Across the world athletes and adventurers are being confined at home. This does not come naturally to us, but like skilful outdoors people who know how to handle any eventuality in the backcountry, this situation also presents us with an opportunity to adapt, grow, and learn. That’s exactly what members of our Suunto community are doing. We reached out to a bunch of Suunto trail and ultra runners and asked how they are “making the best use of a bad bargain”. And it turns out there are some unexpected upsides Johan in France uses his trainer to stay active. Accept the disruption Everyone we spoke to reported their goals for 2020 have been disrupted. Johan in Nice, France was looking forward to a cycling race and to hiking the famous GR20 trail across the spine of Corsica – the race has been cancelled and the hiking trip delayed. Joaquin in Spain is confined at home and all his plans have gone out the window. “At first it took me a while to accept it, but after two weeks I am now quite well adapted,” Joaquin says. “I am aware that we have to overcome this together, and the best thing at the moment is social distancing and being confined at home so the virus doesn’t spread and affect more people worldwide.” Take it one day at a time The temptation for many of us at the moment is to worry about the future and to compulsively follow the news about each twist and turn in the battle against coronavirus. Giving in to this temptation saps us of energy and creates anxiety. Instead, it’s more helpful to relax and be in the moment. Majo is living in Manila and is quarantined at home, and only permitted outside to pick up groceries and medical supplies. “Things may change in 24 hours so I’m just taking it one day at a time,” she says. “I’m trying to make myself productive and sane until we can come back to our ‘normal’ life. We can use this time to reflect on what’s important in life and how we will spend it well after all of these unexpected events.” To pass the time, Joaquin follows a daily routine, including cooking and exercising. “We’re also playing a lot of old boardgames that I had forgotten about,” he says. “It is really is incredible to rediscover these and play them with my wife so the hours pass faster and our confinement is more enjoyable.” Joaquin is using his balcony to good end! Stay active It’s important to acknowledge training indoors just isn’t the same as running in a forest or hills. Acknowledge, accept and then move on. All of our community is keeping active in one way or another. Fortunately for Tobias, he can still head out for runs in a nearby forest. Majo, on the other hand, is making the most of being confined indoors. “I’m doing strength and conditioning exercises such as high intensity bodyweight training or interval training with dumbbells, yoga and stair workouts for cardio,” she says. “I don't have much workout equipment so I’m making the most of what I have.” Maja in Sweden is living in the countryside, which sounds idyllic, but actually involves a lot of work. "Our sheep will be having lambs any day,” she says. “We have 33 chickens waiting to crack out of their eggshells (9 days left now!), we need to take home and chop/stalk firewood for next winter, plant all the veggies we’re gonna grow this summer, do some renovations on and in the house. Plus, we have a one year old that doesn’t always want to do the things above!" Learn new skills Based in the German Alps, Tobias is using the downtime to create his own topographical maps for future climbing trips. Majo is doing an online course to prepare in case her country requires more health workers to respond to the pandemic. She’s also taking online cooking lessons. Johan has taken up meditation. “I decided to use this time to start things I’ve wanted to do or learn for years, but never had enough time for,” he says. “There are tons of websites which give free online stuff to learn new skills.” Ryan has taken advantage of online communiation technology to build community. “One new item that I implemented three weeks ago is a virtual group run/walk for my colleagues,” he says. “Every Thursday at 5:00 PM, I host a virtual group run where colleagues run/walk with me as I lead everyone through a workout. It is a fun way to get outside by yourself and meet new people!” Fortunate to live in the German Alps, Tobias is still allowed outside to exercise. Get inspired Joaquin in Spain says for him it’s important to set and achieve a daily goal everyday. Ryan in California takes it a step further and says now is a time to set longer term goals, too. “This is a great time to set fitness goals!” he says. “Let’s use this time to consider what we want to accomplish in 2020 and 2021? Make clear, actionable, and attainable goals this year, and find a way to make yourself accountable. Share your goals with friends, workout buddies, or prospective coaches in order to help you stay accountable. Just because you can’t be in-person with someone right now does not mean you should lose your fitness accountability!” To stay inspired, Joaquin also looks out for community initiatives to help out. “A good source of inspiration and motivation for the community are the multiple solidarity initiatives that exist, for example in Spain last Saturday there was an initiative to raise funds for COVID-19 research where more than 7,300 athletes ran in their homes and raised almost € 83,000,” he says. Maja is staying inspired by following other ahletes online. "A lot