Adventures take us to new experiences and out of the everyday. Kilian Jornet says that exploring is human; Greg Hill that adventure is a mindset. Watch the Suunto Adventure video and hear what Kilian Jornet, Greg Hill, Jill Heinerth and Conrad Stoltz think of adventure. Top image: © Bruno Long

Sandra Koblmüller is the star of our recent Suunto Ambit3 Sport Sapphire shoot and you'll see her in the current campaign. But the 24-year-old is also an athlete in her own right and recently competed in the XTERRA world championships in Maui, the premier off-road triathlon, where she came 14th. Amazingly she only started swimming a few years ago. So how did she do it? How did you get to become a pro triathlete? In secondary school our class took part in a cross-country running competition. Without any serious training I came second and my passion for running was born. I started to regularly take part in running competitions. When I went to university a colleague asked me to do the running part in a triathlon relay. I was so impressed from the combination of the three disciplines that I wanted to try a whole triathlon on my own and started to train for swimming. And then? One year later I won the Austrian Championship for Crosstriathlon and the Austrian federation sent me to the European Championships. Because of this, I was allowed to become a professional athlete this year. In my first year as a “pro“ I came second at the XTERRA Portugal, which qualifies you for the World Championship in Maui (Hawaii). Tell us about your training routine?Normally I wake up at 6 o’clock in the morning. After a short breakfast I usually start my day in the swimming pool with a 3-5 km swim. I am not always motivated to jump into the cold water in the morning, but after some lanes I get my motivation and enjoy it. After the swim I take a second breakfast and do something for university then at noon or in the evening I usually do my second workout – either I go for a run or I ride my bike. At the weekend I normally do some longer bike workouts (about 4 hours). Then Monday is my rest day, where I do relaxing things like sauna, massages, stretching…How do you monitor your progress? I have my own trainer and I usually get a training plan for a week. With the help of the Suunto Ambit3 Sport Sapphire we are able to control my training. Are there any areas of your training that you are struggling with?As I started stroke swimming very late at the age of 20, my swimming technique is not the best. If you want to be a good swimmer/triathlete you have to start swimming in your childhood to get the water feeling. However I’m working hard to improve this. What are your dreams and goals?One of my biggest goals is to become one of the best XTERRA athletes in the world. A goal in the near future is a victory in one of the XTERRA World Tour races. What inspires and motivates you? One thing that inspires me is the improvement you make if you train hard for your goals. For example, when I started to swim, it took me about 1:45 for the 100 meters intervals (10 x 100m intervals of swimming). Now I am able to swim the 100m in 1:25 and I am sure that one day I will swim my 100m intervals under 1:20.What are your fears?I have a fear of failure, especially just before a competition. So the most important thing I have to learn is to believe in my strengths and myself.

Windy conditions at Deans Blue Hole didn’t prevent deep dives and exceptional performances during the weekend at Suunto Vertical Blue. On Saturday the competitors broke three national records. Kate Middleton of New Zealand dove to 68 m (CWT), Alejandro Lemus of Mexico to 86 m (FIM) and Ryuzo Shinomiya of Japan to 60 m (CNF). In this Day 3 highlights clip you can check out an interview with Mexico's Estrella Navarro Holm of Mexico and other highlights from the third day of competition including a new CNF record from Ryuzo Shinomiya of Japan. Meanwhile in this clip you can watch highlights from day two of #VB2014, including interviews with Kate Middleton of New Zealand, Lena Jovanovic of Serbia and scenes from Deans Blue Hole. Main image: ©Rebecca Woodmore

Since the launch of the SuuntoDive Paradise contest, divers from all over the world have been eagerly sharing images and videos of their most memorable diving moments. The submissions are incredibly diverse, and capture the sheer variety of adventure experienced on each and every dive. It’s no surprise that underwater wildlife, especially encounters with turtles or dolphins, are regarded as some of the most precious memories. The great news is that the grand prize of the SuuntoDive Paradise contest is an exclusive dive trip to the Maldives, so pristine waters and plenty of underwater creatures can be expected! Here are some of the submissions so far… Kathryn Mooers decided to go for a spin during her first night dive in the Cayman islands, while Bradley Raoul was joined by a friendly stingray he named “Frisbee“ on his snorkeling tour at Coral Gardens, also at the Cayman islands. Miriam Payne shared the moment her husband proposed to her 20 meters underwater in Keri. Peter Brown said that his most memorable dive experience was introducing his 12-year-old son to diving. For Jenny Cheng, it was encountering her first humpback whale in Tonga. Michael Hartman’s favorite photo was shot in Stingray City, and Dee Aramis shows that you can have a fun time playing with volcanic hot spring bubbles in Weh Island, Indonesia. As for video submissions, Emily Pasco shows us what the Maldivian underwater world can offer, and user “bluespeed“ showcases diving at Liberty Wreck, a transport ship that once was beached on the island of Bali, but moved off the beach by a volcanic eruption which turned it into a popular dive site. There’s still time to enter the contest and win your ticket to the Maldives! Enter the contest HERE, submissions are open only until December 8th.    

The Grand Raid de la Réunion, also known as the Diagonale des Fous (the course of crazies) is considered one of the toughest ultras in the world – with good reason. It's 172 km with 9,000 m of ascent. This year the race was won by Salomon athlete François D’Haene. He recorded the race with his Suunto Ambit3 Peak and the results can be seen via his Suunto Movie, below. Naturally, we think François' movie is so impressive it has to be shared, as it follows his progress for 24 hours as he crosses the island. The result itself is also impressive, being the third major ultra win for François this year after he won the Ultra-Trail Mount Fuji and Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc. The Diagonale took place in October in wet conditions. He completed it in just 24:25:02 hours, making it the second year in a row he’s come out top. François D’Haene during the 2014 Diagonale des Fous. The Diagonale des Fous gets its name from the route it takes – roughly diagonally across the island – and is so difficult it’s considered ‘fit for fools’. This year, it had to be re-routed around a landslide making it nine kilometers longer. It’s the final stop of the Ultra-Trail World Tour and attracts top-end runners looking for adventure on a far-off, island. Suunto ambassador Kilian Jornet, who did not take part this year, is a previous winner. All images © Franck Oddoux

On just the first day of Suunto Vertical Blue seven freediving records were set! Here is a peek at the South American record set by Carlos Coste of Venezuela (64m CNF), along with national records by Mateusz Malina of Poland (113m FIM), and Samo Jeranko of Slovenia (102m CWT). Enjoy!