Suunto Blog

Winter may be here but that’s no reason to ease up on the training. Follow the example of the pros and migrate south for your warm weather fix. The only question is where to go. These five destinations should help you choose where to set your winter travel compass... Mallorca, SpainSmooth roads and long climbs – for many years, cyclists have been making the pilgrimage to the Mediterranean island of Mallorca and it's not difficult to see why. Just a two-hour flight from most of Europe. Mallorca’s terrain varies from flat coastal roads, to steep mountain passes. The longest climb on the island, the Puig Major, rises to 854m over the course of 14km. It's also the perfect photoshoot location, as these pics from our photoshoot below show. Trail running in Mallorca on the Suunto photoshoot. ©zooom.at/Markus Berger Tenerife, Canary IslandsBoasting the longest continuous climb in Europe – from sea level to 2,200m in one hit – Tenerife is the ideal place for those looking to improve their performance in the saddle. Offering dry and warm weather over the winter months, it's an ideal spot for migratory cyclists and triathletes. The island is also where the 2012 Tour de France winner Bradley Wiggins trained. But we can't promise it will put you in contention for the yellow jersey. ©Club La Santa, LanzaroteLanzarote, Canary IslandsThe favored destination of many a triathlete, Lanzarote is home to several training camps as well as one of the toughest Ironman events in the world. One of the reasons for its difficulty? Lanzarote is notorious for its wind, which has been known to destroy the spirit and soul of many a cyclist. Fortunately, the island is home to many world class Olympic pools, such as those at Club La Santa and superb trail running for when you want to recover from the bike. Stellenbosch, South AfricaIf you really want to escape winter, you need to head to the southern hemisphere. With its long open roads South Africa's wine growing region of Stellenbosch has been a favored pre-season training ground for many pros, including Jan Frodeno and Javier Gomez. Great riding in the mountains; top training facilities and pools in the University of Stellenbosch, and excellent wine of course. Open water swimming in Mallorca. ©zooom.at/Markus Berger San Diego, CaliforniaIt's no accident that San Diego is the birthplace of modern triathlon; the warm Pacific waters provide the perfect venue for open water swimming, trails abound for runners while inland you can find endless hills to crank out the miles in the saddle. Best of all, it has an average temperature of 21ºC and it's open all year round.

Like any successful diving trip, the moment you get home it suddenly feels a long time ago. But the memories from Suunto's exploratory trip to Ayada Maldives look set to remain for a while yet for the lucky winners who joined us on our photoshoot earlier this month.The trip explored diving sites that have yet to be dived in the beautifully warm and clear waters of the Indian Ocean island chain. Five Suunto fans were able to join after winning our #Paradise contest. They were not disappointed... Says Jen Weston: “The trip really was a dream come true – exquisite, easy-going diving with professionals in a gorgeous underwater environment.“The diving locations had great visibility, lots of beautiful coral, countless tropical fish all contributing to an environment bursting with color. The dive sites near Ayada were clean and well cared for. And the night dive was truly amazing. We saw a nurse shark, a sleeping pufferfish, crabs, and lobster.” Jen Weston taking a shot © Phil Davison“It was described as a trip to paradise,” adds fellow contest winner Mark Harris, “and I really don’t think I can describe it any better than that. “The diving was beautiful – there were large expanses of pristine hard coral reefs at most of the dive sites and most of the reefs we visited had very mild currents. Sightings of Eagle Rays were a daily occurrence with regular sightings of reef sharks, large rays and turtles.” Also on the trip were the Scuba Diver Girls. “There is something for everyone in the Maldives, from big animals to small macro life. You constantly find yourself not knowing what to look at first,” says Margo Sanchez. “Every divesite was teaming with fish, eels, and wonderful anenomies!...and then a spotted eagle ray or black tip reef shark swims by...”Flying in the ocean: ©Dapeng Juan She adds: “It was so amazing to wake up early, throw on a bikini, enter the water right from the deck of our bungalow, and snorkel the spectacular house reef.”There was one particularly memorable diving moment, she says: “Stephanie and I were on a dive over a pretty reef that dropped off in a sheer wall of coral to the deep. There was the perfect amount of current to where you floated along just fast enough to be able to stop and take pictures if you wished. We found the cutest turtle that really seemed to like us and swam with us for quite sometime. The team on the beach of Ayada Maldives resort. ©Brad Holland“Then we came upon a very large nurse shark under a ledge of coral that was obviously very pregnant. She turned her head and regarded us as if to say hello but was very comfortable in her bed. Although that dive was quite amazing, the most stand-out moment for us was the baby blacktip sharks that were 30 feet from our bungalow. We snorkeled with them daily and I could always hear Stephanie squeeling through her snorkel...CUUUUUUTE!!! I, of course, was making the same noises. Some days the larger sharks would come in to check us out as well and all of this was in 3 feet of water!!!” Everyone got the chance to dive with Suunto's new dive computer, Suunto EON Steel and photographers George Karbus and Predrag Vuckovic were on hand to capture some great images for our forthcoming campaigns and we look forward to sharing those images in the coming weeks. Thanks to everyone for making it such a memorable trip. Main image ©Steve Woods