of athletes are doing live sessions and Q&As in social media channels so take the time to ask them questions, train with them and make plans for future adventures, " she says. Look on the bright side Every cloud has a silver lining, they say, and even though this pandemic is causing so much suffering it’s causing a few positive things, too. Humans evolved what scientists call “negativity bias”; the tendency to be more attuned to spotting problems and threats than seeing the positive. This helped our species survive when we were regularly under threat. Now, however, we can turn this around and learn to focus more on the positive. “Even though my heart is really breaking seeing people and health workers get sick, die and starve because of this pandemic, a positive side of the quarantine for most parts of the world is less pollution and more healing time for the Earth,” Majo says. “Some families are spending more time together which is also priceless. We also get to realize we can live with less than the usual. Nevertheless, I am really hoping and praying desperately that this will end soon so we can get back to normal, whether that will be a new normal or not.” Lead image: © AlpineFex Read more articles 4 indoor workout tips for endurance athletes How to adapt your training when the unexpected strikes 7 indoor training exercises to stay in shape 12 must-read running articles to booste performance

Endurance athletes aren’t built for the indoors. Heading out, exploring new trails, hills, and rides, while pushing our limits, is what makes us tick. Training indoors does, however, allow us to work on some of the finer points of our game, things we can’t address out on rides, runs or in the pool. This time of pandemic, when we are being asked to stay at home, gives us an opportunity to tune up our bodies in ways we usually don’t make time for in ordinary times. If we train smart at home, then when the restrictions life we will be 100% ready to dive into our outdoor training. To give all you distance runners and triathletes confined indoors at the moment some inspiration, we talked to ultra runner Lucy Bartholomew, and triathletes Cody Beals and Mel Hauschildt about what they’re working on at home. They all had one thing in common: CORE WORK! Face your core There are no more excuses. “The time to lay that foundation and build a strong trunk has been forced on you!” Lucy says. “I love to do 15 to 30 minutes of core exercises, yoga and stretching and just more mat work and functional stuff. It doesn’t give you the sweat of a good run, but will certainly make that next run feel even more amazing.” Press play on the video above and join Lucy in one of her favorite core workouts! Hit spin mode If you have a training bike at home, put it on easy spin and pedal an hour or two away while watching your favourite Netflix series. “One of the sessions I do most often at home is an easy spin on the trainer while getting other work done,” Cody says. “I have my laptop in front of me and pass the time reading, researching, writing and emailing. I get some of my most focused work and creative thinking done on the trainer and the time flies!” TRX and flex Mel Hauschildt has a dedicated training room because working out there helps her to avoid distractions. She has a newborn baby, Dakota, who lies beside her while she, Mel, trains on her Kickr. “TRX cords are also very useful in working on endurance while stuck indoors,” Mel says. For inspiration, watch the video above, which shows how runners can use a TRX band. Build power Being confined indoors is no reason to stop training endurance fitness. Even if you don’t have a training bike or treadmill, there’s plenty you can do to build explosive power and maintain cardiovascular fitness. “You can do things like skipping outside, driveway sprints, jumping up stairs or DIY box jumps,” Lucy says. “Endurance is built for maintaining something for a longer duration of time so anything you do like star jumps, squats, burpees all build your cardio!” Need a challenge? Then press play above and join this skip rope endurance workout! Read more articles 7 recover tips for immune fitness How to adapt your training when the unexpected strikes 7 indoor training exercises to stay in shape

After months of dedicated training and being focused on your goal, it’s difficult to accept and adapt when the unexpected occurs and turns everything upside down. That’s the position many of us find ourselves in right now, with the COVID-19 pandemic causing massive disruptions to our normal way of life. Races are being cancelled, governments are asking us to follow social distancing measures, and even stay at home as much as possible. There are also many other situations that can throw our training plans into turmoil; a family emergency, a natural disaster like a flood or hurricane, or an injury. Smart athletes know how to pivot and change things up when necessary.   Michael Arend coaches ultra and marathon runners, as well as triathletes and ski mountaineers.   Professional running coach Michael Arend says in the face of the unexpected, when your plans are torn asunder, it’s important to step back and ask yourself what will keep you motivated moving forward. “If you love your sport, you will find a new goal to keep you going,” he says.   We talked to Michael, a former officer in the German Mountain Army, semi pro runner and host of Germany’s most popular running podcast, Fat Boys Run, and asked how to adapt when our plans get dashed. He gave us 8 tips on how to keep improving.   