Suunto Blog

Ultra runner Ryan Sandes has traveled the world to run some of its sweetest single trail. Consider him, then, your go-to trail aficionado! Check out below the six trail running routes he picks as the cream of the crop! Coming from Cape Town, South Africa, ultra runner and Suunto ambassador Ryan Sandes is at home running on coastal trails by the ocean. But while his roots are in Cape Town's surf beaches and the trails above in its mountains, over time he has found more and more inspiration in alpine environments. This year, for example, he's been training in mountains in Californina and the French Alps. Below, he shares his six favorite running routes from South Africa and the United States. Read Ryan's tips about how to go the (ultra) distance! San Fran 50 miler, San Francisco, USA Distance: 78.78 km Time: 06h45m Ascent: 3125 m Decent: 3137 m Highest point: 554 m Why: The Marin Headland is really spectacular and the coastal running makes me feel like I am back at home in South Africa. The trails are really fast and runnable. The Headlands are always abuzz with runners, mountain bikers and dog walkers making for a great friendly atmosphere. There are some great coffee shops right next to the trail which is an added bonus. Big Bear Mountain, California, USA Distance: 52.14 km Time: 04h35m Ascent: 1104 m Decent: 1091 m Highest point: 2394 m Why: I spent six weeks in Big Bear earlier this year training for the Western States 100 miler. I really enjoyed my time there and developed a special bond with the mountains. The scenery is epic and there is a great variation of trails from open fire roads to really technical single track. This was one of my final long runs I did in preparation for the Western States. Click here for Ryan's tips on how to recover like a pro! Glacier Point, Yosemite National Park, USA Distance: 17.76 kmTime: 02h09m Ascent: 1008 m Decent: 1031 m Highest point: 2195 m Why: The Yosemite National Park is one of the most beautiful places I have been to. Ha! I get itchy feet everytime I get to the National Park and just can't stop running. The run up to Glacier Point is a nice gradual climb and the views from the top are absolutely breath taking. This is the perfect recovery run to take it easy and enjoy the scenery. Skyrun Route, Drakensberg, South Africa Distance: 96.05 km Time: 12h36m Ascent: 4760 m Decent: 4579 m Highest point: 2674 m Why: The Skyrun is a 100 km self-navigational run across the Drakensberg Mountains. There are no proper trails to follow and you basically aim for the peaks and ridgelines ahead of you. It is a really remote area, at altitude and is the perfect place for me to train for big mountain races. Running in the Drakensberg Mountains makes me feel really small and it can be super humbling. © Kolesky/ Nikon/ Red Bull Content Pool Lion's Head, Table Mountain, South Africa Distance: 04.05 km Time: 0h29m Ascent: 370 m Decent: 372 m Highest point: 654 m Why: Lion's Head is an iconic mountain right next to Cape Town's city centre, with panoramic views of Cape Town and Table Mountain from the top. The trail starts off on an open fire road but as you climb up the mountain the trail gets more technical with ladders and chains towards the top. This is one of my shortest training sessions but I enjoy pushing myself on this run. It’s a real lung buster!© Nick Muzik/Red Bull Content Pool Table Mountain Crossing, South Africa Distance: 15.08 km Time: 02h02m Ascent: 1070 m Decent: 949 m Highest point: 1045 m Why: Table Mountain is an extension of my back garden and my favorite mountain to train on. I love being able to see the ocean from the summit and I feel really at home on this mountain. The Table Mountain Crossing trail is very technical with lots of scrambling and you have to keep an eye out for giant snakes in summer. The mountains inspire me to dream but the ocean is were my roots are. © Craig Kolesky/ Red Bull Content Pool

