The fifth instalment of Suunto Summit, a celebration of our community and our collective passion for sport and the outdoors, will be held in January 2020 in Ylläs, in Finnish Lapland. We will start the weekend with a visit to Suunto factory and Suunto HQ in Vantaa and then travel by an overnight train to Ylläs, north of the Arctic Circle, to experience the beauty of northern Finland. The participants for Suunto Summit 2020 are: Alberto from Spain, Alexandre from Brazil, Alpinefex from Germany, Dorn from USA, Lotta from Finland, Maja from Sweden, Majo from Philippines, Marie from UK, Matteo from Italy, Max from USA, Philipp from Germany, Sandra from Australia, Sawna from USA, Thumb K from Korea, and Xiaohua from China. Welcome to Suunto Summit! Thank you to all who applied! We are humbled to have such a passionate community. It was very inspiring to hear your stories and to get to know you a little bit. Happy adventures and hope to meet you another time!Excitement at the 2018 Suunto Summit. Watch the event recap here

© Philipp Reiter Suunto athlete and filmmaker Philipp Reiter and eight other runners from Germany and Austria are setting out on November 1 to run the once feared militarized border – called the “death strip” by west Germans – that divided east and west Germany from 1952 to 1990. “We have four campervans and runners of all different ages and originally from both sides of the former border,” Philipp says. “I know the history of the border from school, but if you are not born in that time, you don’t really understand what it was like then,” he says. “I think it’s going to be really nice learning about this.” The 1400 km adventure run will include 16,000 m of vertical gain and the highest point on the route is the summit of Brocken, a 1142 m peak in the Harz Mountain Range. The team will run it as a relay, with one athlete running 15 km before the next steps in and takes over. Most of the route will be on quiet forest roads. They are inviting local runners in towns and villages they pass through to follow their journey on Strava and to join them when they are nearby. Philipp is interested to hear the stories of people who lived during the time of the border. “This project is about showing that even if it takes 40 years, there is always an opportunity to take borders down, even now,” he says, “These borders can be physical like this one, or they can be in the form of prejudices. How many people really try to understand the problems of another person?” Map showing the former border, now called the Green Belt. And the remains of the Berlin Wall. © LENCER (CC BY-SA 3.0) © Photo by Isai Ramos on Unsplash The inner German border, part of the Iron Curtain, stretched from the Baltic Sea to the former Czechoslovakia. The Berlin Wall was only a smart part of it. West Germans called it the “death strip” because it was so perilous to cross. The borderzone was fortified with trip-wire machine guns, more than a million landmines, 3000 attack dogs and guards with orders to shoot to kill. In spite of this, thousands of people risked their lives trying to escape the totalitarian German Democratic Republic in the east for a better life in the Federal Republic of Germany in the west. Hundreds of them died in the process. Since the fall of the wall, the borderzone has been demilitarized, and is now a popular area for cycling and walking. Thanks to a conservation project led by BUND Naturschutz what was once a “monument to repression” has been transformed into a “symbol of renewal”. Now called the Green Belt, the former border is a hotspot for wildlife. This year marks the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Starting on November 4, there will be events and exhibitions across the city. Follow Philipp and the team’s journey here on Strava. This run is recorded using Suunto 9 watches. Learn more about them here.

© Dean Leslie / Red Bull Content Pool As the northern hemisphere heads into winter, Ryan Sandes’s hometown, Cape Town, is coming out of it. He recently ran his new 13 Peaks route, starting at 3am, and had an eerie feeling that someone was watching him. “I looked around and there were all these little eyes looking at me from out of the darkness,” he says. “They were rock rabbits.”  Ryan has run in the dark in some gnarly places. He says it’s completely different to running in the day. “Running in the dark is a bit like running downhill – you have to be careful,” he cautions. Here are 7 tips to better enjoy running at night or early morning. Stay safe Tell someone where you are going and when you plan to be back. This is especially important if you are heading out for a trail run in the wild. Consider taking a tracking device, too. If you get disoriented or lost, remember you can use the Find Back feature and breadcrumb route on your Suunto 9 watch to be led back to your start point. Make yourself visible Buy yourself an assortment of reflectors for your clothing so you are clearly visible to cyclists and drivers from a distance. Use “biological motion” for increased visibility; this means lighting up your joints – ankles, knees, wrists and elbows, not the torso – so motorists and cyclists recognise you as a moving person. Slow down If you’re new to running in the dark, Ryan suggests slowing down until you get used to it. “The more you practice, the better you’ll get,” he says. Master your headlamp Wearing a headlamp is essential if you’re running in an area with no streetlights. Learning to focus and point the beam correctly takes some fiddling; best to test this at home before heading out. Aim the lamp so the beam illuminates the area about 10 m or so out from you, and make sure the light isn’t too focused or it can give you “tunnel vision”. Learn to adjust the settings while you’re running to preserve battery life. “If you’re going downhill really fast you will need to have it brighter and with a bigger beam,” Ryan says. “If you are going uphill slowly you can turn it down.” Look ahead, not down Having the right head position is important. “Don’t drop your head and start looking at your feet because that automatically slows you down,” Ryan says. “Look ahead, and your brain will programme where your feet will go before they get there.” Pick your lines With the correct head position and beam focus, it makes it easier to see the contours of the terrain and coming obstacles. Staying focused, not spacing out, is essential when running in the dark. “Try to pick right lines [to follow] when you’re running so you can keep moving,” Ryan says. “You don’t want to lose concentration and end up going over a bunch of rocks, or scrambling through the bush.” Enjoy the atmosphere “Running in the dark gives an almost out of body experience,” Ryan says. “Everything is really peaceful, you can hear all the little sounds, everything seems fresher, and you become a lot more aware. Enjoy it!” Lead images: © Craig Kolesky / Red Bull Content Pool © Graeme Murray / Red Bull Content Pool Read more running related articles! 7 principles to help you find the flow The lazy runner's guide to a marathon Emelie Forsberg's 7 yoga poses for runners 7 tips for running in hot weather

