The North Face

Feb 04 | Jez Bragg - Completes the Te Araroa Trail

By The North Face

After 53 days of running Jez Bragg completed his historic journey down the Te Araroa trail!  He sent us these reports from his last two days.

Days 52: Merrivale Road (Longwood Forest) to Riverton

Start: Merrivale Road (Longwood Forest) (2,924km)

Finish: Riverton (2,988km)

Distance for the day: 64km

Cumulative distance: 2,988km

Distance to Bluff: 66km

I guess in golfing or football terms, today was the chip on to the green, or the cross into the box. I completed the tough Longwood Forest section, hit the coast, and started the final part of my journey east/ south east towards Bluff. In doing so I have set myself up for a potential finish tomorrow – yippee!

We started the day just inside Longwood Forest, a dense and mature forest of mainly beech, and it wasn’t until 5pm this afternoon that I finally got out. It did make me feel rather trapped, but I coped reasonably well.

The forest runs north to south in a long thin strip, covering a rolling set of hills and (of course) the Te Araroa route follows the ridge and the high ground. The tops of the hills are mostly exposed which is great for the views, but not so great for moving at any kind of decent pace because they’re covered in tussocks and spiky cactus type plants. My ankles were sore all day, and the unevenness of the ground was one of the greatest challenges.

 I guess I set about the forest task in a rather business-like fashion, focusing on getting the job done, or perhaps I’m just turning into a running robot – that was another thought I had out on the trail! But I was pretty chilled out and moved at a brisk, but not ground braking, pace to make the crossing. 

The guys had very helpfully recced accessed points yesterday, so we had a couple of meeting points for food and drink re-supply planned, to help break up the 50km section. However the sections were still long, and it was another warm one, so I probably wasn’t eating and drinking as much as I should have been. The first in the series of peaks on the route was Bald Hill, and I was up there for about 8am, rewarded with some wonderful views of the South Island’s south coast and my first glimpse of the end point, Bluff. When I caught that view I paused and the emotions started coming, so I quickly started running again! 

The last section of Longwood was both bizarre and amazing. Constructed by the Chinese gold miners in the late 19^th Century, the perfectly benched track follows a precise contour, and in doing so snakes in and out of all spurs, river cut outs and re-entrants in a quite incredible fashion. Talk about a convoluted way to get from A to B, however I’m sure they had their reasons for constructing it in that manner. Now somewhat dilapidated and overgrown, it offers a great walking route and is a fascinating part of Te Araroa.

I eventually popped out at the Round Hill car park around 5pm, with the crossing having taken 11 hours – a long day already. But to set up a potential finish tomorrow I really wanted to get close to 65km as a total, so I quickly decided to run the 18km leg around Colac Bay and over the headland to Riverton, to achieve that total. After a few glitches navigating the final section I arrived at the overnight stop about 9.30pm, some 15.5 hours after I set off this morning. Another big day with some seriously tough terrain – that’s the ‘hard tramping for you…..

I’m not going to lie, I was seriously tempted to run all through the night in an attempt to finish the trail at the earliest opportunity, but I came to the conclusion that my swollen feet and ankles are just not up to that, and they need a proper rest before finishing the job tomorrow. So it will be up at 5am for a 6am start with 66km to go until I reach Bluff.

Tomorrow is going to be one seriously special - and I suspect emotional – day. I can’t wait.

 

 

Feb 04 | Jez Bragg:: Te Araroa Expedition - "The Finish Line"

By The North Face

Start: Riverton (2,988km)
Finish: Bluff (3,054km)
Distance for the day: 68km
Cumulative distance: 3,054km
Distance to Bluff: 0km

At 1601hrs on Saturday February 2nd 2013 after, 53 days 9 hours and 1 minute setting from Cape Reigna, I finally completed my long journey down the Te Araroa trail, arriving in Bluff – lands end on the southern tip of New Zealand’s South Island. Gathered there waiting were my crew, Mark & James, my wife Gemma, my mum and my mother-in-law, Hilary.

