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Meet the former Maoist child soldier turned trail runner who is blazing a trail for Nepalese women. © Martina ValmassoiYou can be forgiven if you haven’t heard of Mira Rai. But the young Nepalese trail runner is fast making a big impression after turning up on European soil. In June last year she won the Mt Blanc 80 km, 20 minutes ahead of her nearest rival and came second, just four minutes behind Emelie Forsberg, at the 100 km Ultra Pireneu in the Pyrenees last September. Hers is a remarkable story: she grew up in small village with just three families living on top of a hill, escaped aged 14 to join the Maoists and trained as a soldier. Always competitive, she later took up running, was talent-spotted in Kathmandu and switched to trail running, winning her first race, a 50 k, in March 2014 wearing a $4 pair of shoes. During the race, she stopped once to borrow 50 rupees to buy noodles and a carton of orange juice. © Richard BullIt was tough growing up, she says, but also rewarding. “From a young age I carried water and collected fodder for the animals, and later I did a lot of work carrying heavy bags of rice to the market. It was hard, but now I know it made a difference for me.” It may seem surprising but she volunteered for the Maoists for the opportunities they afforded. “I joined for different reasons,” she says. “We certainly had financial difficulties in home, I wanted an opportunity to learn new things, and I wanted a chance to prove that women can be equal to men. Maoists respected women soldiers also.” Her manager Richard Bull, who arranged for her to compete in Europe, takes up the story. “Mira has told me that it was a choice between being stuck in the village doing the hard work required to keep life going, or taking a chance and seeing where it would lead. It’s a tough life in the village, and especially tough for girls as they are ultimately the workers.” © Martina ValmassoiBeing competitive is in her blood though. “She and her friends would compete at the daily household chores, like who could cut grass for the animals quicker, who could carry the bigger load or reach the destination faster,” says Bull. Her good fortune was to join the Maoists as Nepal’s 10 year civil was ending and she never saw combat. “We did a lot of training in different sports, and different exercises, drills and skills to be fit. It was also a chance to compete against others in sports which I enjoyed a lot.” Her big opportunity came years later after her Maoist sports coach Dhruba Bikram Malla heard she was thinking of moving to Malaysia to work in a factory. He invited her to Kathmandu to try to run seriously. However, mountain running was unheard of. “Athletics organisations in Nepal focus on track up to marathon distance - IAAF recognised distances,” adds Bull. “The coaches dislike trail running as ‘it makes runners slow’. So all focus is on the track and marathon. In Kathmandu in her early 20s, she was trying for any event that came up – 10 km, 15 km etc.” And that’s when she had a chance encounter with some runners who invited her to the 50k race that she won. “A week afterwards I met her,” adds Bull. “I told her about this sport and asked if she would like to try it. She looked a little bit incredulous, as if she thought ‘hilly up down running’ as she called it was a ridiculous idea. But slowly she came around to the idea that her potential was not on the track and she could try ‘hilly up down running’.” It’s safe to say there’s now no turning back for the athlete. “My goal is to run for a few years, to run really hard and do the best I can,” adds Rai, “then to help more Mira Rais to run, and to try and support them as best I can!”  Nepal is struggling to recover from a devastating earthquake that struck in 2015. To support the recovery, Suunto created the Ambit3 Nepal Variant. With every watch sold, Suunto will donate €25 to the Nepal earthquake rehabilitation operation. More here. MAIN IMAGE: Lloyd Belcher

It may seem old-school but using a map and compass, and gaining a little knowledge on your surroundings, will add to your outdoors experience, finds Tarquin Cooper. I emerge out of a forest into thick mist – visibility is reduced to around 50 m – and the way ahead to the summit is not clear. There’s something that looks like a path ahead but it’s easy to get disorientated and I want to double check. And that’s when I do something that amazes my ski-touring partner. I pull out a map and compass. He makes a strange snorting noise – a mix of derision and laughter. The irony is, I was wearing my Ambit3. In just a couple of button pushes I could have checked the waypoints I’d inputted the night before. But the truth is, there’s just something mentally