He's a week into his epic bid to run across America. Patrick Sweeney has so far clocked up 7 marathons – there's only another 113 to go! Below he gives us a little update on progress so far: “The race is going great! The weather has been sunny and relatively warm. I am enjoying the company of my teammates. 3,000 miles (approx 5,000km) is quite a long race! The brain wants to do it but the body after the first 130 miles in five days has yet to find a groove. “It's interesting trying to figure out how hard I can push without injuring myself. So far I have been taking it a little slower than I want to but I think it is smart to ease into this.” Patrick's marathon times have so far ranged from 4h 22m to 5h 15m. He adds: “The vibe of the event is much more of an adventure than a race. I look forward to each day's run and all the experiences ahead of me. My Ambit3 has already kept me from getting lost more than once and I am very thankful to have it!” We'll be giving regular updates on Patrick's progress. Stay tuned to find out more.

The Suunto DX, introduced in January 2013 as the world’s first CCR-compatible wrist-sized dive computer is now available in silver too. Coming with a titanium or elastomer bracelet, the Suunto DX Silver is both a serious diving tool and a stunning piece of design. Check out the new variants online or at your local Suunto dealer where it will be available soon.

There are ultra runs and then there's the Race Across America. Kicking off on January 16, the race will see dozens of athletes attempt to run across the US, a total distance of 5,000km. Among them will be the 36-year-old Suunto supported runner Patrick Sweeney. We asked him why. So? A few years ago I wanted to run across the country by myself but had an injury. Then this opportunity came up. I'm excited to see the country and I've always been up for an adventure.I'm also raising money for a non-profit that's getting kids to run 100 miles in a school year, so that's a big motivating factor. I've seen it change lives. The details? It's 120 marathons over 140 days, mostly on the road.Ouch! Is it do-able? I'll find out! My best marathon time is 2:37 – on a hilly course – but we'll have eight hours to do the daily stages. Race strategy? My plan is to try and run in four hours and just find my groove. I don't know what my comfort level will be. The course is unmarked so having the Ambit will be very helpful. DietI'm vegan so that's going to be even more difficult but I'll eat lots of oils and high protein meals and plenty of veggie tacos. I'll also be eating 2-3 avocados a day. Biggest challenge? It's winter! We cross the Colorado Plateau which is 7,500 ft (2,286 m) and we could encounter blizzards. I'm more of a hot weather person. You ready? You can wait your whole life to be healthy but I'm in good shape. I've done a lot of ultras in California, including Leadville the last couple of years. You run in barefoot sandals, why? It's really all I need and works best with the running form of my body. I don't get blisters. But I'm also packing a pair of shoes with max cushioning just in case something goes wrong.

There is a thin line between triumph and disaster, as Kilian Jornet discovered this weekend at the opening ski mountaineering World Cup race in Puy Saint Vincent, France. In the opening race he went off course and was disqualified, despite finishing third. But on Sunday's vertical race there were no mistakes and he came home first to secure victory. “I'm happy with the result [of the vertical],” Kilian said. “My sensations were good. In the beginning Tony Palzer and I ran off ahead and at about half the race I managed to get away from him to finally achieve the victory. After the track error in the Individual Race I cannot assess the weekend positively, but I am very satisfied with the team's performance.” File image ©ISMF Press OfficeThe World Cup continues and the next stop will be the weekend of 24th-25th of January in Andorra, where an Individual and a Vertical Race will be held. The aim of Jornet will be “to be as high as possible" in both events. Earlier, the Suunto ambassador spoke of his disappointment after what happened on Saturday. “It is a pity what happened. I was feeling in shape during the whole race but on the last downhill I got confused in a part that was not marked and therefore I got disqualified. Now I’ll have to fight hard in all the races so that I can try to have a good overall position.” If there's one person who can do that, it's Kilian Jornet! Main image from file: ©ISMF Press Office