Keep going for it if ... This comes with an important caveat; even if your goal has disappeared, you should continue peak training if your training data shows you are still making progress. If your average heart rate is decreasing over time on your long runs, or your pace is improving while your average heart rate remains the same, then this shows you are continuing to improve. When this progress stops or reverses, then it’s time to reduce your effort and allow more time for regeneration.   Box jumps build explosive power. Photo by Meghan Holmes on Unsplash Use your peak What goes up must come down … and this is true for peak fitness so Michael advises not to try and hold on to it. “Use your peak right now,” he says. “If your plan was to run a 10k race, but it was canceled, then run a Strava segment, or try for a treadmill personal best. Use your peak and say goodbye. Then look ahead and be positive, you will gain it again if you work hard.” If you try to stay at your peak you will end up overtraining and exhaust yourself. Use it and lose it.   Find a new goal Many of the athletes Michael works with from his office in the south of Munich need a goal to stay motivated. Others are happy to just keep improving. If you’re the former type, then find yourself a new goal. Given the current global disruption, you might need to be creative. For example, Michael says a top German runner decided to run a 50k on his treadmill and ended up breaking the world record. “Choose a goal, even if you don't know whether it will happen,” Michael says. “The main thing is it keeps you going.”     Have a Plan B One of Michael’s clients is a top trail runner. Her goal is to perform well at a race that could be cancelled. If that’s the case, her Plan B is to attempt an FKT (fastest known time) on a trail that is a similar distance, terrain and elevation gain as the race. “Have one goal for motivation, and one goal that will take place 100%,” Michael says. “Try to make the Plan B goal mirror the A goal.”   Photo by Chanan Greenblatt on Unsplash Focus on your base, but only when ... If your race has been cancelled and there isn’t another one coming soon, Michael recommends focusing on capacity training. He works with two training phases in his coaching; capacity and utility. The former is about building endurance, cardiovascular fitness, V02 Max and maximizing mitochondria to gain more energy. Utility training is specialised according to the sport and the goal. “For example, runners who want to run a marathon a month or two away need to run a lot of mileage at a special pace, and try to reduce the fatigue at this pace,” Michael says. “This is an example of a specialisation.” Right now if you don’t have a race, go back and concentrate on capacity training and you will continue to improve overall, and then you will be very well placed to specialise at a later date.” However, a block of capacity training is at least eight weeks long, and better if it’s 12 or 16 weeks, Michael cautions. The body needs this amount of time to respond and adapt to training. If you only have four weeks, then capacity training doesn’t make sense.   Photo by Alora Griffiths on Unsplash Build power and strength If you don’t have at least eight weeks for a block of capacity training, then Michael advises to focus on power and strength training. “If you want to step back just for four weeks, it’s better to do some plyometric, core and strength training,” he says. “If the strength training is very hard, say four by four reps with heavy weights for example, then you will see improvements after three to five sessions. Plyometric training can include box jumps and skip rope to improve your explosiveness.”   Work on your weaknesses “Most of the people I work with never usually train their weaknesses because there is always a race around the corner,” Michael says. “But right now they have the time. Distance runners, for example, usually don’t do their speed work. Now is a good time to do interval training.” Another common weakness Michael sees is a lack of explosive power. “Especially in those who don’t have an athletic background,” he says. “They lack efficiency and ‘pop’ in their spring. This is because their tendons and muscles lack the stiffness to fire, to store power and then explode with it. They don’t train that.”   Chill with your family If you usually spend 10 to 15 hours a week training, that’s time you aren’t with your family. While training is awesome for you, it can be hard on them. “Right now is a good time to spend time with your family and recharge your batteries,” Michael says. “Take care of your body and mind. Your training doesn’t have to fall apart because you reduce. It’s also a good time to take care of any injuries or niggles you might have had. Relax!”   Lead images: © Photo by Element5 Digital on Unsplash   Read more articles 7 indoor training exercises to stay in shape Fulleing the engine: 6 principles of nutrition for athletes 7 recovery tips for immune fitness 7 principles to help you find the flow