Damiano from the Storyteller Collective was there capturing the moment on photo and video, just has he done so magnificently throughout the expedition. They sprayed me with champagne and we danced around the landmark yellow finger post like we’d just won the lottery. There were bystanders around too, probably wondering what the heck was going on, but none of us gave a hoot. It was raw emotion for me; all my heart and soul, sweat and tears, had been put into realizing this moment, and it almost happened too suddenly to take it all in. I’ve been a robotic state for most of the time since I started – in my own little bubble – and I think it’s going to take several days to snap out of it. My body is also going to want to know what the heck is going on when I don’t run tomorrow; so I think some wind down jogging/ walking is going to be important.

So how did the day unfold? Well in the usual manner really. A 5am alarm call felt a wee bit harsh as we had all been up late last night – I only got in from the trail at 9.30pm – but there was a nice buzz in the air from the thought of the finish. It was exciting to think about the day ahead, but that doesn’t make it any easier to get out the campervan door with so much cumulative fatigue in my legs, not to mention the mental tiredness. But once out, and 10 minutes or so up the road, everything started to warm up and then we were away. The sky this morning was incredible, the colors rich and colorful, before the sun eventually rose from the sea and brought the day to life. Once through Riveton, the route was straight on to the beach for 25km around a nicely curved, sandy bay, and it was a lovely spell for solitude and reflection which was exactly what I needed after many weeks of relentless and intense running. The running was far from easy with a mixture of sand and shingle, but I felt strong from thoughts of the finish and kept moving on at decent pace.

From the end of the beach it was on to the road all the way through to the outskirts of Bluff, skirting to the west of Invercargill, most of it on the shoulder of Highway 1. It wasn’t all that much fun and the tarmac was unforgiving underfoot, causing further soreness in my feet and ankles. But the soreness wasn’t really occupying my thoughts, it was more occupied with thoughts about finishing. I had music on the go to help switch off, but it seemed to bring on regular emotional streaks where I was breaking into tears. I’ve said before that this run has worn me down and exposed my inner emotions, and there were so many examples of that today.

By lunchtime at 1.15pm I had 50km under my belt, and thoughts of a mid-afternoon finish were starting to get muted. I didn’t really stop long for lunch, I just wanted to get the job done, so it was straight back on the road through to the outskirts of Bluff. So all that was left was a 7km stretch of trail around the Bluff peninsula to the Stirling Point fingerpost, the official finish to the trail. The first 3km of this section was rough running through long grass from marker post to marker post, but then I hit the millennium trail, and nicely graded gravel track leading all the way to the finish. It was a real blast. No tomorrow to save myself for, nothing to lose, no reason to hold back. But no time to really prepare myself for stopping; that’s the bit which is going to feel very strange.

We’re now sitting in the communal room of Bluff campsite, sharing photos, drinking cider and beer, and starting to reflect and share the memories. Where do you start? I’ve spent 53 days reflecting, and now I need time to reflect. Work that one out – very strange. But one thing I know I will be doing for sure is taking a week’s holiday with my wonderfully supportive wife. I feel like the luckiest man alive….

It’s hardly suffice, but just initially I want to say a massive thank you to my incredible support guys, James and Mark. They have given up nine weeks of their life to support me with this expedition and words can’t express how grateful I am to them both for what they have done. It is with great sadness that this team will split up from tomorrow – it really has been an incredible team effort – I have just been fronting it.

I hope to share some of my reflections about the expedition as a whole over the coming days. I too don’t want it to stop, so I will get a few more posts out.

And finally a big thank you to everyone who has followed my journey and provided so many supportive comments and feedback. I hope you have enjoyed it all as much as I have.

