Want to descend mountains with the speed and finesse of Kilian Jornet? Follow his downhill running tips here. To watch Kilian Jornet charge down a mountain is to see something that is almost beyond possible. Like a squirrel down a tree, his downhill running seems to defy the laws of gravity. How does he do it? Here, in his own words, Kilian explains: Go to the mountain For technique, for training, you need to spend hours in the mountain. You can go to the gym and get big quads but for the downhills, it doesn't work. You need to run downhills and downhills and downhills and then you learn the technique! Close your eyes It's not just about the legs and muscles, but more about the vision, about the anticipation of the trail, the obstacles. Like skiing, you need to pick your line. When you run fast you don’t see where to put your feet but you see the next four to five steps ahead and you need to know where your body and feet are on the ground. Close your eyes and run for 15 meters blind to try to remember the terrain. This is also good for balance. Relax The two main things in downhill are vision and the need to be relaxed. When we run downhill we tense all the muscles and this causes tiredness. If we run relaxed we can run faster and with less energy. For relaxation, practice descending like you’re dancing. For example, run down with your arms completely relaxed and every two steps do a little jump and kick your legs together. Stretch For running in the mountains the most important thing is to be flexible – to be able to adapt to every different situation. The perfect technique doesn’t exist for hill running! You need to be really elastic to adapt for all kinds of terrains. Don't think about the pain When you run for long distances it’s impossible to avoid pain — it’s for everyone. When it comes you need to think of other things — the landscape, you talk with the racers, listen to music. I think about stories, like I’m a warrior being chased by an army. To not think about pain, you need to be in another world. Don't forget the uphill For uphill it’s important to practise walking. A lot of people come from road running and as soon as it gets steep they don’t know how to walk. For walking it’s important to use all the body so the hands are pushing on the knees. This is a good exercise. Kilian Jornet is a Suunto ambassador. Get to know him here. All images ©zooom.at/Markus Berger

Our #SuuntoAdventure selfie contest has now come to an end and we're pleased to reveal the four winners below. They will each receive the new Ambit3 Sport. Selfies are everywhere. Whether it's on the top of a mountain or out on the trail, everyone loves to grab a selfie to share with friends. So at Suunto, we thought it would be a great idea to invite our fans and the wider community to send us their best shots. We were overwhelmed by the response, receiving thousands of inspiring entries via Instagram. The four winning shots were each selected by one of our Suunto ambassadors – Kilian Jornet, Emelie Forsberg, Conrad Stoltz and Greg Hill. Below, we present each ambassador's choice. Thanks to everyone who submitted images. It was a difficult choice. In the coming weeks we'll have interviews with each of the winners to hear more about the story behind their shots. Emelie Forsberg choice: Winner: Patrick Müller Suarez, @patrickamsSays Emelie: “This picture captured my imagination right away with the light – is it morning or evening? – and made me think of a long day out exploring new mountains. The picture exudes exploration.” Kilian Jornet choice: Winner: Trent Busenbark, @trentbusenbarkSays Kilian: “The picture takes us right there and lets us feel what he feels. We can feel the cold, the storm, the tiredness. Adventure is also about bad conditions and hard times that make us happy when we come home.” Conrad Stoltz choice: Winner: Ross Lovell, @rosslovellSays Conrad: “I can see how crazy steep the hill is by the gear your friend is standing on! You deserve to win for riding one handed and snapping a great photo after such a massive climb!” Greg Hill choice: Winner: Corky Still, @akskicaSays Greg: “The vast background, untouched and waiting feels like unconquered territory. And there is excitement and unlimited potential to this skier. So many ski lines waiting for them...”

After winning XTERRA UK, the Suunto ambassador Conrad Stoltz now has Denmark in his sights. Is there any stopping him? It's been a bit of a disappointing season for Conrad Stoltz so far. “It's been a bit of a roller coaster with unfortunate injuries, sickness and mechanicals,” he tells us. But the so-called 'caveman' put all that behind him after triumphing at the UK course. “I finally did my form justice and put together a phenomenal race. It's what I love best!” he says. “XTERRA UK is a race with real mountain biking and trail running – true XTERRA terrain, so I was super excited to race this course. This year I have been really disappointed with a lot of the courses which weren't technical. They were 'roadie courses’ – mostly fire roads which has been super frustrating.” “XTERRA UK put up a great event with very technical bike and run courses,” he adds. The running course saw athletes having to leap across ditches and jump over trees, for example. Check out this video to see Conrad running the route.“I was out of the swim 1min behind the leader and came off the bike with a 5 minute lead and a silly grin on my face,” adds Conrad. “It was adventurous and fun. I hope other organisers take note and make sure their routes include actual mountain bike trails!”Next on the calendar is Denmark this weekend and Conrad is as focused as he's ever been. “I hope to repeat my performance here,” he says. All images ©lighttrapper.co.uk

