. I had done it and now joined an elite club of athletes called ironmen. Was it all worth it and would I do it again? Hell, yes.

HUW BENBOW 41, Huw is deputy headteacher of Cleddau Reach Cc Prmary school

It’s a few weeks since Ironman Wales and to be honest, it all feels like an out of body experience now. I managed to get to the start line reasonably unscathed which was a miracle in itself. The swim was pretty lumpy.

It felt like we were swimming uphill at times!

The decision to stagger the start was helpful as it allowed me to get started in relatively clear water. I was glad to leave the water 1 hour and 20 minutes later without feeling sick and ready to roll.

The bike ride was windy but of course over pretty familiar ground for me - Saundersfoot was as close to the feeling of riding a Grand Tour that I will ever get! Returning to Tenby, just after 16.00 I knew that the next few hours would be soul searching to say the least.

Lap 1 was the worst; 4 miles in and my legs were buckling. Seeing my family back in the town at the end of lap 1 did give me a real wake up call and from there on I improved. It wasn’t pretty mind you, a mixture of knuckle dragging running and guilty walking. But at about 22.10 I made the left turn onto the esplanade and the red carpet. The relief on my face in the finisher pics says it all - I was an ironman!

I loved the day… it was incredible in so many ways. I’ve got back on the bike, done a bit of running and even been in the sea a couple of times since. The one question that everyone asks is “will you do it again?” At the moment I answer... maybe!

I was glad to leave the water 1 hour and 20 minutes later without feeling sick and ready to roll.

Colin presses on

Is that nerves or excitement on Richard’s face.

Huw passes the 2,000 year-old Carew castle.

November 2015 outdoorfitnessmag.com 43

CHALLENGE RUNNING MAN

THE

RUNNING MAN Conquering a marathon is one heck of an achievement, so what does that make running 622 of them in 621 days? Meet world record breaking ultra-distance runner Kevin Carr, the fastest person to run solo and unsupported 16,299 miles around the globe.

Words Nick Dines Pictures hardwayround.com

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oined as the “Hard Way Round”, Kevin Carr’s inspirational journey into the world record books was certainly no walk in the park.

Endurance records revolve around figures and in this extraordinary case, the stats are frankly staggering.

Running a remarkable 26,232 kilometres, which equates to roughly 36.5 million steps, across five continents, Carr endured a marathon and sometimes two a day over 19 gruelling months and through 26 countries. Pushing the boundaries of human performance, he knocked just 24 hours off Australian Tom Denniss’s existing circumnavigation record (a record that was actually taking place as Carr made his attempt).

As if running solo around the globe with no support team in tow isn’t hard enough, Carr hauled a purpose-built buggy, constructed to his specific design, to carry crucial provisions. At its heaviest this cart weighed roughly 102 kilogrammes - one and a half times his body weight.

Having previously become the first person in the UK to run 1,250 miles unsupported off-road from Land’s End to John O’Groats back in 2009, Carr from Woolacombe, Devon, boasts pedigree when it comes to endurance accomplishments. Past exploits were however small fry compared to a route comprised of the UK, Europe, India, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the United States of America, South America, Ireland and of course back to the UK again.

Departing east from Haytor, Devon, back in July of 2013, averaging 42.24 kilometres a day, it would be almost two years before this obsessive runner would return to his Dartmoor starting spot in April 2015.

Whilst setting the world record was ultimately the 35-year-old Brit’s objective, another primary intention was to raise funds for the British Red Cross and mental health charity SANE. Carr had himself previously suffered from anxiety, depression and a subsequent suicide attempt aged 19.

C

Far from a spontaneous Forest Gump like run, the personal trainer and part-time barman undertook an extremely thorough 18-month planning process, plotting an appropriate route, chasing sponsors, completing painstaking bureaucracy and testing equipment and kit over in Norway. “There was so much to do,” Carr recalled, “I wasn’t as fit as I’d liked to have been when I set out because of preparation and the logistics.”

Carr obtained training assistance from ultra-running multiple world record holder Scot William Sichel and also worked on his strength as well as endurance. In fact Carr believed that strength training proved central to his preparation and success.

“That’s what I truly believe makes you resilient. With ultra endurance, it’s a question of how long can that muscle keep on going? Muscular fatigue isn’t usually down to lack of fuel, it’s because the actual muscle can’t do anymore work. I would complete hefty weight strength training, so the muscles were at least twice as strong as they would be genetically without that training. I’d wear weight vests when training most of the time, basically living in hyper-gravity, building up gradually to 15 percent of my body weight, (1.5-stone). Taking the vests off, my legs then felt incredibly easy to move carrying just my weight.

I was only running about four hours a week, but I’d be in the gym 8-10 hours per week. I was trying to bulk up before the run and when I started the challenge I was just under 13-stone, the heaviest I’d ever been.”

However, initially this extra weight had to be hauled around. Carr explained: “The big difference was losing the extra bulk that I began with. One stone of extra weight may make it 20 percent harder than running without it, but two-stone is more like 60 percent. Despite training with weight vests, you’re doing 80,000 steps a day, which with an extra 15 kilogrammes of weight, results in lots of extra strain.”

TWO MEN ATTACK THE SAME RECORD AT THE SAME TIME…

As Carr was facing his own challenge so was fellow and literal other globe trotter Australian Tom Denniss. It would be seven months into

November 2015 outdoorfitnessmag.com 45

CHALLENGE RUNNING MAN

Carr’s quest before Denniss concluded his attempt, taking 40 days off the existing record to finally confirm the new record target.

Whilst ultimately record attempts are competitive, Carr and Dennis were more like team-mates than rivals. They shared a sense of allegiance and advice.

“I left in late July and there was a heat wave in Germany. Tom (Denniss) Skyped me from Australia to make sure I was OK (and) he knew that if you were going to get cold feet, it would be in those first few weeks.

He also advised me to drink at least two litres of milk a day, which I did pretty much all the way round. It became my staple, helping with electrolytes and energy. Across the desert I would carry powdered milk when I could. Mixed with instant coffee and water, it made for a welcome cold coffee.”

Running across terrain of varied difficulty, from deserts and unforgiving tarmac, to frozen arctic climbs and mountain passes, his feet were liable to damage and injury. Carr got through (only) 16 pairs of trainers. The record breaker described further how he trained himself and his feet up.

“I ran on Dartmoor or sand dunes, so seven months prior to the attempt, I was conditioning my soft tissue. Overall my feet were actually very good. I think I had blisters twice. Everyone looks at these as battle wounds from, for example, the Marathon de Sables, but the seasoned runners won’t have them. Getting a blister ultimately holds you back.”

Benefiting from such painstaking strength training, Carr also only suffered one injury - a problematic quad muscle in Argentina. “I was at my peak of fitness in the middle of South America. Because of a storm, I was forced to run faster than I knew I could handle. Upping the pace to avoid becoming hypothermic resulted in a muscle tear. If I hadn’t bulked up, that muscle tear may have taken place at a crucial stage six months earlier.”

Clocking up staggering distances, Carr could be forgiven for going a little crazy now and then. He was frequently faced with a vast array of dangers, from wild dogs in Romania, to heatstroke in India, but when it came to bear country, there was a method to his apparent madness.

“Listening to Stephen Fry narrate the Harry Potter audio books kept me sane. I’d go off to Hogwarts for a few hours! Upon reaching Canada, you need to remain vigilant for bears and keep making noise. With that constant thought that you might get eaten at any minute, I’d pretend to be Professor Snape, shouting ‘Potterrrrr’ or spells like ‘Expelliarmus’ at the hedges.”

Top of Carr’s list for serious risks to his life were however, incidents on the road. He was actually hit twice by cars, fortunately neither incident in Australia or Mumbai failed to derail his challenge.

“I always run towards the traffic and usually you can jump up a bank or position yourself side on to the car, but with a stroller (carrying all his running, camping, first aid and tracking kit), you can’t get any smaller and cars aren’t used to giving way to you. Many times I just had to jump out of the road. What with nearly getting hit ten times a day, there’s only so much stress you can take. I had days where I’d only done 28 miles instead of 32, but it’s was not worth dying for the extra miles.”

During the vast majority of his time away he experienced nothing but kind hospitality from locals but there were moments when this was not always the case, especially in the wilderness of the southern States of the US. “In many countries I’d be trespassing, but not everyone has a gun or has the idea that it’s normal to use it on people. Some areas were massively into hunting, with posters of a gun stating ‘We don’t dial

KEVIN’S HARD WAY ROUND

UK

EUROPE INDIA France, Belgium, Holland, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine, Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey Mumbai to Chennai

46 outdoorfitnessmag.com November 2015

"Listening to Stephen Fry narrate the Harry Potter audio bookskept me sane.

I’d go off to Hogwarts for a few hours!...

I’d pretend to be Professor Snape, shouting ‘Potterrrrr’ or spells like ‘Expelliarmus’ at the hedges.”

witnessing the Statue of Christ on the border of Argentina and Chile was spectacular.

An active mecca for hiking, running, climbing and mountain biking, I’d definitely like to revisit South America again. It’s such a beautiful place. If I had been weeks ahead of the record, I would have taken a day or two off to enjoy it.”

Since his return, Carr has been inundated with deserved adulation, however, as he explained: “It really hasn’t hit home yet. The first fortnight I was waking up confused expecting to run, thinking, ‘why am I back in Devon?’ I’d jump out of bed worrying why haven’t I got today’s route in my head? I was running every day of the week for a year and three quarters, I was so focused and driven. You can’t just switch that off.

Physiologically my system is out of balance, in an unnatural state. It takes your body a long time to get back into balance. It might take several months because there’s a fatigue there that’s not just related to tired muscles.”

Now bereft of his extensive ginger beard and treating his weary limbs to some much-deserved respite after averaging 45 miles a day for the final month, what now for one of Britain’s esteemed recordbreakers? “All out effort is what I’m interested in now, no holding back. There are many runs I wish to do, shorter distances over week-long durations, mostly off road in the mountains. I’ll also be conducting a mixture of guided runs and training camps for runners.”

Having added over 16,000 miles to his personal mileage clock, Carr’s love for running, a passion since the age of 11, remains as strong as ever.

“When you’re at full strength, somewhere completely wild, it’s effortless and feels so natural. It’s an environment we’re meant to be in. It’s what we did for eons and what we’ve evolved to do.” n You can continue to donate to Carr’s fundraising by visiting, justgiving.com/teams/hardwayround

911, keep out’. So unwelcoming, I’d see hundreds of these a day. You start thinking, ‘Am I going to get shot or arrested if I try and sleep?’”

Thankfully waking up to the end of a shotgun proved just a fear.

During low periods Carr unsurprisingly hankered for familiar home comforts, often and unsurprisingly these revolved around food.

“When it was cold, I’d yearn for stodgy dishes that you don’t get abroad like Shepherd’s pie, cottage pie and my mum’s fish pie.” Carr obviously couldn’t carry these around with him. Many passers-by actually asked him if he was carrying his own rations for the record attempt. His reply: “Seriously? How much do you think I can carry?”

Gas stations therefore became welcome sights for Carr, especially in locations where he munched his way through over a kilogramme of food and drunk eight kilogrammes of water per day.

“I must have eaten five years’ worth of food whilst I was away, purely because of the amount of calories I was burning. In extreme temperatures, you lose calories just to maintain temperature. In North America I was running and camping in minus 20 degrees centigrade. Polar expeditions aren’t much colder than that and they take on 12,000 calories a day just walking.”

With 26 countries to take in, Carr was frequently rewarded with our planet’s greatest aesthetic delights.

“Reaching the Arctic region, I witnessed the Northern Lights both in Sweden and in Canada when I was camping outside - something many haven’t experienced – it was a pretty special sight.

I’m also really inspired by mountains, so running up 12,000 feet from sea level at Valparaiso to the top of The Andes in a week,

AUSTRALIA NEW ZEALAND CANADA USA S.AMERICA IRELAND Perth to Sydney South and North Islands Vancouver, northern territories, Winnipeg North Dakota to Jacksonville Chile, Argentina Shannon to Belfast

November 2015 outdoorfitnessmag.com 47

UK

CHALLENGE TRAIL CENTRE TIME TRAVEL

Words Nik Cook Pictures Paul Barton

MTB UTOPIA Our man Nik Cook goes on a one-day whistle stop tour of North Wales’ trail centres to see how trail building has progressed, if the older trails have stood the test of time and which are still worth paying a visit to.

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Like many big days out, the idea of a trip down trail centre memory lane was hatched one night in the pub.

s a forty-something mountain biker, I can remember the days before trail centres and GPS when mountain biking was as much an exercise in finding the bridleways, and painful stop-go navigation as actual riding. Living in the Peak District, I still love an epic “natural ride” but for point-and-play fun, guaranteed all-weather riding, and with so many now open, trail centres provide a convenient mountain biking utopia.

Like many big days out, the idea of a trip down trail centre memory lane was hatched one night in the pub. Over a pint discussion ensued as to whether it would be possible to ride in one day - in the chronological order of their build dates - three of North Wales’ iconic trails? This region was the birthplace of UK trail centres, and with the Marin Trail, Coed Y Brenin and Coed Llandegla forming a neat triangle, it was a tantalising proposition. Tallying up the distances and ascents of the three trails, we were looking at 76 kilometres with 2,155 metres of climbing.

Definitely a big day of mountain biking but do-able, and with about 45 minutes driving from the Marin to Coed Y Brenin, and an hour and a half from there to Coed Llandegla, an early morning start should allow plenty of time.

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PROPER PRIOR PREPARATION

With my ride buddy and trusted photographer Paul’s slightly temperamental VW van packed, we headed for Betws Y Coed in the heart of Snowdonia and a campsite just minutes away from the Marin Trail. Over a pizza and a couple of pints we produced a back of beer mat schedule for the day, however, having found out Coed Llandegla shut its gates at 18:00, we found our plans a bit more squeezed than we’d previously reckoned. We plucked estimated ride times out of thin air, giving little thought to fatigue, mechanical mishaps or the pesky matter of taking images for this article.

Buoyed by a couple of local brews and a great forecast however, we put our faith in the plan, walked back to the campsite and settled down with alarms set for 04:00.

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BEAST OF BRENIN Length 34.8km Climb 993m Moving time 2:36:50 Total time 3:58:03

MARIN TRAIL Length 21.2km Climb 657m Moving time 1:31:27 Total time 1:50:06 Why, when and where? Started in the late 1990s and finished in 2003, the Marin Trail was Britain’s first dedicated mountain bike trail and so had to be our day’s opener. Located just outside of Betws Y Coed in the Gwydyr forest there’s no trail head facilities, just a free carpark, plenty of trees and the trail.

Tale of the trail Four in the morning is very early but with breakfast forced down and the van packed up, we were ready to ride bang on our ETD of 05:00. After a couple of bleary eyed mis-starts, we found the start of the trail and accompanied by the sounds of a forest dawn headed off. A long forest road climb was the trail’s opening salvo and this was interspersed with fun but fairly short singletrack descents which set the pattern for the ride.

Disappointingly there was also a long fire-road descent, I don’t mind gaining height on dull trails but to lose so much just wasn’t fair, especially as it spat us out at the foot of a brutally steep road climb. What did make all the tedious climbing worthwhile though was the staggering mountain view. The singletrack was fun but on some of the rocky sections, alternative lines had worn and the Marin felt its age and seemed a little neglected. The trail’s red grading was fair and probably a good thing for that time in the morning - there was nothing too technically challenging. The final three-kilometre descent was really enjoyable - particularly the more recently built bottom section which gave a taste of the trail building future with chances to get you tyres off the ground. As a start to the day it’d been an ideal warm-up and having taken forty minutes less than our planned two and a half hours, we congratulated ourselves on being up on schedule.

What we liked The views, wilderness feel, the final descent and free parking.

Not so hot Too much fire road, both up and down, and some sections are feeling a bit past their use by date.

Worth a ride? Not on its own and you’d be disappointed if you’re one of the long travel, pads and full face helmet brigade. A fun XC blast but you’d have to double it with the nearby Penmachno trail or some natural trails to make a Betws Y Coed mountain bike trip worthwhile.

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Why, when and where? Located near Dolgellau, there’s been mountain biking going on at Coed Y Brenin since the early 1990s. It was the first dedicated trail centre with bike hire, visitor centre and café. Legendary trail builder Dafydd Davis MBE was responsible for its first five waymarked trails which have been continuously updated and added too. With a new £1.6 million visitor centre built in 2006, and with constantly evolving mountain biking and running trails, it’s an outdoor Mecca. However, there was only one trail we could possibly choose, the scarily named Beast of Brenin.

Anything else would have felt like a cop out and to be able to pass judgment on Coed Y Brenin, we had to tame the Beast.

Tale of the trail This was the trail that had us worried and had the potential to blow our schedule out of the water. We had a ride time of three to six hours and hoped to do it in four.