Together with TrainingPeaks we give you the tools and data to take command of your training. You track your workouts with your Suunto watch and TrainingPeaks gives you in-depth analysis and planning tools to achieve your full potential. After each activity, you can analyze your performance to determine where you are at. (Read more about benefits you get with Suunto & TrainingPeaks.)   On Suunto 9 and Suunto 5 watches you are also able to follow selected TrainingPeaks metrics in real-time. This lets you adjust the effort and duration of the exercise on the go, helping you reach your goal. TSS, IF and NP can be accessed in the SuuntoPlus section of Suunto 9 and Suunto 5 watches. Read on to learn more about these metrics! Normalized Power (NP) In essence, Normalized Power is an estimate of the power that you could have maintained for the same physiological “cost” if your power output had been perfectly constant (e.g., as on a stationary cycle ergometer), rather than variable. Keeping track of normalized power is therefore a more accurate way of quantifying the actual intensity of training sessions, or even races. For example, it is common for average power to be lower during criteriums than during equally-difficult road races, simply because of the time spent soft-pedaling or coasting through sharp turns during a criterium. Assuming that they are about the same duration, however, the normalized power for both types of events will generally be very similar, reflecting their equivalent intensity. In fact, normalized power during a hard ~1 hour long criterium or road race will often be similar to what a rider can average when pedaling continuously during flat 40k time trial – the normalized power from mass start races can therefore often be used to provide an initial estimate of a rider’s threshold power. Intensity Factor (IF) Although normalized power is a better measure of training intensity than average power, it does not take into account differences in fitness within or between individuals. TrainingPeaks therefore also calculates an Intensity Factor (IF) for every workout or time range analyzed. IF is simply the ratio of the normalized power as described above to your threshold power. For example, if your normalized power for a long training ride done early in the year is 210 W and your threshold power at the time is 280 W, then the IF for that workout would be 0.75. However, if you did that same exact ride later in the year after your threshold power had risen to 300 W, then the IF would be lower, i.e., 0.70. IF therefore provides a valid and convenient way of comparing the relative intensity of a training session or race either within or between riders, taking into account changes or differences in threshold power. In Suunto watches we use the threshold as limit between Zone 4 and Zone 5. This means that the effort you have been riding is a share from an-aerobic threshold level. Intensity factor gives you a simple info on how hard you are working out. The intensity factor for recovery workouts should be under 0.75, for endurance rides 0.75-0.85, for tempo workouts 0.85-0.95 and for an-aerobic threshold intervals 0.95-1.05. The short timetrials I.e. 10km the intensity factor should be 1.05-1.15. To get similar values with Suunto watch that you get from TrainingPeaks, make sure your Zone 4 | Zone 5 limit is same as functional threshold power in TrainingPeaks. You can find the zone setup on your watch settings: Training » Intensity zones » Advanced zones. Training Stress Score (TSS) Exercise intensity is clearly an important factor in determining the type and magnitude of physiological adaptations to training. Together, exercise frequency and duration determine the overall training volume are important factors as well. However, there is obviously an interaction between training intensity and volume. At some point as intensity goes up volume must come down, and vice-versa, or else you will become overtrained. To quantify the overall training load and hopefully help avoid such a situation, TrainingPeaks uses your power data to calculate a Training Stress Score (TSS) for every workout, and provides a graphical summary of your recent TSS on your Athlete Home page. Read more about Normalized Power, Intensity Factor and Training Stress Score at TrainingPeaks.com READ MORE Training with TSS and hrTSS 3 TrainingPeaks training metrics to adjust your running on the go Lead image: Kevin Scott Batchelor

One of the best ways runners and cyclists can constantly improve is by having a solid understanding of their training data. It’s trying to tell you something, but you can only understand if you speak its language. Whether you are a triathlete, cyclist or a marathoner, TSS and hrTSS are two training languages well worth getting your head around. TSS is probably the most used training load algorithm amongst endurance athletes. It tells you how hard your training session was and the physical stress of your training over time. TSS is dependent on training with power, and ideal for cyclists, while hrTSS is an alternative for those training without power, and can be helpful for runners and other endurance athletes, such as cross-country skiers. The partnership between Suunto and TrainingPeaks was formed to give you full command of your training data. You track your workouts with your Suunto watch and TrainingPeaks gives you in-depth analysis and planning tools to achieve your full potential. After each activity, you can analyze your heart rate, power, pace and other data to determine where you are at. (Read more about benefits you get with Suunto & TrainingPeaks.)   