Jan 28 | Jez Bragg - Update from Te Araroa

By The North Face

Days 46-47: Hawea River to Queenstown

It’s been a great couple of days traversing across to the buzzing south island hotspot town of Queenstown. We’re now just north, in the lakeside suburb of Frankton from our pleasant spot next to the Hawea River, I finished the Hawea River and Outlet Tracks to takeme through to Wanaka. All the running was on gently meandering and undulating waterside trails, and being close to built up areas as well as a Saturday morning, busy with local joggers, dog walkers and cyclists. It was really strange having to share the trail with anyone! I’ve spent so many days withseeing a sole, it really felt weird. The trails took me through to Wanaka, next to the popular watersports lake. It was a scorching summer’s day so Wanaka itself was also heaving with boaters, families and people generally getting in my way (scrooge, booooo….). Wanaka was bustling, but Tango Café had yet to get busy, so it presented a great opportunity to launch a raid for ice cream andchips, which came in generous quantities when they heard what I was up to. With the camera guys hovering around me, the conversation went along the lines of; waitress “are you famous or are doing something crazy?”. Jez replies “does running the full length of New Zealand off road count as crazy?”.The poor girl couldn’t take it all in, and was then looking rather flustered!

I was in town for less than hour, most of that time in the café, and by that time I was definitely ready to move on. The Glendhu Bay Track took me round Lake Wanaka on a deceptively challenging trail,and then I was at the trailhead for the impressive Motatapu Alpine Track, a recently formed route traversing across to Macetown. It was classified as ‘hard tramping’ and it was, but definitely more pleasant that other hard tramping sections which I have felt to be somewhat on the cruel side! I set off with my fast pack at about 4pm after a good feed up from James, the plan being to simply see howfar I could go before feeling like crashing, at one of the three huts en route. Well the first, Fern Burn,was too early, but also full of a large family with kids so probably not that suitable anyway. I continued, and soon made the decision to sleep at Highland Creak.

The climb over Jack Hall’s Saddle to get there was memorable. The hills felt special and unique,almost folded and rippling with many spurs. Highland Creek is a brand new twelve bed hut, and I wasmore than excited on the approach, as it’s the first newer hut I’ve been fortunate enough to stay at. I noticed footprints en route, so I suspected someone else would be there (shock horror, a fellow tramper). I had also been left a ‘Trail Magic’ gift at Fern Burn Hut – a snickers bar. Someone knew Iwas on the way…. It was a fellow brit and through hiker – Kyle – a really great guy. We had a great evening chatting and sharing trail stories before crashing for an early night. Unfortunately it wasn’t agreat night’s sleep; the local mob of possums decided they would raid the outside of the hit. They were charging up and down the roof and verandah causing a right old racket, so Kyle did the honor sand went outside and chased the blighters off!

We both got an early start; a 4.30am alarm for 5.30am on the trail. I was hoping to get plenty of distance behind me before it got really hot, and they strategy worked well. There were five 500m(vertical) climbs to negotiate, every one of them testing me significantly given the steepness. I’m finding that whilst I can still climb, the built up fatigue in my legs is slowing me down, so a bit more patience than usual is required. It was an impressive, albeit rather intense route, with the final section being down the bed of the Arrow River. Given how hot it was that was my preferred place to be, and when I found some deep pools I took a full on swim. Heaven. The end of the track was Macetown. I don’t know what I was expecting because I knew it was an un-inhabited ex-mining town, but there really was no one there apart from some speculative weekend gold hunters! For some reason I set my heart on a museum, or a random shop, or anything, please! All I needed was a cold can of coke and an ice cream. No, it was inaccessible by all but 4x4s, and eerily quiet. I stopped for a quick sandwich, but decided not to delay the inevitable final stretch of super-hot hill climbing on the aptly named Big Hilltrack, to finally get me back to civilization in Arrowtown.

It was the hottest of the lot, a battle of the mind to get up there, with my body just wanting to rest in the shade. But a lovely reward at the end,with a stunning contouring section of singletrack before a final descent to Arrowtown.It was a relief to get back to the van, but everyone was baking hot, not least me. I had a good feedand a rest for a while, catching up with the team, and telling them all about my 24hours of excitementin the hills. I wanted to get some more kilometers in before the close of the day, despite it already being late afternoon, and my body not being particularly enthused. But it wasn’t as bad as feared (itnever is), and once I got going I successfully knocked out 17 more kilometers to help the totals.

Tomorrow I will run a mega-long lakeside section from our overnight location at Frankton, to Glenorchy, where we will launch for our final paddle of the trip, a crossing of Lake Wakatipu. Another big day lies ahead…..

