The lovely Brooks Pure Connect. Photo: Fredrik Ö

While switching shoes during a muddy mixed trail run, my friend Dan calls. He had found the running photos from the past summer’s journeys in Canary Islands and Swedish West Coast. I’m telling him about Brooks Pure Connect(208g), the praised minimalist running shoe. The PureConnect was named “Best Debut” in Runner’s World’s Winter 2012 Shoe Guide in the December issue. The editors said the PureConnect “strikes a balance between barefoot-inspired minimalism and cushioning-required training. It has a lightweight, barely there feel yet is substantive enough to handle long tempo runs.”). I shouted to Dan in the phone “They are like sex! It’s a bliss to wear them and a bliss to run with them. The fit and running feel is incredible!”

Smooth operator. Brooks Pure Grit. Photo: Fredrik Ö

Being a trail runner however I prefer a more agressive outsole, enter Brooks Pure Grit, which is the somewhat more stabile and wider trail version, with a 4 mm drop (15 mm to 11 mm).

It’s not fair to judge the Pure Connect next to a pair of sturdy semi-trail shoes like Salomon’s new Mission (335g) door-to-trail shoe, but I also brought another lovely minimalist ultra lightweight shoe, the Vertical K from La Sportiva, which doesn’t hug the foot like the nimble Pure Connect but it’s a shoe you barely notice on the foot. Made for uphill racing the Vertical K doesn’t provide any stability but it’s very light (185g). Measured size: US 9.

New Balance Minimus Zero Trail. Sample colors. Photo: Fredrik Ö

Talking about lightweight: New Balance brings us Minimus Zero, ultra minimalist shoes: zero drop and 128g for the trail shoe and 177g for the road shoe. I have tested both and I can assure you I had plenty of fun. If you’re about to pick your minimalist running shoe for 2012 I would say that there are plenty of running candy to chose from, like the upcoming adidas adipure concept, with a serie of minimalist / barefoot shoes for running and training. I will write more about it here in a future post, which also includes some of the shoe reviews. Merry Christmas & Happy New Running Year!

Race Director Tim Holmstrom

Holmstrom, an outdoor sports photographer, who previously has organised Coastal Challenge in Costa Rica, is  particularly fond of the idea of bringing adventure seeking runners to stunning and spectacular locations.

According to the website: www.lostworldsracing.com these endurance events will take place in inspiring World Heritage sites of matchless beauty. The format welcomes individuals or teams. Apart from hard core ultra running there also are several relay and trek options for family and friends.

Tim, whom I met while covering adventure racing in Patagonia and Utah, told me that there will be 15 year old swedish competitor and a blind german runner attending the Causeway Crossing event. You can follow the race series via facebook and twitter.

Event Schedule 2012
February 18: “Fuego y Agua” Prologue on Isle de Ometepe in Nicaragua
March 29:  Giant’s Causeway Crossing in Ireland
November 25: Trail to Tikal in Belize/Guatemala
2013
April 27: Tuscany Crossing in Italy
Dominica Crossing, Dominica Island
Final Race To be Announced

Photo credits: Tim Holmstrom/Lost Worlds Race Series

Beet Juice Boosts Athletic Performance by up to 16 Percent. Photo: Ola Kjelbye

Lately I have picked lots of chaga mushrooms. Drinking chaga tea is now part of my daily routine to stay healthy and strong. Appearently Chaga is rich in super oxide dismutase (SOD). SOD is a powerful enzyme; it works as an anti-oxidant that repairs cell damage from free radicals. An article about Chaga on NaturalNews.com states that “Chaga has more SOD than fish oils, barley grass and vitamins E and C.” Almost too good to be true, considering you can collect chaga mushrooms in the forest – for free!