True, you may not get to enjoy the same distant views, but there are good reasons to love running at night, says elite trail runner Gediminas Grinius – who trains on top of his full time job. Here are his top 7 reasons to put on your headtorch and high visibility jacket and get out the door for a night run! Aside from working full time, Gediminas is also a father of two. © Gediminas Grinius Explore your wild side At night your senses are more attuned says Gediminas. “With less of an emphsis on vision, you become more alert to your surroundings and that brings out your wild side, especially when alone. And that’s the best remedy after a long day in the office.” Escape the heat Running in warm temperatures isn’t all great, says this year’s Transgrancanaria winner. “Running at night lets you avoid the day’s heat,” he says, “which is better for training”. Find new beauty “Running at night breaks up the routine and you can find new beauty in the same trails – especially for those like me who don’t have a lot of hills to train on.” Avoid the traffic Turn your commute into training, says Gediminas. “That way you avoid the traffic and you beat the ‘no time for sport’ excuse. Commuting to the office in the winter months means running in the dark is unavoidable,” he adds. Prepare for ultras Use night running to prepare for an ultra. “Almost all 100 mile races have a night element in it,” he says. And for regular trail runners, most 100 km races have a night element as well!” Improve your technical downhills “While running at night you must trust your sixth sense more often,” says Gediminas. “Sometimes your feet are your only sensors on the ground and you have to turn your brain off and trust your feet to know where to step. This is exactly the same as when you have to run on technical terrain so running at night is a good way to make you better on super technical downhills.” Unleash the dog! “Zoro is my best running partner and the enjoys freedom as much as I do, but because of a lot of distractions during the day (people, other dogs) it's the best time to set him free at night.”

Japanese freediver and former model Tomoka Fukuda has one dream: to explore the world’s oceans as a wandering freediver. One word describes what Tomoka Fukuda loves about freediving. “Harmony,” she says, “between my body, my mind and the ocean. “When I dive in the ocean, I am diving into myself. I can see inside myself clearly. When I have a good dive, I feel that I am a small part of this world where everything is connected.” Tomoka wasn’t always so Zen. Prior to first freediving eight years ago, she worked as a model and ran her own beauty salon. She’s the first to admit it: as a model, she was a little bit crazy – lots of parties, busyness and stress. But then she found freediving. “The ocean has taught me many things,” the 37-year-old says on the phone from Greece, where she is currently training. “You can’t lie to the ocean. It’s like a mirror. I learned that our limitations are only in our mind and you can extend them.” Click play to watch this video of Tomoka diving with Fernando Stalla Originally from Japan’s northernmost island Hokkaido, Tomoka’s enduring connection to the ocean began on family holidays to a cousin’s home by the sea. She went from a child splashing around at the beach, to becoming a competitive backstroke swimmer. But her life really changed when she visited Okinawa, Japan’s southernmost island, and tried scuba diving and freediving for the first time. “The ocean was so beautiful that it stunned me,” she says. “I decided to relocate my whole life there so I could be close to it.” There, Tomoka met an experienced spear fisherman who became her mentor. They went freediving every week and he taught her everything he knew about freediving and the underwater world. Before long freediving became more than just a leisure sport. The AIDA Depth World Championship was held in Okinawa in 2010 and Tomoka helped as a safety diver for the competitors. “I saw so many amazing freedivers and I knew I wanted to do that too so I decided then to train seriously.” Just one year later, Tomoka competed in the AIDA Depth World Championship in Kalamata. The following year, during the 2012 Suunto Vertical Blue freediving competition in Dean’s Blue Hole, Tomoka dived to 80 m, realizing a long held goal. That same year, she also won Suunto’s People’s Choice Award for Best Female Newcomer at the AIDA Depth World Championship. And she won second place in the women’s division at the 2015 Suunto Vertical Blue competition. The wandering freediver is also well on the way to fulfilling her dream of freediving all around the world. This year alone she’s plunged into the waters of seven countries. Her favourite locations to date are Greece, the Maldives, the Bahamas, Italy’s Puglia and Egypt’s Dahab. “Before, I wanted everything, now I don’t need anything,” Tomoka says. “I am fulfilled solely by ocean happiness and do not have material desires. “I just want to dive in the ocean. The ocean is my world.”