 

Dec 14 | Infographic: Te Araroa Expedition

By The North Face

Dec 12 | Jez Bragg Embarks on the run of a Lifetime on New Zealand's Te Araroa Trail

By The North Face

Renowned British ultra runner and The North Face athlete Jez Bragg began an expedition that will take all of his mental and physical energy for the next 50 days: a nearly 2,000-mile run the length of New Zealand’s Te Araroa Trail.

The Te Araroa Trail (1898 miles/3054km) opened in December 2011 and runs the full length of New Zealand from the top of the North Island in Cape Reinga to the bottom of the South Island in Bluff. It rivals some of the world’s greatest long distance trails such as the Appalachian Trail and the Pacific Crest Trail in the US. The majority of the route is off-road, through challenging and remote terrain presenting all sorts of different challenges. There are also some short road sections and several estuary crossings as well as a long down-stream paddle on the Whanganui River. 

Jez will, for the majority of the expedition, run solo with a ‘fast and light’ strategy. Since he is used to running ultra-races such as the 104 miles/168km The North Face® Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc®, he plans to complete the route north-to-south in a period of less than 50 days, averaging between 37-50 miles (60-80km) per day for the full duration. Supported by a support crew of two, medic Dr Mark Taylor and expedition coordinator James Ashwell, the team will follow him in a motor home providing logistical support where possible. Jez expects to encounter long stretches of trail where support won’t be possible, and during those periods he will carry a fast-pack setup to provide complete self-sufficiency. On the South Island, where the terrain is particularly challenging and accumulative fatigue becomes more of a factor, Jez will be joined for intermittent running support from his US teammate, Mike Wolfe. 

Jez will wear products from the Spring '13 collection including the Better Than Naked short sleve, short and jacket; the Stormy Trail jacket and Hyper-Track Guide shoes, along with customized products provided by the product department to his exact specifications. 

Before heading out, Jez said: “Running this trail has been a dream of mine for several years and I have followed its progress with great interest. For me, ultra running is all about this type of adventure; the opportunity to explore remote and challenging landscapes in a very raw and pure way. There is no better way to explore a country like New Zealand with such outstanding natural beauty than to do it by foot. The work that has gone into getting this trail together to its eventual opening is simply mind-boggling. It will be a great honor to be one of the first to run it and hopefully showcase everything the country and the trail, has to offer. It will truly be an adventure of a lifetime.” 

Get up-to-the-minute updates on the Te Araroa Expedition on thenorthfacejournal.com  or follow Jez on Twitter @JezBragg

Jun 19 | Countdown to 2012 Western States 100

By The North Face

This weekend in Squaw Valley, California, runners will gather to participate in one of the most well-known and challenging ultramarathons in the world -- The Western States 100. Steeped in a rich history, Western States is often considered  a "Who's Who" of the running community. Last year, The North Face athletes swept six of the top 10 podium spots and this year the prospects look great for the eight of our endurance athletes who are preparing to run this season, including 2011 Men's Endurance Challenge Championship winner and 2011 Western States second place finisher Mike Wolfe. Four-time Ultra-Trail du Mont Blanc winner Lizzy Hawker will also be making her Western States 100 debut. 

The course runs along the famed Western States Trail ascending from the Squaw Valley floor (elevation 6,200 feet) to Emigrant Pass (elevation 8,750 feet), a climb of 2,550 vertical feet in the first 4½ miles. From the pass, following the original trails used by the gold and silver miners of the 1850’s, runners travel west, climbing another 15,540 feet and descending 22,970 feet before reaching Auburn.

Most of the trail passes through remote and rugged territory, accessible only to hikers, horses and helicopters -- and of course, runners.

Check back this week and next for updates on all of our Western States athletes, race results and athlete race reports. Follow the conversation online with #WS100, and as always, check-in with our friend Bryon Powell and team at iRunFar for the most comprehensive, in-depth video and from-the-trail coverage. 