I’m also drinking Barley grass juice with Spirulina (complete plant-based protein, outstanding minerals and trace mineral content, great for stabilizing blood sugar). Nettle roots are drying in the kitchen, which is another “new” superfood for me. Collecting wild superfoods has become a hobby. But I also wonder what kind of superfoods my blog readers use on a daily basis. Do you know any particular superfood that particularly runners can benefit from? Do you feel that you could benefit from adding a mix of superfoods to your daily routine? And how much would you be prepared to pay for a daily dose? Are runners into superfoods at all, or is it only ‘health nuts’? At least in media the attention for superfoods has increased the past years. But what does it look like in reality? I’m curious. Are you?

Sprouted hemp seeds contain important fatty acids of high quality. Photo: Ola Kjelbye

Here are just a few things I found when I browsed NaturalNews.com’s archive for articles about valuable nutrition for runners:

“Proper nutrition, increased antioxidants, and adequate hydration are critical to success. Stress induced free radicals, which can lead to inflammation, can be reduced or eliminated by increasing your intake of antioxidants. Vitamins C, E and A are the best known antioxidants. A more powerful source is astaxanthin – especially when taken in higher than normal doses, somewhere in the range of 8 to 16 mg. spaced evenly throughout the day.”

“Astragalus is one of the best known herbs used in Chinese medicine. It strengthens the digestion and stimulates the immune system. Two types of chemical compounds found in astragalus, polysaccharides and saponins, are credited with many of the herb’s benefits.”

Brazil nuts are rich in immune boosting selenium. Photo: Ola Kjelbye

“Beet Juice Boosts Athletic Performance by up to 16 Percent. Regular consumption of beet juice may boost athletic performance, increasing endurance while lowering blood pressure and reducing fatigue, according to a study conducted by researchers from the University of Exeter.”

“A quartet of electrolytes play a critical role in muscle function and other biochemical processes. The loss of sodium is by far the most substantial and well-studied but the loss of and replacement of potassium, calcium and magnesium are also of supreme importance because over time all are lost through sweat. Magnesium and bicarbonate are the most important minerals to sports nutrition….Magnesium deficiency reduces metabolic efficiency, increases oxygen consumption and heart rate required to perform work, all things that would take the edge off of athletic performance.”

Runners can benefit from high quality nutrition: Stronger Immune protection, Faster recovery and Better performance. Photo: Peder Sundström

“Sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) facilitates the removal of hydrogen ions from the muscle cell so as to help maintain the muscle cell near its optimal pH for enzyme functions and energy production. The pH in the muscle cells is slightly alkaline while at rest. Normally, it is at this level that enzymes that produce energy via the lactic acid and oxygen energy systems perform at their optimum.”

“Large doses of vitamin C speed up healing of all types of injuries. In addition to preventing infection, this nutrient is required for the production of collagen, an essential building block of blood vessels, scar tissue, and cartilage. Not surprisingly, the body rapidly uses vitamin C after injury or trauma, and replacing lost stores of this crucial vitamin facilitates overall healing.”

On NaturalNews.com you can also read about Chocolate milk beating sports drinks for post-exercise muscle recovery, and that Tart cherries also help speed muscle recovery. If you’re interested in optimizing your Performance, Recovery and Immune defense you should check out Brendan Brazier’s book Thrive.

Salomon Fellcross with low profile and long studs.

I have been in Annecy checking out Salomon’s new trail running models for 2012. As you might know Salomon is the leading trail running brand in the world, so it’s always interesting to hear what they have to say.
They showed the new Spikecross with 9 tungsten spikes and climashield upper. I will test them this winter. The new Snowcross looks like the Spikecross with an integrated gaiter and is surprisingly lightweight. It seemed to be a perfect running shoe for white winter trail running.
I also got to test the Fellcross. With 280g and 13-9 mm profile it is a somewhat more serious version of the Speedcross, more stabile, lower profile and typically fell-studded outsole. I didn’t get to test it on wet rocks though, which has been the achilles point for the Speedcross.

With XR Mission Door-to-Trail running shoe Salomon opens the door for road running. According to Jeff Dill Door-to-Trail is "easily the largest portion of trail running".