satisfying about working out where you are on a map, aligning it alongside a compass, and checking the bearing. Despite the disparaging comments from my companion, I’m not the only one who’s a fan of the lost art of navigation. Alastair Humphreys British adventurer Al Humphreys, who has popularized the concept of ‘micro adventures’ – short escapes from the city, also agrees. “I get quite lazy,” he says. “When I use a GPS I just press go and follow the instructions and pay no attention. For me, part of the experience of being out in the wilderness is moving competently, interpreting funny bits of the map. It’s more about the aesthetic and challenge than the practical, and it adds to the experience.” Henrik Palin, Suunto’s product manager for compasses, says navigating with a map and compass can be more rewarding, in the same way it is to cook your food over an open fire. “It can be a bit more exciting,” he says. He adds that there are also safety advantages to using a map and compass. “There’s the convenience and simplicity – you don’t have to wait for anything to switch on,” he says. “It also gives you more freedom for ad hoc navigation. If you’re relying on waypoints that’s all you have, whereas, if you have a big map, you can see interesting features like a nice lake, for example, which you can then navigate to using the compass.” Today, most adventurers view a map and compass in the same context as other safety equipment such as first aid or an emergency blanket – something that always goes in the rucksack. An old map from Al Humphreys’s office. Maps themselves also have an intrinsic value beyond navigation, adds Humphreys. The walls of the log cabin where he works and writes his books are plastered with maps from around the world. Humphreys says maps serve two purposes, as a means to navigate, but also as objects, like books. “I love maps for daydreaming about future trips and about reminiscing about old adventures,” he adds. “Some maps are things of artistic beauty. Tristan Gooley One person who has taken the art of navigation to a new level is Tristan Gooley. As an adventurer he is the only living person to have flown and sailed solo across the Atlantic. (The other person to have done it is the late billionaire businessman and multiple record breaker Steve Fossett). But arguably a far greater distinction is that he is the author of two of the only books about natural navigation. Natural navigation, he says, is ‘the art of finding your way using nature – the sun, moon, stars plants, even buildings. He says it’s not about survival – although of course such knowledge would come pretty useful if you ever got stranded in the wild. Rather, he says the knowledge adds to the experience of being in the outdoors. “Natural navigation is a culturally and scientifically enriching way of looking at the outdoors,” Gooley explains. “It is only necessary the way the arts are – they make life more fascinating and richer.” “For most people there’s a joy and satisfaction in following the northern star for two kilometers and then, finding yourself two kilometers further north. We’re now so modern that the idea it might work is weird but it’s deeply rewarding to see that it does!” Alastair Humphreys Natural navigation is much more than using natural signs to pick up north, south, east or west, he adds. “It becomes much more interesting when you’re using plants and animals as a map.” As an example, he says the brain is very good at pattern recognition. “Every time you come across water, whether that’s a pond, river, lake, have a look at the trees lining that water. You don’t need to be able to identify them. Then have a look at the trees around dry ground.” He says that very soon you’ll be able to spot when water is nearby. “It’s surprisingly easy.” Other indicators Gooley likes to demonstrate is how the roots of a tree will reveal the direction of the prevailing winds. In England (where he is based) this means stronger bigger roots on the south-west side, where the wind is coming from.” And if you’re ever caught trying to orientate yourself in an urban environment, a favorite tip he likes to point out is to look at the satellite dishes. “Everywhere has a trend. In England they point reliably south-east but they will broadly point to the equator.” “For me the excitement of the outdoors comes from the comfort of knowledge. It gives you a warm feeling,” Gooley adds. And that neatly sums up my own feeling as I put the map and compass back in my jacket. “It’s this way,” I say with new-found confidence, and start making tracks into the mist. This, and many more adventure stories, can be found in the 7R Magazine that is published quarterly with-in the 7R App. Download the app at the App Store to read the latest issue.