Both of them know the feeling of being hunted. It’s when they’ve been in first place, and there’s a pack of wolves at their heels. “When you are leading a race you often feel like a hunted animal,” Ryan says. “You are always looking behind you, are you going too fast, are you going slow enough, are the guys catching you? Mentally, that is super draining. Sometimes hunting is better than being hunted.” Ryan, an ultra running champion, has felt invincible during some races, and that his competitors were “dead and buried”, only for them to suddenly catch up and pass him. Mel has literally run shoulder to shoulder against another triathlete for 15 km, in what she says “felt like an eternity”. In the last three kilometers she turned it on and left her rival in the dust. “I started sprinting and not looking back,” Mel says. “It turns out she didn’t even try to come with me, but I didn’t turn around to check. I just kept pushing right to the line. “The smarter and easier move would have been to sit in (behind) and wear my competitor down that way, but for some reason we both thought we needed the mental battle of running side by side for most of the run. Not a single word was spoken between us during this hour long battle. After the race, we both shared a laugh and commented on how much we made each other suffer out there. “ Here are Mel and Ryan’s seven tips for victory. © Kelvin Trautman / Red Bull Content Pool Keep a poker face Both of them recommend putting on a brave face. Show your rivals nothing. “Control your breathing and keep good form at least when they can see you,” Mel says. “Make it look easy. Don’t make eye contact with your rivals.” Stay to your strengths Don’t try to run your rival’s race. “The key strategy is to run to your strength,” Ryan says. “If you're slightly better on the climbs, push them a little bit, so then your competitor has to push the downhills to catch up, smashing his legs in the process. It's all about trying to feel your competitor out, seeing what their weaknesses are, compared to your strengths.” Remember, they hurt too Feeling the pain? Quads burning? That’s because you’re human, and your rivals are, too. “I know if I’m hurting so are my competitors so I stay focused and imagine them struggling and working hard,” Mel says. “That gives me a little confidence boost.” Mind game your rival Watch your rival closely. If he or she is struggling, accelerate. “When you think they’re feeling bad, start talking to him or her with your poker face on, pretending you’re feeling good,” Ryan suggests. “It’s a bit of a game of roulette; sometimes it pays off, other times it doesn’t.” Training is your dojo Training is when you test your mettle. It’s when you develop the tenacity and forbearance you’ll need to survive your race battles. “Never give up in training,” Mel says. “When I’m really hurting in training, I imagine I’m in a race situation and that if I back off now or give up, I’ve just lost the race. The more times you throw in the towel in training the harder it will be to push through the pain in a race.” Ryan recommends working on your weaknesses in training. “If descending isn’t a strength for you, work on it,” he says. And when you’re training, run at different intensities.” Learn to adapt While it’s necessary to have a race plan, remember whatever your plan is, no matter how slick it is, on race day it will probably go out the window. “It’s so important to keep your mental focus and stay calm and collected,” Ryan says. “The person who is the most successful in a race is the one who can think the best on his or her feet and go with the flow.” Kindness can pay off Yes, racing is about winning. But that doesn’t always demand a ruthless attempt to crush the opposition. Sometimes a little camaraderie and kindness can go a long way. “If a competitor is struggling, for example when they need nutrition or a cold sponge, if I have the energy to help out I will because this not only helps them, but it also helps me,” Mel explains. “Helping someone makes you feel good and when you feel good you race better. This is a great way to get a little lift.” Lead images: © Craig Kolesky / Red Bull Content Pool © Kelvin Trautman / Red Bull Content Pool Read more: The art of battle: six tactics to slay your competitors