We also got to see the new Mission-model, which, like the Crossmax, is a Door-to-Trail shoe. Mission is supposed to be a little bit lighter and more dynamic than the Crossmax. The outsole is fairly wide and features different flex grooves for the womens model, and appearently the female model has sold better.

The S-LAB SENSE will be launched spring 2012. Which of the three designs do you prefer?

But the model that caught most of my attention was the S-LAB SENSE (sub 200g and a 13-9 mm profile), which is their response to the barefoot and minimalism running trend – a shoe they have developed together with Kilian Jornet. He won UTMB with this shoe earlier this year. Kilian, who is a pure forefoot runner, wanted a barefoot feel, or “a sock-like shoe” instead of a traditional chassi-built stabile shoe. Apart from a low profile with a low heel-to-toe drop, the shoe should have a dynamic traction for all kinds of surfaces: soft, hard, wet, dry. However the shoe Kilian used didn’t have any rubber in the heel part of the outsole, only EVA. There is a protective plate inbedded in the midsole and “Endofit” an inner sock-like lining wrapping the midfoot. (Kilian prefer to run without socks.) This enabled a thin and lightweight upper without additional stabilizing parts. Salomon’s brand managers didn’t beat around the bush that this a racing product with restricted lifetime, quite unlike Salomon’s typical running shoes. And they agreed that their brand’s lightweight evolution has been slow.
“Sure, we are late, but we are thorough. Our worst nightmare was launching the wrong product, of minor quality, which would harm our reputation. Anyone can build a lightweight running shoe, but can you run 100 miles in it?” said Jeff Dill, Trail running marketing manager at Salomon.

Check out this video clip with Kilian Jornet.

Starkast. Thule Adventure Teams stenhårda sömnstrategi och höga fart fällde avgörandet Foto: ARWC2011

Magsjuka, iskalla vattenmoment, ogenomtränglig regnskog, wombats, giftormar och skrämmande sovmonster. Det blev som väntat en hård kamp om världsmästartiteln när världseliten i multisport mätte sina krafter i Adventure Racing World Championship som avgjordes 2-11 november i Tasmanien. Segerrika Thule Adventure Team följde en stenhård strategi och gick i mål som första lag efter 5 dygn, 10 timmar och 57 minuter, efter ett taktiskt väl genomfört lopp, där man lyckades minimera misstagen.

– Vi var väldigt fokuserade. Alla i laget var inställda på att göra sitt yttersta, och när vi gick i mål kände vi verkligen att vi gjort allt vi kunnat, berättar Martin Flinta, lagets kapten och pådrivare, och som nu alltså kan titulera sig världsmästare i Adventure racing, en tävlingsform där det framförallt handlar om att minimera misstagen.

– Det gäller att vara förberedd på saker som kan hända under tävlingen; det skiljer inte så mycket mellan topplagen under 5 dygn, högst någon timme. För att kunna vinna en tävling på den här nivån måste man vara fokuserad, inte enbart under tävlingen utan även innan.
Jacky och Myriam, det franska paret som ingår i Thule Adventure Team, hade tillbringat en månad i Tasmanien före tävlingen, för att bättre lära känna terrängen, klimatet och kunna förbereda laget på eventuella svårigheter som kunde uppstå under tävlingen. Kanske bäst av alla lag lyckades Thule hantera svårigheter som uppstod under tävlingens gång.

– Liksom många andra lag blev vi också magsjuka men vi har lärt oss att alltid ta med medicin för magen mot bakterier och parasiter. Det är egentligen inget konstigt, snarare något alla som tävlar på den här nivån borde känna till.
Av rutin tog Thule-laget med alla tänkbara reservdelar till cyklarna, och valde lite kraftigare och tyngre material med högre slitstyrka. Utöver noggranna förberedelser och stor rutin har laget lagt grunden till segern genom hård träning och en gemensam hög målsättning, vilket gjorde att de klarade att hålla ett högt tempo.
– Taktiken på förhand var att hålla uppe farten, t ex genom att aldrig gå där det är möjligt att springa. Vi var mentalt förberedda på detta och hade pratat om att det är det som krävs för att vinna. Den som inte är på tårna får finna sig i att  bli dragen. Vi använde dragsnodd överallt där det gick, så vi kunde få ut mesta möjliga ur laget. För att vinna måste man lämna komfortzonen: om det känns bra går det för lätt.