登山やトレイルランニングで「この登りはあと何分かかるのか」「序盤から飛ばしすぎていないか」を判断したいとき、平地と同じ1kmあたりのペースだけでは負荷をつかみにくいことがあります。急な登りでは、水平距離よりも標高をどれだけ上げたかがペース管理の手がかりになるためです。 そこで役立つのが、1時間あたりに何m登ったかを示す登高速度です。登り区間の平均登高速度はVAMとも呼ばれます。一方、Suuntoウォッチの「バーティカルスピード（Vertical speed）」は、運動中の上下方向の速度をリアルタイムで確認するデータ項目です。 この記事では、登高速度とVAMの意味、登りの所要時間やペース配分への活かし方、Suuntoウォッチでバーティカルスピードを確認するときのポイントを解説します。 目次 登高速度とVAMとは？ 登高速度の計算方法 登りのペース管理に活かす方法 トップアスリートの活用例 Suuntoウォッチで確認する方法 トレーニングでの分析方法 数値を見るときの注意点 まとめ 登高速度とVAMとは？登りのペースを標高差で表す指標 登高速度とは、一定時間にどれだけ標高を上げたかを表す指標です。一般的には「m/h（メートル毎時）」で示され、一定区間の平均値はVAM（Velocità Ascensionale Media：平均登高速度）とも呼ばれます。 VAMとバーティカルスピードは、どちらも上下方向の速さを標高差で捉える点では共通しています。ただし、VAMは登り区間の平均値を指すのが基本です。Suuntoウォッチのバーティカルスピードは、m/hまたはm/minで表示されるリアルタイムの垂直速度で、下りでは負の値を含む場合があります。運動後に区間平均を確認すると、VAMに近い使い方ができます。 たとえば登高速度が300m/hなら、同じペースを保った場合、1時間で標高を約300m上げる計算です。平地のランニングペースが水平距離を基準にするのに対し、登高速度は標高差を基準にします。 指標 基準 向いている場面 ランニングペース 1kmにかかった時間 平地や勾配の小さい区間 平均登高速度（VAM） 一定時間に上げた標高 登山道の登り、急登、登坂インターバル 心拍数 身体への内的負荷 運動強度や疲労の把握 登高速度だけで体力や技術を評価するのではなく、心拍数、勾配、路面、荷物の重さ、標高、天候などと組み合わせて見ることが大切です。 平均登高速度（VAM）の計算方法 平均登高速度であるVAMは、登った標高差を所要時間で割って求めます。 VAM（m/h）＝登った標高差（m）÷登りの所要時間（時間） 標高差600mの登りに2時間かかった場合は、600m÷2時間＝300m/hです。1時間30分なら1.5時間として計算するため、600m÷1.5時間＝400m/hになります。 ここで使うのは、スタート地点と到着地点の単純な標高差ではなく、途中の上り下りを含めた上昇量です。小さな下りを挟むルートでは、単純な標高差より累積上昇量が大きくなるため、ルートデータを確認して計算しましょう。 登り区間の上昇量が分かっていれば、自分が無理なく維持できる登高速度から所要時間の目安も逆算できます。ただし、休憩、渋滞、路面状況、気象条件は別に見込む必要があります。 登りのペース管理に活かす3つの方法 1. 登りの所要時間を見積もる 過去の登山やトレイルランニングから、自分が長く維持できる登高速度を把握しておくと、次の登りに必要な時間を見積もりやすくなります。累積上昇量900mの区間を普段450m/hほどで進めるなら、休憩を除いた登り時間の目安は約2時間です。 2. 序盤のオーバーペースを防ぐ 長い登りの序盤は身体が動きやすく、想定以上のペースになりがちです。登高速度と心拍数を一緒に見れば、「速く登れているが心拍も上がりすぎている」といった状態に気づきやすくなります。距離の長い登山やレースでは、後半まで維持できる強度を優先しましょう。 3. 同じ坂で成長を比較する 定期的に同じ登りを使うと、路面や勾配の違いを抑えて変化を比べられます。同程度の心拍数で登高速度が上がった、または同じ登高速度をより低い心拍数で維持できたなら、登りへの適応が進んだ可能性があります。1回の最高値ではなく、数週間から数か月の傾向で判断してください。 キリアン・ジョルネは登高速度をどう使っていた？ 原文では、トレイルランナーでスキー登山競技のアスリートでもあるキリアン・ジョルネが、日々のトレーニングで登高速度を使っていると説明しています。慣れた登りで平均より速いか遅いかを確認したり、登りに必要な時間を計算したりするためです。 2016年の記事で紹介された本人の数値は、バーティカルキロメーターのランニングで約2,000m/h、スキー登山競技で約1,700〜1,800m/hでした。これは世界トップレベルの競技者による当時の参考値であり、一般の登山者やトレイルランナーが目標にする基準ではありません。 重要なのは他人の数値と比べることではなく、同じ条件に近い自分の記録を積み重ねることです。勾配、路面、荷物、疲労、気温が変われば登高速度も変わるため、自分なりの基準を複数のコースで持っておくと実践に活かしやすくなります。 Suuntoウォッチで登りのペースを確認する方法 対応するSuuntoウォッチでは、Suuntoアプリでスポーツモードの表示をカスタマイズし、「高度」関連のデータ項目からバーティカルスピードを追加できます。ウォッチやソフトウェアのバージョンによって、利用できるデータ項目、単位、メニュー名、設定手順が異なる場合があります。 Suuntoアプリで接続中のウォッチを開く スポーツモードのカスタマイズ画面へ進む 登山、トレイルランニングなど使用するスポーツモードを選ぶ データ画面に「バーティカルスピード」などの高度関連項目を追加する ウォッチと同期し、運動前に表示を確認する 長い登りでは現在値だけでなく、心拍数、累積上昇量、経過時間も同じ画面や切り替えやすい画面に置くと、ペースを総合的に判断しやすくなります。登り区間の詳細をリアルタイムで確認したい場合は、対応機種でSuuntoPlus™ Climbを利用できることもあります。 登りで役立つSuuntoの高度機能をまとめて確認する ラップとSuuntoアプリで登りを振り返る 登りの開始地点と終了地点で手動ラップを記録しておくと、その区間だけを後から比較しやすくなります。ヒルリピートや定点コースでは、次の流れで記録を残してみましょう。 登りの開始地点でラップを記録する 頂上または決めた終了地点で再びラップを記録する 運動後にSuuntoアプリへ同期する 高度、上昇量、心拍数、所要時間などを区間ごとに振り返る 短い瞬間の最高値を追うより、登り全体の平均、心拍数の推移、後半の失速などを見るほうが、次回のペース設定に役立ちます。トレーニングコースを組む場合は、登り・下り・距離を組み合わせた練習コースの選び方も参考にしてください。 登高速度の数値を見るときの注意点 瞬間値は変動する：短い区間では高度計測の揺れや地形の変化を受けやすいため、一定時間または1本の登りの平均も確認します。 条件をそろえて比較する：勾配、路面、積雪、荷物、標高、気温、疲労によって同じ人でも数値は変わります。 