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Last week i was over in Breckenridge, Colorado and enjoying running up to some of the highest peaks i’ve ever ran up around the 3500m mark. The low snow year in America allowed me to get high up into the Colorado landscape without having to encounter snow at times. With some lung busting climbs it for sure was good for training, but a week later i’m still happy to be back in my hometown in England and back at sea level.

Chester is one of the flattest counties in England with very little hills to speak of anywhere. But with Spring in full swing, and a summer of European trails to look forward to, i was more than content to be home and running near my house this evening.

Next stop – Geneva later next week.

 The church of Christleton where my sister was married last weekend

With the ski season coming to a close all eyes start to turn to the trails with one of the first big competitive race field coming to La Palma last weekend for the 83km Transvulcania. It was a hotly talked about field with one of the young Americans Dakota Jones coming through to beat the UK’s Andy Symonds and Spains Kilian Jornet in third. With Kilian coming straight from the ski mountaineering season i thought he might have a tough race, although third is by no means a bad result.

With the season about to jump into overdrive another race has caught my attention in the shape of the Ultra Tour de Mont Fuji. Based out of Japan this race was first set to happen last year until the earthquake and following tsunami that lay the country much to waist. It’s great to see that the organisation has stuck with it and i look forward to seeing how it pans out this weekend – maybe one for another years calendar.

160kms around Mount Fuji – What a great culture shock this could be.

Since my last post i’ve been on the American shores photographing skiing as the winter finally comes to an end. This is the second year i’ve been in Sun Valley so i was looking forward to trying out some of the running trails as well as stopping by the American head quarters of Scott Sports to say hi whilst there.

Unlike the previous season, America has had a very mild winter and this was apparent in Sun Valley. All of the trails that had snow on them last year, were now dry trails just waiting to be run on. Armed with some of my new clothes i managed to fit a run in every morning before work.

First few days on the trails with the ski hill in the background

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I’ve had a cool couple of days this week and thought i’d share them a little with you. I started the week in Italy where i was taking part in a ski photo competition. With the season rapidly coming to a close i had to make a quick stop in Annecy to drop off a camera i’d borrowed for that week. Whilst there i had a great view at the mountains that formed part of the course for the Trail Des Glaisins, that i competed in earlier this month.

Arriving back in Geneva after a days long journey, i was greeted by a package from the guys over at Scott Sports. Along with a range of clothing, that i’ll talk about at a later date, i had a pair of Race Rocker shoes which i couldn’t help but put on and take out for a light road run. Wow, i can’t wait to spend more time in these shoes and get them broken in properly to see what they’re capable of.

I’ve had to leave the shoes in Geneva as i’ve ventured over to America in the last day. This is the final step of my winter season and once these three weeks are over i look forward to concentrating more and more on my running.

Until then, check out what welcomed me as i landed in Washington – the Space Shuttle ready to be retired at a ceremony today.

I love getting back into the racing mentality and this weekend the feeling was no different as i stood at the start line of the 29km Trail Des Glaisins just outside Annecy, France. This is the second time i’ve raced in France and the feeling was very similar to the first. Everyone around you seems fit, really fit….i guess a lot comes down to having the alps on your doorsteps for training. With almost all of my up and coming races happening over here i’m happy to gain more experience running around such a group of people.

Start/Finish area with some of the mountain route in the background (more…)

Spring is in full swing over here in Geneva and i’m marking it with my first race of the year in the Trail Des Glaisins, a 29km trail that is based just outside of Annecy over in France.

Having been knee deep in snow for most of the year, it will be a great test to get out there and take on this trail. I’m sure there’s going to be some early season fitness issues!

Looking forward to it now, and you can expect a full recap early next week.

Over the last week i’ve been bringing my seasons plans together in my head to see where each races of the year will take me. With the winter rapidly coming to an end my focus turns towards an action packed summer that will see me in some of the most beautiful regions of Europe. So far it’s gearing up to be a great one…..

June 30th – The North Face Cortina Trail. 50km 2,500m +  

This race opened up for applications last week and i was quick to sign up. The elevation and distance should prove ideal for an early season race held in the Italian Dolomites.