Although the Marin hadn’t taken too much out of my legs and we’d gained some time, a couple of flats and the spectre of photographs meant we were feeling the pressure.

We passed under the giant forks that mark the start of the trail and the first section soon became a baptism of fire. It was fairly flat but had multiple rocky steps - my legs were soon

burning and my focus had to be 100 percent. It was rapidly followed by a loose techie climb, which by the end of we were both questioning whether four hours was going to be possible. It’s actually a genius bit of trail building, tough and technical but without any real hazards, and a safe way to test if you’ve got the skills and the fitness for the challenges to come. We ploughed on, and straight away the singletrack came thick and fast, rocky and technical, fast and flowing, tight and twisty - within the first 10 kilometres we’d had it all. The four-kilometre non-stop singletrack of Pink Heifer and Big Dug was the trail highlight but it’s not all gravity fed and our legs were singing by its end. Yes, much of the height gained on the trail was on fire roads but there were also some challenging technical climbs too, however, these were more than compensated for by the fantastic and varied singletrack.

Black sections were pre-warned by an ominous skull and cross-bones and did indicate sizeable and unavoidable features such as some fairly chunky drop-offs. Enough to get the hard fluttering, adrenaline flowing and create some big grins that were thankfully not wiped off.

The middle section of the trail had some long fire road climbs which Paul started to flag a bit on but he did have to lug his camera kit with him. With some cheeky map work you could easily skip this section but we were committed to the whole thing. This route, along with a puncture and photo ops, was eating into our

CHALLENGE TRAIL CENTRE TIME TRAVEL schedule so after a rest, refuel and reboot, we resolved to up our pace for the final third.

It was a singletrack onslaught, with a punishing final climb that really squeezed every drop out of our legs. The technical challenges didn’t ease one bit with roots and rocks seemingly poised to get you around every sinuous twist of the trail. With mind and body tiring, I paid with a few spills. I was bruised, battered but still smiling. We dipped in just under our four-hour bar. Treating ourselves to a slap up feed in the café – which had been accounted for in the schedule - and leaving with our hour buffer still intact, we were shattered but happy.

What we liked The sheer variety, fun and technical challenge of the singletrack. Brilliant facilities at the visitor centre and a range of trails for all ages and abilities.

Not so hot The middle section of the trail is a soulless slog but it can easily be cut out and is sandwiched between singletrack nirvana.

Worth a ride? Yes, yes and yes. You can’t call yourself a mountain biker until you’ve tamed the Beast. A true black graded trail in terms of distance, ascent and technicality. It’ll test your skills and fitness in equal measure. Ride the Beast in the morning, have some lunch and then, if you’ve still got some energy, have a blast around a couple of the shorter trails.

COED LLANDEGLA BLACK Length 20.2km Climb 505m Moving time 1:23:27 Total time 1:54:46 Why, when and where? Opened in 2005, the privately owned Coed Llandegla is only seven miles from Wrexham, making it popular with mountain bikers throughout the North-West.

With the income from the award winning café and carpark fuelling continuous trail building, it offers fast flowing and jumpy modern mountain biking.

Tale of the trail During the hour and a half drive, it hit us just how tired we really were but with the Beast vanquished at least we’d broken the back of the day, However, we were both dreading what we knew lay in store at the start of the Coed Llandegla Black route. The five-kilometre fire road grind to the start of the trails proper is bad enough when fresh, and as we wearily rode away from the van for the last time, heavy, stiff and aching legs were going to make it truly awful. In determined silence we grimly toiled through the forest, it wasn’t as bad as we’d built it up in our heads but as we whipped round the double berms that marked the start of the fun, we both let out an audible sigh of relief. From then on it was just a blast.

Smooth, fast, flowing, it was like being on a roller coaster. Even though I’m a dyed in the wool air-phobic XC rider, I couldn’t help but unweight my bike and enjoy some flight time. It was nowhere near the technical challenge of the Beast, and with all features rollable, a black grade is on the generous side but it was still a

hell of a lot of fun. Boardwalks, berms, jumps it was that gratuitous two-wheeled fun that modern trails are all about. Yes, there were some tough climbs but they were either enjoyable forest switchbacks or steep but short ramps. We gained the height but were always rewarded by gravity-fuelled fun. My whole body was aching by the final descent but more than an hour and a half up on schedule, we knew the day was in the bag and enjoyed the insanely fast final run in. To the victors the spoils and we were rewarded by excellent cake and coffee.

Shaking hands with Paul, I reflected on a very successful day.

What we liked The sheer speed and off-yourbrakes-fast-and-flowing-forest trails. Amazing cake and coffee and a potential money pit of a bike shop.

Not so hot The frankly tedious opening five-kilometre slog. Either get your head down and just pedal to get it over with like we did or use it for a bit of a warm-up and chat.

Worth a ride? As a standalone trail, one lap of the black isn’t quite enough to justify a visit but get in a second lap and you’ve got to ride that opening five-kilometre section again. I’ve done three lap rides at Coed Llandegla in the past and it does take some resolve. That said, with a massive skills’ area and pump tracks, there’s plenty of post lap fun to be had and with the constant trail building, the lap will keep getting bigger and better.

AT THE END OF THE DAY

It was a big day that was a genuine challenge, and as we battled through the traffic back to the Peak, we had plenty of time to reflect on the trails. We’d enjoyed them all and it had been fascinating to see how trail style had changed with time. We both agreed that the Beast of Brenin had been both the toughest and our favourite. The Marin was past its best and just a bit tame. Llandegla, although incredible fun, was just a bit too much like a theme park ride - plenty of thrills but all a bit smooth and sanitised. I want a bit of brutality in my mountain biking, for the trails to have some teeth and well, for them to be a bit more of a beast.

More information on all trails, mbwales.com

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CHALLENGE BRAVEHEART TRIATHLON

BEN NEVIS BRAVEHEART On the 3rd of October, the Ben Nevis Braveheart Triathlon duly rolled into Fort William and with it came a real diverse mix of competitors, supporters and media alike. Much talked about (particularly in this magazine) over the past few months, the race had some seriously high expectations from those involved. An epic adventure was duly born as the inaugural Ben Nevis Braveheart triathlon was hailed as a resounding success.

Words Sean McFarlane Pictures Andy McCandlish

here’s no doubt that the weather gods had been kind to us in the lead up to the race. Most competitors arrived in Fort William the day before and were greeted by unbroken blue skies, warm temperatures and glassy calm water. It was smiles all round.

The weather-beaten faces of the area’s other visitors however, reminded us all that we were more than likely to be following their footsteps tomorrow. There’s undoubtedly a lot to see in Fort William, especially in the heart of the area known as Lochaber, but there’s one attraction that beats them all and that dominates both the landscape and the course we’d be tackling - Ben Nevis.

The race, as expected, had attracted entries from all over the UK with a range of abilities, levels and expectations. Unsurprisingly Scotland was well represented and there were plenty from England as well as Wales. The Emerald Isle was here too, with Andrea Harrower (see reader story page 106) and Jen Watson from County Antrim.

The race had also attracted the TV cameras and you will shortly be able to see the race unfold both on Channel 4 and Sky Sports.

That extra media involvement undoubtedly added to the fun, and also ensured that heated discussions ensued on how best to go about buying (and more importantly safely using) a drone. We all love a good toy. I’ve no doubt that for TV presenter Rob Walker it made an exciting difference from the snooker, as he marvelled at our own version of the Crucible Theatre – although it was more a case of poles than cues.

For avid Outdoor Fitness reader Craig

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White, this was new territory. He had some general concerns, especially around the cut-off time for the run, but he had a clear race plan and had been following our training schedule.

So I reassured him he would be fine. Like so many others, he’d also managed to raise an impressive amount for charity.

In the pre-race build up there had been much talk and even concern about the water temperature, but in the end the 12.4-degree Atlantic water turned out to be fine for everyone. Triathletes do seem to be toughening up!

Race morning. The bagpipes may have been banned from the Rugby World Cup but they pipe us down ceremoniously to the water’s

“Make no mistake, these are the toughest triathletes on the planet!”

It’s a positive start. edge. Rob’s there, telling the camera: “Make no mistake, these are the toughest triathletes on the planet!” It’s a positive start.

The air horn goes and with much splashing and a bit of gentle bashing everyone gets underway in their own very personal battle.

It’s a two loop, out and back course and the field soon breaks up. For some, like experienced triathletes Graeme Neagle and Shaun O’Donnell, their morning dip is over in under 30 minutes, whilst for others it takes over an hour. The exit mat as always is a welcome platform and with cameras flashing all around we head out of the water and up to transition.

Carla Higgins comes out of that water a good

six minutes ahead of her husband Alex but that’s all part of the plan, as she knows Alex will catch her on the bike. Once he does, they’ll go on to complete the rest of the race together.

Transition from swim to bike perfectly reflects the hugely varying approaches of competitors to this unique challenge. Some had swum with their biking lycra underneath their wetsuits and are quickly out on the road, albeit in wet clothing. Others make full use of the changing tent and go back to their birthday suits before cladding themselves in full road biking apparel. Shaun may have been second out of the swim but he’s more than happy to spend a full six minutes in transition to fully warm up and prepare.

The first two kilometres of the bike course are a “time-out”. Competitors then start the course proper; an out and back loop before re-entering Fort William, ending with the same time-out section after 86 kilometres of rolling, quiet and well surfaced roads.

Conditions are perfect – dry and mild with virtually no wind.

With competitors now strewn out, the bike course is a joy. Occasional nods to others on the opposite side of the road are the only deviation from the tri bars. In her first triathlon anywhere near this distance, Jo Cardwell revels in her best discipline as she reels in the others and eats up the miles.

Once at the turn, I head back and the field begins to thin. My mind wanders as the mountains wrap around me. As it looms into view, I can’t resist a look at Ben Nevis. Cloud spills over its summit and it’s a seriously intimidating site, particularly in light of what’s to come next. I’ve already lost the mind game.

Into the outskirts of Fort William, the return

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CHALLENGE BRAVEHEART TRIATHLON

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to transition and the two kilometres off the clock are odd. With the need for haste now gone, albeit temporarily, my mind turns to how I could make the most of this time.

Spinning the pedals is the standard behaviour here in order to loosen up those running legs - but I’ve long been aware that transition is perilously close to a certain fast food chain, so how about a quick drive, well bike through the golden arches for some caffeine? Well, maybe not.

Temptation resisted, I clock back in and enter transition. I know speed is once again of the essence, particularly in transition, but it’s a strange feeling – a bit like trying, I can only imagine to shorten your time on death row. I know all too well of what’s to come. Clichéladen onlookers shout “this is where the race begins”. They’re spot on.

I, like doubtless many others, am worried about the run. My lack of hill running over recent months is about to be badly exposed.

But I know that and am prepared for it, hopefully.

After three kilometres I still haven’t found my running legs and reach the Nevis Inn. Tarmac now turns to off-road track. The TV drone is there too, no doubt hoping for a face plant. Thankfully I don’t oblige. Every time I have headed up this stretch of unrelenting ascent in the past, I have tried to give an encouraging response back to the throngs of others out on the mountain. However, I feel strangely guilty today as my low energy levels mean I fail on that front. So many of them are also clearly having a battle that tests them just as much as my own. Most of them are far more deserving of praise than me – I should be the giver and not the receiver here.

In a vain effort to take my mind off the near reverse gear that I seem to now be engaging, I take more time than usual to look into the faces of those on the mountain; Ben Nevis certainly attracts all shapes and sizes but it’s definitely a leaner selection once past half-way.

The Red Burn is a great target at half-way for those looking to come back and make the summit on a return visit. I can now hear the rustling all around as the layers are quickly put on. I head into the cloud. The temperature on the summit is expected to be minus one. I have been up Ben Nevis many times before but in a clear sign of pure desperation I ask a couple of walkers if it’s far to the top. The initial five-second silence in their response interspersed with face screwing up tells it all. I carry on, very slowly. I know that the last thing I want to be doing is running back down the rocky and loose terrain that I’m currently going up; for now I just want to get to the top, wherever it might be.

I begin to see runners coming down which Name

Club

Cat

Cliché-laden onlookers shout “this is where the race begins”. They’re spot on. initially makes me think I’m not far from the summit. I then dismiss any logic in that thought and just reassure myself I’m not lost… unless of course they are? I may now be hallucinating or reaching the early stages of madness. Either way I need to get to the top.

After much physical and mental torture I reach the summit of the highest mountain in Britain. I’m glad I know the cameraman there, Simon, as I’m safe in the knowledge that I can email him next week to apologise for my complete lack of conversation on this occasion. He’ll understand. I stop to pack up my poles whereupon I get caught by another competitor. We exchange some tired smiles and grunts but can’t muster the energy for words, then start the long journey back down.

He quickly passes me as I struggle with the terrain. All too quickly I can feel blisters on both soles of my feet - a sure sign of a serious lack of hill conditioning. This is going to be painful. For good measure I thump my foot into a large rock. I would swear, a lot, if it wasn’t for a group of schoolgirls looking at me at this point. I suspect the image of my saliva and snot ridden smile will stay with them for a while. I do hope they come back – Ben Nevis really is a cracking day out!

If I can just get down to the Red Burn I know the path becomes better from there on. But I have a lot of downhill to go before that. I try to encourage those competitors heading up but they all look so much stronger than me so I’m reluctant to do so with much sincerity. I know Ewan Jack and Stephan Scheuerl are seriously good hill runners and they’re far too close for comfort. So is local runner Dave Cummins.

I’d passed him on the bike but not before I’d seen his legs which seemed hewn from oak.

The last thing I want is for them to be chasing me down the mountain. It’s a race I would

Time

Behind

Swim

certainly lose.

Eventually at the Red Burn, the cloud lifts and I see the path below me. I also see another runner so go about chasing him down. Straight away I realise my attempted chase is going to be completely futile, as bewildered onlookers think John Wayne is reborn. I may be able to walk faster than this. I know my mum can, even with her old hip. I’m all out of everything – running form, energy and dignity.

I then see Craig. He’s made the cut-off, comfortably, and is all smiles. He’s also in far better shape than me. Plenty more to come from him in the future – he’s definitely started the journey. In fact the mountain is now full of competitors heading up who look well in control. I suspect they’ll all be back. Then there’s Carla and Alex, they seem very happy – no marital disputes then. Not far behind, Andrea and Jen shower me with compliments that feel ill-deserved. I’ve done this before, but for them this is the challenge of a lifetime and clearly they’re loving it. It’s a welcomed and timely lesson for me on perspective - great “bigger picture” stuff.

At last I reach the Nevis Inn. In a very questionable decision I grab my road running shoes and change back into them. Another competitor whizzes past me as I do so. I am prepared for the ensuing cramp but it does take longer than I’d hoped for to go away.

Perhaps I shouldn’t have stopped. But I do.

The runner in front is setting a good pace. I take up the chase but I know straight away that it’ll be a struggle. Eventually back into Fort William we wind through the lanes and back streets. I pass McDonalds again but am firmly focused now on the finish all of 100 metres away. Over the line and finished. I pick out my wife Becs and daughter Holly from the impressively large group of assembled supporting partners and children. In my depleted state I’m seriously tempted to just grab the first pair I see – I’m sure they'll understand! I had planned on doing any post race interview with Holly in my arms but I have nowhere near enough energy for that so instead I have a lie down, well in fact it’s more of a collapse in transition.

It doesn’t take long before I’m smiling, for the first time since the summit. What a race.

It’s been a real privilege to do it. Already I’m thinking of all my mates who would love this – and I can think of few that wouldn’t. Ben Nevis undoubtedly got the better of me this time. Although I’ll be back for more, hopefully stronger and better prepared for the mountain, this race will always be the ultimate challenge for anyone that chooses to take it on. So what are you waiting for?!

n Sean came in third – but was too modest to admit that!

Swim Transition

Bike

Bike Transition

Run

1st

Alistair Robinson

Team DASSI/9Bar

MSEN

05:41:11

00:32:59 (7th)

00:01:30 (2nd)

02:05:46 (1st)

00:01:33 (2nd)

02:59:23 (12th)

2nd

Chris Watson

RAF Triathlon

MSEN

05:50:37

+00:09:26

00:34:10 (17th)

00:02:37 (6th=)

02:16:49 (4th)

00:01:44 (3rd)

02:55:17 (8th)

3rd

Sean McFarlane

Craft/Honey Stinger

MVET

05:51:12

+00:10:01

00:34:54 (21st)

00:03:34 (22nd)

02:10:27 (2nd)

00:02:01 (6th)

03:00:16 (13th)

4th

Graeme Neagle

Fusion Triathlon Club

MSEN

05:54:35

+00:13:24

00:28:14 (1st)

00:03:22 (16th)

02:10:35 (3rd)

00:02:16 (12th)

03:10:08 (18th)

5th

Chris Godfree

Edinburgh RC

MSEN

05:57:45

+00:16:34

00:36:59 (32nd)

00:02:37 (6th=)

02:20:37 (6th)

00:02:13 (11th)

02:55:19 (9th)

Results provisional at time of going to print – full result at: nofussevents.co.uk/event/The-Ben-Nevis-Braveheart-Triathlon/3003/ November 2015 outdoorfitnessmag.com 55

W o od s , Ob s ta c l e s , L a k e s & F i e l d s . . . W i l d R u n n i n g

W i n t e r W o l f 7 t h & 8 t h N o v 2 0 15 2016 Events Spring Wolf 9th & 10th Apr 2016 Summer Wolf 11th & 12th Jun 2016 Autumn Wolf 3rd & 4th Sep 2016 W i n t e r W o l f 5 t h & 6 t h N o v 2 0 16 take on the challenge

thewolfrun.com

TRAIN

GET YOURSELF FITTER AND NAIL YOUR NEXT MAJOR EVENT

58

CONTENTS 58 OCR Special Choose the right course & Specialist training 66 Speed training Park Run 5kms

Ethiopia – the land of endurance?

