Suunto Blog

Kilian Jornet and Emelie Forsberg climbed to second and third overall respectively in the Ski Mountaineering World Cup rankings after some solid performances at Prato Nevoso, Italy. Kilian pushing downhill. ©ISMFAnother exciting weekend for Suunto Ambassadors, Kilian Jornet and Emelie Forsberg. The pair joined dozens of the world's best ski-mo racers under the incredible blue skies of Prato Nevoso, Italy for one of the final races of the season.Kilian had some mixed results – finishing second in the vertical race, fourth in the individual race and 22nd in the sprint. He has two more shots at reaching his ultimate goal at the end of April – winning the overall ranking in the World Cup, which combines the different Ski Mountaineering World Cup disciplines. Currently, Kilian lies in second spot behind overall leader Robert Antonioli. He said: ‘‘The combined World Cup is a title I’d really like to try to win because it proves the versatility of the skier in the different events. I’m second right now, but I am I hoping to score enough points in the two races left, to be able to fight for victory against Roberto.”Emelie in action. ©ISMFNot to be outdone, Emelie Forsberg placed second in both the individual and sprint races, and fourth in the vertical race. It was her first-ever second-place finish in a World Cup competition, and with two team races left, moves her up to third position in the overall rankings.She said: “I am feeling very well in this moment of the season. The results this weekend couldn’t have been better and now I am third in the overall ranking. I’ll try to keep the good energy for the races left.” Despite the individual events coming to an end, the Ski Mountaineering World Cup is far from over. Check out Check out ISMF on Facebook for updates, photos and lots of exciting videos from the Ski Mountaineering World Championship.RACE LINK:http://www.mondoleskialp.it/All photos ©ISMF

It's the trend that has captured the imagination of runners the world over – setting FKTs, or Fastest Known Times – and ultra runner Ryan Sandes may have just created one of the most scenically spectacular routes. Continuing our series of athletes sharing their best efforts, the South African athlete goes behind the scenes on his most recent feat – an FKT across Cape Town's iconic Table Mountain. It's fair to say that Ryan Sandes is most at home on long distance trails and ultras. A year ago he and Ryno Griesel set an FKT of 41h 49m crossing the 220km Drakensberg mountains. Now, on familiar terrain but an unfamiliar distance the Suunto ambassador has just blasted a 15.1 km trail across the rocky spine of the Cape Peninsula in 2h 2m 13s. “The run starts with a massive climb up Llandudno Ravine to warm your lungs and legs up,” Ryan tells us. “This is a super technical climb to the top of Table Mountain with lots of rock stairs and scrambling. The views on top of Table Mountain are amazing and makes every drop of sweat getting up to the top worth while.” Ryan covers the 700 m ascent in 32 minutes, but the vertical isn't the only thing to worry about on the route. “Once on top of Table Mountain the route is a little flatter but it is not completely flat. It is very technical running along a single track which can be quite overgrown and seeing large snakes is a common occurrence. Once you get to the Valley of the Red Gods you have a few small ladders to negotiate before descending Platteklip Gorge. This is the hardest part of the run for me, as you have big rock stairs leading down Platteklip which kill your legs and you also have to constantly dodge tourists hiking up the mountain! Once on the contour path, the running is fairly fast to the finish but your legs will be feeling tired after the big descent off Table Mountain. The route is just under 16km, but is very slow moving and you can never get into any rhythm. But I love it as it is in my 'back garden' and I feel right at home.” All images ©Craig Kolesky/ Red Bull Content Pool

As the skimo season comes to a close, Kilian Jornet is hanging up his skis and turning his attention to the big adventures ahead for the 2015 summer season. Quite literally, one stands out above all the rest: Everest. As part of his Summits of My Life project, which has seen him set speed records on seven mountains around world, Everest will be the project’s tallest order yet.Jornet is heading to Everest for his first time during the Himalayan climbing season, this spring, to begin what he says will be a long, patient process of preparation and discovery.“I conceive of this trip to Everest as a chance to learn,” Jornet says. “To really get to know the mountain and its surroundings and to learn everything my colleagues can teach me. And which photographer took this shot? Kilian himself! “I don’t know when we will be able to attempt the challenge as that will depend very much on the weather, acclimatization and the conditions we find there. I’m taking this first trip as an opportunity to learn.”His first visit to the highest mountain in the world will be focused on becoming familiar with the area, the planned route and, crucially, the effects of altitude. Everest will be Jornet’s first 8,000m mountain. Completing a rapid ascent on his first expedition is not something he says is on the cards. “We know we have a long way ahead of us,” he says. “I think this will be a long-term project that we hope to complete in the coming years.” Depending on weather conditions, Jornet will attempt the ascent either via Norton Pass or Hornbein Couloir – both rarely climbed routes. After he’s returned from the roof of the world, Jornet's plan is to hit the trail running scene in Europe and the US. He is not joining any fixed competitive circuit, but will run the races that most inspire him.His first race of the season will be the Mount Marathon in Alaska, one of the oldest in the world. It’s a vertical race to the top of the race’s namesake, Mount Marathon (922m), on US Independence Day. Next, he’s running in the Hardrock (USA), followed by the Tromsö Skyrace (Norway), the Sierre Zinal (Switzerland), the Skaala Uphill (Norway) and then finally, back on his home turf, the Ultra Pirineu in the Pyrenees. Main image shows Kilian on Denali. ©Summits of my Life

