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Emelie Forsberg's illustrated 2014 goals!
There are some athletes who have printed spreadsheets and detailed training schedules mapped out months in advance. Then there are athletes like Emelie Forsberg, who's more a 'back-of-an-envelope' kind of a girl. She trains on feeling and goes for races for the experience as much as the competition.
Emelie's 2014 ambitions are suprisingly modest: “I just want to keep it together – that's an important goal,” she says.
“To realise your limits and what you can do and not push yourself too hard – that is always going to be my biggest goal. It's a big goal, maybe not that interesting but that's who I am.”
That's not to say she doesn't have some big plans for the year. But we'll let her artwork do the talking...

Race against the best
Maybe you fancy your chances against the world's best, or perhaps you'd just like to follow in his footsteps. Now's your chance. Here, we reveal Kilian Jornet's action-packed summer calendar. Catch him if you can...
The trail running season got off to an exciting start for the Suunto ambassador – second place at Transvulcania and a new record at Zegama. But from late May he focuses on his personal project Summits of My Life LINK and will journey to Alaska to attempt Mt McKinley (Denali). A few weeks there and Kilian be back in Europe in time for the Sky Running World Championships in late June in Chamonix, France. Kilian intends to participate in the vertical kilometer (VK) and in the marathon: “I guess I'll be a bit tired after McKinley, but I hope to be in good shape to run both races, as I am very familiar with the routes,” he says.
One of the most eagerly-awaited events will then take place in July. After three years trying for a place, Jornet has finally got into the 160km Hardrock 100, America's toughest ultra and one so popular that entry – even for elite athletes – is via a strict draw.
“Finally! It is a race I have always dreamed of taking part in,” says Kilian. “The route and the scenery in these mountains, to my mind the most beautiful in continental America, are breathtaking.”
After Hardrock come two races in July that Kilian knows well: the Dolomites Skyrace, where he'll do the VK and Sky Race (22km, 1,750 m) and the Giir di Mont (32km, 2,650 m).
In August he'll do the classic Sierre Zinal (31km, 2,200 m) and Kima Trophy (50km, 3,800m) and then return to the States for the Rutt Ultra (50km, 3,048 m). His last race will be the Limone Extreme (23.5 km, 2,000 m), near Lake Garda in Italy in October. But he'd also love to do the 170km Diagonale des Fous on Reunion Island again. “It's a race to be experienced, not only for the environment but also for its magnificent route amongst volcanoes,” he says.
If there's any energy left in the tank, Kilian plans to finish the year with a return to his personal project and attempt a record on Aconcagua, 6,960m, the highest mountain in the Americas. Go Kilian!

Why off-road races rock!
Love triathlon but want to see more fun? Get some fat tires, put some suspension in those forks and cross to the dirty side, says XTERRA champion Conrad Stoltz.
Triathlon may be growing in popularity but road races are not the only ones out there. No one knows better than Suunto ambassador Conrad Stoltz, who crossed to XTERRA after competing at the Sydney Olympics in 2000.
“After Sydney I was a bit burnt out and thought I'd just do one or two off-road races just to clear my head for fun. But I fell in love after my first race,” he says.
“Road triathlon is all about following the white line and taking as much pain as possible,” he explains. “The reason I love off-road triathlon is the adrenaline rush and sense of adventure you get – as well as the lactic acid!
Nothing beats the feeling of flashing through the woods at top speed, railing turns perfectly and that rush you get when you clear that hectic drop-off or rock garden. Plus you need to memorise the course, pick fast lines, make tire and suspension selections and mentally and physically overcome a wide variety of obstacles depending on where in the world the race is.
And of course, you get to go 100% flat out! The people are also quite laid back, relaxed and no one takes themselves too seriously which makes for a nice 'family atmosphere' at races. It's really a great life style sport,” he adds.
To follow Conrad's XTERRA adventures, check out his website: www.conradstoltz.com

Conrad Stoltz's open water swimming tips
Doing you swimming drills in the pool is important, but nothing beats the outdoors, says Stoltz.
It's one of the biggest issues for triathletes and something of interest to anyone who loves open water – how to improve your technique. As everyone knows – and often dreads! – being disciplined about swimming drills is essential to improve your performance. But not everything can be learned in a pool, says Conrad Stoltz.
“Good open water swimming comes from lots of practice,” says the multiple XTERRA champion.
“You have to learn different kinds of open water. Lakes are easy, but ocean swims have waves, currents and sand bars, and river swims are tricky because of currents.”
He says there's no substitute for getting out there into the wild and just getting the feel of different water types.
Of course, when it comes to actual swimming race preparation, he says the trick is to swim as often as possible in a group. You should also ask yourself important tactical questions. “Where to position yourself at the start? How to pace yourself to start fast without blowing up? How to draft, where to postition yourself around the buoys?” he says.
“Building fitness in a pool with a swim squad is good,” he adds, “but I try to spend as much time as possible swimming open water. There is no substitute for open water – plus it's usually more fun than staring at the black line!”
Conrad's top 3 tips:
Swim outside in different conditions – lakes, rivers and the sea.
Swim in a group and practise drafting.
Plan your race tactics.