Non-stopformatet innebär att tävlingsklockan går hela tiden, vilket pressar lagen att sova så lite som möjligt, i synnerhet de som kämpar om tätplatserna.
– Sömnmässigt pressade vi oss hårdare än någonsin tidigare. Vår taktik var att inte stanna och sova överhuvudtaget, utan istället turades vi om att sova under kajaksträckorna. De kluckande ljudet är sövande men det var vanskligt för man kunde vakna till av att man fick en våg på sig, eller trilla ur.

2001 var ett segerrikt år för Thule Adventure Team:
1:a i Huairasinchi i Ecuador i mars. Därmed kvalificerade laget sig till ARWC i Tasmanien.
4 segrar i svenska multisportcupen samt seger i Multisport-SM.
1:a i Discovery AIM Challenge i Lindvallen.
1:a i Le Grand Raid i Frankrike
1:a i Expedition Idaho
1:a i Schwartzwald Race i Tyskland
1.a i Adventure Racing World Championship i Tasmanien
Och året innan, 2010, kom Thule Adventure’s båda lag 1:a och 2:a i Abu Dhabi Adventure.

The winning Team Thule Adventure. (Pic from one of many podiums 2010)

The past week I have been following Adventure Racing World Championship via Internet. The race started early wednesday local time in Bernie, Tasmania. Today, after 5,5 days non-stop racing in burning hot sand dunes, wet, cold rivers and forests the first teams crossed the finish: 1st Thule Adventure Team, a 50/50 Swedish & French team; 2nd Team Silva Gerber with three swedes and one kiwi; 3rd Team Seagate NZL who had to sit out 4 hours penalty at the last check point due to a mistake early in the race, when they forgot to bring a mandatory GPS transponder. In long adventure races the key factor to success is avoiding mistakes and minimizing the mistakes you will make. Several teams, among them Silva and Seagate, suffered from stomach problems, possibly from drinking from creeks. Both these teams also experienced problems with their bikes, just like many other teams. I’m sure Team Thule’s race wasn’t flawless, they probably suffered too, but they skillfully managed to avoid big mistakes. This edition of ARWC showed without doubt Sweden’s strenght in Adventure Racing. Reaching two podium places wasn’t enough for the Swedes: Team Axa Sportsclub will finish top-5 and FJS top-10, as it seems. Congratulations! Read more about the race here.

Epilogue: Team AXA Sportsclub finished 5th after losing a sprint finish against Adidas Terrex (UK) and Team FJS managed to claim 6th place after a strong performance in the end of the race. 1st, 2nd, 5th and 6th in a world championship is of course an amazing success for Swedish multisport.

Trail running is a mental trip, something you want to experience over and over again. Photo: Fredrik Ölmqvist during a trailrun on Aonach Eagach ridge in Glencoe, Scotland.

I know what my runs hold: the possibility of strong experiences, gateways to the NOW, the taste of running freedom. When I’m not running I’m intrigued by recalling flying over wet, muddy, slippery, bushy, hazardous, colorful, leaning, turning, bright, soft, hard, open, dark, hidden, nameless, sounding, waiting, challenging ground. Floating over brown, yellow and pinkish autumn colors.
It’s like an awakening from sleep, running out of trails, digging deep into the trickiest trails, the ones used only by larger wild animals. Using my hands climbing steep passages, fallen trees and overgrown rarely used trails. Touching the soil, feeling it with my skin.

Being in the outdoors. Breathing pure air and listening to the sounds of nature. Running takes me there. To get there I can choose the faster, straight and flat way, or the mindbloving route over the hill with a wonderful view over town, secret trails nobody else ever runs and unexpected passages. Good choice! I instantly feel more alive.