Pictures Alamy

At the recent world athletics championships Ethiopians along with Kenyans – dominated the endurance events.

THE ETHIOPIAN WOMEN were particularly successful – getting the better of their Kenyan rivals (and the world) over 1,500m and the marathon and had a clean sweep in the 5000m. Genzebe Dibaba being the stand out performer with gold in the 1,500m and bronze in the 5,000m.

Sports scientists have long sought to find out what makes the Ethiopians and Kenyans so good and in particular what matters most – nature or nurture?

One study looked at 114 Ethiopian international athletes and compared these to 111 Ethiopian non-athletes. One of the key findings was that Ethiopian marathon runners predominated in the Arsi region of the country. An area that is divided by the Rift Valley - famous for also producing top Kenyan runners and a region that’s at 2,000-2,500m of altitude. So perhaps there is a genetic link?

However, an Ethiopian coach (quoted in the research), explained that most marathon runners would be found in Arsi – so would knowing this create a self-fulfilling prophecy, with coaches looking specifically to unearth talent in that region?

Of the marathon runners, when young, 68% were likely to run to school (a distance that was on average more than 5km), making a possible score for nurture (and necessity due to the lack or road and rail transport available).

So where are we when it comes to the nature versus nurture debate as influencing factors for Ethiopian endurance running success and what does this mean for aspiring European distance runners and you, for example? The researchers say: “Although not excluding any genetic influence, the results of the present study highlight the importance of environment in the determination of athletic success.” So, it seems that training hard, racing hard and being constantly focussed on wanting success amongst your peers is what probably matters the most. And this may explain the recent rise of non east African runners on the world endurance athletics stage and what you need to do to be the best you can – whatever your goal!

Ref: Med Sci Sports Exerc; vol 35, 2003 no 10, pp1727-1732

November 2015 outdoorfitnessmag.com 57

TRAIN OCR SPECIAL

Pick the right OCR Words Nick Hutchins Pictures AE EdmondsAEPhotos.co.uk & Richard Burley/Epic Action Imagery

No matter what shape you’re in, there’s an obstacle course race (OCR) out there for you.

THERE ARE OCRS taking place almost every weekend of the year in the UK. And because they come in all different shapes and sizes, no matter what your level of fitness you’ll be able to find one to take on. If you’re a first timer, you’ll probably want something relatively short; say 5km. For those who are experienced runners, there are an abundance of races from the 10km up to full marathon length that will test your endurance. In terms of training for the different distances, you can employ a normal programming strategy – running from three to five days a week, building up gradually to close to the race distance and tapering in the couple of weeks prior to the event .

As well as longer distance runs to get you used to the cardio demands of your race, you’ll want to put in shorter, faster sessions to help you build the speed you’ll need to do more than just plod around a course.

You’ll also want to do some acclimatisation training because obstacle races are often muddy. In training you don’t need to find the chest deep puddles you’ll encounter during actual events, but taking on muddy trails will go some way to preparing you for the boggy resistance your body has to deal with.

Strength is a key component of OCRs – when it comes to the obstacles you’ll need to have significant pulling and pushing power to take on all the different features. You’ll be largely moving your bodyweight when tackling these so following a programme that includes plenty of press-ups, pull-ups, box jumps and planks will help you build the strength and power you’ll need. If you want to make the challenges as manageable as possible, low rep, heavy resistance work in the gym, focusing on compound moves (multi-joint and muscle exercises, such as squats, lunges and cleans), is the key. You could also go to a Crossfit® or specialist gym, such as Parkour Generations and get in some specifically tailored prep as our man Maxwell Roche did – see page 62).

FOUR OF THE BEST OCRS Of course every race has slightly different requirements, which is why we’ve picked four of the best different length OCRs you can do here in the UK, explaining what to expect and how to prepare for them. And we’ve even included the low-down on the world’s hardest obstacle race in case you’re the sort of beast-mode racer who’s only interested in taking on races where just surviving is a huge feat.

58 outdoorfitnessmag.com November 2015

During a Spartan Sprint you won’t have to endure any electric shocks or ice-water plunges

SHORT SPARTAN SPRINT Distance: 5-8km Obstacles: 20-23 Location: Across the UK Date: Various spring, summer and autumn No matter what obstacle course event you take on, the features are always going to present some kind of challenge. So it’s the short distance that makes the Spartan Sprint a good starting point for those wanting to dip their toes into the world of OCRing for the first time.

And when you do come across an obstacle you find too challenging, you can always pass on doing it and take the 10-burpee penalty that’s a hallmark of all Spartan races. If, however, you are keen to enjoy the full Spartan experience – which means taking on Atlas stone carries, rope and wall climbs and spear throws – some pre-event strength training will prepare you for anything you’ll come across.

Two sessions a week of 4 rounds of 5 half-bodyweight barbell deadlifts, half bodyweight barbell bench presses, half bodyweight barbell squats, pull-ups or assisted pull-ups, all done back-to-back with a 3-minute rest between rounds will help you develop the strength for a Spartan Sprint over the space of a month. Aim to increase the weight you lift by 2.5kg per session whilst adding a rep to the pull-ups sets.

You’ll also want to make sure you can comfortably complete a 5km run or run/walk so building up to that

distance over a month with a 3 times a week running plan where you start with 1km and add a km per week will get you there. In the week before the race, reduce your training to what you did during the first week to ensure you don’t stress your body but keep your fitness ticking over before the race.

Unlike some of the other events here, during a Spartan Sprint you won’t have to endure any electric shocks or ice-water plunges and, in the case of the urban sprints, such as the one held at London’s Allianz Park this May, little in the way of mud.

All of this makes these types of OCRs great for those after an obstacle race-lite experience before they take on a bigger, muddier challenge. This doesn’t mean, however, that elites should be put off taking them on though – if you tackle all of the features and run at full-tilt, the race presents enough of a challenge to test even the most battle-hardened OCR vets. This year’s Allianz Park race winner completed the course in 27 minutes and 36 seconds but if you’re walking it, expect to be on the course for over an hour.

To enter, spartanraceuk.uk

MEDIUM TOUGH MUDDER Distance: 16-19km Obstacles: 20-25 Location: Across the UK Date: Various spring, summer and autumn

LONG RAT RACE DIRTY WEEKEND Distance: 32km Obstacles: 200 Location: Burghley House, Stamford Date: usually May

The most challenging obstacles at Tough Mudder don’t require you to be as strong or agile as Spartan’s toughest ones do, but these events are more difficult thanks to the fact that they’re often four-times the length, and each one features two sets of fairly powerful electric shocks and a numbing ice-water submersion. Nice!

Other features you’ll take on during a Tough Mudder include log carries, quarter pipes, monkey bars, water slides, and 2-metre plus wall climbs. But, unlike Spartan events, Tough Mudders aren’t technically races – there’s a heavy emphasis on entering as a team and helping your fellow Mudders. This means that if you do come across a feature you’re struggling with, don’t be afraid to ask others around you for a leg-up.

Lots of people walk much or all of these OCRs – but there’s no reason not to run the whole thing if you want a proper endurance challenge, just don’t go overboard with the free beer the organisers provide at the end of the event – you’ll want to rehydrate properly before you hit the booze.

When training for a Tough Mudder you’ll need to follow a

Everything about this race bellows long – the colossal distance, the mind boggling number of obstacles – including the world’s longest monkey bars, through to a party that lasts well into the night.

But it’s not just about distance, what also sets this race apart is innovation – there are a host of features that you won’t find in most other of the UK’s biggest races. These include perilous tilting climbing bells to multimulti-deck towers that reward you with stunning views of the course and Burghley House.

Obstacles here are grouped into zones, and the most notable is the water wipeout section. As well as the standard monkey bar swings over pools of water and swim/ wading through lakes and deep puddles, it includes a 10m drop into a plunge pool and an “OMG, I have to do that?” high water slide that sends you cannoning into a lake.

On the strength front you can again follow the previously mentioned two times a week strength plan, but you are going to have to put some real distance work in here. Start the 3 sessions a week Tough Mudder plan 12-weeks before the event,

running programme that gets you to half-marathon distance. You can do this over a 2-month period with 3 runs per week. Aim to do one slower distance run on the weekend, as well as a hill running session and a race pace run in the week. In theory, starting with 7.5km for the distance runs and adding 2.5kms per week; 5x30sec hill climbs, adding a rep per week; and 5km for the race pace run with an added km each week will get your ready for a Tough Mudder.

The same type of strength work we’ve recommended for a Spartan Sprint, should get you round and over and through the obstacles. If you’re a regular runner who wants to achieve a decent Tough Mudder time, then sub 2 hours should be your target.

To enter, toughmudder.co.uk.

Tough Mudders aren’t technically races – there’s an emphasis on entering as a team and helping your fellow Mudders

capping your longest runs at 30km, and then work back down in 10km increments so you’re fresh for the race. And bear in mind that long distance road runs will feel very different to the 32km you’ll run on Dirty Weekend’s trails so make sure that if you can’t do your longest runs on trails, they at least have some off-road sections in them.

The end of the Dirty Weekend rewards racers with the mother of all OCR parties where, over the past few years, the likes of Ocean Colour Scene, Ash and Reverend And The Makers have played, so keep something in the tank for some post-event shape throwing.

And in case you’re wondering what race target to set yourself during the Dirty Weekend; this year’s winner completed the race in 2 hours 46 minutes but anything sub 3 hours 30 is decent.

To enter, ratracedirtyweekend. com

It includes a 10m drop into a plunge pool and an “OMG, I have to do that?” high water slide

November 2015 outdoorfitnessmag.com 59

SALISBURY 5-4-3-2-1 Trail Marathon

Also a 21k=HM, 33k & 50k Ultra

Run in Historic Wessex

Walkers welcome *with earlier start times for 50k/42k/33k and later start times for 5k/10k/21k UK Athletics Full Licence 2016 Applied for

SUNDAY 14th AUGUST 2016

42k Marathon Trail Run starts 10:00

Runs 50k Ultra/09:30 33k/10:30 21k/11:00

Walks 50k/42k/33k start 8-8:15am & Walk 21k/10k/5k = 11-11:15

From Fire Station/Ashley Green Salisbury SP2 7TN

Trail Runners £22 (£20 if Club) in advance Each Race for Runners limited - No On-the-Day Entry

Walkers Entry Fees = £10 *(Strictly NO Running) + £3 to Change Distance or Walkers On-The-Day Entry

Medal or Badge to all finishers On-line: www.salisbury54321.com Fire Sports – UK: www.fssaa.com Event Director 15 Ashley Road Salisbury Wiltshire SP2 7TN T. 01722 332211 F. 01722 504503

ludomacaulay@hotmail.com

Tuff Enuff Obstacle Course Races YOUR CHANCE TO UNLEASH THE BEAST INSIDE YOU

FORTHCOMING RACES: FEBRUARY 28, 2016: URBAN SURVIVOR, CORNWALL

MAY 18, 2016: WORLD’S END, CORNWALL SEPTEMBER 24, 2016: ABOVE AND BEYOND, CORNWALL

USE THE CODE TUFFENUFF2016 TO GET 10 PER CENT OFF REGISTRATION FOR 2016 EVENTS

OCR SPECIAL TRAIN If you do make it through Tough Guy you’ll experience a sense of achievement almost unparalleled in obstacle racing..

TOUGH TOUGH GUY Distance: 15km Location: Wolverhampton

Obstacles: 200+ Date: usually January

“A nightmare being chased by a pack of stallions” is how the organisers describe this annual event, and they’re not wrong. This howling monster of an OCR is not as long as the Tough Mudder, but it takes place in January so the second you hit any of the multitude of deep water obstacles you start to feel hypothermic. And we do mean hit because the frigid temperatures mean the water has normally frozen over so you have to punch your way into it!

Among the multitude of bone-chilling water features, high drops, bale jumps, and rope traverses, are also what feel like an unending section of savagely steep hill climbs and a pitch black tunnel crawl littered with powerfully charged electric wires that you can’t locate until they’ve doled out violent shocks to parts of your body. And when you get out of the tunnel the organisers throw talcum powder at you – just to add insult to borderline injury.

This is not a race for the faint of heart, or those new to these type of events, but if you do make it through Tough Guy you’ll

experience a sense of achievement almost unparalleled in obstacle racing. And you get a free cup of cocoa at the end, which almost makes up for all the shocks and talc. Almost……

As well as following a similar regimen to the one we’ve suggested for Tough Mudder, doing some acclimatisation work before the race will go someway to preparing you for the vicious cold of Tough Guy. A once a week winter swim in your nearest outdoor lido or open water lake is your best option. Just make sure the facility is well staffed with life guards as cold water swimming is not to be taken lightly. If you don’t have this kind of facility nearby, ice baths at home are a good, equally chilly alternative.

Just finishing the race itself is a feat, doing it in sub 2 hours makes you a bit of a beast.

To enter, toughguy.co.uk

This is not a race for the faint of heart, or those new to these type of events

TOUGHEST SPARTAN DEATH RACE Distance: 112km Obstacles: Varies Location: Pittsfield, Vermont Date: Varies Lots of obstacle races have ominous-sounding tag lines. In the main it’s to give racers something to boast about but the reality is that they’re fairly tame. This is not the case with the Spartan Death Race, which has a sell of “you might die”, and err they actually mean it.

Created by Spartan race founder Joe De Sena and ultra distance triathlete Andy Weinberg neither the start date, time nor length of the Spartan Death Race are made public before or during this epic race, and in order to qualify you have to take part in a number of other grueling events. If you are deemed worthy of competing, a series of pre-race emails keeps you in the loop about the ever-changing particulars of the race.

Historically you had a 24-hour window to conquer the Death Race, but now it’s increased to 70 hours, and includes lots of community-improving physical labour, as well as the bogstandard OCR features. Then it gets weird – every year racers are required to complete a number of

oddly sadistic tasks such as eating a bag of raw onions. It’s not surprising that less than 25% of racers complete this event and those that do have an impressive set of survival skills as well as a beastly level of fitness.

There’s no point training for this unless you’ve got a raft of ultra marathons, obstacle races and several years of strength training under your belt and some would say, a screw loose. There is simply no other OCR as tough as this.

More information, peak.com

Then it gets weird – every year racers are required to complete a number of oddly sadistic tasks such as eating a bag of raw onions.

It’s not surprising that less than 25% of racers complete this event

November 2015 outdoorfitnessmag.com 61

TRAIN OCR SPECIAL

OCR Training GET Specific Maxwell Roche takes heed from Classical Greece and embraces pain in the godly pursuit of obstacle course race training.

62 outdoorfitnessmag.com November 2015

VIDEO

http://of.gy/hshtF

Words Maxwell Roche Pictures Grant Pritchard

WATCH THE

COMPETITIVE RACES BACK in Ancient Greece were described as “agon” - from which we get our word agony. This was largely due to the fact that naked competitors were often whipped with willowy rods if they made a mistake, i.e. a false start or if they simply needed some encouragement. Recently however, much to my delight and approval, we seem to have regressed a little, and the ancient Greeks (if they were to somehow reappear) may see in obstacle course races (OCRs) much to their liking.

Because obstacle course racing involves a balance of speed, strength, and endurance, training for events can be tricky, which is why I decided to go in search of a solution. Whilst running is the main constituent of most OCRs (excepting the Ninja Warrior) runners must also have strength and agility. It seems that functional total body training is what’s required.

So rather than do 200 burpees after my Wednesday evening jog I decided to find a place where I could practice obstacles for real, and in doing so properly prepare for my first OCR. Rumour has it that Parkour and Freerunning athletes are some of the best performers when it comes to OCRs, so I thought that might be a good place to start.

