Many times adventure or endurance sports can be solitary pursuits. When we share our experiences and challenges with others, we are strengthened. As a new edition to our efforts to help build connections, we will be sharing stories from inspiring groups around the world whose love for sport and adventure not only build camaraderie amongst themselves, but also serve to invigorate and motivate all of us together. In Suunto’s home country of Finland, trail running has moved from niche to mainstream with incredible speed. Races that had only a handful of runners two years ago, now sell-out to their capacity in hours. Located all over the country, trail races are a natural extension to the almost inherent connection Finns have with nature, from orienteering to cross-country skiing. Vast expanses of forested wilderness and rolling fjells provide countless opportunities to explore. The Nuuksio Classic trail marathon is one of the most popular races on the calendar, happening the first weekend in September. It is held on the beautiful and varied trails and grey rock of the Nuuksio National Park just outside the capital, Helsinki. We joined a training run in Nuuksio as runners from all walks of life and levels of experience were preparing for the marathon and getting to know the trail. For many of these runners, race day is the opportunity to challenge oneself and celebrate accomplishments, but the real transformative value of running and community come through the daily training, the scars, the group runs, the early morning miles and getting lost in the forest on a new (or old) trail. As Ali Leivo, an avid trail runner and community stalwart, says, “while the Finnish trail running community is small, it is like a family. I could shoot off to anywhere in the country and someone would welcome me, not only on their home trails, but into their homes as well.” This community often congregates, and reunites in some of the most iconic national landscapes, prepared for the challenges ahead and sharing their collective energy with one another. Community encourages us to explore, both our wondrous natural world and within ourselves. As we embrace new connections, our energy combines and propels us forward, and when you are running in the wild it’s always nice to know someone’s got your back. We’ll return soon with our next instalment of community events. Stay tuned!

The best way to recover is different for each individual, says ultra runner Gediminas Grinius. He favors a good night sleep, yoga and beekeeping. Ultra runner and Suunto athlete Gediminas Grinius hardly has a moment to spare. He works full time, is a husband and father of two and trains to compete in some of the world’s toughest ultra marathons. The 35–year-old recently won the 125 km Trangrancanaria Ultra Race, breaking the race speed record set by fellow Suunto ambassador Ryan Sandes. More recently he placed fourth at the Western States 100-Mile Endurance Run. With so much training for ultra marathons it can be challenging for him to retain enough energy for his job, wife and two sons. This makes good recovery essential for Gediminas. Read more recovery tips from Suunto's ambassadors! “For me, the best remedy is sleep,” he says. “I need between eight and 10 hours of sleep a night to feel good each day. “It's the best and cheapest thing that all runners can do to recover.” He and his wife also do yoga a few times every week. Running for long distances in the mountains has sometimes been stressful for him, but yoga has taught him how to relax. “First I started to do yoga just to improve my flexibility,” he says. “But I found out it's not really flexibility, it's more about understanding your body and learning to relax.” To also help him unwind from his busy life, Gediminas keeps bees. There are about 20 beehives around his house in Lithuania. Bee keeping is like a form of meditation to Gediminas. It’s also a great source of energy. “After training I take two big spoons of honey,” he says. “It's great quality carbohydrates mixed with amino acids. “The pollen is a super food, rich with minerals and vitamins. “It's better than any other nutrition supplement that you can find.”