Further on the same ridge, the trail got "tricky". Photo: Fredrik Ölmqvist

Trail running is always an option. It’s free skiing, freestyle dancing, brainstorming, going with the flow, getting dirty and rid of the inhibitions. Through the branches I meet the steady glance of a curious roe deer, I continue following their tiny trails down the steep gully, crossing a creek balancing on a slippery log.

Running on wider groomed trails however is a good opportunity for paying attention to running form, stride and posture. I change from TNF’s Single-Track Hayasa (approx 260g) to adidas new sock-like barefoot “shoe” adipure, comparing it with New Balance Minimus Road 2nd generation which is a zero drop minimalistic beauty. “Post running” home on thin soles with a trail-smile.

During a guided running tour in Gothenburg we might pass the oldest house in town. Photo: Fredrik Ölmqvist

Looking for great runs in Göteborg, Sweden? During a guided city running tour I bring you to some of the nicest parts of town, telling stories about the city’s past and present. I can take you to secret corners, tranquil parks and spectacular view points. If you’re a trail runner I can bring you to beautiful and challenging trails. Göteborg is quite a small city, so if you’re staying at a hotel in the centre of Göteborg we can start and finish the tour on your doorstep.

I’m also a practising running coach, so if you are interested in developing your running skills this is a great opportunity. My personal running philosophy starts with a joyful approach, focusing on feeling and form, rather than performance. I will show how you can use your body better when you run, which will make you a better runner. You will also learn how to avoid running injuries by running in a more careful way. If you’re interested, just contact me by leaving a comment below and I will tell you more.

Photo Credits: Droz-Photos

This 21km race, which has a total climb of 2300m, puts an end to the Trail Running season and to Kilian’s personal challenge 5 Races 5 Continents, in which the Catalan athlete has taken part and won the most important race in each continent. The athlete from Cerdanya is now going to take a well-deserved break, before starting to train for the mountain skiing season.

This was a hard victory of Kilian Jornet in the Mt Kinabalu International Climathon, in which he had to give everything he had in order to defeat Italian Marco di Gasperi in another brilliant duel between the two athletes. Kilian managed to fight back against the Italian’s 4-minute lead in a brilliant descent, the second fastest in the history of the race. Finally, Jornet crossed the finishing line in a time of 2:37:04, followed by De Gasperi and Luis Alberto Hernando.

Kilian himself talks about the feelings he experienced during the race:
“Today’s race was very special, because of the location, the other competitors and everything that had happened previously.”

“At 7 am we set off behind a dozen Malaysian runners who are running as if this is a 100m sprint. I catch up with Marco. We start the climb. The pace is tough. I stick to him and try to avoid being left behind. I can’t keep going. My legs are killing me and I feel them freeze. Damn!

“I start climbing at my own pace. The Japanese runner catches me up and I stick to him. I can’t let him leave me behind! When we reach the refuge, half way up the ascent, Luis Alberto catches us up and we encourage each other to carry on. No sign of Marco.”

Photo Credits: Droz-Photos

“We egg each other taking it in turns. Marco is way ahead of us on the descent, some four minutes ahead. We reach the summit together. We start the descent and upon reaching the end of the rocky area, I sprint off ahead. “Go for him!” Alberto tells me. I don’t feel I can do so. But I dash down the descent, with its big drops in level, roots and rocks, as fast as I can. I lose control on many occasions and still can’t overtake him. I know I’m going down fast. The spectators tell me I’m catching up with Marco.  Three minutes, two minutes, some seconds. At the end of the path, I cross the bridge, turn and I see Marco just ahead of me. I sprint. I overtake him and he runs alongside me. “Are you alright?” I ask him. We start the 3km of asphalt neck-and-neck. I accelerate. I can hear his footsteps falling behind. I run even faster. Marco is now 100m behind. 1km to go, 900m, 700m, 500m. I run full out.