On Suunto 9 and Suunto 5 watches you are able to follow TSS and hrTSS in real-time. This lets you adjust the effort and duration of the exercise on the go, helping you reach your goal. TSS, hrTSS and other TrainingPeaks features can be accessed in the SuuntoPlus section of Suunto 9 and Suunto 5 watches. You can have all the technology in the world, but to get the most of your training, your Suunto watch and TrainingPeaks, it’s worth the time getting a clear understanding of these two training metrics: TSS and hrTSS. So get yourself a coffee, sit back and read on. Why bother with metric-based training? The primary goal of a metrics-based approach to training is to understand what the body is undergoing from a physiological perspective, and how that ultimately influences training decisions. Understanding the stress that training puts on the body’s systems, and whether or not the desired response is being produced is integral to the modern training process. Understanding what both TSS and hrTSS are allows for a deeper discussion of the two and their merits. What is TSS? First things first, you need to understand TSS. Specially designed for cycling, the Training Stress Score metric tells you how much stress your body underwent on a ride. It’s a composite number that takes into account the duration and intensity of a workout to score the overall training load and physiological stress created by a training session. By taking both intensity and duration into account, TSS allows for a better understanding of the “cost” of every individual effort and workout. TSS is calculated using the following formula: TSS = (sec x NP x IF) / (FTP x 3600) x 100 Where “sec” is the duration of the workout in seconds, “NP” is Normalized Power, “IF” is Intensity Factor, “FTP” is Functional Threshold Power, and “3,600” is the number of seconds in an hour. It’s worth defining and understanding this equation so you have an idea of why TSS is so accurate, and how the final score is derived. The components that comprise TSS are what make it so useful to athletes. Normalized Power is calculated using an algorithm that is a little complex, but in a nutshell takes into account the variance between a steady workout and a fluctuating workout. It measures the true physiological demands of a training session. It considers both rapid changes in intensity, as well as critical responses in the body associated with those changes. Unlike average power, Normalized Power is the power your body “thinks” it employed based on the variability of the workout. Intensity Factor (IF) is the ratio of Normalized Power to Functional Threshold Power (FTP). IF takes into account differences in fitness within or between individuals. It’s a great way to track fitness over time for a given effort, for example the same ride with a lower IF indicates increased fitness. Using TSS provides a well-rounded look into both the physiological expenditure of an effort, as well as what that effort means for the fitness and progression of an athlete. What is hrTSS? More appropriate for those not training with power, the Heart Rate Training Stress Score (hrTSS) is based on time in heart rate training zones derived from an athlete’s lactate threshold heart rate. The calculation is made using an estimate of the amount of accumulated TSS in an hour given the level of exertion. Suunto watches use intensity zones where HeartRate Zone 4 | Zone 5 limit equals the lactate threshold / an-aerobic threshold level. The hrTSS in Suunto watch uses this level to calculate the proper TSS value. You can find the heart rate zone setup on your watch settings: Training » Intensity zones. It’s important to remember that Functional Threshold Power (FTP) is by definition 100 TSS per hour. This makes intense, or hypervariable efforts hard to account for given the limitations of the body’s cardiovascular system to respond rapidly enough to changes in intensity. hrTSS is used as the default in TrainingPeaks when there is not enough data to calculate TSS, rTSS (Run Training Stress Score) or sTSS (Swim Training Stress Score). It can be accurate, depending on the effort, but doesn’t do as good of a job at incorporating intensity and duration into the equation. Comparing the relative merits of TSS and hrTSS If you’ve not yet taken the jump into training with power, there is some value in hrTSS. The best way to use hrTSS is with steady state efforts, such as long tempo and sub-threshold work. These types of efforts suit the hrTSS formula because there are no abrupt changes in intensity. It’s easier to estimate hrTSS when the heart rate stays steady for longer periods of time. This metric begins to fall away when shorter and more intense efforts occur. The heart doesn’t respond rapidly enough to weight efforts above threshold. This makes the “cost” of the workout seem much lower than it really is. While hrTSS may be recording a more moderate range, you’ll feel much more tired given that you’ve stressed systems in the body that hrTSS couldn’t pick up on. TSS is the best way to ensure you have a good understanding of how taxing a particular effort or workout was. By incorporating Normalized Power into the equation, we get a much more accurate sense of the effort the body actually produced. Picking up on these fluctuations in effort also allows for a much more accurate TSS reading. This not only is helpful in understanding a single workout, but influences core metrics such as Fitness, Form, Fatigue and ramp rate. A more accurate Training Stress Score not only means you’ll have a better understanding of your workout, but you will likely also have a more productive approach to your planning, recovery, and execution. The metrics that we have at our disposal help to inform our workouts, as well as help to execute them with a greater level of precision. Knowing how the metrics we rely on are calculated, and why it is we should trust one more than the other is important for any athlete. TSS provides the most accurate picture of how both individual sessions and specific efforts impact the body. While hrTSS can help to quantify steady state efforts, it does not do a good job of highlighting the often stochastic nature of exercise. Using TSS will lead to more accurate planning and a better understanding of each workout.   READ MORE View TSS and other power-based cycling metrics in real-time 3 TrainingPeaks training metrics to adjust your running on the go   Lead image: Kevin Scott Batchelor