Ashley Relf is a San Francisco based coach and athlete. She started her athletic career as a successful gymnast and was training six hours a day already as a 12-year-old. Unfortunately a neck injury ended her career at age 13 and she shifted her focus to volleyball, soccer, basketball, and diving. At college she played soccer and ran track. Post college Ashley played soccer semi-professionally for a year but soon became an avid runner and triathlete. “Currently I am a mother of a 6 1/2 month old son, Joaquin and an elite runner training to chase after the Olympic Trials Qualifying time in the marathon,” she says. In addition to being a top athlete Ashley also holds a degree in Sport psychology, and a Certificate in Exercise & Sport Performance. She coaches individual clients as well as high school, club, college, corporate and professional level teams in both mental strength training and athletic performance in running, triathlon and strength training. “My strengths as a coach are that I understand the rigors of training to reach higher levels of performance and the psychological challenges of working through the extreme demands of competition,” she says. “I help my clients find the right steps to take to enhance their performance and reach a better understanding of her or his strengths and weaknesses and what needs to be done to move forward.” THE SPEEDY FINISH LONG RUN Ashley Relf’s workout, The Speedy Finish Long Run, is great for those who want a workout to help simulate pushing through mental and physical race fatigue towards the later stages of a race. “This exercise will help you finish a race strong and fast even when your body and mind are trying to get you to stop or slow down,” she says. The Speedy Finish Long Run is aimed at competitive runners who already have built a solid foundation with their base mileage. Note: Adjust the heart rates (HR) in the sample workout based on your own HR zones. Step 1 “Run the first 10 miles at your normal conversational pace.”Distance: 10 miles (15 km)Target HR: 70%–80% of your max HR Step 2 “For the next 3 miles start running at your tempo pace (about a minute/mile faster than your normal conversational pace).”Distance: 3 miles (5 km)Target HR: 81%–93% of your max HR Step 3 “Run the next mile at your 5k race pace or an effort that you would not want to talk with your running buddy at.”Distance: 1 mile (1,5 km)Target HR: 94%–100% of your max HR Step 4 “Run the last 2–3 miles at your normal conversational pace.”Distance: 2–3 miles (3–5 km)Target HR: 70%–80% of your max HR “The goal of this workout is to gain confidence from your speedy finish long runs to push through the mental and physical challenges and keep increasing the effort,” coach Relf says. For more info about Ashley Relf and her coaching go to www.traincompetegetfaster.com

Finnish freediver Johanna Nordblad made a Guinness World Record Attempt last Saturday at Lake Päijänne in Finland when she swam 50 meters under ice. The dive team and spectators gathered on the ice on a beautiful sunny day for the record attempt. The water temperature was 2 degrees Celcius when Johanna swam a distance of 50 meters under the ice from one hole to another. Everything went according to the plan. Nordblad said the dive was easy and that she couldn't be happier. Nordblad is an experienced freediver who has been competing at the World Championships since 2000. In 2004 she did a World Record in Dynamic with fins, 158 meters. In 2013 in Serbia she swam 192 meters and was on the 7th place. Cold-water training has been a big part of Johanna Nordblad's training since she broke her leg in downhill mountain biking. Cold water helped in rehabilitation and soon became a big part of her wintertime training in Finland. Johanna Nordblad is the first woman to swim 50 meters horizontally under ice with no fins and no diving suit. The men's record is held by Stig Severinsen, who dove 76,2 meters under ice in 2013. Watch a video of Johanna’s dive (part 1). Learn more about Johanna Nordblad’s dive here Images: © Elina Manninen

The latest update has come in from Greenland, with the Under the Pole team talking diving holes, science and inviting locals to join in on the experience.Under the ice © Lucas Santucci / Under The PoleMuch jubilation was felt amongst the team as after months of waiting they finally have sea ice surrounding them.“The ice is moving, cracking and grinding, northern lights are dancing at night around the Why [the name of their boat] and the dives are splendid, offering visibility down to 60 and 70 meters,” writes expedition leader, Grislain Bardout in his latest newsletter. “Having the boat icebound was a dream. How beautiful she is!”Life is not easy for the crew, however, who work in temperatures falling to -30 degrees C. With ice anything up to 60 cm thick it also freezes the toilet pipes meaning these must be defrosted before every day can begin.Pricila, the chef on the boat gets ready to dive for the first time © Lucas Santucci / Under The PoleThey are making headway on their scientific work, however, Ghislain says: “Science wise, we started the cryosphere program, or interaction between atmosphere, ice and ocean. Part of the boat was transformed into an efficient laboratory. This program is extremely interesting because it provides us with a real database on our environment during the ice season.”There was also a bit of fun to be had at the weekend during a visit to Ikerasak with the diving equipment to allow inhabitants to discover the undersea world. “All together we shared this event and, in spite of our languages and cultural differences, the diving hole was surrounded all day long by thirty persons or more. Twelve of them dared to immerse and went to see under the ice, although they didn’t even know how to swim,” adds Ghislain.The team also plans to invite hunters and children from the Uummannaq Home to join them on the ice.Main image: © Lucas Santucci / Under The Pole