Along the gloom and grey of the industrial wilds of East London’s riverside, amid the rusted remains of heavy commercial enterprise and the urban artworks of Banksy, there stands an enormous lofted barn. Light pours in through high vaulted windows and down through billowing chalk dust onto a mass of sponge, concrete and metal. The smell of the city and of hard graft lingers there and the ringing and working of exercise equipment echoes all around the cavernous space. When you walk in through the towering doorway and stand hands on hips to gaze around, you know immediately that you’re in, “a proper gym” (yes, sometimes we at Outdoor Fitness do train indoors but with an outdoor purpose). Not a treadmill in sight just old fashioned, walls, bars, ropes, piles of iron ready-to-pump and even the odd tractor tyre (the use of which is soon to be revealed).

The gym at Trinity Buoy Wharf Docklands aka The Chainstore is run by Parkour Generations who are the largest international Parkour and

Freerunning academy in the world. They’ve been running dedicated Parkour facilities for over a decade and have bases in London, Asia, South America and the US. As well as Parkour and Freerunning they also now teach two OCR specific classes “Trail” and “Assault”. The Trail class is orientated specifically around people looking to take on the likes of Tough Mudder and the Spartan Race whilst the Assault class is geared more towards the elite off-ground assault courses such as Ninja Warrior. I got in touch with the team at the Chainstore and being the smug character that I am managed to book onto both.

DAY 1 – TRAIL CLASS On a Saturday afternoon we gather in a circle ahead of the 90-minute Trail class and Naoki our instructor, a lithe looking Japanese man, smiles with a cheeky salute and begins putting us through the warm-up. I’m surrounded by a reasonably serious looking bunch of boys and girls all dressed sports casual i.e. baggy cotton rather than slim fitting Lycra. I’m instantly surprised by the warm-up as we start rocking backwards and forwards on our haunches stretching dynamically and intensively. I’ve got tiny beads of sweat appearing at my temples even before we’ve finished the series of stretches. Once that’s over we tackle the first obstacle. Naoki explains that we are to practice three different obstacles individually, and then string them all together into one long course towards the end of the session. The first is a series of boxes, one foot in height, laid out in a line and evenly spaced with a metre gap between each. Initially we jump onto each box with both feet, taking care to land on our toes, and then onto the floor between each until we’ve completed the whole line. Next we do the same on just one leg and then we try with the other. After that we jump double-footed between the boxes without using the floor, and finally one legged from box to box. After thirty minutes of this our calfs and quads are killing us. Naoki smiles relentlessly and demonstrates often with gazelle-like agility whilst trying to explain that plyometric power (jump strength) is what’s most import when you’re faced with many typical OCR obstacles.

November 2015 outdoorfitnessmag.com 63

TRAIN OCR SPECIAL Next up it’s some vaulting exercises. Three boxes are placed in front of us of varying sizes.

The tallest is five feet and the smallest three feet. Naoki demonstrates by running full tilt at the highest box and passing over it effortlessly using just the palm of his left hand. The challenge is to jump the box, maintain momentum, and skim over within a few inches of its surface. We all attempt the smaller of the three first and much banging and clattering ensues. Next we try the same technique using the other hand, and finally we are challenged to tackle the box head-on using both hands, allowing our legs to pass through our arms in a leapfrog type position. Eventually we all start getting the hang of it and it’s immensely satisfying. When you get it right, vaulting the box feels effortless. This is just the sort of technique you want to master ahead of a big OCR. Finally, we pit our wits against the wall. We all gather in front of an eight-foot high wall and Naoki shows us how best to tackle it. He demonstrates once again by running hell-forleather straight at it, placing one foot half way up, two hands on the top and vaulting over, as if it were nothing. This is the point that we all start doubting ourselves a little. The first of us takes a run up, just manages to grab the top and proceeds to dangle from it embarrassingly with feet running and sliding beneath to no avail. Naoki has a little chuckle and demo’s again trying to convey the importance of the feet for gaining momentum up the wall. We all hazard a few more attempts and eventually many of us are springing quite convincingly up, and scrambling not quite so elegantly over.

Once we’ve practiced all three obstacles we then link them together and it’s amazing how much worse we are at each individual obstacle, when attempting to complete them in quick succession. There’s certainly a lot to be said for stamina when it comes to OCR training.

Naoki explains that we have to build not only our plyometric power but also our slow twitch endurance muscle fibre.

DAY 2 – THE ASSAULT SESSION When I arrive on Sunday afternoon for my OCR Assault session, I’m altogether less sprightly. It turns out that despite being an avid runner and gym goer some of the exercises we did the previous day I was just simply not used to. As a result I was feeling pretty achy, and a little shaky. Chris aka Blane our instructor for the day once again puts us through a warm-up and explains the format. It will be similar to the previous day but with different obstacles this time; obstacles more akin to what you might see on the Ninja Warrior TV show. Rope swings, wall traverses and bridging, balancing stones, monkey bars and a tyre run (ah, that tyre – this puzzled us all).

We’re split off into groups and first up for my group it’s the rope swing; two ropes hanging from the ceiling about four meters apart and a box at the end to land on. All we need do is swing on the first, over to the second, and then onto the box. I’ve seen this on the telly many times and have always fancied my chances given that I have good upper body strength (so I thought), and a good strength to weight ratio. I swing clutching the rope with two hands and

64 outdoorfitnessmag.com November 2015

“You don’t see monkeys swinging on bent arms,” he says, and he’s got a point. After a few attempts, having taken this intriguing advice on board, I complete the route around the walls. reach out quickly for the second rope before swinging back in the opposite direction. At that point I find myself hanging between the two ropes in a kind of iron cross position.

Immediately as the tension builds the grip I have with my left hand fails. My hand slides down the rope when its at full extension and I burn a substantial amount of the skin from my fingers. Chris explains that I needed to have held on higher up the rope and taken a slightly smaller swing to decrease the speed and strength required. I try again and fail miserably.

Not liking anything to get the better of me I vow to myself that I will complete this seemingly simple obstacle before the day is out.

Next it’s the tyre run – and now we know what we will be doing. The instructors stand either side of a huge tractor tyre, which we individually climb on top of. Once we’re up, we stand straight (a good two metres from the ground) and each attempt to walk slowly backwards, moving the tyre across the room to the finishing platform. Many people struggle with this, moving too quickly or just losing balance and jumping off in fright. I take it steady, making sure the tyre never picks up too much speed and make it across the room.

Great success!

Finally, it’s the wall traverse and bridging. For the traverse we are required to hang from the top of a five-foot wall and move around it until we come to sections where we can bridge the gap between two separate walls with our feet.

Then we have to switch the way we are facing and continue on the opposite wall. This exercise requires trusting your feet. Chris explains that as well as trusting our footing we must also, like a monkey, learn to hang on

straight arms. This helps to reduce fatigue apparently as fewer muscles are activated and we can therefore hang for longer. “You don’t see monkeys swinging on bent arms,” he says, and he’s got a point. After a few attempts, having taken this intriguing advice on board, I complete the route around the walls.

With all three activities now complete, its time once again, as with the previous day, to put them all together. I take on the wall first which I manage, then the tractor tyre, which I also just manage, and then finally the rope swing... my nemesis. This time I grab higher up the rope and swing with less momentum.

When I grab the second rope I take hold toward the end where there is a knot to help my grip. I hang on, let go with my right arm and swing over to the box. Yahoo! This makes me incredibly happy. Practice, technique and determination inevitably lead to success and there’s nothing like the feeling!

All in all it was a superb weekend at the Chainstore. I met some great characters, learned plenty of new skills and techniques, and had a truly epic workout. At a regular gym there is simply no way I could’ve achieved anything close to similar. Whether you’re training for your first OCR or you’re a seasoned veteran of the circuit, I highly recommend paying the Chainstore a visit it’s the full enchilada. It will put you miles ahead of the competition come race day and shatter all your nasty preconceptions about a day at the dreaded gym. And if you ever (somehow) get transported back to Ancient Greece for a race at least you’ll be prepared for a bit of agon…..

More info, parkourgenerations.com/chainstore

Maxwell experiences a very real definition of heavy footed

November 2015 outdoorfitnessmag.com 65

TRAIN PARK RUN

Speed Work Run your best 5K at a parkrun – to run your best marathon. Damian Hall and Martin Yelling provide the tips, strategies and plans.

AS WE BUILD training mileage towards endurance goals, it’s easy to neglect speed training. Why run in short sharp bursts when your upcoming challenge is a 50-mile ultramarathon? But speed work is vital.

If you only do long slow runs, you may be able to run a long way, but it’ll be at a mono-pace.

Speed work pushes your VO2 max (the maximum amount of oxygen your body can process), your lactic threshold (the point when lactate starts to accumulate in your body*) and improves athletic performance in various other ways. There are lots of different ways to do speed work: structured intervals, fartlek runs, hill repeats, strides, tempo runs and similar. But there’s another, much more fun way too: parkrun.

It’s a wonderful concept: effectively a free, 5km “timed run” (rather than a race per se), with all abilities made to feel welcome, every Saturday morning at 9.00 – at, you’ve guessed it, a local park.

A parkrun is great training. “It’s fantastic as a standalone solo time trial for runners to gauge their personal fitness levels and set benchmarks,” says Dr Martin Yelling

(yellingperformance.com), running coach, former England international runner, parkrun ambassador and regular Poole parkrunner and volunteer. ”It can be used as a pacing exercise, a flat-out effort or a recovery run. It’s great for marathon and ultramarathoners as it can break up the long training run, with a run around the park with friends. Kicking a long run off with a parkrun; following one up with a few miles; or finishing a long run with a big parkrun effort can have a great motivational and training benefit. Multisport athletes might even like to tag a parkrun on after a bike ride to create a brick session.”

We can all run 5km. But what makes a good 5,000-metre runner? “The tenacity to start their run off hard,” says Yelling adding, “but the discipline to know what pace they can maintain for the full 5km. They have the ability to tolerate discomfort as the kms tick by and the effort levels go up. A good parkrun runner will pace their effort well, knowing the third to fourth km will be the toughest.”

Whatever your longer term fitness goals, being able to compete with yourself every

MARTIN YELLING’S THREE SESSIONS TO SMASH YOUR PARKRUN PB

“These workouts are designed to help you run a faster 5km. Whether you’re pitching to break 35 minutes at your debut parkrun, take down your parkrun nemesis, or fly round in a new PB. Build these workouts regularly one to two times a week into your plans and reap the parkrun performance rewards.”

Words Damian Hall Pictures David Rowe

KILLER KS 5x1km - This is a classic 5km interval session.

Run 1km at your target 5km pace. Take 50 percent of the time it takes you to run the 1km as recovery (walk or jog), for example, for a 5min 1km effort take 2.5 minutes recovery. Repeat the 1km four times, striving to maintain the same pace (or even marginally faster) for each 1km.

TRIPLE 8 3x8 minutes A progressive paced, sustained, threshold run with the aim of finishing the final 8-minute effort at bang on, or marginally faster than, your target 5km pace. Run the first 8 minutes effort at 70 percent maximum, the

second at 80 percent and the final 8 minutes at 90 percent.

To begin with take two minutes easy recovery between pace pick-ups, but as you get fitter drop the recovery to zero and hit the Triple 8 right through with continuous pace accelerations.

SPEED PYRAMID 3-2-1 Speed Pyramid This is a perfect session for being on top of the fatigue in the final kilometre and nailing the sprint finish! Run three minutes at target 5km pace (remember, this will be high intensity!), take 1-minute rest.

Run 2 minutes a whisker faster than this, take 1-minute rest. Finish the set with a

1-minute super-fast run (faster than target 5km pace). Take 5 minutes walk/jog recovery.

Then repeat the 3-2-1 pyramid a further two times.

BUT BE WARMED For speed work such as this, it’s vital to warm-up. Yelling says: “A warm-up gets you ready for running faster, so more time and focus must be given to it. A 5-minute jog isn’t sufficient. Help minimise risk of injury through tweaks, pulls and strains due to sudden increases in muscle stretch, by warming up your heart and lungs through continuous steady running for 10 to 15 minutes, followed by some dynamic mobility exercises.

* Lactate is a body chemical involved in muscle contraction at all times. With increasing exercise intensity more energy is produced anaerobically (without oxygen) and lactate levels rise. At very high exercise intensities lactate becomes lactic acid, resulting in that burning muscle sensation and a significant reduction in exercise performance.

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It’s a wonderful concept: effectively a free, 5km “timed run” (rather than a race per se), with all abilities made to feel welcome, every Saturday morning at 9.00 – at, you’ve guessed it, a local park.

November 2015 outdoorfitnessmag.com 67

TRAIN PARK RUN

week, with a clear benchmark for progress, quickly becomes addictive. If you’re serious about getting PBs at a parkrun you need to think about specificity. “If you’re prepping for a parkrun with a mid-week casual jog, don’t be surprised when your 5km smash up hurts at halfway and you watch your parkrun nemesis disappear through the trees into the distance,” says Yelling. “Don’t give your body any surprises on parkrun day. Teach it to be ready for the intensity you’re going to throw at it for 5km.

Running 5km well is all about getting some specific ‘speed endurance’ training under your belt. That means teaching your body to run faster (at a higher intensity) for longer.”

Yelling recommends you introduce some intervals and threshold running into your training. “Both of these can be structured to be specific to 5Km and will help your target 5km pace feel easier. At least, that’s the theory.

Throw six to eight weeks of intervals and threshold work into your training regime and you’ll soon find yourself smashing your parkrun goals.”

Intervals are periods of high intensity, hard effort, fast running, interspersed with periods of recovery. The point is to run fast, then recover, then repeat. Yelling says: “This type of training helps boost maximal oxygen uptake and improve stamina and running economy, and makes race pace feel easier!”

Intervals should be run at 80 to 95 percent maximal effort (depending on the duration – the shorter, the harder). High quality interval workouts are hard to maintain without appropriate and sufficient recovery. “The recovery is as important as the effort,” says Yelling adding, ”getting the blend of effort and recovery just right is important to improve your performance. If you’re not sure, take longer rest periods and keep the quality of the efforts high.”

Threshold pace is a sustained, controlled discomfort. “It’s your friend for a feisty parkrun!” says Yelling. “Effectively this is what 5km pace should feel like when you’re teetering on the edge of comfort. It’s an effort level you can maintain, but only just. Over time sustained threshold running gets easier the more you do.”

We know what you’re thinking. Sure, he talks the talk, but what’s Yelling’s parkrun PB? “My all-time 5km PB is 14.10,” he says modestly.

“But my parkrun PB is 16.12 and I’ve recorded 17:13 for a double buggy parkrun PB with twin 21-month old boys!”

Regardless of how it’ll help your training, parkrun is well worth experiencing anyway, for its ideology and spirit if nothing else. “Parkrun is embracing a new community-focussed, grassroots landscape for participation that’s open to everyone,” says Yelling. “You can run the 5km, walk it, do a little of both, take your dog, your pushchair or your granddad.”

YELLING’S FIVE GOLDEN PARKRUN PB RULES

1

CHOSE YOUR START SPOT Sure, parkrun is all about the noncompetitive spirit of running together and all that. But if you’re gunning for a PB, line up at the start in a position that gives yourself the best chance of this. This doesn’t mean elbowing your way to the front, but on the other hand don’t start off right at the back.

2

KNOW THE ROUTE As it’s your local parkrun you should know the course. Understand sections where you need to

concentrate, work hard and be strong and sections where you can relax and stride out.

3

RUN EVENLY Aim to start strongly for the first kilometre and quickly reach your target 5km pace within this. Then settle and hold this pace for 3km before digging in and hanging on for the final km.

4

PICK A COURSE If it’s a time rather than a particular course PB you’re after, choose your parkrun event carefully. Some courses are

68 outdoorfitnessmag.com November 2015

significantly faster (flatter, less twisty, better underfoot, more competitive, more runners at your pace) than others, so a little parkrun tourism might be called for.

5

FINISH STRONG The final 500m is supposed to hurt! If you’ve got your pacing right and are in with a shout of your parkrun PB within the final 1km then slowing down at this point isn’t an option! The final 500m can make all the difference, so finish strong and smiling.

THE PARKRUN PHENOMENON Eleven years ago, when Paul Sinton-Hewitt started getting friends together to run around Teddington’s Bushy Park every Saturday morning he had no idea the event would one day be taking place every week all around the world. Or that he’d rightly get a CBE in the Queen’s birthday honours for “services to grass roots sports participation”.

“Our aim is to break down as many barriers as possible to allow everyone to take part in our events,” Tom Williams, managing director of parkrun UK, tells Outdoor Fitness. “The fact that our runs are free and take place at the same time, in the same place year-round makes them very appealing.

“Because parkruns are timed runs – not races – they are not competitive and everyone can take part at their own pace and for their own reasons. Families can participate together, people can run with their dogs or push their children in a buggy, and people with a wide range of disabilities can take part. Our runners don’t have bib numbers, they just sign up once and then can run any parkrun event whenever they feel like it.

“Each parkrun is coordinated by local volunteers, which helps create a sense of community and an inclusive and welcoming environment.”

To get your parkrun times recorded, register at, parkrun.org.uk before your first event and take a printed barcode along.

