Ryan is taking a break from elite racing until 2016. © Craig Kolesky / Red Bull Content Pool It’s not uncommon for runners to push themselves too hard. That’s why many of us choose to work with a coach – they often stop us from overdoing it. They stress the importance of recovery just as much as training. Without recovery, there’s no improvement. “If you get overtraining symptoms it’s important to back off,” says Ryan. “The best thing to do, is nothing, watch a whole bunch of movies to allow your body and hormones to recover and settle again.” No spring in your legs? You might be pushing too hard. © Craig Kolesky / Red Bull Content Pool 1. Beware, the grumpy runner! When we push too hard with training it’s easy to lose motivation and wind up feeling flat or, worse, irritable. One minute you're feeling great and then the next minute for no reason you are feeling super grumpy. 2. No bounce in your springs If you find yourself plodding through your training with legs that feel like concrete, it might be a sign you need to ease off. You should have pep in your step. There’s a difference between tired legs and legs with no spring. 3. The force field is down! Overtraining results in a weakened immune system. With your biological force field out of commission, one virus after another can cruise in and cause illness. If you’re catching one cold after another or just feel lousy generally, then you need to rest. 4. Restless nights If you are battling to sleep at night and then feel exhausted during the day this might be due to elevated cortisol levels from too much training and stress on your body. 5. The dreaded niggles Overuse injuries, tendonitis and stress fractures are signs you might need to change down a gear or two. Remember, trying to bulldoze your way through a niggle often leads to full-blown injury. 6. Stuck in the slow lane When your legs are becoming chronically fatigued, it’s not surprising to find your training times getting slower. Rather than trudging on, it might be time to consider getting those legs massaged and allowing them to recover. 7. Running on empty Loss of appetite can be another symptom of pushing too hard. This further compacts the problem by starving the body of the nutrients it desperately needs. Main images: © Craig Kolesky | Red Bull Content Pool

Think you can take on one of the world’s top ultra runners? We asked this year’s Ultra Trail World Tour silver medallist Gediminas Grinius for his favorite places to run around the world. Check out his list below. © Ultra-Trail World Tour Squaw Valley, California, USA Distance: 13.22 km (8.2 miles)Elevation: 970 m (3,182ft)Time to beat: 1:49’51Why: If you want to feel the Olympic atmosphere of the resort and at the same time climb the very first and the most beautiful part of the legendary Western States race this trail is for you.Click for Gediminas's tips on transitioning from road to trail running© Pete Forsyth via Wikimedia Commons Mt Teide, Tenerife, Canary Islands Distance: 63.95 kmElevation: 4,671 mTime to beat: 10:29’21Why: Long, but an amazing run, especially if you start in the evening. With a bit effort you can see the sunrise from the Volcano, which is the highest peak in Spain. © Nikodem Nijaki via Wikimedia Commons Roque Nublo, Gran Canaria, Canary Islands Distance: 38.23 kmElevation: 2,189 mTime to beat: 5:25’42Why: A nice run from Artenara Cave hostel to the picturesque Roque Nublo from where you have all the island stretched out on your hand. If the sky is clear you can see Mt Teide on Tenerife on the horizon. © H. Zell via Wikimedia Commons Piton de la Fournaise, Reunion Island Distance: 12.01 kmElevation: 544 mTime to beat: 2:18’30Why: It is must to run this trail, as it is in the middle of la Reunion island and part of the Raid de la Reunion race, also known as the Diagonale des Fous – the route of crazies. At the end of the trail you are on the top of a still active volcano. It’s an incredible and very difficult trail. © B. Navez via Wikimedia Commons. LTU Trail Running People trail, Lithuania Distance: 28.37 kmElevation: 1,263 mTime to beat: 3:08’45Why: This is what you are forced to do when you don't have real mountains :) But it is home and a place where the (local) LTU trail running community was born, so it’s close to my heart.© Kontis Šatūnas via Wikimedia Commons

Suunto ambassador Ueli Steck has set a new speed record on Eiger for the third time, beating his previous record by 25 minutes and the 2011 record set by Daniel Arnold. Ueli Steck, the Swiss Machine, took advantage of good climbing conditions this week and clocked a lightning fast 2h22m summit of Eiger via the classic Heckmair Route. The Eiger (3970 m), a mountain in Switzerland’s Bernese Alps, has long been an iconic testing ground for alpinists because of its severe north face and accessibility. The Heckmair Route boasts 1800 m of vertical gain. In 2008, Steck smashed his own record by over an hour, clocking an impressive 2h47m summit. This week he broke Daniel Arnold’s 2011 record of 2h28m. “I didn’t push myself as hard as in 2008.” “This time I had a good track, good conditions and I was pulling some gear that made it quite safe and I believe it makes much more sense this way,” Ueli says. “I didn‘t push myself as hard as in 2008 and I felt very comfortable. This made this ascent a beautiful experience and a great day.” He adds: “We can never compare ascents on a face like the Eiger because the conditions and weather are always different. This is what makes alpinism interesting and unique. For me it’s the personal challenge and your own experience that really matter.” The record breaking accent was a finale for Steck after spending the last few weeks taking advantage of good conditions to attemp a number of routes on the Eiger with fellow climbers and trail runners Nicolas Hojac and Killian Jornet. More about legendary climber Ueli Steck