Mike Wolfe crossing the finish line in second place in 2011

 

Mar 06 | Soul Runners - Lake District, UK

By The North Face

Tim Kemple, expedition photographer for The North Face, gives his perspective on shooting our running athletes in the Cumbria Lake District, UK this past summer:


I live my life out of duffel bags. Not for lack of cleanliness or want of clean clothing -- I'm a photographer and film maker, and I spend my year traveling the globe with the world's best outdoor athletes. Without question one of the highlights of my year is working with The North Face Running Team. In pursuit of capturing the most authentic running images possible, I've seen the highest of highs: Jez Bragg, Lizzy Hawker, Mike Wolfe, Hal Koerner, Nikki Kimball, Tracy Garneu and others winning at races around the world, hiking for hours into the Patagonian backcountry to be in the right place to capture early morning training runs, and the sunrise on the Amazon River during the Jungle Marathon. I've also seen the lows: Kami Semick barely able to walk after suffering hypothermia during the CCC, Lizzy Hawker's race-ending crashes (into trees, logs, boulders and more), and the endless list of injuries that have sidelined some of the world’s best running athletes -- people that I now call best friends.

 

What makes shooting with The North Face Running Team so badass is two things. First, the locations. Where others would go to the treadmill and the studio to capture images of the newest gear in action, we get to travel to all ends of the globe. Real places that have races, a deep running history, and heritage. For example, we once did a shoot for a week in the jungles of Brazil during the Jungle Marathon. Yup... packed with crocodiles, giant wasps, and enough heat to bake a potato. The second is the athletes. We don't use models but instead take athletes from the team with us and often hike for miles to meet them on their training runs in just the right place. They help point us to the trails they love to run -- and when we get there, their passion for running and focus is unparalleled.

 

This past summer we traveled to the Fells of the UK Lake District - the place that people claim is the birth place of modern day trail running. Here the dirt paths are plentiful (albeit they tend to go straight up or straight down), the weather is dynamic, and the views spectacular. Jez Bragg toured us around the trails of the classic 60 mile Fellsman Race (a race he won in 2011) as well as some of his personal favorite training runs in the area. Below are some of the images we captured and some behind-the-scenes shots. I hope you enjoy.

 

Tim Kemple

Tim Kemple has been an expedition photographer for The North Face for the last 6 years.
View the full Lake District album on The North Face Facebook Page
Browse the spring 2012 running collection at TheNorthFace.com

Sebastien Chaigneau and Kami Semick running along Dodd Fell.


Tracy Garneau and Jez Bragg along the way to the top of Robinson Fell

Dodd Fell


Making Video


Matt and Pig


Seb and Tracy

Dec 05 | The North Face Endurance Challenge Championships Recap

By The North Face

Mike Wolfe after finishing first in the Endurance Challenge. He endured 50 miles, even after hitting his head on a tree early in the race Photo:Tim Kemple

Race bibs for The North Face Endurance Challenge Gore-Tex 50 Mile Championships this weeked north of San Francisco read like a veritable “Who’s Who?” of the endurance running world. In its fifth year, the race boasts a $10,000 prize purse for first place, magnificent views of the Bay Area and serious bragging rights, which attracts an elite field of ultrarunners from all over the world. Check out iRunFar's full coverage of the event for more behind-the-scenes details.

The North Face global endurance runner Mike Wolfe of Helena, MT battled it out for 50 miles to come in first place with a time 6:18:57, edging out his steepest competition and earning a course record by a full 15 minutes. Dakota Jones of Durango, CO, who trailed Wolfe by mere minutes through the last 20 miles, came in a close second with a time of 6:21:43 and was followed by Adam Campbell of Vancouver, British Columbia with a time of 6:34:28.

Mike Wolfe is all smiles after his first place finish

“It was really close the entire race,” an exhausted, but elated Wolfe said at the finish line. “We were really well-matched, [Jones] was killing me on the downhills, but I was just a stronger climber. It really came down to climbing that last hill, and I was able to pull away.”

New Zealand’s Anna Frost was the first female finisher with a time of 6:56:00, followed by Ellie Greenwood of Banff, British Columbia with a time of 7:07:16, and Mary Beth Cadwell of San Anselmo, CA with a time of 7:28:29.

