Suunto Blog

In part two of this three part series, Suunto ambassador Ryan Sandes offers more tips to help you become an ultra runner. 1. Focus on your goals It's important you have a schedule and that you know where your peak weeks are and when you need to back off and at the same time that schedule needs to be really flexible. Some weeks you just might not feel up to it, whereas others weeks you feel on top of the world and can maybe even do a bit more. The training schedule allows you to know where you're going and enables you to focus on your goals. South African ultra runner Ryan Sandes. ©Kolesky/Nikon/Red Bull Content Pool 3. Mix it up by cross training Strength work, a little mountain biking. cross country skiing, ski mountaineering are really great to help become a stronger runner. Doing strength work is a completely different stimulus and good balance to long distance running as it helps to prevent injury. For guys who are really heavy a long run can really take it out of you. Doing it on a bike might be better. Swimming can also help. Aqua jogging is also quite good as it stimulates your cardiovascular system and also aids recovery. 4. Go hot and cold Doing regular sessions in a sauna also helps. It increases your production of testosterone and stimulates recovery. Cold showers, cold tubs... they reset your neuromuscular system. Try different things and see what works for you. A lot of people break themselves by doing the same type of training so it's important to mix it up.Ryan checks his Suunto Ambit once every 30 minutes. ©Kelvin Trautman / Red Bull Content Pool 5. Warm up properly Often before I run I do ten to fifteen minutes of basic mobility work to make sure everything is moving. People working a full time job might say they don't have the time, but I think you can do two or three minutes to warm up before you start running. Doing side bridge, push top leg back, basic mountain climbers bear crawls, basic lunges etc. 6. Quality over quantity Running a high mileage works for some people, but it’s important you don’t follow others blindly and instead find out what works best for you. Doing more quality training and dropping the quantity is definitely a good idea. For beginners, it’s better to do less and to focus more on recovery. Click here to read the first installment in this three part series from ultra running champion Ryan Sandes 7. Find your breath It’s important to train your diaphragm as well as your legs. One of the first things that will slow you down and make you fatigued is poor breathing. Your diaphragm is almost like a muscle so you need to train it as well. Practice deep belly breathing and you will improve your oxygen intake. 8. Break it down With ultra distance running you’ll constantly go through highs and lows and how you manage those will decide how your race will end up. It’s so important to stay positive. To help with this, try to break a long run or race down into lots of mini goals. Focusing on getting to the next aid station, for example, or getting up the next climb or to the next tree can trick your mind and make it all more achievable. 9. Get absorbed When you’re doing your long trail runs it’s important to have fun and to get absorbed in your surroundings. I know a lot of guys who come from a marathon or 10 km background and they constantly look at their watches and worry about how many minutes each kilometer is taking. This makes it difficult for them to enjoy themselves. I look at my watch once only every half an hour because it boosts my motivation to know how long I’ve been out, how far I’ve gone or how much I’ve climbed. Setting mini goals throughout the race helps to stay positive. ©Kelvin Trautman / Red Bull Content Pool 10. Go social A lot of people like running on their own, and that’s cool, I enjoy it too, but it’s also nice to mix it up and run with other people. It makes it more fun. You’ve got to be careful if your trail buddies are a lot faster than you. It can be good for them to push you a little bit, but don’t do all your runs with them if you’re a lot slower. Do half your long runs with them and then go off on your own. Regular strength training helps to prevent injury, Ryan says. ©Kolesky/Nikon/Red Bull Content Pool

In the fifth episode of #SuuntoAdventure Video Series four time XTERRA world champion Conrad Stoltz talks about going fast, suffering and over 25 years of competing in triathlon. Face to Face with Conrad Stoltz, #SuuntoAdventure Video Series Episode 5 Watch also the other episodes in the series: Face to Face with Emelie Forsberg – #SuuntoAdventure Video Series, Episode 1 Face to Face with Greg Hill – #SuuntoAdventure Video Series, Episode 2 Face to Face with Kilian Jornet – #SuuntoAdventure Video Series, Episode 3 Face to Face with William Trubridge – #SuuntoAdventure Video Series, Episode 4

