Written by Annabelle Latz. Photos by Xavier Briel. Nothing could prepare me for it, and nothing will ever compare to it. Running on a white vastness, a cloud-whispered light-blue sky above, amongst an absence of landmarks and an abundance of flat land… Welcome to the Salt Pans Ultra Trail Marathon, Botswana’s inaugural ultramarathon stage race. For 100km, over three days, 25 of us ran across a section of the Makgadikgadi Salt Pans. Located in Northern Botswana, this vast expanse of…
Guest post by Mountain Designs There has never been a better time for trail runners, hikers and nature lovers to get out into the world and take full advantage of the beauty of our glorious planet! It doesn’t matter whether you’re an experienced outdoors person or an absolute newbie who has never stepped foot into nature before – there’s something for everyone out there, and as long as you equip yourself with the right gear, you’ll be sure to love…
Written by Rapid Ascent At 9am (AEST) on Sunday, June 14, more than 450 competitors raced their own course at the exact same time together, virtually, at Race 1 of the 2020 Trail Running Series presented by MINI. Runners from all corners of Australia joined in, with many runners hailing from various regional locations as far afield as Flinders Island and Broome; along with our fan-favourite runner Cameron Bell from Scotland, who competed at midnight to coincide with the race….
@jsaragossa Written by David Lipman I am sure by now all readers are aware that on May 20th, the UTMB organisation announced that the 2020 edition of the event was cancelled. While disappointing many, this probably surprised none. In a very swift response to the news, last year’s winner, Pau Capell, has announced he will be running the course solo in an attempt to better his course record. Note: I will not be discussing the ethics of such an attempt,…
NZ runner Scotty Hawker. Picture: @fractelrunning Despite having finished third in last year’s Ultra-Trail du Mont Blanc, Scotty Hawker feels he has unfinished business in what many regard as the world’s most prestigious trail race. Due to the current pandemic, it’s business which might have to wait another year, but he’s taking a philosophical view on the current turmoil affecting almost every aspect of life globally. The New Zealander thinks the event – due to take place on August 28…
COVID-19 may have turned the running calendar upside down, but don’t let all your training go to waste! Rapid Ascent is launching its 2020 Trail Running Series, presented by MINI Countryman, with entries opening for two virtual races to be held on June 14 and July 12. Participants can enter either 5km, 10km or 15km races over whatever course they have access to whilst respecting social distancing rules. Then at 9am on race morning, competitors set off to complete their…
Right, so you are locked down in your home, all races for the first part of 2020 have been cancelled, you are able to do a 5km run around your house or garden by doing 20 million loops, but what’s the point, what are you even training for? How about the 4 Peaks Mountain Run, which takes place in September 2020 and is known as the toughest 24km mountain race in South Africa? And to remove any risk for those…
Photo: Kelly Slater At time of writing, the Bob Brown Foundation’s takayna Ultra Marathon has raised more than $181,000. These vital funds will support the Bob Brown Foundation’s campaign to takayna/Tarkine to be listed as a World Heritage National Park and returned to Aboriginal ownership. Bob Brown highlighted that in its second year, the takayna Ultra, held on March 13, had “grown in size and wildness” and was a “great success”, with more than 120 runners taking part. The wild…
As a follow up to its State of Ultra Running 2020 study, Run Repeat wanted to look at what kind of runners are most likely to run multiple races a year, to gain an understanding of which distance has the most “obsessed” runners. Perhaps unsurprisingly, it was ultra runners! This stats page (https://runrepeat.com/most-obssessed-runners-stats-page) is a simple look at the participation patterns of runners in the 5 most common distances: 5K, 10K, Half marathon, Marathon and Ultra. Key findings: Ultrarunning has…
The COVID-19 pandemic may have thrown much of our lives into chaos, but the good news is, we are exercising more! Run Repeat surveyed 12,913 participants from 139 countries between March 24th and March 30th to gather data on how Coronavirus has changed their physical activity routines. Surprisingly, people are exercising at a greater frequency than before the pandemic became a global crisis. Key results are: People who normally exercise up to 1-2 times/week have increased exercising by 88% on…