November 2015 outdoorfitnessmag.com 69

TRAIN WASDALE X PEOPLE Alistair

Pelle

Naomi

Ross

Wasdale X Men & Women THE CAST Last issue we featured the Wasdale X Triathlon, billed as the hardest ironman distance race on the planet. Finding it hard to argue with that claim we wanted to discover why a group of ordinary people seemed to be all too willing to give this crazy race a go.

What’s their secret?

MAKE NO MISTAKE, the X men and women I spoke to haven’t exactly been lying on the sofa and watching the telly for the last few years. All four had done several half ironman distance triathlons and at least one full ironman. Other than Pelle they had also all done the Celtman extreme triathlon. (In fact this year another competitor at Wasdale X went on to do the Celtman six, yes six days later. Yup there’s always one!) Nevertheless all the competitors taking part in this most abnormal of challenges have in fact got normal lives with jobs, families and failing bodies, along with all the usual temptations that far too often lure us from the fitness track.

SO WHAT ABOUT OUR FOUR As suspected they all have jobs, though with differing degrees of time commitment. Alistair is semi-retired but the rest work full-time and more, with Naomi’s working time commitment almost impossible to fathom. Fitting in training is vital and these four do it admirably. We can all so easily find an excuse not to train, but these guys and girl don’t even start the search.

70 outdoorfitnessmag.com November 2015

WHY THEY ENTERED Alistair Abbott: I wanted to do the Swissman extreme triathlon but failed to get a slot in the lottery so I looked around for an alternative. A friend was training for the Celtman and I wanted something to train for as well. Another friend told me about the Wasdale X. I’d always wanted to ride the Fred Whitton course and climb Scafell Pike, so my decision was made!

Ross Millar: Having done previous ironman distance races, Wasdale X appealed to me as the world’s toughest iron distance race. The cycle along the Fred Whiton route has to be one of the most iconic routes for cyclists and mixed with a marathon including Scafell Pike made the race an event not to be missed.

Pelle Nillson: I did the Wasdale half ironman in 2013 and 2014 both of which I thoroughly enjoyed. I wanted to be among the first to complete Wasdale X – the world’s hardest full ironman. Maybe even the world’s hardest one-day sports event? It is a completely unique race, and I love the nature and people in Wasdale and the Lake District in general.

What’s not to like? I also wanted to represent the Vikings in the race – as “Pelle the Conqueror”!

Naomi Shinkins: Having completed the Celtman in 2013, I had some unfinished business with extreme racing. Then I saw Wasdale X. My thoughts were “wow, terrifying” – cold swim, the Fred Whitton bike course, and a hell of a run including the highest peak in England. I’m good in cold water, I can definitely get around the run, but the bike course petrified me. I heard so many horror stories of the Lake District passes, in particular Hardknott. I mean 33 percent; can I cycle up that? Even worse, can I cycle down it without ending up in a ditch? It was time to face my fears, so I entered. I was also keen to see if I wanted to continue with this type of racing.

WORK, FAMILY BACKGROUNDS, FITTING EVERYTHING IN Alistair: I’m fortunate in that I am semi-retired and run a small business that does not take up much of my time. My children are grown up and are working or at university. I am therefore able

“Having done previous ironman distance races, Wasdale X appealed to me as the world’s toughest iron distance race.”

TRAIN WASDALE X PEOPLE

to train when I want. Although I probably don’t do any more training on average than other athletes training for such events, I do have the advantage of being able to rest between training sessions and can pick my times to train in better weather conditions.

Ross: When training for previous endurance triathlons I have used my commute as “free” training but moved job this year and was unable to do so. The new office doesn’t have a shower, however, gym membership allowed me to swim at 6:30am before a day at work. I manage to fit in long cycles and runs at the weekend with a very understanding family.

Pelle: I am the owner of a consultancy in Copenhagen. I work a lot and love my work. I am married with three kids. I’m so lucky having such a special family that I love to spend time with. I also love training, but it is not my first priority. Family and work comes first. This means that I have to find the small slots to train in the pieces of time that are left. Like sometimes getting up way too early at weekends even though I love a lie in! Training is

72 outdoorfitnessmag.com November 2015

also when I get to spend time with my friends, which is important.

Naomi: I work long hours - sometimes over 60 hours a week with at least two hours of commuting per day on top of that. I’m also often required to work evenings and weekends. I struggle to train in the evenings so I get up at 5.00am most mornings, travel into London and train with my tri club mates or train at home first and then go into work.

It’s best to roll out of bed and get it done and not think about it all day! I’m at the stage of my life where I have few family responsibilities (no children at the moment) so I can be pretty selfish with my time.

THEIR TOUGHEST EVENTS AND THEIR TOUGHEST TRAINING SESSION Alistair: Ironman races are all very, very tough but Wasdale X is without doubt the toughest event I have done. You come off a very difficult bike section and then have to do a very difficult run section. The toughest training session I did for the event was the Etape Caledonia sportive (81 lumpy miles)

followed by a run up Ben Vrackie in Perthshire.

After I had done that I thought I was ready for the Wasdale X. Now I think I needed to do it a few more times than just the once to prepare myself properly.

Ross: My toughest event so far was Celtman but Wasdale X was far tougher. My hardest training session was a long day ride in the Scottish borders in an attempt to prepare for the bike leg. It didn’t really work!

Pelle: Up until now, Ironman Copenhagen was my toughest event but Wasdale X was far, far tougher. My training had been far from good so I took my chances in the race with what I reckoned was maybe an 80 percent fitness level compared to normal. Due to little time to train (6 to 8 hours per week) I focused my training on body strength rather than speed and endurance and my game plan was to take it easy (as easy as possible).

Naomi: Wasdale X! But before that it was the Celtman in 2013 - horrendous wind which made the bike course an hour longer than it

needed to be and closed the mountain section early. My toughest training session was cycling the Wasdale X bike course on my own in May. I started late in Ambleside, which meant I was cycling up Hardknott and Wrynrose at 7pm, there was not much daylight and plenty of head wind and rain. I got blown off my bike at the top of Hardknott.

Character building!

crises will come and that you can overcome them. Enjoy being out there. Listen to your body and adapt to what it tells you – it’s by far and away the best computer.

TIPS ON HOW TO BEAT/DEAL WITH ENDURANCE EVENTS IN GENERAL Alistair: The best way I find of dealing with endurance events is to take one section at a time and focus on completing that section. I also accept that I will probably have a bad spell in any endurance event and I just have to deal with it when it happens. Eventually the bad spell will pass and you can get on with enjoying the event.

NUTRITION TIPS - WHAT DO THEY SWEAR

BY WORKS FOR THEM? Alistair: I’m quite lucky in that I can eat and drink most things without upsetting my stomach too much. I tend to have a “treat” on me to reward myself after a difficult section - a Mars bar tends to give me a lift when the going gets a bit tough.

Ross: Mental preparation is sometimes more important than physical ability for such a demanding race.

Pelle: Keeping your head cool, knowing that

Naomi: Know the course and get a few recces in. It helped me massively on the day. Practice your nutrition and make sure you know what will work for you on the day.

Ross: I eat what I want and don’t really bother with specialist products as such. But I do have a bit of a structure that I stick to. I swear by three Jelly babies every 25 minutes on the bike with a packet of mini cheddars and a savoury pastry mid-way just to break things up a bit. I tend to use Mars bars and flat Irn Bru on the run to

I also accept that I will probably have a bad spell in any endurance event and I just have to deal with it when it happens. Eventually the bad spell will pass and you can get on with enjoying the event.

ALISTAIR

I focused my training on body strength rather than speed and endurance and my game plan was to take it easy (as easy as possible).

PELLE

November 2015 outdoorfitnessmag.com 73

TRAIN WASDALE X PEOPLE “The toughest training session I did for the event was the Etape Caledonia sportive (81 lumpy miles) followed by a run up Ben Vrackie in Perthshire. After I had done that I thought I was ready for the Wasdale X.”

OUTDOOR FITNESS’S TRAINING DIARY

Target Taff Trail & Pen Y Fan After injury Neil is now targeting a new challenge NEIL SPENCER, 34 lives in Newport and is a former soldier.

keep the carb intake going. Post event is always lentil soup for protein and to remind me of homemade food.

Pelle: I know the theory and plan for it. Get your sugar (1 gram per kilo body weight per hour) and salt tablets (one per hour) packed. I start the day with a big bowl of oats with berries, almonds, and honey four hours before race start. I like a solid base in my stomach.

Once out there, listen to your body and adapt.

Drink only when thirsty. Get something solid in the stomach such as bars or a sandwich - not only gels and sports drink. This is best achieved during the bike with water. Caffeine is your friend, especially at the run. I start the run with 200mls. I’d also say bring stuff you love to eat. I love Snickers, Danish candy and salty peanuts.

It is cheaper and tastes much better than more expensive sports bars. If your stomach gives you problems, start with water and noncomplex sugar drinks such as coca Cola and Red bull to get it going again.

Comment from Sean: Pelle does have a lot to say on the subject of nutrition as befits his

74

outdoorfitnessmag.com November 2015

lengthy and structured response, full of precise measurements. Perhaps this tells a story in itself, with us Brits often happy to ignore such exact details and bash on. I’ll add for humorous reasons that Pelle does say, in what I hope was a typo, that he loves eating “Sneakers”; I’m not sure eating shoes is the way forward whatever your approach to nutrition!

Naomi: I’ve tried various energy bars but nothing beats a ham sandwich and a Snickers on a long event. Emergency coke is good to have too. But in saying that gels are a staple for me throughout the day, and double caffeine gels help me through towards the end of a race.

WHERE THEY CAME IN WASDALE AND THEIR TIMES Alistair 67th 18.01 Ross 48th 16.32 Pelle 84th 19.01 Naomi 47th 16.27 (4th female) There were 131 starters and 98 finishers.

Finishing times ranged from 13.51 to 20.51 More info, wasdalex.co.uk

On the 4th December I will be leaving Brecon Basin and will walk the full Taff Trail and Fan Dace in one go – that’s a total of 112km (70 miles). The Taff Trail is a long distance walking and cycling route of mixed trail starting at the market town of Brecon, it runs for 55 miles all the way to Cardiff Bay in the south. Now, the Fan Dance is something different and most people with a military background will have heard of the name and I guess many readers of this magazine too.

The Fan Dance is a tough 24km speed march over two sides of Pen Y Fan – the highest peak in the Brecon Beacons and southern Britain. It’s often used for Special Forces selection but anyone can walk the route. I’ve already completed the Fan Dance numerous times and the Taff Trail three times, but I’ve never done both together. Last January I nearly made it; I covered 64 of the 70 miles required, and it was only gale force winds that stopped me. I’ll aim to put this right this December.

In terms of my training, I believe that this unique challenge is more about the mind than the body. However, I will be putting in some long hill walks for sure. I’ll also be starting to get my kit together, I’ll need blister plasters!

I’ll be holding a raffle when I compete my challenge and many local companies have provided great prizes. Perhaps the top one is a solo parachute jump or skydive donated by the Military Parachute Centre, Netheravon.

I’m raising money for two charities. One is Talking2Minds – a charity close to my heart, which treats former military personal with PTSD and other mental health conditions.

More info, talking2minds.co.uk The other is the Cystic Fibrosis Trust – specifically I’m raising funds for a young girl from Newport called Amy Smith more info, cysticfibrosis.org.uk

“In terms of my training, I believe that this unique challenge is more about the mind than the body.”

See how the Target Ironman Wales trio got on when their big day finally arrived on page 40.

TRAIN Q&A

Ask the experts From cycling knee pain to marathon fuelling to getting into off-road tris our experts have all the answers. Email your questions to of.ed@kelsey.co.uk ANDY HAMILTON

SPORTS PERFORMANCE AND NUTRITION EXPERT, ANDREWMARKHAMILTON.CO.UK Q: After about 24kms into a marathon, I feel as if I’m not gaining any advantage from my on-run nutrition even though I am taking gels. Is this to do with hydration? I drink water or a hydration drink like Gatorade at every water station dependent on marathon organisation. How best can I replenish glycogen reserves on the run?

Richard Cooper, by email A: There are two issues to consider here: hydration and energy replacement. You don’t say how much fluid you’re taking on board at drink stations, but even slight dehydration can cause a significant drop in performance. Does your performance after 24kms suffer to the same degree in hot and cool conditions?

If it’s noticeably worse in hot conditions, this points to hydration, in which case you may find that a well-formulated isotonic fluid/electrolyte replacement drink that also supplies carbohydrate may be preferable to using gels. Try experimenting with different hydration formulas, but do this in training, not under racing conditions.

If your drop in performance after 24kms is not related to hydration/fluid loss, the most likely reasons are depleted muscle glycogen stores, inadequate training preparation, or a combination of the two. Muscle glycogen storage capacity is limited; highly trained athletes can store about two hours’ worth at most, after which performance inevitably begins to suffer. Carbohydrate drinks can help stave off glycogen depletion, but even the best drinks can only be absorbed at the rate of 60-80g of carbohydrate per hour (supplying around 250-300 calories per hour). This compares with a calorie burn rate that is three to four times higher, so you can’t really replenish glycogen reserves on the run – only reduce the rate of depletion. Reducing glycogen depletion requires a three-pronged approach:

Pictures Shutterstock

1 Ensuring glycogen stores are fully topped up before a race.

2 Consuming carbohydrate during a race.

3 Training the body to burn more fat at your racing pace, thereby helping to conserve precious glycogen.

The key to topping up glycogen stores before a race is to ensure plenty of rest before the event and to consume a high carbohydrate diet (70% of calories) right up to the event. Carbohydrate drinks and gels can also help stave off the depletion; go for a carbohydrate product that provides a 2:1 ratio of glucose to fructose - research shows this kind of drink can significantly increase the rate of carbohydrate absorption over a standard glucoseonly drink. Finally, it might be worth taking a look at your training plan; performing longer training runs at near race pace will help teach your muscles to burn a greater percentage of fat for energy, which will help slow glycogen depletion.

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SEAN MCFARLANE

ADVENTURER, SEANMCFARLANE.CO.UK Q: I’d like to get into off-road triathlons have you any tips on getting started?

Jenny Pierce, by email A: Firstly, don’t in any way be intimidated! The atmosphere at off-road triathlons tends to be much more relaxed than at “normal” triathlons, so just go for it! Do try beforehand to get some off-road biking and running done though, and see how you like it.

Take time to select the correct race, as courses vary significantly. Most off-road triathlons don’t have particularly technical bike and run legs especially if you are used to off-road biking and running but make sure you chose a race that’s right for you. Although you don’t need a top of the range mountain bike to take part, it does need to work! Mountain bikes

have a familiar habit of collecting dust in a garage for several years, so make sure things are operating properly before you take part.

Many people looking to get into off-road triathlons have had some sort of experience in one of the disciplines involved, although of course that’s certainly not a prerequisite. If you have a particular strength in terms of the three disciplines, focus on that. So if you are a decent swimmer, think about how clear transition and the start of the bike course will be for you. If you are a strong biker make sure you push on, on that leg, knowing that it usually takes up much more time than the other two disciplines. Or if you are a good runner, look forward to that throughout the whole race, knowing that you can get back those that swum and biked past you.

JACOB TIPPER

CYCLE COACH WITH ON THE RIVET COACHING, ONTHERIVETCOACHING.COM Q: I’ve been suffering from knee pain especially when I cycle for over a couple of hours on my road bike. Could this be down to my bike set-up and/or are there any exercises you’d recommend to help?

Joseph Street, by email A: Many knee injuries tend to be overuse ones due to the repetitive nature of the pedal stroke.

With an average of 5,400 pedal strokes per hour it’s easy to see how any biomechanical issues can be easily magnified to become a problem. The factors affecting overuse injuries can vary from; an incorrect position, sudden increase in mileage and intensity, or even a change in terrain such as an increase in climbing.

There are potential ways to reduce the risk of these injuries, a professional bike fit is a good way to start. The bike fitter fits you in the correct position by adjusting saddle-height and set back, so the knee is at the correct angle throughout the

full dynamic of the pedal stroke. The use of varus/valgus wedges or orthotics in the shoe may also be used to correct any biomechanical problems allowing for straight tracking of the knee.

Stretching after training rides is also beneficial for injury prevention, for example, stretching of the quadriceps and hip flexors can reduce the pressure of the tendon pulling on the patella (knee cap) which can create irritation causing inflammation of the joint.

Muscle imbalances can also be a cause of problems, if certain muscles are too dominant they may be pulling your patella out of alignment causing inflammation or other complications, to combat this there are various body weight exercise you can do such a lunges, step ups, and squats with single or double leg actions.

If you still encounter problems it’s worth you finding a sports specific physio to make sure there are no other underlying issues.

November 2015 outdoorfitnessmag.com 77

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FOOD

EXPERT NUTRITION ADVICE TO BOOST YOUR PERFORMANCE

88

CONTENTS 84 NUTRITION & IMMUNITY 88 BREAKFAST OF CHAMPS 92 MORINGA Most nutrient-rich food

Why Carbs Matter

Photo Shutterstock

You know carbs are the endurance athletes best nutrition friend, but do you fully understand why?