“I would never have thought I could catch Marco up on the descent. It was a 3h37m39” fight and a crazy 56’24” descent!”

ASSESSMENT OF THE SEASON
Today’s race has put an end to the Trail Running Season, a season which according to Kilian “has been special, really tough, with a variety of emotions. 15 races, 751km, 45,000m of inclines, 77 hours with one number. 5 continents. But it has meant much more than that. Numbers can’t express any of the feelings and emotions I have experienced.”

“There have been three magnificent, really tough races. Giir di Mont, Sierre Zinal and today in Kinabalu, always neck and neck with my idol in this sport and the current best short distance runner, Marco de Gasperi. There have been beautiful trips, and races in which you discover things and enjoy yourself. Australia, Greece, California, UTMB, South Africa. There have been hard moments, very hard as, because I tried to run everywhere, I lost on some mountains and even lost the urge to run and to compete. And then, there have been weeks of pleasure in the mountains, ending in my return to Malaysia with my hopes renewed.”

FULL HOUSE IN THE PROJECT 5 RACES 5 CONTINENTS AND NOW HOLIDAYS
With today’s victory, Killian brings his project 5 Races 5 Continents to an end in the best possible way. It all began in May with his victory in The North Face 100 K, another win in the WS 100 in the USA, triumph in Europe in the UTMB. Then first place in the Table Mountains in South Africa, and finally Malaysia, with his victory achieved today in the Mt Kinabalu International Climbathon.

Jornet is going to take a well-deserved break before starting to prepare the mountain-skiing season. “Now I’m going to rest but I’ll still be spending a lot of time in the mountains and then I’ll be preparing the winter season. There are still 18 weeks till the European Alpine Skiing Championships. Let’s go!”

RESULTS OF MT KINABALU INTERNATIONAL CLIMBATHON

1. Kilian Jornet. 2h37’04”

2. Marco de Gasperi 2h37’48”

3. Luis Alberto Hernando 2h42’36”

LINK OF THE RACE: http://climbathon.sabahtourism.com/2011/

Raw Power Nature Boy David Wolfe: "It's against my ethics not to mention medicinal mushrooms. It's food for your immune system."

Go back to the original water: spring water! says Wolfe, who has been researching “life force energy” around the world the last 2 decades, studying ancient cultures and their use of superfoods. He has written several books about Superfoods, Eating for beauty, Raw cacao etc.
– Guess which is the main ingredient in tap water? Used toilet paper. The underground pipes are full of waste and chemicals. Get a water filter or else you become one.

Wolfe talks about ‘Levity’ being a greater force than ‘Gravity’: “We need to eat food of Levitation, using the apple as an example: why didn’t Newton instead ask himself how the apple ended up in the tree?” After his book about superfoods Wolfe’s next book project was supposed to be about ‘superherbs’, but he narrowed it down to one medicinal mushroom, the Chaga mushroom that, just like most other medicinal mushrooms, grow out of trees. David Wolfe with Chaga photo.
– It’s actually against my ethics not to mention medicinal mushrooms, the most powerful anti-cancer foods there are. I have eaten them to such an extent that I have become permanently immune.

Since the episode when he was cornered by a “health nut” in a health food store and quizzed about medicinal mushrooms David Wolfe has studied extensively and become a master in medicinal mushrooms: Chaga, Reishi, Cordyceps, Shiitake etc.
–  The tree mushrooms are the safest & best natural medicine you can find. I drink chaga everywhere I go in the world. You dry the tree mushrooms up-side down in the sun, then you process them through water. You don’t need to boil them, just let them sap in +50°C water is enough to extract the substances you’re looking for. The dried chaga powder lasts 2 years. You can mix it with Reishi, and men can add some dried nettle root, for their prostate health. Reishi, by the way, is the most studied “plant” in history. You can find this magic and elusive mushroom in all forestal eco-systems.

If you’re interested in learning more about David Wolfe and his findings, I’m sure you can find lots on the Internet and check out his books. You should also google Chaga mushrooms.