On the first Monday in September one hundred teams of two will stand on the shores of Sandhamn in the Stockholm archipelago. They will face one of the toughest endurance challenges in the world, the Ö till Ö Swim Run Championship. Ö till Ö (island to island) is a unique race in which teams of two swim and run 75 km across 26 islands. One of the teams this year is The Baltic Sea Action Group Swim Run Team. “About 65 km of the total distance is running and 10 km openwater swimming. This means that about a quarter of the race time is spent swimming,” Juha Lindfors, a Baltic Sea Action Group Swim Run Team member says. Finnish Lindfors and his German teammate Armin Hummel are both experienced swimmers. Both have won multiple national championship titles in swimming. Last year they took part in Ö till Ö for the first time. “The race last year came as a surprise with only a three weeks’ notice as one of my friends who originally came up with the crazy idea of participating in the race could not make it. There was really no time to get prepared. However, we made it and the event itself was magnificent.” “One of the most fascinating things in the race is experiencing the nature in the beautiful Stockholm archipelago and in the Baltic Sea. First feeling after the race was that we must come back again – and maybe with some more preparation.” This year the team has two goals: to break the 10-hour barrier and most importantly to increase awareness about the state of the Baltic Sea. “Already after the race last year I had the idea that we could also increase general awareness of the work of the Baltic Sea Action Group and get more people and organizations to commit on actions to save the Baltic Sea. “For me this is very important as I live by the sea, sailing on it, and especially when going for a dip in the sea. I really hope that my children can keep on enjoying the same privileges.” An important part of the swim run event are the transitions in and out of the water. “A one minute loss in each transition adds up to a whole hour in the end,” Lindfors says. To make the challenge even bigger, the competitors have to carry everything they need with them through out the race, which results in some interesting and novel gear solutions – they swim with their running shoes and run in wetsuits. Teams will also use hand paddles and pull buoys. Swimming in shoes is particularly tricky.  “They slow us down about 5–10 seconds per 100 meters.” To compensate for the added drag of the shoes, many of the teams use pull buoys to improve buoyancy. But that too comes with a price: you will then have to find a way to carry the buoyancy aid during the run stages. Also choosing the right shoes can be tricky: they have to be superlight even when wet but also have a good grip for the wet and slippy beach rocks. “Last year I wore orienteering shoes. This time I have chosen to race in ultralight trailrunning shoes,” Lindfors reveals. Ö till Ö Swim Run Championships will take place in Sweden on September 1st. More info and live tracking can be found at www.otillo.se More info about the Baltic Sea Action Group can be found here. All images © Jakob Edholm/ÖTILLÖ13

Getting your recovery right is almost as important as the training itself – especially if you have a packed race diary. It’s also particularly true as you get older when the body is less forgiving of strains, bruises and stiffness. So what’s the approach of the pros? Triathlete and XTERRA champion Conrad Stoltz is known as ‘the Caveman’ for his warrior spirit and ability to take hits – just the man in other words to offer some advice. He is famous for being hard on himself and his gear and in his younger days used to sleep on benches and once (willingly) in a police station before races. These days, looking after his body is the number one priority. “I believe in a good warm up and cool down after racing,” he says. “Plus regular massage and self massage on the foam roller.”Gone are the days when Conrad would blast through injuries. These days he listens to his body. “If I have even a small injury, I’ll try to get it resolved as quickly as possible,” he says.He adds that one of the most important things after a hard ride, run or swim is to take on fluids right away. “When I get back from a hard training session I’ll have a drink with carbs and some protein right away to get the recovery process started.”This is in line with the latest advice from sports nutritionists who recommend taking on fuel and fluids during a 30 minute window after exercise, or even within 15 minutes. “Within 30-40 mins I will sit down to a good meal,” says Conrad. “Caveman style – meat, potatoes, vegetables and maybe some chocolate or ice cream.”But some habits die hard. There’s no cross-training for Conrad. “I’d like to say I ride my enduro motorbike for cross training in the off-season,” he adds, “but I race all year round!”

To receive a GPS signal your Suunto watch needs to locate satellites that are orbiting the Earth. The better the watch knows where the satellites are located, the quicker it will receive the signal. Since the satellites are moving constantly, the new locations of the satellites need to be synced to your watch. Simply put, to find the satellites quicker, sync your watch regularly with Suunto app. Suunto app sync the latest, seven-day satellite orbit forecast to your watch so it knows where to look. If you want to optimize and find the signal quickly, sync the watch as close to your activity as possible. The data that is synced to your watch is global. So even if you sync your watch in New York and start your run 12 hours later in Chamonix, there is no need to re-sync. Image: © Bruno LongGet support for your Suunto product at support