Last week we kicked off the first instalment of our four-part series following Suunto athlete Åsa Lundström as she prepares for the coming Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii. After looking at step one last week, planning, this week Åsa tells us what progress, step two, looks like as her training intensifies. There’s one crucial sign Åsa looks for to know she’s making progress in her training for the Kona Ironman: feeling unbeatable.“They don’t come very often, but every now and then, you should get that moment, if only for a moment, that you are unbeatable,” she says. “If I don’t ever get those ‘I’m on fire today!’ moments in my training periods, then something needs changing.“I don’t do tests or anything like that to check I’m in good shape, I just look for signs, a feeling, during the quality sessions I do – it’s the feeling of being immortal, unbeatable, strong.” Click here to read more about Åsa Lundström, the unlikely Swedish triathlete © Orca/Gines Diaz Having planned her training with her coach Cliff English, it’s then time to make rapid progress, to push herself towards her personal best while also ensuring she has enough recovery time.Åsa’s training progresses through three stages: the first is getting into the rhythm of hard training; the second stage involves blocks of quality and quantity sessions; and the last is a tapering period of two weeks before race day. As Åsa moves through the three stages, her coach Cliff English tracks her performance and makes adjustments to her training as required. Understanding and trust between athlete and coach is essential here. The longer Cliff works with an athlete, the more data he accumulates, which better helps him track the athlete’s performance and recognize when changes must be made. This means both he and Åsa must be sensitive to signs they’re pushing too hard or not hard enough. Click here to read Åsa’s 8 open water swimming tips!  “If I start having trouble sleeping, or lose my appetite that could be a sign to back off a bit,” Åsa says. “On the other hand, if I never feel exhausted after a quality session, but have an unsatisfying feeling, that could be a sign of not pushing hard enough. “I am supposed to feel tired between the sessions more or less all the time.”As her training intensifies, Åsa also works on the mental side of her training by spending time visualizing the race, the potential scenarios that could happen and how she would respond to them. “As race day gets closer, I also stop meeting people who might be sick, or even just have a minor cold,” she says. “I skip junk food and unnecessary treats and I make sure I get enough sleep every night.” Stay tuned for third installment of our four part series about Åsa as she makes progress on the road to the Ironman World Championship in Kona.

Think you can keep up with skyrunning champion Emelie Forsberg? Or maybe – and more realistically – you just want to explore her favorite mountain landscapes? Look no further – here are Emelie’s 6 best-loved trail running routes! All trail runners have their go-to training routes – places that feel like home every time they run them.Skyrunning champion and devoted mountain lover Emelie Forsberg has her's and three of them are in Sweden, her beautiful homeland. Check out the six trails below for a super dose of running motivation. Watch Emelie talk about her love of running in the mountains in the video below Kebnekaise, Sweden Distance: 16.09 kmTime: 04h57mAscent: 2288 mDecent: 2291 mHighest point: 2116 mWhy: I ran this trail in northern Sweden, where I used to work, with two friends. This is a tour over Touplagorni, a spectacular summit, and also Kebnekaise – Sweden’s highest mountain. It includes scrambling and some easy climbing. I love doing this kind of thing with friends! Aiguilles des Posettes, Chamonix, France Distance: 9.17 kmTime: 01h26mAscent: 979 mDecent: 986 mHighest point: 1998 mWhy: I really like to train on this mountain, either for a faster run in the morning or a recovery run in the afternoon. It has such a beautiful view with all the Mont Blanc massif and the Aiguilles Rouge in the front. Click here to read more about Emelie Forsberg High Coast, Sweden Distance: 27.76 kmTime: 04h01mAscent: 850 mDecent: 937 mHighest point: 285 mWhy: This is where I grew up and played around. The High Coast has small hills, wild forest and beautiful nature. This is a section of the High Coast Trail. Dent Blanche, Pennine Alps, Switzerland Distance: 4.42 kmTime: 06h55mAscent: 836 mDecent: 785 mHighest point: 4365 mWhy: This is just an example of what I call a ‘mountain day’. I climb and run a new, higher mountain that is technical and slower to summit. Dent Blanche has a climbing rating of AD; it’s fairly difficulty, requires belayed climbing and is exposed. I do this kind of day four to six times a month and I really love this kind of training! Glen Coe, Highlands, Scotland Distance: 50.62 kmTime: 07h44mAscent: 3954 mDecent: 3943 mHighest point: 1146 mWhy: This is route is from the seriously super cool Glen Coe Skyline race. For sure, I need to do this race again. So cool to race in this kind of raw environment where I really like to train. It’s scrambling, wild ridges, difficult downhill’s, but also fast trails to let the legs going fast! To share it during a race was awesome. Jämtlands Mountains, Sweden Distance: 35.70 kmTime: 05h21mAscent: 604 mDecent: 893 mHighest point: 1120 mWhy: This was a typical day out for me when I was working in the Swedish mountains. It has beautiful flat trails that means you can run for a long time! I was often running in between huts with only a small backpack.

