Suunto Blog

Chianti Ultra Trail by UTMB. Where the season awakens among the vines The Chianti Ultra Trail by UTMB  is more than a race: it is a declaration that trail running season has officially arrived. Set in the rolling hills of Tuscany's most iconic wine country, this is where winter training meets its first true test. Suunto is proud to be part of this special weekend, open to every runner who loves movement, nature, and the feeling of a fresh season beginning. 2025 edition in numbers · 3,454 finishers out of 3,742 starters (92% finish rate) · 5,200 m D+ on the flagship 120K race And this year's edition promises to be even more exciting and packed with events. Run the Chianti with us Join Suunto's CHIANTI HILLS TRAIL RUN — a 6 km guided experience through the stunning Chianti hills, designed for every runner regardless of pace or experience.  Feel the Tuscany landscape under your feet, share the road with fellow trail lovers, and celebrate the beginning of a new season together. Italian trail runner and Suunto ambassador, Caterina Stenta, will be in Chianti competing in the 20 km and will be leading the Suunto Community Run on the 20th march. CHIANTI HILLS TRAIL RUN programme Friday 20 March: 3.30pm: departure from the Suunto booth – UTMB village (Radda in Chianti) 6 km route through the Chianti hills 4.30pm approx. : arrival at the Suunto booth for an after-run aperitif and to share the training experience Sign up now and book a free trial of one of our sports watches during the running session! CHIANTI HILLS TRAIL RUN by SUUNTO Biglietti, venerdì, mar 20 da 3:30 pm ai 5 pm | Eventbrite

For years, Suunto athletes, adventurers, and creators have pushed our products into new places — testing limits, exploring new ideas, and imagining new tools for training and exploration. Now, we’re opening those tools to the community. Introducing Open SuuntoPlus™ – a new way for developers, athletes, and the wider Suunto community to build their own Sports Apps for Suunto watches.  What is Open SuuntoPlus™?  Open SuuntoPlus™ is a new way for your Suunto watch to gain features created directly by the community.   SuuntoPlus™ Sports Apps are tools that run on your watch during activities, adding new features and insights that enhance your workouts, training sessions, and outdoor adventures.  With Open SuuntoPlus™, developers, athletes, and the wider Suunto community can now create these apps themselves.  New Sports Apps appear in the SuuntoPlus™ Store in the Suunto app, where you can choose free tools that support your training needs.   By opening the platform, new ideas can arrive faster than traditional firmware updates — and continue evolving over time.  What can creators build?  With Open SuuntoPlus™, creators can bring a wide range of ideas to life — from sport-specific tools to new ways of analysing and interacting with training data.   SuuntoPlus™ Sports Apps can include:  Sport-specific tools designed for unique workouts or race conditions  Performance features such as pacing logic, intervals, or threshold calculations  Sensor integrations using Bluetooth Low Energy devices  Real-time insights calculated during activities  Creative tools for navigation, exploration, or gamified training  Whether the goal is deeper performance insight or a completely new training experience, creators can extend their Suunto watch in ways that suit their sport and style.  Examples from the community  Some early SuuntoPlus™ Sports Apps already demonstrate what the community can build. You can see several of these in the video above.  Early examples include:  ParkRun tool – displays a QR code on your watch for ParkRun event registration.  Rugby referee app – helps referees track match time, scores, and game flow during matches.  Tennis Pro – allows players to track points during a tennis match.  Hex Hunter – a gamified app that rewards athletes for exploring new areas.  Beer Mile – a playful app designed around the well-known running challenge.  What this means for athletes  Open SuuntoPlus™ brings more flexibility and faster innovation to your Suunto watch.   For athletes, it means:  More sport-specific tools created by the community  New features arriving faster than traditional firmware updates  More ways to personalise your watch for your training style  Ideas coming directly from athletes and developers  How it works  Open SuuntoPlus™ makes it possible for new ideas to move from concept to wrist quickly.  Creators build SuuntoPlus™ Sports Apps using the SuuntoPlus™ Editor, where apps can be developed, tested, and refined.  Once ready, apps can be submitted through the Suunto Partner Program and reviewed by Suunto before appearing in the SuuntoPlus™ Store.  From there, athletes can discover and download these apps directly in the Suunto app — and creators can continue improving them with updates over time.  Get started  As Open SuuntoPlus™ grows, more Sports Apps will continue to appear in the SuuntoPlus™ Store.  Explore the available apps in the Suunto app to discover new tools that support your training, sports, and outdoor adventures.  If you’re interested in creating your own SuuntoPlus™ Sports App, you can learn more, and get started by joining the Suunto Partner Program.  Learn more about Open SuuntoPlus at Suunto Api Zone