心拍数と併用する：速さだけでなく、そのペースをどの強度で維持したかを見ると、持久力の変化を判断しやすくなります。 気圧変化の影響を考える：気圧高度計を使うウォッチでは、急な天候変化が高度表示に影響する場合があります。必要に応じて高度の基準値や自動調整機能を確認してください。 安全を優先する：ウォッチの数値は判断材料の一つです。悪天候、体調不良、危険な路面では、目標ペースより安全な行動を優先してください。 まとめ｜登りのペースは自分の基準で管理しよう 登高速度は、1時間あたりにどれだけ標高を上げたかを示し、登山やトレイルランニングの登りを把握するのに役立つ指標です。まずは同じ登りを繰り返し記録し、無理なく維持できる自分の数値を知ることから始めましょう。心拍数や累積上昇量と組み合わせれば、所要時間の見積もり、オーバーペースの防止、トレーニングの振り返りに活用できます。 気圧高度計を備えたSuunto Vertical 2は、登山やトレイルランニングで高度や登りのデータを確認しながら、長いルートのペースを管理したい人に適した選択肢です。初代モデルとの違いを知りたい場合は、Suunto VerticalとVertical 2の比較記事もあわせてご覧ください。 登りの記録に適したSuuntoウォッチを探す 高度、心拍数、ルートなどを記録し、自分の登りのペースを継続的に振り返りましょう。 Suuntoスポーツウォッチを見る

Usually freediving events are held in warm and sunny locations like Dean’s Blue Hole in the Bahamas, but not Asikkala on the Rocks. It’s held every March in Finland and involves plunging through a hole in a sheet of ice and diving down into the biting waters beneath. Pure madness, you think? “Not at all,” says organizer Antero Joki, Finland’s top freediver. “It’s a spiritual feeling. It’s not about how deep you go, it’s about the feeling.” Here’re four reasons to give ice freediving a go. Feeling brave? Jump in in your swimsuit. © Pekka TuuriThe thrill of the cold Despite what you might think, diving in frigid water doesn’t feel terrible once you get past the initial shock. “It’s actually thrilling,” Antero says. “Every time someone overcomes their fear of the cold and goes for it, they come out of the water smiling. Of course you can feel the coldness through your wetsuit, but it’s not bad. You can stay in only for half an hour, but that’s enough to enjoy this incredible underwater experience.” “Every time someone overcomes their fear of the cold and goes for it, they come out of the water smiling.” © Pekka Tuuri The underwater ambience “It’s hard to describe this; you have to experience it for yourself,” Antero says. “There’s total silence. There’s this twilight light and the ice creates a shadow theater. You can see shadows of the people moving on the surface of the ice. And even though it’s cold, it feels cozy.” It teaches relaxation “It’s always a maximum of 4°C below 10 m so it’s always cold and it’s always dark,” Antero says. “But when you learn to relax in a cold and dark water it means when you freedive in warm water it’s so much easier to be relaxed.” © Pekka TuuriThe Finnish saunas Before plunging through the ice, Asikkala on the Rocks participants relax in saunas to prepare themselves and then again afterwards to warm up. “The combination of warmth and cold is good for body and mind,” Antero says. “It’s a very relaxing atmosphere.” MAIN IMAGE: © Pekka Tuuri

Winter wonderland Whether running on a hard frost, snow or just against a sun that’s low on the horizon, wintertime provides some magical landscapes that are a joy to run through. And it usually means fewer people around to spoil the view, so get out there and enjoy. Kilian Jornet enjoys training in a winter landscape. © zooom.at/bergermarkus.com Running at night Running at night brings its own rewards. Arm yourself with a decent headtorch, hit your favorite trails and you’ll be amazed by how