Suunto ambassador Ueli Steck is soon heading to the Himalaya to climb Nuptse, a 7861 m monster in Nepal only 2 km from Everest. Follow our four-part series about Ueli and climbing partner Colin Haley’s journey as they acclimatize and make their one time push to the top. After climbing 117, 000 vertical meters in the Alps this summer for his #82Summits project, Swiss alpinist Ueli Steck is “super motivated” to take on a grande mountain. In one week the Swiss Machine – famous for his lightning fast solo ascents – is travelling to Nepal to begin acclimatizing for an alpine-style attempt on Nuptse, via its formidable south face. Click here to read more about Ueli Steck© Jon Griffith Ueli is drawn to Nuptse because the south face reminds him of the Grand Jorasses north face, one of the most famous walls in the Alps – a highly technical climb Ueli has done several times. But, while the Grand Jorasses north face towers 1200 m above the valley below, the south-face of Nuptse is 2500 m and 5 km wide. In 2003, Russian climbers Valeri Babanov and climbing partner Yuri Koshelenko made the first successful ascent of Nuptse via its south-face, using fixed ropes. For this they won the prestigious Piolets d'Or award. However, it came hard won – for Valeri the successful ascent followed three consecutive failed attempts in two years. Since Valeri’s ascent in 2003, no one has again summited Nuptse via the south-face. “It’s never been repeated because it’s a really hard route,” Ueli says. “It’s a really technical route. That’s why I want to go there –it’s another step for me in developing technical, high altitude climbing.” © Jon GriffithUeli believes Nuptse will be more difficult than his famous 2013 solo ascent of Annapurna, one of the most dangerous mountains in the world. That climb won Ueli the Piolets d'Or award in 2014.“I think it’s definitely harder than Annapurna south face, technical wise,” he says. “The route I did on Annapurna looks insane, but technically it wasn’t hard.”Ueli is also motivated by the fact that no one has done a successful high altitude, technical climb in the Himalaya in the alpine-style.“The true alpine style means you don’t leave fixed ropes, you carry everything on one single ascent,” Ueli explains. “It’s a single push climb – you cannot go up part of the way, come down again and then go back up.” Whereas Russian climber Valeri Babanov and partner used fixed ropes, Ueli and climbing partner Colin Haley won’t be. “It’s going to be interesting to repeat that route in more of an alpine style,” Ueli says. “Sometimes it’s really cool to realise what other people have climbed. “The fact that someone did it before, means I have much more knowledge, which means I can climb harder because of that knowledge. “I know Valeri very well and for me it’s an honour to repeat one of his routes.”Ueli and Colin will spend about two weeks acclimatizing to the higher altitude on the north face of 6440 m Cholatse. Ueli expects the ascent and descent of Nuptse to take between four and five days. Stay tuned for the second instalment in our four part series. Part 2: acclimatizing. Main image credit: © Jon Griffith