Doctors told her she would never run or race again. Kelsey, then 31, was lying in a hospital bed, her body battered and bruised after a truck hit her, and her vision for her life in ruins. She decided to prove the doctors wrong. After recovering from the accident Kelsey drove herself hard. She refused to give up. While the determination was admirable, she now admits it bordered on reckless. “I spent the next year trying to come back, but was plagued with more injuries and frustration,” Kelsey explains. “I gained a lot of weight and fell into a depression where I coped by going out at night, drinking way too much, and just not really living life as a pro athlete.” Kelsey began swimming competitively when she was six years old. Later at college, she competed in Division 1 before moving to the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs as a member of the USA Triathlon National Team. She completed her first triathlon as a senior high school student in 2001, and was hooked. With her life in tailspin after the accident, Kelsey got close to quitting triathlon. But then she met Mike, her now coach and boyfriend, who helped her turn everything around. “The new path I chose to go down was life changing, but not easy,” she says. “Mike got me healthy for the first time years. But when I did decide to start racing again, I was in for a rude awakening. I moved up from ITU (International Triathlon Union races) to the 70.3 distance and finished dead last in most of those races.” She was going in the right direction. But some old bad habits were holding her back. Eventually Mike gave her an ultimatum: get a job and make triathlon a hobby or commit 100% and make triathlon her job. “It took a good week for me to decide to go ‘all in’, but when I did, everything switched for me,” she says. The decision empowered her; in 2017 she won her first Ironman 70.3 at Victoria, then backed that up with a win at Ironman 70.3 Manta the following weekend. She has been on the podium at almost every race since, securing her first Kona slot this year at age 36. “This just goes to show you that if you work really hard and don’t give up, amazing things can happen!” she says. Kelsey takes over our our Instagram stories this weekend. Follow along as she prepares for Kona!    READ ALSO How (not) to qualify for Kona Road to Kona: Cody Beals' clear race strategy Road to Kona: 5 tips to train effectively as a couple

When she's not in the mountains, you can find Emelie Forsberg in her garden or preparing delicious meals. © Matti Bernitz How and what we eat is personal to each one of us. Some of us feel better and more energised by certain foods, while others feel quite differently. Regardless of our personal view, one thing we all have in common is that eating well is essential for top performance. In our recent article series “Fuelling the engine” we heard from eight athletes and trainers about how they stay fuelled (see the end for the article list). What’s more interesting than their differences, is what they have in common. We’ve combed through and put together six basic principles of nutrition for athletes. Find your rhythm Suunto HQ is lucky to have in-house personal trainer and athlete Matias Anthoni walking around the office. He offers training and nutrition advice to whoever is interested. He says improving how often you eat can improve what you eat. Skipping meals is a no-no for dedicated athletes because it causes energy crashes and bad dietary decisions, which result in poor performance. He advises to get into a rhythm of having a healthy meal every three hours. Get organized To eat six or more well balanced meals a day demands forward planning. It’s pretty hard, if not impossible, to maintain this if you’re operating on a day-to-day basis. Ryan Sandes, Emelie Forsberg, Mel Hauschildt and Lucy Bartholomew all emphasised the importance of being well organised and planning ahead. They sometimes make extra portions of meals at the beginning of the week to have later in the week when they know they will be busy. Being organised means making sure there are plenty of easy, go-to meal ingredients available, too. Balanced meals There are a number of different aspects to having a balanced diet. Ultracycling man Omar di Felice sees it as maintaining a proper balance of carbohydrates, protein and fat, with fatty food being essential for his epic extreme rides above the Arctic Circle every winter. This balance of carbohydrates, protein and fat is what nutrition expert Dr. Rick Kattouf II also drills into his clients. He believes every meal – for dedicated athletes in training – should include this ratio: 50 to 60 % carbohydrates, 15 to 25 % protein, and 15 to 25 % fat. Balance also means eating a variety of foods to make sure you are taking in enough minerals and vitamins. Ski mountaineer Greg Hill tries to have a balance of colors in his meals.  Fresh is best One thing that came through loud and clear from all our athletes and experts is the importance of eating fresh foods. For Emelie Forsberg and Lucy Bartholomew this means preferably straight out of the earth. As an avid gardener and farmer, Emelie grows and harvests much of what she eats. Lucy, ski mountaineer Greg Hill, Mel and Ryan all try to avoid eating packaged foods, instead choosing foods that are as close to the source of production as possible. Whole is the goal Should go without saying: avoid processed food and food with refined sugar. Instead, all our athletes opt for whole foods. Ryan Sandes questioned the idea that recovery shakes could ever replace the nutritional value of whole food. Don't take shortcuts; take the time to eat well. It’s self kindness. Enjoy yourself Emelie, Ryan and Greg all said they don’t get uptight about food. Emelie has a relaxed and intuitive approach to food, and Ryan and Greg are happy to allow themselves to enjoy a pizza or a burger each week. Greg cautions not to try to be perfect; aim to make the bulk of what you eat fresh and healthy. “It’s important to enjoy life as well,” Ryan says. Click below to read articles in our Fuelling the Engine series:  Fuelling the engine: talking nutrition with Lucy Bartholomew Fuelling the engine: talking nutrition with Emelie Forsberg Fuelling the engine: a commonsense approach to nutrition Fuelling the engine: talking nutrition with Ryan Sandes Fuelling the engine: talking nutrition with Ultracycling Man Fuelling the engine: talking nutrition with Mel Hauschildt D.I.E.T (disaster imminent every time), and three unchanging principles of nutrition for athletes Fuelling the engine: talking nutrition with Greg Hill Lead images: Photo by ja ma on Unsplash © Craig Kolesky / Red Bull Content Pool