July 11th – Scott Manigod KM vert championships. 3.4km 1,000m +

I can’t imagine this one will be much fun but i’m looking forward to attending. This was brought to my attention by Scott and is due to host 2 of the best runners in the trail running world Kilian Jornet and Marco De Gasperi. This should prove to be a great test of climbing ability.

July 27-29th – The Lakeland 100. 169km 6,300m +

This could prove to be a tough one. Its the one race i’ve inscribed that is over 100 miles and with a 50-60% drop out rate, it will be a great achievement if i finish. Staged in the English Lake District, weather, underfoot conditions and having to self navigate could all easily prove the downfall on completing the course. A wave of trepidation looms over this one!

August 31st – The North Face CCC. 98km 5,500m +

Starting in Courmayeur, Italy and ending in Chamonix, France via Champex, Switzerland – this course could prove to be a tough one. With close to 100km to cover travelling over the alps surrounding Mont Blanc could well prove very difficult! I’m looking forward to spending a lot of time during the summer throughout Chamonix and really look forward to this weekend.

September 22nd – Scott Le Grand Trail du Saint Jacques. 66km 

I dont know too much about this race so far, and a lot will be dependent on my overall feeling by then but Scott brought it to my attention so i will have a good look to consider it. Based close to Lyon this could be a great season closer as the race season starts to die down and i look forward to smaller distances taking part in the UK.

So yeah, a lot to take in. Although this is my diary, a lot of factors have to be taken into consideration to see if i make each of these starts. I’m really hoping that my body adapts well to these races, especially being able to deal with the physical and mental strain of the Lakeland 100. There’s going to be some exciting times along the way and i recommend you keep updated by subscribing to the blog, or following me on Twitter.

This summer will see me take part in at least one vertical kilometer race in Europe. These races are very short in distance (usually around 3km) but with 1000m vertical gain in it. Basically straight up.

So it’s nice when you have the opportunity to mix work and training like i am for the next 2 days here in Austria. Working over at the Freeride World Tour always means some extreme hiking, and when you mix it in with a very heavy camera bag i imagine that the training effect is pretty good!

Roll on those vertical races come this summer!

Back at the beginning of February i had the opportunity to check out some of the latest shoe offerings whilst at the ISPO trade show in Munich. Whilst discussing ski photography with Scott Sports talk turned to trail running, which in turn lead to me being invited to the headquarters of the company in Fribourg, Switzerland.

It’s always great to have the opportunity to discover a major brands offices and Scott was no exception. Seeing some of the products in development as well as the design process and marketing was a great eye opener which makes me excited for the up and coming trail season. At the end of an afternoons worth of meetings i’m happy to say that you will now be able to see me out on the trail sporting the companies products including their shoes. I managed to pick up two pairs of shoes whilst there; the limited edition Scott T2C and the Scott eRide Grip2.

The T2C is built for performance with it being their lightest neutral performance race shoe whereas the eRide Grip2 is built for the trails with a gripped sole thats built for running on all terrain.

With 20 minutes to spare at the industrial park train station i managed to grab a couple of snapshots to give you a little idea of how these shoes look. I’m of course really excited to start this relationship with Scott and look forward to giving my feedback and running in this gear throughout the coming season.

The Scott T2C in limited edition black.

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With the end of February now upon us, we can anticipate the arrival of the latest watch from Suunto in the form of the Suunto Ambit. All new watches that arrive on the market often carry some intrigue with them, but Suunto’s latest creation looks to fill in cracks found in other GPS enabled devices, and make a watch that that will sit at the top of most trail runners wishlists.

The standout feature for distance runners is the ability for the GPS to be working for up to 50 hours. With races such as the Lakeland 100 to look forward to later this year, this watch will do what many others fail to do – last the distance. Knowing exactly where you are in the race and being able to rely on the battery will be an enormous advantage.

The list of other features goes on and on from Altimeter, compass, thermometer and heart rate monitor. I find that these features will not only work well with my trail running, but also whilst out in the mountains in my day to day job. I can’t wait to get my hands on one to try and and will look forward to working with it as the year progresses.

Release date is due to be sometime in March for retailers, with a mid April release online. Retail price looks to be somewhere around $550 in the States and £400 for the UK.