Anna Frost after taking first place in the women's race and earning her $10,000 prize

Other top athletes who participated in The North Face Endurance Challenge Championships, included: 2011 San Francisco Marathon winner and USATF 100K Champion Michael Wardian, two-time Western States winner Hal Koerner, winner of the Ultra-Trail du Mont Blanc in Chamonix, France Lizzy Hawker, and Western States Champion Geoff Roes.

An additional three races were held Sunday, including a Half Marathon, 5K and 10K. The weekend’s events end The North Face Endurance Challenge Series, which held events in Bear Mountain, NY, Washington, DC, Kansas City, MO, Madison, WI and Atlanta, GA earlier this year.  However, The North Face Endurance Challenge will return next year with at least one new race addition, beginning in May 2012. For information on The North Face Endurance Team and where they’ll be next, head to www.thenorthface.com or www2.thenorthface.com/endurance.

Aug 24 | UTMB: Pre-Race Interviews (Cont.)

By The North Face

The North Face Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc is right around the corner.  Today we're featuring IRunFar.com's pre-race interview with two of the men of The North Face Endurance Athlete Team, 2010 UTMB Champion Jez Bragg and Mike Wolfe. Check out the full post here. You can also read interviews with two of The North Face women competing in the 103-mile race here.

 

As this article goes up, the iRunFar team is on its way to cover the 2011 The North Face Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc. (Well, I’m running it, too.) I know it’s overused, but this very well might be the most competitive 100 mile race in history.

Let’s start with one hell of a rematch – everyone the top five at this year’s Western States will toe the line in Chamonix on Friday. That includes, Kilian Jornet, Mike Wolfe, Nick Clark, Jez Bragg, and Tsuyoshi Kaburaki. To that you can add 2010 Western States champ Geoff Roes, 2010 The North Face Endurance Challenge champ Miguel Heras, 2011 Hardrock 100 second place finisher Dakota Jones, two-time Western States champ and The North Face runner Hal Koerner, SEVEN-time Western States champ Scott Jurek, as well as a slew of top Europeans and Asians.

As with all races, not all who entered with be out there on race day. On the American side, the no shows include Anton Krupicka (recovering from a broken leg), Karl Meltzer (back injury), and Dave Mackey (scheduling conflict). I’m sure there are similar withdrawals from the overseas crowd.

 JEZ BRAGG

iRunFar: We last saw you at the Western States 100 in June, where you ran to 4th place and a blazing sub-16 hour finish. How has your summer of recovery and then training been since then? Did you bounce back pretty quickly or take a nice break?

Jez Bragg: The recovery – train – taper phase between Western States and UTMB has been a bit blurred to say the least. I recovered pretty quickly from Western States so I really just threw myself straight into UTMB-specific stuff without too much of a break. I did quite a bit of road cycling and swimming to supplement the running early in the summer, which I always find works well to spin the muscle soreness away. With only 9 weeks between the two races it’s not a lot of time, but I’ve done all I can and I’m definitely feeling ready to go. My real focus has been on building leg strength. I know I can run 100 miles pretty quick, but there are obviously a few lumps and blumps along the way at UTMB, so plenty of long days going up and down the mountains has been top of the agenda.

iRF: It looks like you spent some time training in the Alps during July. Did you train on the course or on similar terrain? How did that go for you? Are you feeling like you’ve been able to train to your potential?

Bragg: I’ve spent quite a bit of time in the mountains over the summer – several days in the Lake District (North West England), a couple of weeks in the Alps and a few days in Snowdonia (North Wales) too. The Alps training was brilliant. I fastpacked the ‘Walkers’ Haute Route’, a high level route between Chamonix and Zermatt, then did a 3-day training weekend with The North Face Team covering the full UTMB route, as well a load of other single training days. As a whole, it’s all gone really well and should pay dividends in the race. It’s a difficult balance to strike with UTMB training. It’s obviously a super hard race so it follows that the training needs to be pretty hardcore too, but it’s so easy to over step the mark and completely trash your legs before you even start. With a bit of luck I’ve got it about right. We’ll soon find out….

iRF: You’re UTMB’s defending champion. What’s it like returning to the race in this way? Are you going back this year to defend your title or to run your own race? Or, do those two goal equate to each other for you?