FIRSTLY, CARBOHYDRATE IS more oxygen-efficient than fat. Oxygen is needed to fuel aerobic activity (and to a limited and finite extend longer anaerobic activity). In doing so it releases more ATP (adenosine triphosphate) per oxygen molecule – ATP is the body’s universal energy donor and fires muscle contractions.

Fat, although it can fuel endurance activity, releases less ATP per oxygen molecule.

Also carbs can be broken down by glycolysis to provide extra ATP energy. This is important for all running distances up to ultras, as 10kms and half marathons, for

example, are usually run at anaerobic threshold; and it’s stored carbs (in the form of muscle glycogen and more limited liver glycogen that supplies the additional fuel (albeit in a limited capacity). At 70% of VO2max glycogen provides 75% of energy needs, for example.

We possess about 90-180 minutes of glycogen capacity (depending for example on our trained-state and the amount of pre-stored glycogen and racing/exercising pace).

Carb loading (coupled with the right training) can extend endurance performance by 20%. Consuming

2.5 grams of carbs/kg of bodyweight 3 hours before exercise will optimally stock your carb cupboard.

On the go drinking and eating extends your endurance capacity.

Carbs are generally oxidised at a rate of around 1g/min which would supply 250 extra calories over an hour. However, not all carbs are created equally and it seems that glucose and fructose, will do the best job at pushing your endurance frontier. It’s recommended you have 60-80g of carbs per hour from a 2:1 glucose to fructose source. This ratio will spare your precious glycogen stores.

November 2015 outdoorfitnessmag.com 83

Defend yourself!

If you’re striving for a new PB over the autumn, winter and beyond then avoiding the lergy could be your biggest training asset. Andrew Hamilton looks at what the very latest research says about nutrition and immunity.

IN A CAREFULLY-CRAFTED training programme where you’re looking for incremental gains in performance, taking a month or even a week out due to illness can be a huge setback. The most common type of infections in sportsmen and women are upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs – coughs, colds, sore throats). Depending on the severity of an URTI, your training might be compromised for anything from a couple of days to a couple of weeks.

If you’re lucky, you’ll be able to do some gentle training during an URTI, but you may find it impossible to train at all. Equally however, an infection can be more serious. A bout of influenza or a chest infection can easily result in a month or more of lost training time, which can have disastrous consequences for your fitness thanks to the process of detraining, where gains in fitness are steadily lost once training is ceased.

Given these facts, it’s natural to ask whether there are any proven ways of supporting immunity – particularly during the winter months when coughs, colds and other URTIs abound. Assuming you’re already doing the essentials (see page 85), let’s look at what some of the recent research says about immune-enhancing nutrients.

VITAMIN D In recent years, the evidence has been mounting that 1) the maintenance of normal human immunity is highly dependent on the vitamin D status of individuals, and 2) that many people (including athletes) have sub-optimum levels of vitamin D(1). Until very recently, there were no specific studies on athletes, vitamin D and immunity but a large study published a couple of years ago makes fascinating reading(2).

The goal of the study was to determine the influence of the athletes’ (ranging from recreationally active weekend warriors to Olympic triathletes) vitamin D status on their immune function and the incidence, severity and duration of URTIs over the course of a 4-month winter training period.

In a nutshell, compared with low-vitamin D status athletes, athletes with high levels of blood vitamin D had fewer episodes of URTI, less severe symptoms when they did occur and greatly improved levels of immune markers (see graph). Not only was this study the first to show that optimum vitamin D status in athletes undergoing vigorous training can boost immunity, it also used a large number of subjects from a range of sports, which means its findings are likely to be valid and widely applicable.

In another recent study on vitamin D and athletes, researchers found that vitamin D3 inadequacy/deficiency was commonplace; some 62% of the athletes and 73% of the

84 outdoorfitnessmag.com November 2015

VITAMIN D STATUS AND IMMUNITY

Subjects with high levels of vitamin D in the blood (blue bars) had much greater levels of cytokine (immune proteins that stimulate immune defences against bacteria and viruses) production by three types of immune cells (IL-6, IL1ß and TNF-a) indicating increased immune protection. This was reflected in the fact that these subjects suffered fewer episodes of URTI during the study period.

1000 50

900 Cytokine production (pg/106 monocytes)

Words Andrew Hamilton Pictures Shutterstock

FOOD DEFEND YOURSELF

800

Blood vitamin D n High >90 nmol/L n Low <30 nmol/L

40

700 600

30 500 400

20

300 200

10

100

“In a nutshell, compared with low-vitamin D status athletes, athletes with high levels of blood vitamin D had fewer episodes of URTI, less severe symptoms when they did occur and greatly improved levels of immune markers…” non-athlete controls had blood vitamin D3 levels of less than 50nmol per litre – i.e. sub-optimum, deficient or severely deficient(3).

These results fit with other studies showing that many athletes have less than optimum levels of vitamin D in the body, with negative implications for immunity. Low vitamin D levels are particularly commonplace during the mid-late winter period, when the body’s reserves of “sunshine manufactured” vitamin D during the summer months start to run low.

PROBIOTICS Probiotics (for example, found in some yoghurt/ yoghurt drinks) are defined as “live microorganisms which, when administered in adequate amounts, confer a health benefit on the host”. During the last fifteen years, there’s been an explosion of research into the immune-boosting properties of probiotics and the results have been very encouraging. What’s been lacking until more recently however are good placebo-controlled randomised trials carried out in the field – that’s to say on athletes engaged in their normal training programmes.

To complicate matters further, numerous

IL-6

IL1-ß

TNF-a

strains of probiotic bacteria have been used in studies, some of which may be far less effective than others. This all makes it difficult to determine just how effective probiotic supplementation for someone in hard training really is.

A recent study looked at the effects of probiotic supplementation on the duration, incidence and severity of infections in 30 elite rugby union players who took a supplement for 4 weeks(4). During the probiotic treatment 14 of 30 participants never experienced a single URTI or gastrointestinal episode, compared to 6 of 30 on the placebo supplementation (a scientifically significant reduction). Also, the number of days of illness tended to be less when the probiotic was taken.

Another study looked at Lactobacillus fermentum supplementation and gastrointestinal and respiratory-tract illness symptoms in 99 competitive cyclists(5). The cyclists were randomised into either a probiotic or placebo treatment group for 11 weeks in a double-blind, randomised, controlled trial – the most rigorous kind of scientific trial. At higher training loads, there was an average 70% reduction in the severity of gastrointestinal illness, which became more pronounced as training load increased. Also, the duration and severity of URTI symptoms reduced by around 30%.

In another double-blind, placebo-controlled cross over trial, scientists investigated the use of Lactobacillus fermentum in 20 elite male runners over 4 months of winter training (6).

Athletes taking the probiotic supplement reported less than half the number of days of respiratory symptoms during the supplementation period (30 days) compared with the placebo group (72 days). Reported

IMMUNITY DON’T FORGET THE BASICS

Although the evidence for the use of particular nutrients to help support immunity is encouraging, it’s worth emphasising that at the heart of any strategy to maintain and maximise immunity is a healthy lifestyle. This involves eating a healthy diet, which should contain: n Plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables - which play a vital role in promoting long-term health. n Ample wholegrain carbohydrates (e.g. wholegrain breads, rice, cereals and pasta etc) - to support training. n Sufficient high-quality, proteins (e.g. fresh fish, lean meats, nuts and seeds, beans, peas and lentils) to support recovery. n Plenty of fluid to help hydrate during and after exercise. n Only small amounts of sugary or processed (and often fatty) foods, which have little nutritional value and may actually disturb some aspects of the body’s metabolism.

In addition, the evidence suggests that getting plenty of sleep, and reducing (wherever possible) day-to-day stress can also reduce the likelihood of suffering from an URTI. Likewise, good hygiene is important – e.g. hand washing, especially after contact with shared surfaces (e.g. after using the gym, handling a petrol pump when filling the car, using door handles in busy public places etc).

November 2015 outdoorfitnessmag.com 85

FOOD DEFEND YOURSELF

illness severity was also lower for episodes occurring during the supplementation period.

In a further recent study, 84 athletes took either a placebo or probiotic supplement (Lactobacillus casei shirota) for 4 months(7).

The athletes taking the probiotic experienced significantly less URTIs than those who didn’t.

However, to illustrate that all not all probiotics are created equal, the same scientists investigated another probiotic (Lactobacillus salivarius) on infection, cold symptom duration and severity, and immunity in 66 endurance athletes and found that it didn’t reduce the frequency of URTIs(8). In other words, it seems that if you’re tempted to use probiotics, you should try a strain for which there is good evidence in the scientific literature.

CYSTINE/THEANINE Cystine and theanine are two amino acids that are involved in the synthesis of a compound called glutathione in the body. Glutathione helps maintain the optimum activity of very important immune cells called “natural killer” (NK) cells, and recent research suggests that supplementation of these nutrients could be advantageous for immune functioning in athletes. For example, in one study, cystine (700mg) and theanine (280mg) were given once daily for 2 weeks to 15 men who undertook a week of normal training followed by a second week where their training load was doubled(9).

In the high-intensity week, NK cell activity declined when the men took a placebo.

However, when they took cystine/theanine, NK activity was restored.

In another study, 15 long-distance runners were each allocated to a cystine/theanine group and supplemented for 10 days prior to the start of an intense training period(10). There was also a placebo group. Compared to the placebo, the cystine/theanine supplement prevented a decrease in the immune function, and reduced the incidence of infection associated with the drop in immunity commonly observed after continuous intense exercise.

These results tie in neatly with the results from a 2010 study, which investigated the effects of cystine/theanine supplementation on the common cold (the most common URTI) in human volunteers(11). A total of 176 healthy male volunteers received either placebo or cystine/theanine (490mg) tablets twice daily for 35 days. The researchers then measured the incidence of common cold symptoms using standardised and rigorously validated questionnaires. The results showed that the incidence of common cold symptoms during the trial was significantly lower in the cystine/ theanine-supplemented group than in the placebo group.

BETA-GLUCANS Beta glucans are naturally occurring compounds (for example, found in the bran of cereal grains, and some mushrooms) that can exert positive effects on the function of important immune cells. However, while there’s good evidence for the immune benefits of beta glucans in the general population, research among athletes undergoing heavy training is more limited.

One double blind, placebo-controlled study investigated the effect of pleuran (an insoluble glucan from a mushroom known as Pleurotus ostreatus) on immune responses and incidence of URTIs in 50 athletes over a 3-month period(12). The results showed that the pleuran significantly reduced the incidence of URTI symptoms and increased the number of circulating NK cells. Since NK cells are key immune cells whose job it is to fight off viral infection, the scientists concluded that: “pleuran may serve as an effective nutritional supplement for athletes under heavy physical training.”

Another study looked at whether beta-glucan supplements from Pleurotus ostreatus were able to combat the temporary immune dip that invariably occurs following a bout of highintensity exercise(13). Twenty elite athletes took either beta-glucan or placebo supplements once a day for two months; the

placebo group typically showed a 28 percent reduction in NK cell number activity during the recovery period, whereas no such reduction was found in the beta-glucan group indicating superior immunity during the all-important recovery period.

SUMMARY AND PRACTICAL RECOMMENDATIONS Keeping your immunity in tip-top condition requires a multi-faceted approach, which means attending to lifestyle factors (getting enough good sleep, managing stress, eating a high-quality diet and so on) and ensuring you allow sufficient recovery in your training programme, especially when the intensity increases. However, recent science suggests that certain nutrients may confer additional immune protection and these may be useful, particularly over the winter months or during periods of high workloads.

PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS n Ensure your day-to-day diet contains plenty of vitamin D and is high in carbohydrate.

Training while consuming insufficient carbohydrate is stressful for your body and can impair immune function. n Consider using carbohydrate drinks during and carbohydrate/protein recovery drinks immediately after training to minimise the post-exercise dip surge in stress hormones (which suppresses immunity). n If you suffer from frequent winter URTIs, consider taking a daily vitamin D supplement of 1000-2000IUs throughout the winter months. n Probiotics can help support immunity but stick to those strains proven in scientific studies – e.g. Lactobacillus fermentum. n If you’re particularly vulnerable to URTIs, you can consider trying cysteine/theanine and/or beta glucan supplements. n Don’t forget good hand hygiene, which can significantly reduce your exposure to the viruses responsible for URTIs.

References 1. Endocrinol Metab Clin North Am. 2010 Jun;39(2):365-79, 2. Exerc Immunol Rev. 2013;19:86-101, 3. J Sports Sci. 2012 Oct 22, 4. J Sci Med Sport. 2013 Aug 30. pii: S14402440(13)00190-4, 5. Nutr J. 2011 Apr 11;10:30, 6. Br J Sports Med. 2010 Mar;44(4):222-6, 7. Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab. 2011 Feb;21(1):55-64, 8. Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab. 2012 Aug;22(4):235-42, 9. J Strength Cond Res. 2010 Mar;24(3):846-51, 10. Biosci Biotechnol Biochem. 2009 Apr 23;73(4):817-21, 11. J Amino Acids. 2010;2010:307475, 12. Eur J Appl Physiol. 2011 Sep;111(9):2033-40, 13. Appl Physiol Nutr Metab. 2010 Dec;35(6):755-62,

86 outdoorfitnessmag.com November 2015

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FOOD BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS

Breakfast Of Champions Words Rob Kemp Pictures Shuttersock

Nutella, smoothies, doughnuts and a whole load of oats, welcome to the weird and wonderful day starting meals of some of the greatest endurance athletes.

THE IMPORTANCE OF starting your early endurance sessions with an energy boosting meal is well established and research also highlights how skipping breakfast can have a calamitous effect on weight management.

One recent study in the journal Obesity showed that habitual breakfast eaters have more balanced insulin levels throughout the day and even fewer cravings on days when they’re forced to miss breakfast.

But what should runners and riders consume first thing to get their day off to a flyer?

According to Nigel Mitchell, the British Cycling and Team SKY nutrition consultant – the man who’s devised the breakfasts for the likes of Bradley Wiggins, Mark Cavendish and Chris Froome - an endurance athlete’s first meal of the day should feature a triumvirate of key components.

“Carbohydrates, protein and healthy fats,” explains Mitchell. “Carbs are one of the muscles’ primary sources of energy and fundamental to a pre-training breakfast.”

Mitchell lists a number of palatable first-meal-of-the-day carb sources including porridge. “We created CNP porridge pack recipes at Team SKY designed to give that drip feed of energy in a convenient format.

Proteins and your fats will also contribute toward energy provision but also play vital roles in weight management, muscle repair, recovery and adaptation.”

Endurance training increases the body’s need for protein, especially high intensity training, and Mitchell suggests those eggs are err, a cracking source. “Also lean meats, low-fat dairy or yogurt smoothies provide protein - whilst eggs in an omelette or nuts can supply the fats you need in a form that’s more suited to breakfast time tastes rather than oily fish or olive oil.”

So how much of this nutritional science do real champions take on board? We asked endurance athletes - from the elite to the everyday - to give us their recipes for success.

GUS BARTON, Rowing 3,000 miles in the Talisker Whiskey Atlantic Ocean Challenge for Cystic Fibrosis, justgiving.com/ Ocean-Reunion “When rowing we’ll be consuming between 6,000-8,000 calories a day - often through high-calorie dehydrated MyProtein supplements - following each two-hour row we will eat one of the packs. Breakfast will be porridge - of different flavours to keep us interested - as the oats are essential for a slow release of energy through the day. We’ll also have a few treats too, like chocolates, biltong, nuts and sweets.”

RICKY LIGHTFOOT Salomon Trail Team runner and winner of the 4th IAU Trail World Championship in 2013 “This breakfast smoothie is great after an early morning run. I get the right amount of protein and carbohydrate to recover so I can train hard later on in the day. I mix two scoops of Kinetica Banana Whey protein, honey, one large banana, a handful of walnuts, a scoop of Greek yoghurt, 400ml of milk and a 100ml of water/ice.”

JASON LEWIS Explorer and author with the cordonrougeclub.com “Being vegan, porridge is a staple – I have it laced with dried fruits and nuts and topped off with jam. This gives me a nice slow burn through the morning. A personal favourite is pancakes. It’s easy to pre-mix the dry ingredients in ziplock bags and stow in the confines of a kayak compartment or bike pannier. Add coconut oil and powdered soy milk. Garnish with jam or fresh fruit if available.”