Dive in with the Scuba Diver Girls
They are one of the most popular team of female divers in the world. Co-founder Margo Sanchez gives us the lowdown.
The Scuba Diver Girls are perhaps the most popular girls in the underwater community – and certainly some of the most active. Located in San Diego, California, the ocean is the girls' backyard. In their cold water dive gear and their Suunto dive computers, Margo Sanchez and Stephanie Adamson dive multiple times each week. If they are not diving in their local southern California waters, they are traveling the world looking for the next hot spot for amazing sea life.
This fun, adventurous dive team got started when Stephanie, a PADI dive instructor, invited Margo to learn how to dive. Stephanie wanted to share her love with the ocean and the amazing experience of being under the water with her family. Margo instantly felt a connection to the underwater realm, but also was amazed at how much fun it was to dive with Stephanie, her sister-in-law.
As the girls began to dive together and share their adventures with their friends on socialmedia their popularity grew in the dive community. Industry leaders and manufacturers commented that the girls were 'bringing the fun back to diving'. Margo and Stephanie quickly realized that there was a lack focus on women in the dive industry. From dive gear to online content much of the industry was focused on men. The girls decided it was time to put a female spin on the sport and began to build their online presence as Scuba Diver Girls.
“When we started posting our dive photos and videos on social media, there was a lack of interesting content about and for women in diving – we received an overwhelming response,” says Sanchez. She says the team made it their mission to put a brighter focus on females in the sport. The girls worked with various manufacturers, including Suunto, to test dive gear and give feedback to the companies from the female diver perspective on fit, usability, as well as look and feel. "Much of the gear we were originally using was designed with a man's body as a base for fit and then they just put some pink on it and called it women's gear,” Sanchez explained.
Together the girls began racking up dive destinations and posting photos and footage of their amazing adventures online. Their community, which started back in 2009, has grown to over 500,000 Facebook fans who actively interact and communicate with the girls each day.
You can join the community via their many social channels and get the best content and information on their dives, gear and amazing destinations.
Facebook
Instagram
Twitter
Youtube
Images © Tanya G Burnett, Brian Kirby and Margo Sanchez

Behind the scenes of the new Kilian Jornet film, Déjame Vivir
How do you film the world's fastest mountain runner? Filmmaker Sébastien Montaz says it's all about the emotion.
Dejame Vivir - Let Me Live - is the eagerly awaited second film from Sébastien Montaz to follow Kilian Jornet on the athlete's personal Summits of My Life project. It follows Kilian as he sets two mind-boggling record ascents on Mt Blanc and the Matterhorn. But it's much more than a documentary of the climbs, the filmmaker tells us:
“To me what's important is not the performance; that's not my thing. My background is as a mountain guide and I've always filmed people – the thing for me is to try and capture the emotions.
Kilian is someone who's happy, who has an entertaining personality. We wanted the film to be like him. So I asked him to shoot whenever he did something. Kilian has passion for the image and a very good understanding on how to make a film. He writes books, has a very good touch for telling stories using his phone or camera, he's posting stuff every day. He has a good eye and knows what works.
These very personal shots added something new to the film because people think they know a little bit more about Kilian. It's more intimate. We also involved the public. For the Matterhorn record I was asking via Facebook for their shots, which I included. It's the same concept – getting stories from the inside.”
Kilian is not the only star of the film. There is also another mountain legend, who the team meet in Russia for a race on Mt Elbrus, Vitaly Shkel, a Russian mountain guide.
“His nickname is 'the monster' in Russian,” continues Montaz. “There's a whole legend around him. He lived in this hut at 4,000m all summer just to prepare for the race. He was well prepared. Kilian was quite suprised to have someone who kept up with him! To me it was the highlight of the filming to discover this unique athlete.”
It's also a highlight of the film to see the camaraderie and friendship develop between the small community of mountain runners who turn up for the race.
“Russia was fun,” adds Montaz. “It's a bit of a wild region.”
Déjame Vivir is available for download here.