different the experience seems. Discover your noctural inner self and enjoy the new view it gives. Running at night is also good for your running. Less reliant on vision for foot placement, it forces you to tune into your other senses. Eating cake When you exercise in the cold you burn more calories. Consider it a free ticket to eat more cake – and other calorific goodies. Stuck for inspiration. Check out Emelie Forsberg’s homemade recipes for buns, pancakes and cookies. “The classic saffron bun for Christmas or Lucia is my favorite. I can eat so many of them,” she says. Get the recipe here. © zooom.at/bergermarkus.com Getting hot and steamy Never has the sauna or steam room felt so good as after a winter run. With Suunto’s global HQ situated in Finland – the cultural capital of saunas – we are naturally huge fans of them. Deep sweating has numerous health benefits, from recovery to flushing toxins from your system. And after you just jumped in an ice bath or dived in some snow, you’ll appreciate them as hot as possible. Focus on strength training In summer there’s really no excuse for getting outside, which is why winter is such a good opportunity to focus on body conditioning and strength training. Get yourself down to the gym and sign up to some circuit training, pilates or weights – and you’ll feel the benefits in time for spring. Good things to work on for runners include pelvic stability, core strength and stretching. © zooom.at/bergermarkus.com Rest Yes, sometimes the only way to get stronger is to rest. Like really rest and recover from that recurring injury. It’s something Suunto ambassador Ryan Sandes knows about. He’s currently taking some time off training to get back to full strength. “It’s a common worry that if you can't train you will lose your fitness and not be ready for an upcoming race, but I believe often the body knows best, and the time off from training helps it to fully recover and get strong,” he told us recently. Read the full article here. Focus on technique Winter is not a time to focus on personal bests, not when the ground’s muddy or there’s snow underfoot. So don’t fight it – embrace it and use the slower pace to focus on your running technique. If you have a good and balanced form you should be able to run on ice, over wet slippery wooden bridges or through mud and broken ground without problem. Try to imagine a straight line between where your foot lands, your hip and shoulder. More important than whether you heel strike or forefoot strike is where the foot lands in relation to the rest of your body. For more technique tips from Carmichael Training Systems, follow this link.    Main image: © zooom.at/bergermarkus.com