Bragg: A bit different! Last year was a strange one. It was a great experience which gave me a taste of winning a big race, but it wasn’t the real UTMB race. I’m looking forward to running the full distance and seeing what happens. I will always run my own race and that definitely won’t change just because I’m wearing race number one. I know how to bring out the best in myself and that’s not necessarily battling it out at the front from mile one. It’s a long race and a lot can (and will happen). It’s gonna be very, very interesting.

iRF: One thing we’ve noticed about you is the joy you seem to derive from running in wild places. Is the scenery of the UTMB course at all motivating to you?

Bragg: I love nothing more than running solo in a super remote places. The UTMB course is very inspiring for me. Every time I go round, and I think it’s over ten times now, I’m just in awe of the incredible views – it certainly never gets boring. UTMB is very special race and the biggest reason for that is the beauty of the course and surroundings. When you’re feeling super tired and overwhelmed by the challenge, you just need to catch a glimpse of Mont Blanc or one of the other mountains to draw some extra strength to keep you going.

iRF: The UTMB men’s roster has some serious talent on it. With whom are you looking forward to spending some time out on the course? Who are your top five picks for the men?

Bragg: It’s certainly going to be a great race for the spectator. I enjoyed running with Mike Wolfe last year. We’re very similar in ability and we seemed to spur each other on a lot, so hopefully we will be get chance to run together again. Other than that, any english speaker will do! We all know how friendly the ultra community is, even amongst the elites, so it would be great to get to know some new people through running together out on the course – what better way to get to know someone that going through hell and back out on the UTMB course?! I’m going dodge that top 5 question. I think we know there is a young spaniard who will take some beating…..

MIKE WOLFE

iRunFar: You placed second at the Western States 100, just four minutes back of Kilian Jornet. That must have been a performance you were proud of. How did recovery go for you? And, in the two or so months between WS100 and UTMB, what kind of training have you been up to?

Mike Wolfe: I was definitely happy with my performance at WS this year.  I felt great afterwards.  I think it was the fastest I’ve recovered after a 100.  I was generally fatigued for a bit, but that’s it.  Since WS, I have just been focusing on lots of vertical, in terms of training.  I was able to get in a good hard block of training late July through first couple weeks of August…. we’ll see whether that pays off in a few days, I suppose.

iRF: It looks like you might have raced and won a 50k in Montana earlier this month, the HURL Elkhorn 50K. We imagine it was a UTMB tune-up race. How did you feel during it? Did you experience the results you wanted for the day?

Wolfe: I decided to run the Elkhorn 50km two days prior.  It was during my big block of training, and I did it solely as a “beat myself up” training run.  Elkhorn was right at the tailend of a BIG 12-day block for me.  My legs were fatigued, but I got out of it what I wanted, then put in 11k of vert in 20+ miles the next day.

iRF: You’re obviously quite fit. And, you’ve been to UTMB before, having placed second there last year, so you know all about the Euro-racing scene. Signs point toward this being a pretty spectacular race for you. What do you think?

Wolfe: I try not to ever speculate or go into races with any significant expectations on myself.  I want to run my heart out, and I am excited for the depth of competition. Ultimately, for me, it’s about pushing my personal limits and relishing the love of the mountain environment (and, at UTMB, enjoying the amazing spirit/culture for this race).  The competition always pushes me to explore my limits and that’s what its all about.

iRF: You put up a good fight against Kilian at WS100. What will it be like to compete against him and other top Euros on their home turf?

Wolfe: Tough, and tougher. No doubt about that. In addition to Kilian, there are a bunch of top Euros that will certainly be pushing up front.  They have the advantage of training over here and course knowledge.  But, no excuses.  We are all equal when the race gun goes off.

Aug 23 | UTMB 2011: Pre-Race Interviews

By The North Face

The 103-mile The North Face Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc is just days away and our friend Bryon Powell over at iRunFar.com is on the ground in Chamonix, France getting the full scoop. Check back here at the Never Stop Exploring Blog, or at I Run Far all week for race updates. You can also get real-time updates by following @thenorthface or @iRunFar on Twitter.