Lace up your running shoes, hop on your bike, or put the climbing skins on your skis. It’s time to head outdoors – and climb. From February 23 to March 1, we challenge you to get out there and collect vertical meters. Climb for yourself, for your country, and for the outdoor community. See how far you can go and help us reach our shared goal in support of Protect Our Winters Europe. To join, simply track your activities with your Suunto. Every vertical meter gained through muscle-powered activities during the week counts toward your total elevation. In addition to pushing your own limits, we’re climbing together. Join the Vertical Week Strava Challenge and help the community reach ten million vertical meters. For every 1,000 vertical meters climbed, Suunto will donate €1 to Protect Our Winters Europe – a non-profit dedicated to protecting the places and experiences we love from climate change. So get out there and do something good for your body and the planet. Every meter counts. 10 million vertical meters with Suunto & POW This year the stakes are even higher, so join the 10 million vertical meters with Suunto & POW Vertical Week Challenge on Strava and help reach the elevation goal and support POW Europe! Your job is easy, for every 1000 vertical meters you collect, Suunto donates 1€ to Protect our Winters Europe (capped at 10 million vertical meters). Our friends at Protect Our Winters (POW) are working to protect the places and experiences we love from the impacts of climate change. All you need to do is sign up and collect vertical meters by using your muscles to get you higher. After you’ve climbed 150 vertical meters, you will receive a 15% discount voucher for Suunto.com as well as the chance to win the rare Suunto Vertical 2 Titanium Limited Edition watch. Join the Challenge on Strava If you are not using Strava yet, sign up at strava.com and connect your Suunto account with Strava: Go to your Suunto app profile and connect to Strava under ‘Partner Services’. See full terms and conditions for all details. Join Protect Our Winters Winters are becoming more unpredictable, and glaciers are disappearing at an alarming pace. Our friends at Protect Our Winters (POW) are working to protect the places and experiences we love from the impacts of climate change. Join one of POW’s local chapters or support their work across Europe. Learn more and get involved at protectourwinters.eu Nobody needs to be perfect – but we can all take steps to do better than yesterday. Learn more about Suunto’s sustainability work and commitments here.

Suunto Ambassador Sarah Perry ran an incredible 637 km in 95 hours at the Big Dog’s Backyard Ultra in Tennessee, breaking the women’s world record. A maths teacher and mountain rescue volunteer from Cumbria, England, Sarah is known for her love of long days on the fells – usually with her dog in tow. But even with years of endurance running behind her, this achievement was something else entirely. “It was the most epic experience,” Sarah says. “I enjoyed every minute and was so grateful to be there. There were serious lows – the heat, sickness, IT band pain – but so many highs too. I loved meeting the other competitors and running further than ever before.” Big's Backyard Ultra was Sarah’s sixth Backyard Ultra, and experience clearly paid off. The event’s unique format – a 6.7 km (4.167-mile) loop every hour on the hour until only one runner remains – requires not just fitness, but faultless pacing and mental resilience. This distance ensures that if a runner completes one lap every hour for 24 hours, they cover exactly 100 miles in a day. “The key is to simply run the lap that you’re in and not think about the bigger picture,” she explains. “You have to manage the small problems and trust that things will get better – and often they do.” As laps turned into days, Sarah’s sleep strategy became a critical part of her success. “I mastered sleeping this time,” she says. “I’d run the night loop, then come in with enough time to eat, drink, do any other admin, and grab a few minutes of sleep. Even a three-minute nap every hour can work wonders!” Her focus never wavered – even after surpassing the previous world record. “Once I’d broken the record, I was really focused on making it to 100 yards,” Sarah says. “I still had it in my legs and head to keep running but a back issue stopped me. I was disappointed but proud.” [Editor’s note: a yard in Backyard Ultra jargon refers to a full 6.7 km loop.] Throughout the race, Sarah relied on her Suunto Vertical 2 – and the Backyard Ultra SuuntoPlus feature – to manage pacing and timing. “I loved the Backyard Ultra feature,” she says. “All I need to know is how far I have left in each loop and how much time until the next lap. It’s perfect.” Sarah is still soaking up the experience and the fact that she is now the world record holder.  “It feels slightly surreal and hasn't really sunk in yet! I always have a variety of goals – number one was to get a PB and then I hoped I could aim for the women's record. I would love to run 100 yards, so this will be my next challenge!” Follow Sarah on Instagram Sarah Perry’s Big Dog’s Backyard Ultra in numbers Laps: 95 (New World Record) Distance: 637 km / 396 miles Total duration: 95 hours Total running time: 81:07:08 Fastest lap: 39:53 Average lap: 51:13 Calories: 37,537 Steps: 822,107 Sleep: No data available Watch: Suunto Vertical 2 Battery consumption: 87% (13% at finish)   All images by Jacob Zocherman / @searchingforzocherman

In ultra running, the crew is often the unsung hero. Crewing tells the story of Martina Valmassoi and Dakota Jones as they switch roles between athlete and supporter across two demanding races. Through La Sportiva Lavaredo Ultra Trail by UTMB in Italy and HOKA Val d'Aran by UTMB in the Pyrenees, Martina and Dakota experience both triumph and heartbreak. When Martina’s race in her home mountains takes an unexpected turn, Dakota is there to guide her through disappointment. Just a week later, the roles reverse as Martina helps Dakota push through doubt and exhaustion toward a hard-earned top-10 finish.  The film captures the resilience, trust, and deep connection that remind us: trail running is never just a solo sport. Along the way, you’ll also pick up insights into the art of crewing – valuable lessons you can bring into your own races or when supporting others. Watch the full documentary below and experience the power of showing up for each other:

Last week we asked you to share your favorite pre-race tunes. Here they are! The opening track, Conquest of Paradise, needs no introduction to anyone who has stood on the UTMB start line. It’s the ultimate pre-race anthem. From there, the playlist follows the rhythm of race day itself: calm and steady songs to carry you through the pre-start nerves, then uplifting beats and grooves to help you settle into pace. As the kilometers add up, the music shifts into hard-hitting hip hop, gritty rock riffs, and big anthems to keep your legs turning. And finally, it all culminates in explosive finish-line bangers – the kind of tracks that make you sprint when you thought you had nothing left. Several Suunto ambassadors suggested their own songs. Can you match these five athletes with their tracks? Courtney Dauwalter Toni McCann Abby Hall Ryan Montgomery Dan Jones   How It’s Done Get Up 10 Lose Yourself Let’s Go Crazy Into You You can find the right answer in the comments of the original post!    Community-powered Pre-Race Playlist   Learn more about the new Suunto Wing 2 – the ultimate, open-ear headphones for running!