Here’s one of those vacation bugs: great beaches often have lousy snorkeling. You wander into the sea hoping for pristine waters and a vibrant underwater life and what you get is cloudy visibility thanks to all the sand – and zero fish. But you don’t have to join a boat trip to that ‘hidden’ cove to enjoy great snorkeling. Here are seven beaches you can take both your book – and your fins. Ayada Maldives The Maldives is home to some of the best diving and snorkeling around the world; an abundant sea life, clear warm waters and some fantastic beaches as well. Where to stay? We’re biased but last year the Suunto Dive team stayed at Ayada Maldives. The house reef is just a few minutes swim from the beach and home to reef sharks, rays and sea turtles. You’ll love these incredible underwater shots. © George Karbus Dean’s Blue Hole, Bahamas Dean’s Blue Hole is the well known venue for some of the world’s deepest freedives. One of the world’s largest salt water blue holes, it plunges down to 200m just meters from the soft sanded beach. But you don’t need to be a champion freediver like Will Trubridge to enjoy the venue. Diving down to the entrance rim of the blue hole is within reach of most people, while there’s great snorkeling to be had around the cove. © samovidic/ zooom.at Goat Island, New Zealand Let’s be honest, New Zealand is not the first place you’d think of for a beach and snorkel vacation. But as the country’s first marine reserve, Goat Island is a surprisingly awesome and family-friendly venue for sun and sea worshipers. Approximately 90 km north-east of Auckland, the reserve is home to snapper, kingfish, kahawai and jack mackerel. Lobster and crayfish are also common while seals and dolphins are also occasionally spotted. Okinawa Island, Japan Move over Great Barrier Reef, Thailand (see # 6) and Bali. If you’re looking for awesome snorkeling within reach of some pristine sandy beaches, head to Japan. We asked freediver Tomoka Fukuda for her recommendations. Unsurprisingly, she went for her home. “The Okinawa ocean is very beautiful,” she says. It’s also home to turtles, manta ray, reef shark and an abundance of other tropical fish. The sushi’s pretty good too. Noa Noa Island, Philippines It sounds like it could be the lair of a Bond villain, but there will only be pleasant surprises for those who visit the private island of Noa Noa. An official marine sanctuary, it is surrounded by a 70 hectare tropical reef. It features easy beach access, areas suitable for beginners as well as caves and walls for those adventurous snorkelers who want to explore further. © noanoaisland.com Phuket, Thailand We tried really hard not to mention Thailand but some places you just can’t ignore. Among them are the many beaches in Phuket. Some offer better snorkeling than others. Find beautiful coves and rock formations at Ao Sane beach in the south-west. Raja Ampat Islands, West Papua, Indonesia If it’s unparalleled snorkeling and biodiversity you’re after, you’ve come to the right place. The Raja Amapat Islands of West Papua are home to 75% of all known coral species and abundant marine life. There are over 1,000 different species of fish in the reserve. Expect to see sea turtles, sharks and manta rays, and because it’s so remote, very few people. The catch? Access is also remote. There are some incredible beaches with snorkeling just a few steps away, but you may need a boat to get to the beach first. © Trekpedition.Com via Flickr MAIN IMAGE: © Predrag Vuckovic