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.

Suunto became compatible with TrainingPeaks this spring. We got in touch with Canadian ultra runner Rodney Buike to learn more about the service. Rodney Buike started his athletic career as an alpine ski racer and a mountain biker but has since evolved into an endurance athlete covering longer and longer distances. First he competed in duathlons and triathlons, but has recently started to run ultras, too. Buike has been using TrainingPeaks as his main tracking application since 2011. “I initially started with the free version of TrainingPeaks but soon switched to TrainingPeaks Premium for some of the added capabilities,” says Buike. “For me the best feature is the Performance Management Chart. It gives me a real ability to manage my fitness and fatigue levels over the course of my racing season.” TrainingPeaks’ Performance Management Chart (PMC) tracks chronic training load (CTL based on activities older than 15 days) and acute training load (ATL based on the last 14 days of activity). These numbers are based on the athlete’s thresholds which allows TrainingPeaks to calculate the intensity (IF) and Training Stress Score (TSS). This is then used to calculate Training Stress Balance (TSB). All this data can be used to monitor progress and ensure a smooth steady build up and then taper to main race or races. Here’s Buike’s own PMC starting with the beginning of training for his first 50K race. Rodney Buike’s 180-day Performance Management Chart “The first vertical red line is the peak of training with the longest run before tapering began for the race (the next vertical red line). Then you can see the recovery period and the final vertical red line indicating when training began again,” Buike explains. “There are a few important things you can see in this graph: First off you can see a long slow steady build with the gradual increase in the CTL (the blue line). There are smaller spikes along the line, which individually identify the key long runs followed by short recovery periods – but an overall steady climb. The TSB (orange line) moves into the positive as I recover and taper for the race while the ATL drops as training load is decreased.” Over the course of time the Performance Management Chart can help you plan your taper and recovery to ensure you are doing just enough to maintain fitness while recovering properly to ensure your best performance on race day. SET YOUR ZONES FIRST While this all sounds very complex there are a few very basic things that all athletes can take advantage of immediately. “The first thing I recommend is to set your zones. If you are using HR based training you can set different zones for all activities. For specific activities you can also define additional zones. I highly suggest runners to set their pace zones, which can be done using the results of a recent 10KM running race. Cyclists, who have a power meter, can input their functional threshold power (FTP) and use that to build power zones.” In addition to the Performance Management Chart, Buike highlights the premium version’s advanced charts that you can use to drill deeper into the data (power analysis, scatter graphs, etc.). He also finds the planning tools very useful. “With the premium version you have the ability to plan out your upcoming week, month or longer and have that sync with your calendar in Outlook, Gmail, Apple iCalendar or any calendar tool that supports ICS files. When you upload activities they will automatically populate the related activity in your TrainingPeaks calendar,” says Buike. So how does your own calendar look for the coming weeks? “I have decided to move into the ultra running world and completed my first 50 km and 80 km races recently. In May I have a 130km race coming up.”

In the third episode of #SuuntoAdventure Video Series you will meet a lightning fast mountain man, Kilian Jornet.   Kilian is more than a record-breaking trail runner and a world champion ski mountaineer. He has also set speed ascents on the Matterhorn, Mt Blanc and Denali among others, and redefined what it means to be a mountain athlete, moving into territory once the preserve of elite alpinists. Read also Kilian's profile here.  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 William Trubridge – #SuuntoAdventure Video Series, Episode 4 Face to Face with Conrad Stoltz – #SuuntoAdventure Video Series, Episode 5

What makes ski mountaineer and trail runner Kilian Jornet tick? It’s not winning races or setting speed records, although he does excel at both. For him, it’s all about the mountains. “I am just a person who loves the mountains. I spend every day in the mountains,” says Kilian, “I love them because the landscape is amazing and full of challenges but I think the mountains gives a lot back. When you are in the mountains, you feel that you are nothing. When you have nothing you have everything to discover.” That passion stems from his childhood – Kilian grew up in a mountain hut in the Spanish Pyrenees where his father worked as a hut keeper and mountain guide. From a young age, Kilian was living and breathing mountain life. “The first time I walked for five hours alone in the mountains I was two years old!” says Kilian. He went on to climb his first 3,000er aged three. “I have conditioned my body to long distances from an early age!” he says. It clearly paid off. These days Kilian is known for dominating not one, but two mountain sports; ski mountaineering in winter and trail running in summer. As a trail runner he’s proved himself to be one of the world’s best – dominating ultras and setting a slew of records from the Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc to the Hardrock 100 and dozens of races In 2012 Athletics Weekly argued that he was the ‘world’s best runner’ and he has one of the highest Vo2 levels recorded of an athlete (85-90). When the snow comes Kilian switches over to ski mountaineering where he has been world champion four years out of five since 2010. “Ski mountaineering is hard because you want to go fast. You have to push, you have to power through every step,” says Kilian. But again, it’s the lure of the mountains that ultimately win Kilian over, not the battle of competition: “Sometimes it’s in the forest, sometimes in couloirs. You can go wherever you want. You don’t have to follow a trail. You make your own track. It’s this feeling of freedom you get from ski mountaineering.” Yet Kilian is more than a record-breaking trail runner, a world champion ski mountaineer. With his Summits of My Life Project, in which he has set speed ascents on the Matterhorn, Mt Blanc and Denali among others, he has redefined what it means to be a mountain athlete, moving into territory once the preserve of elite alpinists. What beckons next for the athlete is never certain, but one thing is for sure – it will take place somewhere in the mountains. “The day I stop winning I’ll continue to go the mountains,” says Kilian, “I don’t run for victory. I don’t practice sport for competition. The reason I ski or run every day is to be in the mountains.”