Suunto ambassador and freediver William Trubridge has given his life to the sport of diving as deep into the ocean’s depths as any human can without scuba equipment. But he recently decided to explore the other end of the planet – the heights of the Himayalas. He trekked 300 km, with 10,000 m of vertical ascent. The longest day was 13 hours of hiking. We asked him what he learned at the top of the world. Why did you go trekking in Nepal? It was mainly to do something together with my father David and brother Sam, as we live in separate parts of the world. We chose the Himalayas, as my father loves the mountains, and neither Sam nor myself have seen those kinds of mountains. "I think freediving training definitely has a crossover effect to mountain climbing." Where were you?We trekked to Kanchenjunga base camp in eastern Nepal. Kanchenjunga is the third highest mountain in the world, and one of the holiest. The remoteness of this area means there are few trekkers and even fewer amenities. This is exactly what we wanted. At 5163 m, the atmosphere is half as dense as at sea level, meaning half the volume of oxygen per breath.Vastly different environment than you’re used to – how was it? It was humbling. I realised just how un-adapted my body is to that kind of world. After 12 years of only freediving training in the water my knees were unacquainted with any kind of impact, and the first day's gruelling descent paid its toll. In fact, all the descents were tough for me. I really enjoyed going uphill because I was able to push myself. You’re used to having a lack of oxygen – how was the higher altitude for you? The altitude wasn't a factor. Our ascent was very gradual, which allowed the body time to adapt. I think freediving training definitely has a crossover effect to mountain climbing by developing haemoglobin oxygen storage in the blood. Freediving training stimulates erythropoiesis, which is the generation of new red blood cells, in order to store and transfer more oxygen. This benefits all hypoxic activities, whether apnea or trekking at altitude. What did you learn? It gave me an appreciation of volumes, and the vastness of the mountains, but also the seas. When looking up at a towering 7,000 m peak and thinking that huge mass could disappear in the huge well that is our planet's oceans it made me marvel at the scale of these environments. What can freedivers learn from trekking or the mountains? Trekking can be a kind of meditation, as the slow pace of changing scenery lulls your mind. It also gives you an appreciation for the 'other end of the spectrum' of our planet's ecosystem, and for the many other various forms that water can take: snow, rain, mist, waterfalls and rivers.

Suunto ambassador and underwater explorer Jill Heinerth dives the world's most incredible locations. Bell Island, Newfoundland is one such site. The video below shows why it's a diver's paradise. Tell us about the Bell Island and its wrecks. Bell Island is one of the few locations in North America that was under attack by German forces during the Second World War. In 1942, U-boats raided the island twice, sinking four iron ore carriers and destroying a loading wharf, killing more than 60 men. During the war, the mines on Bell Island, Newfoundland supplied iron ore that accounted for one-third of Canada's steel production. Germany knew that they could interrupt the flow of ore, even temporarily, and Canada's war output could be seriously affected. Click here to find out more about Jill Heinerth What drew you to dive there? I was part of a team documenting the recovery of a sextant from the wreck of the Rose Castle. Rick Stanley, owner of Ocean Quest Adventure Resort, worked for over a year to secure the correct permits and line up provincial conservators to preserve the important artifact that will be eventually be displayed in an extensive museum on Bell Island. Why is it such an amazing dive location? Newfoundland is a great destination for the adventurous divers. Today, divers visiting Newfoundland’s rich waters, can dive these remarkable wrecks that have transformed into stunning and colorful reef structures. Is there more to explore there? In the summer, divers can also enjoy diving on icebergs and swimming with whales that gather in the area to feed on capelin. I’ve been recently working with other cave divers to document the submerged mines which cover over 100 square kms. This coming season, mine operators hope to open diving activities to qualified cave divers visiting the area. The mine is still filled with all the equipment and artifacts of operations there. Seeing the large equipment, miner’s graffiti and personal items is an interesting opportunity.

Earlier this year, Jonas Buud, an amateur runner from Sweden, was laid up with a stress fracture in his hip bone. Things weren’t looking good; his recovery meant walking instead of running. But he had his eyes on his local race and decided to do it anyway, despite only two months’ of running on his legs. It was the 90 km Ultravasan, which follows the route of the famous Vasaloppet cross-country ski race. Not only did he win, he did it with some style, averaging a pace of 3’49 per kilometer for 90 km on an off-road course that packed an ascent of 872 m. We had one question: That’s a 2h 40m marathon time. How did you sustain for 90km!?It’s crazy! I didn’t know my shape as I had not run much. The plan was just to follow others at the start. Max King, the 2014 100 k world champion was also running. The plan was just to follow him for as long as I could. Talk us through the raceI thought I was running a bit slow in the beginning and I wasn’t checking my speed, but I did the first 5 km in 20 min, which was not so slow – and it was uphill! “I couldn’t slow down. My legs just continued running.” When did you realise you were doing well?The first 30 km is not so technical. It’s fast. It’s then a bit hilly at the halfway mark of Evertsberg, the sprint prize is also there, so Max took that one – he was running really fast. He then stopped to fill up some water but I continued through the checkpoint. There’s then a really long descent, the fastest part. I left Max and just continued at the same speed. And you kept up the same pace? At 25 km to go, I thought, ‘Oh maybe I’m going too fast; I should slow down – I don’t want to run faster than a 4 minute km’, but I couldn’t slow down! It was a really nice run the whole way and I was in the shape of my life. My legs just continued running. What a turnaround for you! It’s been a strange season. I got a stress fracture in December and could not run for six months. My first run was 1 min walk, 1 min run which I increased every week. My first 30 min run without stops was in late May. You came late to running as well? Yes, I started really late although I've been orienteering since I was 10. I did my first marathon aged 30 in New York [2:36] where I met some other runners who told me to go on a training camp with them in Portugal. There I heard about the Swiss Alpine Marathon. I thought it would be too tough but I won. [He’s since won it eight times in a row!] The finish must have been special?The year before was one of my best races ever [6:02 h]. Under six hours can be really tough. I had 5k left and I started to see what time I should have. I thought it can’t be true it’s too fast. It was one of the best moments as a runner because the history of the season, it’s also my hometown and a lot of people were at the finish. What’s your training secret? I just run!