ROB BELL Triathlete, TV presenter and one of a handful to have completed the 777 Marathon Challenge “On the morning of an ironman I’m usually feeling a bit queasy from nerves – so I will have a a sweet coffee, half a toasted bagel and something like a small chocolate covered waffle or a doughnut.” (care of, alpenmornings.co.uk) BEN SAUNDERS Endurance athlete and Polar explorer “In Antarctica we were consuming roughly 6,000 calories per day (though I still lost nearly 20 kilogrammes in the course of the expedition) and breakfast consisted of Dorset Cereals granola, which had been repackaged into individual bags, along with powdered cream for extra calories, by Fuizionfreezedriedfood.com. We washed it down with half a litre of energy drink, and another half-litre of protein shake - so just over 1,000 calories before we’d even got out of our sleeping bags!”

LUCY GOSSAGE Saucony triathlete

Proteins and your fats will also contribute toward energy provision but also play vital roles in weight management, muscle repair, recovery and adaptation.

88 outdoorfitnessmag.com November 2015

“I’d usually have a slice of toast with Meridian foods nut butter with a coffee before an early swim. After 90-minutes in the pool I’ll have three eggs (scrambled) on toast with avocado, two rice cakes topped with thick nut butter and sliced apple and a cappuccino. I’m addicted to Meridian food nut butters and chia seeds and use them most days. On ironman days I have rice pudding with banana and Nutella – easy to digest and very low in fibre to minimise gastrointestinal problems on the run.”

SARAH OUTEN Adventurer currently touring London2London via the world â&#x20AC;&#x153;For breakfast out here on the waves I normally have porridge of some sort with honey and dried fruit and extra dried milk for protein. On a calm day I love to cook pancakes with my fresh home-made yogurt and jam or scrambled egg (dried) with oatcakes or rye bread fried in coconut oil. I also hope to catch some fish to fry up. Rowing the North Atlantic this summer I started out on 4,000 calories a day. Forty days in and I started rationing to between 2,000-3,000 as I was going to run out of food on the 150-day crossing, having brought food for 130 days.â&#x20AC;?

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FOOD BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS

DR ANDREW MURRAY, Endurance athlete and Merrell brand ambassador “My normal breakfast day-to-day is four Weetabix, with skimmed milk and either blueberries or raspberries. On race days I eat the same 2-3 hours prior to the start. On expeditions, when I’m running for many consecutive days and need a huge number of calories, I will tend to eat about 1,200 calories for breakfast. Fresh fruit keeps me happy and keeps me going. If I’m in a rush or a sit down breakfast is difficult then 2-3 bananas will do!

Caffeine might help me out too, if I have a long training run into work.”

MARCO CONSANI INOV-8 ultrarunner “I make porridge - one cup oats, one cup almond milk, one cup water - then I have it with salt. Sometimes I will have honey with it. Then it’s a large cup of filter coffee. If the run I am about to do is very long I might have a banana too but I tend to just top up during that run after an hour or so. Now after a race I like to go full out and have a fry up, not great for recovery but it makes me feel bloody good!”

ROZ SAVAGE The first woman to row solo across three oceans “On land I have a proper, breakfast of porridge with fruit, nuts or yogurt - on the ocean my favourite breakfast is sunflower seeds, dried banana, powdered coconut milk and a dollop of lemon marmalade. Everything goes into a thermal mug with boiling water, you stir it well, screw the lid on, and leave for 10 minutes to rehydrate. The end result is high in calories, has lots of healthy fats, and is extremely delicious.”

90 outdoorfitnessmag.com November 2015

SUSIE CHEETHAM Saucony athlete and professional triathlete “I’m definitely into eggs for breakfast. At work I mix up three eggs in a cup and put them in the microwave for a couple of minutes. On a training day I’ll have a pre-swimming breakfast: a cappuccino and a handful of almonds – then afterwards I’ll have the eggs. If I’m at home then it’s three eggs scrambled, 1/3 avocado, frozen spinach and sweet potato (microwaved with a bit of butter) and a big cappuccino. On a weekly basis I train between 25-30 hours so I need a fair amount of food. I also work two days a week with a 2.5-hour commute so planning my meals is key.”

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FOOD SUPERFOOD

Moringa

Described as the most nutrient-rich food yet discovered, but we bet you’ve not heard of Moringa.

MORINGA OLEIFERA – also known as the Horseradish tree, Mulangay, Benzolive and Drumstick tree – has actually been used as food and medicine for centuries and by many cultures. Although native to sub-Himalayan regions of northwest India, Moringa is now indigenous to many regions of the world, including the Caribbean and South America.

Moringa oleifera is a member of the “Brassica” group of vegetables, which includes broccoli, Brussels sprouts and cabbage. However, unlike these vegetables, moringa is a fast-growing, deciduous tree, which is extremely hardy and drought resistant. The fruit of Moringa trees consists of pods like long drumsticks, which contain seeds. The fresh pods can be used as a vegetable in cooking - for example in curries.

When left to dry, the seeds can be extracted and then dried. Moringa leaves are also edible, having a rather peppery taste.

HEALTH BENEFITS OF MORINGA Moringa is widely regarded as an extremely healthy food. Indeed, many people who consume it regularly refer to it as “the miracle tree”, due to its reputation for preventing and treating various ailments - and even some chronic diseases. And unlike the hype that surrounds many other so-called superfoods, many of the health claims made for Moringa are supported by a growing body of scientific evidence.

The reason for the scientific interest in Moringa is its incredibly high nutrient content, which includes essential amino acids, high levels of omega-3 oils, a very wide range of protective antioxidants as well as high levels of vitamins and minerals. Indeed, in a recent research paper, scientists dubbed Moringa as “the most nutrient-rich plant yet discovered”(1)!

In particular, scientists have discovered that Moringa contains a wide array of natural compounds that have been shown to(2):

n Exert an anti-tumour effect i.e. help fight cancer cells. n Reduce inflammation e.g. in arthritic conditions. n Exert an anti-diabetic effect e.g. improve the way the body controls blood sugar. n Lower blood pressure and reduce cholesterol i.e. improve heart health. n Exert an anti-stomach ulcer effect.

And if that wasn’t good enough, lotions containing Moringa have also been found to be extremely effective skin and hair moisturisers!

USING MORINGA Pods - fresh Moringa pods can be cooked as vegetables, for example, added to stews and curries. The pods’ outer skins are too tough and fibrous to eat but the seeds and flesh are deliciously juicy, tasting rather like green beans only sweeter.

The problem is that fresh pods (and leaves) are difficult to source here in the UK; not only is demand low, but the transport costs are still prohibitive. However, if you can find fresh Moringa pods, you can use them to make a delicious and extremely health curry (see recipe).

Seeds - when freshly plucked from the pods, the seeds are quite tender, but in their dried form (the sort that are available to buy), they are much harder, resembling greyish-white small beans with unique wing-like structures.

The seeds are a very concentrated source of nutrients and can be steamed, boiled or roasted. However, caution is required; while Moringa seeds are crammed with natural compounds known to be beneficial to health, they should only be consumed in very small amounts – perhaps no more than 2 per day – as higher intakes can lead to tummy upsets.

Think of them more as a medicine than a food!

MORINGA RECIPE

Words Andrew Hamilton Pictures Corbis Images

DRUMSTICK CURRY WITH ONIONS Here’s a quick easy-to-prepare curry recipe using Moringa (drumstick) pods. Rich in carbohydrate and containing high-quality protein and a range of nutrients, it makes for a very nutritious and delicious meal.

INGREDIENTS n 4-5 Moringa drumsticks n 2-3 onions finely chopped n 2 large tomatoes chopped n 1 twig of curry leaves n 1 teaspoon of tamarind extract n 1 teaspoon of turmeric powder n ½ teaspoon mustard seeds n 2 red chillies cut into pieces n 2 tablespoons of olive oil n Salt to taste

INSTRUCTIONS n Cut drumsticks into around 3cm long pieces n Heat oil in a pan and add the chillies and mustard seeds n When mustard seeds stop spluttering, add the chopped onion n Add the salt and turmeric powder n Cover the pan and allow it to cook on a low flame – keep stirring for 10 minutes n Now add the tamarind extract and chopped tomatoes n Cook for a further 5 minutes and serve hot with rice.

References 1. J Pharm Sci Res 2010; 2, 775-81 2. Asian Pac J Cancer Prev 2014; 15 (20), 8571-8576 2. Asian Pac J cancer Prev 2014; 15(20), 8571-8576

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â&#x20AC;&#x153;The reason for the scientific interest in Moringa is its incredibly high nutrient content, which includes essential amino acids, high levels of omega-3 oils, a very wide range of protective antioxidants as well as high levels of vitamins and minerals.â&#x20AC;?

November 2015 outdoorfitnessmag.com 93

GEAR

PERFORMANCE-ENHANCING KIT FOR TRAINING AND EVENTS 100

CONTENTS 100 SUPERBIKE Ridley Helium C10 104 LONG-TERM TEST

A balancing act AARN NATURAL BALANCE, ÂŁ269, aarnpacks.com Basking in the glory of a prestigious European OutDoor Gold Award, this innovative rucksack features a unique carry system. It may look peculiar, but by bearing weight on both the front and back of the body, the Aarn Natural Balance facilitates a more upright walking position and creates a more stable load.

The design aims to counter-balance weight carried on your back and front to maintain your posture and gait. By careful packing of smaller, heavier items such as water in the pockets at the front, and bulkier, lighter items like a sleeping bag at the back, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s possible to balance out the weight. Importantly, the weight of items stowed in both the front and back is borne on the hip belt, maintaining a low centre of gravity for the walker.

Aarn suggests that by eliminating the stress imposed by traditional backpacks, which can cause a forward lean of between 14 and 26 degrees, the Natural Balance reduces up to 20 percent of the stress or assumed weight on the body. Its own tests show that wearing the Natural Balance requires less oxygen than when using a traditional backpack, especially when walking uphill.

November 2015 outdoorfitnessmag.com 95

GEAR RUNNING JACKETS

Warming to the task

Don’t let Jack Frost put your training on ice. Here are six jackets to keep you running through all weathers.

2

Words Damian Hall

1

1 PEARL IZUMI FLY £90, madison.co.uk Pearl Izumi’s Fly jacket is a softshell under a different name, and a heavy one (448g) at that.

Internal fist mitts are a neat addition and an internal draft flap behind the zip helps keep the runner snug. So in deepest winter, this jacket should be great. But for at least 10 months of the year it will be too warm for running.

Only the logos – very small on the front – are reflective, so it’s not especially road friendly.

That said, the comfortably stretchy fabric, a “semi-form” fit and stylish appearance make it an appealing option for general outdoor use.

As a running jacket its uses are limited. As a versatile layer for winter cycling, hill-walking and suchlike, it’s a decent choice.

Verdict Too warm for running most of the year, with limited visibility, but a good all-rounder nonetheless.

Rating: nnnnnnnnnn

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3

2 ODLO ZEROWEIGHT £105, odlo.com/uk This may look more like cycle clobber, but don’t let that put you off. Odlo’s Zeroweight jacket has the elusive quality of making the wearer simply want to get out the door and hit the trails.

Extra stretchy and breathable panels, including under the arms, are part of a “body-mapping construction”. It’s so wonderfully stretchy, coupled with the athletic fit, that the jacket feels like a second skin. The combination of breathability and weather resistance is as good as it gets, too.

There are slits for thumbs and one on the left wrist for checking, and adjusting, a GPS watch.

Plus one zip pocket with a hole for earphones.

Verdict It looks good, it feels good and it works well.

Rating: nnnnnnnnnn

3 SAUCONY SONIC REFLEX JACKET £100, saucony.co.uk Saucony says its Sonic Reflex Jacket offers 360˚ reflectivity in headlights, “but looks completely stealth [sic] in daylight”. In reality though, it looks like something that, even at the height of their 1980s chemically induced flamboyance, Spandau Ballet would have rejected for being just a bit too spangly.

It’s also a somewhat boxy design. In the jacket’s defence, it is long enough to cover your backside – something no other jacket here bar the Compressport caters for – has three zipped pockets, and effective, breathable underarm panels. It’s also DWR-coated for water resistance.

It’s a perfectly decent jacket offering an alternative to the hi-viz options, and targeted squarely at road runners who pound busy streets at night.

Verdict Rating: nnnnnnnnnn

5 4

4 NEW BALANCE WINDCHEATER JACKET £55, newbalance.co.uk The New Balance Windcheater is one of those jackets you look forward to wearing. Made from polyester, it’s pleasingly lightweight, breathable and quick-drying (rather than trying harder to keep weather out, which usually means more weight). It’s not as weather resistant as say the Vizion Lumen, but it is at home wrapped around your waist when unfriendly weather passes on, or even for post-run “carb-loading” at the pub.

It looks good, although the design errs slightly towards fashion rather than practicality, with very limited reflectivity.

An “athletic fit”, a reassuring hood (albeit one only temporarily effective in inclement weather) and two zipped pockets also help make this a great value option.

Verdict Limited visibility, but a value for money, lightweight and stylish windstopper.

Rating: nnnnnnnnnn

6

5 RON HILL VIZION LUMEN JACKET £130, ronhill.com You’ll not bump into any badgers wearing this.

Clearly aimed at the road-runner, not only is the Ron Hill Vizion Lumen Jacket hyper-luminous, but several large reflective panels, on back, front and arms, will blind any torch-waving nocturnals. The jacket’s ace however is its third level of visibility. Two removable LED lights, one front, one rear, which can be set to flash or work as micro torches. The “Activelite” fabric rebuffs weather well and a relaxed fit adds to breathability, as does a back vent, but it’s worth trying before buying to get the size right. A small slit in the large chest pocket allows earphones to pass through conveniently.

There are lighter-weight, more versatile and cheaper options, but for winter pavement pounding it’s a very good choice.

Verdict Enough luminosity to light up a street and great weather-protection, but pricey.

Rating: nnnnnnnnnn

6 COMPRESSPORT TRAIL HURRICANE TRAIL RUNNING JACKET, £99.99, madison.co.uk The Hurricane is a pleasingly light windshirt, similar to the New Balance option, but aimed at racing on trails (hence no effort at visibility), and with more features.

The 3D Back Extensor is a great concept. It’s a panel of stretchy material, designed so you can pop the jacket on over a pack, rather than stopping to faff about and get cold. The back panel is really breathable, too.

The main zip is slightly diagonal, so designed apparently to improve freedom of movement.

Thumb loops are welcome and the hood has a peak of sorts and good adjustability.

Two things let it down. The pocket at the back means your keys or phone are constantly bouncing into your rear end. And do we really need the manufacturer’s name emblazoned all the way down the arm?

Verdict Shouty design and an odd pocket, but a superlightweight, clever windshirt for racing.

Rating: nnnnnnnnnn

November 2015 outdoorfitnessmag.com 97

GEAR CYCLING JACKETS

Riders in the storm

Beat the breeze, the chill and the damp with a new cycling jacket to see you through autumn and winter.

2 1

1 ENDURA FS260-PRO JETSTREAM III, £72.99, endurasport.com Striking a mid ground between a flyweight summer jacket and a heavily insulated winter jacket, the FS260-Pro is ideal for the cooler days of autumn and spring. The slightly plasticky-feeling front panels and arms are windproof, while fleecy sides, underarms and back help with breathability while delivering snug warmth. For long, steady rides it’s wonderful, but like most of these jackets it gets a bit clammy during high intensity interval sessions. The fit is close so it doesn’t flap in the breeze, the gripper tape around the hem works well, and there are three deep pockets as well as a small zipped pocket. Our tests sample came in white, which looked great until the first rear-wheel puncture fix.

Verdict: Lovely attention to detail on a highly effective jacket for autumn rides. Top value too.

Rating: nnnnnnnnnn

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3

2 ALTURA RACELINE WINDPROOF, £119.99, zyro.co.uk This jacket lives up to its Raceline name with a rather aero fit, especially in the arms. It also has a long, fluro tail that’s just crying out for the question, “does my bum look big in this?” The extra length not only keeps your lower spine warm, but also boosts rear visibility to drivers, and if the jacket looks better on the bike than off, that’s exactly how it should be. Three good pockets carry all you need for a long day in the saddle, while the zipped pocket is big enough to swallow a phone. Different panels of fabric keep the front and arms windproof and water resistant, while the back is more breathable and wonderfully stretchy. In fact, the entire jacket stretches really well, contouring to your torso.

Verdict: A warm, stretchy jacket with well thought out features.

Rating: nnnnnnnnnn

3 DHB BLOK MESO SOFTSHELL WINDSLAM ROUBAIX, £65, wiggle.co.uk The jackets employs the Roubaix fleece which features in the ranges of a number of upper-end cycling brands, keeps out the wind and is rain resistant. Worn over a thin polyester baselayer it proved the perfect companion for a century ride on a chilly day, and I’ve found it among the most breathable jackets on test. The two deep rear pockets are capacious and easy to access, and it’s a neat touch to see one is waterproof lined to keep its contents safe from sweat and road spray. This jacket is part of dhb’s performance range, and has a close, but not aero fit. My only concern lies with early signs of fraying on the cuffs, which I wouldn’t expect after just a couple of weeks’ wear.