Being an athlete isn’t all glory and endorphin highs. Just ask champion ultra runner Ryan Sandes. He’s had to pull out of three races recently due to catching glandular fever and struggling to recover. Now he’s taking a break from running to allow his body time to fully heal. We caught up with Ryan and asked him a few questions about how he deals with setbacks. How are you doing after your recent setbacks?I feel pretty low and disappointed now, but I am focusing on switching off from my setback and not overthinking it too much as that just makes it worse. I am putting a plan in place to fix my health and that is all I can do. I have had a crap year racing, but I have had some epic experiences this year, traveled to some awesome places and it is important to be grateful for that! Check out Ryan's recovery tips for before and after the race! Ryan enjoys a soak after announcing he's taking a short break from ultra running to recover. © Ryan SandesHow do athletes often react to a setback, whether injury or illness? It is really frustrating and demoralizing at the time. You think back to all the hard training and effort you have put into a specific goal and then all of a sudden that all disappears. I always try to focus on the positives in the situation and remember that a setback is not the end of the world – it’s just a hurdle on the way to reaching my dreams. Find out how to use the Suunto Ambit3 to help you recover Are setbacks always a bad thing or can they be helpful in unexpected ways? I think it’s actually through our setbacks that we learn the most about ourselves and develop as people. It’s easy when everything is going right, but when you have a major setback it really tests you and when you come out the other side, it makes your achievement that much more rewarding. I find after a big setback I am more focused and determined than ever. Having unstructured fun is important for recovery. © Ryan SandesWhat do athletes often fear most about setbacks and is this fear necessarily true? It’s a common worry that if you can't train you will lose your fitness and not be ready for an upcoming race, but I believe often the body knows best, and the time off from training helps it to fully recover and get strong after all the training. You will often see an athlete come back really strong after an injury because they have taken enough time off. Read more recovery tips from Suunto's ambassadors! Setbacks can make you stronger, Ryan says. © Ryan Sandes If someone gets an injury, they can sometimes get training withdrawal– how do you recommend working with this? Sitting around with an injury is really frustrating and you get 'cabin fever' as you know all your fellow athletes are outside training. It’s important to focus on fully recovering and doing your rehab so you can come back stronger. If you can’t run and are feeling really frustrated then go outside for an easy hike to be outdoors, but don't push yourself otherwise you will just get injured again. What recovery really means – from a physiology specialist What to do if you lose your motivation because of a setback? If you are feeling a real lack of motivation take a complete break and focus on the fun element of your training or just having fun in general. This could be running for fun with no specific time or training goals or even just hanging out with friends and having a laugh. Take your mind off training and the setback to reboot your system and feel inspired again. Don’t take life too seriously and accept that you will have setbacks along the way. It's important to keep the big picture in mind, Ryan says. © Ryan SandesDo you have a favorite quote about never giving up? "If one dream dies, dream another dream. If you get knocked down, get back up and go again." - Joel Osteen

It’s 7000 m of elevation gain and 300 km and ice climbers and alpinists Matthias Scherer and partner Tanja Schmitt aim to cover their Tour Mont Blanc in less than 24 hours. It’s the highest mountain in the Alps and cycling around the base of Mont Blanc takes most people around five days. Matthias Scherer and Tanja Schmitt aim cycle it on racing bikes in less than 24 hours this Sunday. © Matthias Scherer They’ve been climbing mountains and frozen waterfalls for over 15 years together and for them Mont Blanc – with its stunning ice channels and snow covered flanks – is a symbol of their shared passion.“Mont Blanc for me is something like a church,” Matthias says. “When I see it, it reminds me there’s something higher and more important in life to long for than numbers and training.”The unsupported tour will be the ultimate test of their bodies and minds before autumn arrives and their ice-climbing season begins. The most challenging part, however, will be staying focused and fueled.“You have to be extremely concentrated the whole time,” Matthias says. “The descents are very tricky, the roads aren’t always good, as they have holes. “You have to stay fueled if you want to keep a rhythm.” © Matthias Scherer They’ll be drinking water every 10 minutes, taking electrolytes every 13 minutes, eating energy blocks every 20 minutes and sandwiches before each long downhill to allow enough rest time for digestion. Another challenge is making sure they don’t push too hard too early on in the tour. “At the beginning of a big tour like this it’s common to be a little bit euphoric and to push too hard,” Matthias explains. To avoid this, they will use their Ambit3 Peak watches to ensure they keep their heart rates at 70 per cent of their maximum. They’ll also use their watches to record their elevation gain and for GPS tracking to navigate the few stages of the tour they’re less familiar with.“It’s going to be a long training day for us, but I don’t expect to be broken,” Matthias says. “I plan to go climbing right away on Monday.”