Skyrunning world champion Emelie Forsberg gives her tips on how to push your running comfort zone. Keep running To become a stronger runner in any kind of terrain you need to have continuity of training. You will always improve at something when your do it regularly for a long time with no breaks. For this reason, try to enjoy your running. Even if a run is no longer than 15 to 20 minutes, it’s so much better than nothing if it makes you want to run again. Sometimes I do short runs because I know I will feel better after a few minutes, even if I’m tired when I start. I do it because I love having the continuity. Continuity of training is key, says Emelie. © Salomon Push your comfort zone If you already love running and want to become stronger, push yourself every now and then outside of your comfort zone. Maybe one or two of your training runs can include some non-comfortable pace. That small effort will make you better. Play with speed To become a better uphill runner I’ve noticed uphill fartleks have worked for me. (Fartleks, a Swedish word that means ‘speed play’, is a form of interval training.) Run with speed for a few minutes, then slow down and then run again with speed and try this on different slopes for variation. Try to be fresh when you do this training! Emelie won the Transvulcania ultra marathon on the Canary Islands. © Selu Vega-Transvulcania Power the hills To improve your uphill endurance, try to run or fast walk the whole slope or mountainside, even if it’s a long ascent. Recovery is king Recovery is important. If your recovery isn’t good enough, training gradually breaks you down. I try to rest as much as possible when my body tells me I need it. It’s better to be fresh and able to keep training than to break down or get injured and not to be able to train. Remember to have fun and enjoy your runs! © zooom.at/Markus Berger Eat well Always eat and drink well for recovery. I love natural ingredients and avoid eating too much meat. I feel best when I eat a lot of vegetables and a big dessert!

From mastering the art of recovery to learning to hike, these are the tips from champion ultra runner Ryan Sandes that will see you through an ultra. This is part one of a three part series. Click here for part two and here for part three. 1. Listen to your bodyWhen you're training for a 100 km race it’s important to have a training schedule, but you must be flexible with it. A lot of ultra runners get hell-bent on achieving their goals, causing them to lose sight of the bigger picture. You really have to listen to your body. If your body is not feeling up to it one week, then back off. If you’re feeling on top of the world, maybe you can do a bit more. Remember, the schedule is a guide only. “Recovery is more important than running.” ©Craig Kolesky/Red Bull Content Pool 2. Stay mobileBefore I run, I often do 10 to 15 minutes of basic mobility exercises to ensure everything is firing when I start running. It’s important to build basic mobility exercises into your training, even if you only have time for two or three minutes before you start running. Side bridges, basic mountain climbers, bear crawls, A-marches, lunges and ABC drills are all helpful. 3. Better to be under than over trainedTraining for an ultra marathon isn’t just about how many kilometers you run each week. I know a lot of guys who came into the sport and for two years did high mileages and won races, but then burned out. If you're new to the sport and you're doing a high mileage, you're really risking injury. For me, I'd rather go to a 100 km race 20 per cent under trained than one per cent over trained. ©Craig Kolesky/Red Bull Content Pool 4. Have an off-seasonIt’s important to have an off-season. I don't mean taking three months off and doing absolutely nothing! It’s fine to take a month off and just hang out with your friends and have a party or two. But then spend the next two months doing strength work in a gym to prepare yourself for the season ahead. This helps prevent injuries. 5. Hike that long run When you're trying to build up for an ultra distance trail race, it's important to incorporate hiking into your long runs. It helps you get extra time on your feet. You might start with an hour or two of hiking and then run for two hours afterwards, or hike for an hour, run for an hour. ©Craig Kolesky/Red Bull Content Pool6. Keep a logKeep a logbook and write briefly after each run what you did and how you felt so you can look back and see what’s worked and what hasn’t. 7. Spend time on recoveryRecovery is more important than training! It's vital to make sure you're getting enough rest and sleep. If you're working full time then you need to be really careful, as it’s all a lot of stress on the body. Get regular massages, too. Our legs are like car wheels – you might have a Porsche, but if the wheel alignment is out, it's not going to drive well.Main image: ©Kelvin Trautman / Red Bull Content Pool