Verdict: A good value, well-featured jacket for cooler rather than perishing days.

Rating: nnnnnnnnnn

5 4

4 PROVIZ PIXELITE SOFTSHELL, £119.99, provizsports.com Daylight doesn’t do much for this jacket, but wear it in the dark, riding in the glare of headlights, and it glows like a radioactive alien from a 1950s B-movie. Reflective threads throughout the grey fabric create an astonishing effect, which makes it a great option for both commuting and night rides. It feels stiffer than its rivals in this test, especially in the forearms because it has a fleecy warmth to stave off the chill. It also has good wind protection on the front and shoulders, and decent breathability across the back and under the arms. Three deep pockets stow your paraphernalia and a zipped pocket will keep valuables safe.

Verdict: Ride like a Strictly glitterball – genuinely outstanding at night.

Rating: nnnnnnnnnn

6

5 RAPHA PRO TEAM JACKET, £190, rapha.cc Getting the most from this jacket is a question of layering. While it is windproof and water resistant, it offers less insulation than its rivals, so in chillier temperatures it’s worked best over a Merino baselayer. I found it to be easily the most breathable jacket on test, choosing it repeatedly for fast-paced training rides, especially when the wind was up and the thermometer down. It’s a slim fit, shorter at the front than the back, creating a flattering profile on and off the bike. The three pockets are highly usable, and include an elasticated loop to keep a mini-pump secure, which is a great little detail. It is pricey, and it’s not 2.5 times as good as the Endura, but if you have the budget don’t hesitate.

Verdict: The harder you ride and the tougher you train, the more you’ll like this jacket.

Rating: nnnnnnnnnn

6 PEARL IZUMI PRO SOFTSHELL 180, £139.99, madison.co.uk The lower the mercury the more this jacket comes into its own. It’s the warmest on test and would definitely work all the way through winter. Wind and water resistant softshell panels keep out the elements, while a lovely fleece lining keeps in body heat. Thermal panels on the underarms and back help with breathability, but on hilly training rides I found myself overheating on climbs and then being thankful for the insulation on descents. The fit is more generous than some of its rivals, there’s a long, protective tail, and the “screaming green” colour is as dazzling as its name suggests. A single, large pouch pocket stores your gubbins, but is difficult to access on the fly, and there’s a second small, zipped pocket.

Verdict: The colder the weather, the more you’ll appreciate the cosseting warmth of this jacket.

Rating: nnnnnnnnnn

November 2015 outdoorfitnessmag.com 99

GEAR SUPER BIKE

Ridley Helium C10

Tested over two epic rides, we were looking for a bike that could climb with ease and prove comfortable for very long days in the saddle. Would the Helium prove to be lighter than air when the gradient kicked in?

THE THRILL OF watching the world’s greatest cyclists racing on the same roads and same bikes that I can ride has never left me. I’ll never go for a spin in Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes and nor will I ever bowl at Lords or score a try at Twickenham, but I have ridden many of the roads that feature in the Tour de France, and with a bit of saving and planning I could do so on the same bikes as the stars of the sport.

So it was with a frisson of excitement that I sat watching riders in the Lotto Soudal team fly up Alps in the Tour de France on the Ridley Helium.

True, they were going far faster than I’ll ever ride, but they were on the super light version of the Helium, and my test bike was the standard frameset… it is after all, all about the bike.

The Helium is one of a three-strong range of Ridley road bikes. The Belgian bike manufacturer has designed the Noah as a stiff aero bike for sprinters, the Fenix as an endurance bike for cobbled races and the Helium to hit the sweetspot of maximum stiffness for minimum weight. It’s a delicate balance; there’s no point in creating a

featherweight frame incapable of transferring all your power to the road because it flexes too much. The Helium SL tips the scales at 750g yet handles all the power that the giant German sprinter Andre Greipel can push through the cranks, a telling example of how sophisticated layering of carbon fibre can create stiffness without piling on the pounds.

The Helium is slightly heavier at 950g for a size medium, but adopts the same geometry and design. The result is an attractive, understated frame with an oversized downtube and chunky chainstays for power delivery.

Comfort is engineered into the package via flattened, pipe-cleaner thin seat stays, a narrow 27.2mm seat post and 25mm Continental Ultra Sport tyres. On the road this translates to excellent power delivery and outstanding smoothness; fatigue-inducing road vibration is kept well at bay.

On two monstrously hilly rides, one in the Pennines of 145km with 2,600m of ascent and the other, the 220km Ardechoise sportive in France with nearly 4,300m of ascent, the

Helium proved a dream companion. It climbs brilliantly, even on 20% gradients, and inspires confidence for descents with the directness of its handling. Moreover, after the better part of 11 hours in the saddle in a single day, its levels of comfort were extraordinary. A mention in despatches then for the rather luxurious 4ZA Cirrus Pro saddle.

The C10 comes with 11-speed Shimano Ultegra as standard, while the fairly new semi-compact 52/36 chainrings offer a useful spread of gears for hilly terrain when paired with the 11-28 cassette. My only gripe is with the fairly workaday Fulcrum Racing 5 wheels, which feel a bit leaden compared to the sprightliness of the rest of this speed machine.

They’d be fine for commuting or winter rides, but a bike this good deserves upgraded hoops.

At the end of these tests, bikes get boxed up and returned to the manufacturer, but I was so desperate to keep the Ridley that I put my beloved Cervelo R3 on ebay in the hope of raising the funds to buy the Belgian contender. It’s been my favourite bike of the year by a country mile.

RIDLEY HELIUM C10

Words Jonathan Manning

Price: £2,699 Weight: 7.7kg Frame: Helium, 30T-24T HM Unidirectional carbon Fork: Helium, 30T-24T HM Unidirectional carbon Chainset: Shimano Ultegra 52/36 Gears: Shimano Ultegra 11s, Shimano 105 cassette 11-28 Brakes: Shimano Ultegra Wheels: Fulcrum Racing 5 LG Tyres: Continental Ultra Sport II FB 700x25c More info, sportline.co.uk

100 outdoorfitnessmag.com November 2015

“I was so desperate to keep the Ridley that I put my beloved Cervelo R3 on ebay in the hope of raising the funds to buy the Belgian contender. It’s been my favourite bike of the year by a country mile.”

November 2015 outdoorfitnessmag.com 101

OUTDOOR FITNESS CLASSIFIEDS To advertise call Cathy

01959 543707

www.runningcrazy.co.uk

D11, Cowdray Centre, Colchester, CO1 1BW

Tel: 01206 505011

TRIATHLON BIKE RUN Find us on Facebook: 53-12

“Let your running take you further”

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102 outdoorfitnessmag.com November 2015

The Runners Centre

Visit: Unit 10 Kings Arcade, King St, Lancaster LA1 1JZ 01524 845559 Click: www.runnerscentre.com In-store video gait analysis Sports therapist and custom insole fitting ‘where all runners come first’

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FITNESS ESSENTIAL GUIDE

The Medal hanger shop We are the best British one-stop shop for all stainless steel medal hangers. Selling a large and ever expanding range of medal hangers, for a variety of sports and outdoor pursuits, the Medal Hanger Shop has a wall display for every athlete.

This autumn we introduce our new range of Obstacle Course hangers for the daredevil in you. Designed by our crack team of race enthusiasts with medal displays of their own, we have five new designs to choose from.

Your task is to complete the race and earn the medal. Leave the rest to us. For bespoke enquiries or additional product information, call us on 07716097927. www.themedalhangershop.co.uk

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“Tailwind” HEARTBREAK TEN

Sunday 13th December 2015 Ten undulating miles on New Forest Trails

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Credit to Charles Whitton Photography

Taking in the same scenic route as the renowned HeartBreak Half and Full Marathons and suitable for runners of all abilities!

For entry and further details:

www.racenewforest.co.uk

November 2015 outdoorfitnessmag.com 103

GEAR TESTED

Long-term tests The kit that has accompanied us over miles of runs and rides, captured the action, fuelled our effort and stopped us from stinking afterwards!

1 VELTEC SPEED AS WHEELSET, £350, cookecomponents.co.uk It’s touch and go whether an upgrade to tyres or wheels makes the best bang-for-bucks improvement to how a bike performs, but there’s no question that good wheels can transform the riding experience. With their rims emblazoned with the line “Handbuilt in Germany”, these Veltec clinchers feel reassuringly robust, a feeling that continues on the road. Even under the most intense efforts (sprint intervals and steep hill climbs) I’ve failed to notice any deflection in the rims.

Twenty Sapim spokes in the front wheel and 24 in the rear help to maintain rigidity, while 25mm Continental GP4000 tyres sit snugly in the 18mm wide rims. At 1640g for the pair, they’re on a par with the similarly priced Shimano Ultegra and Mavic Ksyrium S; not the lightest available, but competitive for the money. After 300 miles of testing the Veltecs still look as good as new and it will be interesting to see how the black rims wear under braking friction. At the moment, however, these wheels show every indication of being long-term contenders.

Jonathan Manning, contributing editor 2 GARMIN VIRB, £149.99, garmin.com Garmin have released their new kid on the action-cam block in the form of the Virb & the Virb Elite to go up against the all-conquering GoPro. As a first release it’s a great contender, with clever features that allow recording in stabilised HD, slow motion, time-lapse and photo burst - you can even take still photos whilst recording video. The 1.4-inch display lets you see what you’re shooting instead of guessing which is handy, and you don’t need to lock it in a box to protect it from the elements - just slide the switch and go! If it initially feels pretty heavy it’s not really as it’s actually about the same weight as a GoPro in its casing. A couple of USPs I like are the ANT+ wireless interface that allows certain Garmin devices (such as my Fenix watch) to act as a remote control, while its GPS chip records your location wherever you film too! Garmin’s film editing software is easy to use, and the picture quality is pretty good although having watched it back alongside some of my GoPro footage, the pictures and sounds don’t appear quite so sharp and vibrant.

Darren Grigas, contributor 3 LEMON SOLE, £6.95, lemon-sole.com The combination of wet grass, puddles and sweaty feet spells smelly disaster for my running shoes. Without the time to dry out properly between outings they become

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stinkier and stinkier to the point where I wonder if running away from the odour actually becomes an incentive in fartlek sessions. I’ve tried shoe deodorants before, but to no avail, and I don’t want to keep washing my trainers or insoles. A few sprays of this Lemon Sole spray seem to be solving the problem though, neutralising the smell and preventing it from returning. The mix of essential oils in the spray not only smell fresh, but also have anti-bacterial qualities to help prevent odours reappearing. I’ve been round the entire family’s sport footwear with the spray to universal success, and I’m starting to wonder if the spray will work directly on feet!

Jonathan Manning, contributing editor 4 SALOMON S-LAB ADV SKIN3 12SET, £150, salomon.com I’d been using Salomon’s Skin Pro 10+3 Set ever since I started running ultramarathons. It had some flaws (not enough secure, accessible pockets), but was generally excellent. Light and breathable, the stretchy material made it feel like wearing a vest. But in 2014 every second runner I met was wearing Salomon’s new S-Lab ADV Skin3 12Set, in black. I’m ashamed to admit I got gear envy, and ordered one. This year I wore it for the Great Lakeland 3Day, Welsh 1000m Peaks Race, Dragon’s Back Race, UTMB and Lakes Sky Ultra. It does everything the previous incarnation did, but loads more. It has several secure but accessible pockets.

It’s pole compatible, fits a hydration bladder and soft flasks (which come supplied, as does a survival blanket). The wide pouch at the bottom of the back means lots of food and gear is accessible on the go, yet still secure – it’s very rare I remove the pack during a race. My only gripe is the size of the zip on the main compartment is too small and makes squashing my kit in a battle sometimes. But other than that, it’s plain brilliant.

Damian Hall, contributor 5 BUFF SINGLE LAYER HAT, £14.50, buffwear.co.uk Light and thin, this hat has become an automatic “reach-for” item for any morning and evening exercise sessions, and not simply to hide my bedhead hair. Similar in feel to a standard BUFF, this microfiber one-layer hat doesn’t offer the warmth or insulation of a full-on beanie, but it does just enough to combat the chill of autumn. A double layer of stretchy fabric around the ears keeps it snugly in place, while a single layer of fabric on the top is sufficiently cool and breathable to stop me overheating. It’s so slight it will even fit under a cycling helmet.

Jonathan Manning, contributing editor

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TASTIEST ON TEST

MINI-TEST

PEANUT BUTTER Packed with protein and fat, peanut butter spread on toast makes for a filling breakfast that will stop you reaching for a chocolate bar at elevenses.

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Meridian Crunchy Peanut Butter, £1.99 for 280g, meridianfoods.co.uk The purity of the ingredients, 100% roasted peanuts, makes this a super-healthy option. It does have a tendency to separate in the jar, revealing how much oil there is in peanut butter, but it stirs easily and to my taste buds is delicious.

Per 100g: Protein 29.6g; fat 46g; carbohydrate11.6g, of which sugars 5.9g Wholearth Crunchy Peanut Butter, £2.99 for 340g, wholeearthfoods.com The addition of palm oil helps the consistency of this peanut butter compared to the Meridian, and it also includes salt for flavour. It’s still 97% roasted peanuts, but has 8g of fat more than the Meridian in every 100g.

Tasty.

Per 100g: Protein 27.7g; fat 54.3g; carbohydrate 7.4g, of which sugars 3.8g

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Sunpat Peanut Butter Crunchy, £2.39 for 454g, sunpat.co.uk Despite being 95% peanuts, this looks so different to the Meridian it’s hard to believe they’re both peanut butters. With added stabiliser, sugar, peanut oil and salt it’s a sweeter taste with a more regular consistency, and much cheaper.

Per 100g: Protein 25.3g; fat 48.2g; carbohydrate 15.1g, of which sugars 4.8g

November 2015 outdoorfitnessmag.com 105

Reader challenge

Andrea Harrower cycles up a 5km hill enough times to achieve the height of Everest!

Accumulating the total height above sea level of Mount Everest by repeatedly riding up the same hill and pushing to the limit is known as Everesting (see May issue 41 for more detailed coverage).

“It’s 4.30am, the rain is pouring and the wind is howling… and that’s only at the bottom of the five-kilometre hill I’m about to start cycling up… not just once, but at least 24 times non-stop for 24 hours,” recalls Harrower.

The pre-dawn start marked the debut of an epic challenge to attain the height of Mount Everest, all 8,848 metres, through the repeated climb of a single ascent. Harrower was bidding to be the first, male or female, in Northern Ireland to achieve this feat up and down Dree Hill/Slieve Croob, with its average 7.5 percent gradient, in Dromara, Co Down. Why? “Well… because it’s there. And if you have to ask again, you will never understand!” says Harrower, a self-confessed hill-seeker. She adds: “Life happens in the hills.

Hill climbing is an opportunity to prove to yourself that you are strong. Without knowing it, I’ve actually been training for my Everest for years, in

a general sense, as there was no specific training for Everesting. It was only 12 hours before I actually started the attempt that I decided I was doing it. That may sound even more bonkers, but if I’d spent months, or even weeks planning it then I would never have done it! This was always going to be one of my spur-of-the-moment decisions.”

Harrower started endurance events in 2008 with an ironman, and since then has progressed to multi-day road and mountain bike events, marathon kayak challenges, and multi-day adventure races. But six hours into her Everesting attempt she began questioning whether she could achieve it. “The mental strength required to keep going, when your body is aching and your mind is tortured by repetition, is colossal,” she says. With every ascent, she placed a little hair band at the top, gradually watching the pile accumulate as she repeated the mantra, “Pedal and don’t lose power.”

The ascent descent sequence created difficulties in terms of regulating her temperature – heating up on the climbs and then chilling rapidly on the descents, while she tried to take on fuel.

Nor was she riding a flyweight road bike to save every gramme. Harrower had opted for a mountain bike because the second part of the ascent was on pitted Tarmac in poor condition. It would also prove to be more comfortable when fatigue really kicked in.

“I noticed a snail on the road just about 15 metres into the start of my climb. Every time I passed it at the start of subsequent laps, I would giggle. That snail’s Everest (everybody has their own Everest) was getting to the far side of the road. In the time that I had been pedalling for 12 hours, the snail seemed to have moved about 10 centimetres.”

At just over 20 hours, and in the pitch black, Harrower reached the summit for the 24th time.

“That final half lap felt like forever. I was all over the place. I couldn’t keep the bike straight. I felt like things were jumping out of hedges at me. I just wanted to stop. And then I did. And fell off my bike. I had climbed 9,053 metres, in 20 hours 50 minutes, covering almost 248 kilometres on a mountain bike, over poor surfacing and in inclement weather.”

Kelsey Media 2015 © all rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part is forbidden except with permission in writing from the publishers. Note to contributors: articles submitted for consideration by the editor must be the original work of the author and not previously published. Where photographs are included, which are not the property of the contributor, permission to reproduce them must have been obtained from the owner of the copyright.

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106 outdoorfitnessmag.com November 2015

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