Training a lot and want to power up? Then try cooking up this recipe for high-energy almond and banana pancakes from skyrunning champion Emelie Forsberg.Eating healthy, nutritious food is essential for recovery after intense training. But it need not be boring! Suunto ambassador Emelie Forsberg spends her days running in the mountains and then making and baking delicious, energy rich food to help her recover. The morning after a big race, for example, the world and European skyrunning champion likes to enjoy a big plate of healthy pancakes. "After an ultra, when your body is drained and you've eaten a lot of chocolate or gels, I like to eat fresh and healthy, at least on the first and second day," Emelie says. "But pancakes are my standard breakfast the morning after a race, and yes, I think pancakes can be healthy. Especially my banana pancakes!" Who could say no to these? © Emelie Forsberg Emelie Forsberg's power pancake recipe! Ingredients: 3 organic bananas3 tbsp coconut oil3 eggs1 tbsp honey or 1 tbsp bee pollen ( If you don't have pollen, it doesn't matter, I just like the taste of it)200 ml oat flour100 ml almond flour100 - 200 ml almond/rice/soy milk1 tbsp honey + 1 tbsp pollen1/2 tsp salt1/2 tbsp cinnamon and cardamom if you like that1 tsp baking soda Method: Grind the oat and almonds to flour. Or, if you prefer, use bought oat and almond flour. Add all the dry ingredients. Mash the bananas and blend with the eggs, oil and the honey. Add the milk (or if you want the pancakes more solid you skip the milk). Emelie's favorite toppings: 1. Fresh strawberries, rasberries, blueberries or cloudberries2. Bananas and honey3. Good cheeses4. Whipped cream with jam or fruit

It’s been a busy summer for the Badewanne diving team. The Finnish group of underwater explorers have dived a number of deep wrecks in the Gulf of Finland from the first and second world wars and also discovered an unnamed wreck from the 19th century. In this team report they give the lowdown on their finds so far: Operating from the Estonian and Finnish side, we have made dives during which history has again revealed itself before our eyes.Near Osmussaar Island, Estonia we visited the wreck of Russian mineship Yenisei, another victim of victorious U26 from summer of 1915. The mighty ironclad rests on the seabed at 45 m listing to port, with the Obuhov cannons in their casemate stations defiantly pointing towards the green light above. U 479 lies at a depth of 95 m. ©Badewanne.fi Next we headed out further into central Gulf of Finland and revisited the wreck of WW2 era wreck U 479. She rests on the seabed at 95 m after hitting a mine in the late fall of 1944. Dropping down through the water, we can see that the water is very layered, and eventually pass through the halocline at 75 m. There is a distinct boundary layer where water is optically distorted as we enter the more saline deepwater. Visibility at the wreck is good, and we utilize our short bottom time to shoot video of this uniquely well preserved WW2 U-boat wreck. Continuing our journey through time, we dived another deep wreck, a WW2 “Torpedoboot” T18. It wasn’t a small “motor torpedo boat”, as many would think about, but in German classification it’s a 900 ton small destroyer of “Torpedoboot 37” class. The wreck is broken in the middle, laying at almost 100 m. Visibility is very good, and we obtain a good series of still images before undertaking the ascent, and the subsequent and inevitable almost three hours of decompression. The Torpedo boat T18. ©badewanne.fiNext we move back to Finnish side, and establish our base on Hanko peninsula at Tvärminne Zoological Station, a scientific facility operated by University of Helsinki. From Tvärminne we again head out to the mouth of Gulf of Finland. We visit the wreck of U26, vanquisher of Pallada and Yenisei before her own fate in the fall of 1915. This wreck is very tricky to dive as it’s in a very busy location on the westbound shipping lane. Cooperation with maritime traffic controllers, Helsinki Traffic and Tallin Traffic is essential for safe and successful diving. We shoot video and stills for our documentary purposes, before we leave the U26 to her rest, which has lasted for 100 years this year. The wreck of the Yenisei, sunk by U26. ©badewanne.fi Next target is something we don’t know – something that according to sonar images could be even a submarine. However, when we drop through 75 m of water, we arrive at a wreck of a mail ship from the 19thcentury. Her bows are buried in the glacial clay, and deck cabins have suffered from inevitable trawl damage, but it can be clearly seen that this ship has transported mail – and people. Fancy cast-iron lattice in railings, beautifully crafted wooden benches can be seen on upper deck, together with the ships’ wheel still standing, and the engine telegram and compass bowl on the deck. The identity of the ship is yet unknown. Further out, during a lucky weather break, we again drop down to wreck at 80 m looking for a real “motor torpedo boat”. This turned out to be German Kriegsmarine Schnellboot S106 from the WW2 era, as we hoped. She’s broken in two by a mine explosion, but in very good condition. This is another new discovery, which adds a significant piece into the puzzle of naval warfare in the Gulf of Finland during WW2. After shooting images we again undertake the long ascent towards the green light. Kriegsmarine Schnellboot S106 ©badewanne.fi These are some impressions from our expedition this summer. However, there are still many weekends left of the diving season. Stay tuned, we may bring you more interesting stuff before the winter closes in! For more info on the Badewanne team, head over to their website.