After 114 days, averaging an incredible daily distance of 47 km, Suunto supported athlete Patrick Sweeney has reached Boston, completing his epic run across the USA. You might expect Patrick Sweeney to be taking it easy on his native Manhattan Beach in California after just finishing a run across the USA. Patrick went through one pair of Luna Sandals and two and a half pairs of shoes. © Lee Shelly But one week after completing the 5400 km journey from west to east, the 36-year-old is competing in a 50 km race, and only the first of his race season. When you’re feeling as good as he is, why not? In the last week of his run across the country he felt so good he had to slow down so he could meet up with friends and supporters. “When I scaled back I had strange feeling of guilt, like I should be out there doing more miles,” he says. He remembered to shave on the first day of his epic run. © Patrick Sweeney Patrick started off his adventure running a marathon a day. This increased to about 64 km and his biggest day was 84km. Running was so much a part of his waking life that it crept into his dreams. “I’m having running dreams very similar to the kind you have as kid when it's summer holidays and you dream you’re late to school or missed a test,” he says. “When I close my eyes I feel like I'm still out there on the road. “Part of me wishes I was, but I’m also happy to be home and excited to start my racing season.” Pennsylvannia was one of nine states he ran through. His run across the country was to raise money and awareness for the 100 Mile Club, a cause close to his heart. The non-profit organization encourages young people to run 100 miles a year, with the aim of improving their fitness, learning and self-esteem. As a child, Patrick had a bad diet and was overweight. Now the healthy vegan believes adults should teach kids it’s not about being the best or coming first, but about making positive life decisions that add up, one by one. “All in all I raised ten grand for the cause, but more importantly I hope I inspired some kids and adults to be more active, to go after their dreams and dare to try something they could fail at,” he says. “I didn't know if was going to succeed and I did.” Running on the shoulders of busy highways were the only times he felt stressed. Out on the road, Patrick learned to appreciate the small things in life, such as a good meal, a helpful stranger and the group of friends supporting him on the journey. When the weather turned bad or his feet hurt, the mostly barefoot runner kept himself motivated by living in the present moment, embracing each new obstacle as an experience he might never have again. “I learned to deal with whatever came up and I will be a better runner in the future because of it,” he says. After leaving Los Angeles on January 16 and running through nine states Patrick arrived in Boston on May 9. “Every state I ran through had it's own charm,” he says. “I think the hills of Virginia were the most beautiful and the people of Mississippi were the most kind.” A quiet day on the road; only 42.8 km! © Patrick Sweeney

Transvulcania was her first trail running race of the season and only one week after her last ski mountaineering race. Before the gun fired, she wasn’t even sure if she’d finish the 87 km, 8,500 vertical meter race across the volcanoes of La Palma, Canary Islands. But from the start to the finish, she had the lead, giving no quarter to her rivals. Emelie won the race in 2013 and again this time.  Read more about Emelie Forsberg here. “I took this race as a first approach to the trail running season after a long winter, and couldn’t have imagined this result,” she says. “As always, running Transvulcania is magic, with all the ambiance and the people cheering you during the race.” A great performance for her first race of the trail running season. © Selu Vega-Transvulcania The race began in the dawn light at the Tazacorte Lighthouse from where runners must climb an iconic lantern lit path leading to Los Canarios village. Emelie severely injured her hand in this section during last year’s race. She began cautiously, but this gave way to confidence, and she decided to seize the lead. It was a good call as it gave her time to take it easy through the section from Pico del la Cruz to Roque de los Muchachos where many runners suffer from high temperatures. “I haven’t had much training on high temperatures, and I was just skiing last week, so I knew the climb to Roque de los Muchachos would be the worst part,” Emelie says. “Fortunately my team told me I had a good advantage over the second girl so I was able to relax a bit and not get dehydrated.” The rest of the race went smoothly and she crossed the finish line in Los Llanos de Adriane with a time of 8h 34m. Suunto ambassador Ryan Sandes was also taking part, but had to pull out of the race due to severe cramping. “I am disappointed but this is part of being an athlete,” he posted online.