Well done to everyone who got out there and chased vertical meters over World Vertical Week 2020. We saw some inspiring efforts from people around the world. Two firefighters, for example, donned their heavy protective clothing and gear, and powered up and down the best training hill in their hometown of Helsinki, Finland. That’s going above and beyond the call of duty! Read their and two other cool stories from the week here. At Suunto HQ we are always excited to analyze the data and see how much our users have climbed over the week, and which nations and sports have sweated it out and gathered the most vertical meters. This year week has some exciting results. Over time, World Vertical Week has gradually been becoming a tradition; more and more people are participating and sharing their love of moving uphill. Return to the top Last year, one of the surprise results was that Austria lost it’s top place as the nation that gains the most vertical meters by average after holding it for two years. This year, the alpine nation has retaken the throne. The average climb among Suunto users in Austria was 457 m. Sehr gut Österreich! Notable mention to second place Switzerland (418 m) after dropping to eighth place last year. In the previous two years before that it was near the top. Italy (395 m) came third. These results prove once again that alpine nations know the best way to move is upwards! The overall kick ass nations Respect to our users in Italy, Spain, Austria, and France, all nations that came in the top five of five or more categories. Italy landed in the top five of 10 different categories, and Spain landed in the top five of seven. Skimo the go No surprises here; once again ski mountaineering accumulated the most vertical meters (838 m) on average out of all our activity types. Mountaineering (545 m) and trail running (466 m) came in second and third, as they did last year. Race to the top In the race for most total ascents per country, France beat out Spain to win the country that climbed the most. Last year, Spain came out on top. And, once again, Italy came in third. Impressive individual efforts There were 1772 participants who climbed more than a thousand meters during the week, and 1095 individual sessions that included more than 1000 meters of climbing. That’s some solid training, folks. Well done! Top nations by sport Ski touring No nation cracked the 1000 m mark this year in the skimo stakes, but it’s clear many users are gunning for this. Keep pushing and nail it next time! 1. Spain 972m 2. Austria 948m 3. Italy 946m 4. Switzerland 921m 5. Slovakia 903m Mountaineering Kudos to Sweden, a small nation of 10 million, for coming out on top in the mountaineering category, and for breaking the 1000 m mark. Surprising given last year it didn’t even make the top five. 1. Sweden 1316m 2. Italy 1060m 3. Austria 666m 4. Spain 581m 5. Slovenia 494m Trail running People in Asia are crazy about trail running, and once again Asian nations won the podium this year and four were in the top five. Nice! 1. Japan 932m 2. Hong Kong 896m 3. Thailand 676m 4. Greece 649m 5. Malaysia 636m Mountain biking Austria won this one, followed by Spain and Italy; all nations in the top five last year, too. 1. Austria 582m 2. Spain 513m 3. Italy 469m4. Switzerland 375m 5. France 356m Trekking Notice anything? This time Italy wins and Spain and Austria follow. 1. Italy 559m 2. Spain 397m 3. Austria 375m 4. France 352m 5. Malaysia 316m Hiking Malaysia came out on top here, and, as a side note, also came in fifth place for both trekking and trail running. We can imagine exploring the incredible mountainous rainforests in Malaysia must be pretty motivating! 1. Malaysia 606m2. Italy 475m 3. New Zealand 453m4. Slovenia 352m5. Japan 343m Nordic skiing Go Canada! Last year Canada came second, behind France. This year they reversed positions. 1. Canada 438m2. France 268m3. Norway 233m4. Austria 218,0m5. Italy 217,6 Cycling Portugal won after not even making the top five last year. Spain, Italy, Israel and South Africa once again filled the rest of the positions. 1. Portugal 460m 2. Spain 390m 3. Italy 345m 4. New Zealand 316m 5. South Africa 310m Running This category had very narrow margins between nations, and a slight reduction in average meters from last year. Last year New Zealand won it. Congrats Norway! 1. Norway 156m 2. Switzerland 151m 3. Czech Republic 142m 4. Italy 140m 5. France 139m   Lead images: Photo by Klemen Tušar on Unsplash Photo by Jamie Davies on Unsplash   Read more articles On the rise: top stories from World Vertical Week 2020 How to find your way in the mountains 7 tips to accelerating your vertical speed