Today, we're featuring Bryon's pre-race interview with two of the women of The North Face Endurance Athlete Team, Lizzy Hawker and Helen Cospolich. Check out the full post here. You can also read interviews with two members of the men's team, Jez Bragg and Mike Wolfe here.  

 

Many a fast femme will be running the 103-mile The North Face Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc this week. Five different ladies have won UTMB in the past. Three of them will face off at this year’s race: Lizzy Hawker (’05, ’08, ’10), Krissy Moehl (’03 & ’09), and Karine Herry (’06). They’ll be joined by the second, third, and fourth place finishers from last year’s race: Nerea Martinez, Agnes Herve, and Fernanda Maciel. Two strong Americans will be joining Moehl in representing the states: Darcy Africa and Helen Cospolich. We caught up with two women’s contenders for the 2011 The North Face Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc, Lizzy Hawker (post-2010 TNF UTMB win video interview) and Helen Cospolich (pre-2010 TNF UTMB video interview).

Lizzy Hawker

iRunFar: You have a lot of experience with UTMB. You won in 2005, 2008, and 2010. In addition, in 2009, you were second to Krissy Moehl. What’s it like returning to race that you know so well? What’s it like returning to a race as a defending champion, knowing that the women’s field is deep with talent?

Lizzy Hawker: The UTMB becomes something that is so much more than just the incredible challenge of the race itself. Every runner, every volunteer and every supporter becomes part of something truly special – the shared passion and dedication make this so much more than just a race – more a shared journey of exploration and endurance within the greater journey of our own life.  I’m just looking forward to the challenge of going deep within myself and making my own journey, while sharing the experience with so many.

iRF: How has your training been going this summer? Have you had any particular training days or trips that were really good or memorable? What kind of training do you do? Lots of days in the mountains? Speedwork? Some of everything?

Hawker: Training during the summer race season inevitably includes something of everything – and is specifically focused towards the races that I am next aiming for.  Thinking towards UTMB then two memorable training stints were a 2-day solo run over the route of the UTMB in June, and a 2-day solo run following the Tour de Monte Rosa just last week.  Each time, I was overwhelmed with the beauty of the mountain environment and felt a deep joy in the freedom of being able to move …

iRF: We understand that you’ve raced this summer, most recently winning the 78km Swiss Alpine Davos in late July. For iRunFar’s readers who might not be familiar with this race, can you tell us about it? Can you also tell us about how you felt out there? Did winning that race instill in you some confidence for UTMB?

Hawker: The 78km Swiss Alpine is a beautiful and challenging race and it was a privilege to return for my third win.  Each race stands alone, but the end of one race is the beginning of the journey to the next (a week later I won a 2-day double mountain marathon). Each and every race is unique with its own challenges and demands – but each gives you something to learn and something to take forward to the next race.  These last two races gave me a deep joy and reminded me that if we dig deep in there to really ‘be in ourselves’ at every moment of the race – then surely we can reach beyond what we believe possible.

iRF: Krissy Moehl is returning to UTMB this year, as you know. Who else do you see as your competition out on the course? Are there any other runners with whom you’re looking forward to racing?

Hawker: It will be a privilege to be part of such a deep and talented women’s field, but for me the important thing is to focus on the race rather than to think about the competition.  I hope just to run the best that I can at each moment of the race, to give ‘all’ that I can, to feel joy in my run, and to share an incredible experience with so many people.

Helen Cospolich

iRunFar: We last saw you when you finished the Western States 100 in 20:44 back in June. After that, you went on to win the Silver Rush 50 in July. Have we missed any other summer races for you?

Helen Cospolich: This year I did most of my racing in the spring as preparation for WS100 in June, so my schedule was intentionally heavy then. I raced Way Too Cool 50K in March, Spring Desert 50 Mile in April, Miwok 100K in May, and then Dirty Thirty 50K in June leading up to Western. Because Western was a focus for me, I spent much of my training time on flat ground working on speed, and I think it paid off in my early season races as I PR’d in all of them.

iRF: How has your training been this summer? We imagine UTMB is a goal race. That said, how have you structured your training to lead up to this race?

Cospolich: UTMB is a goal race for sure, but it’s been an interesting season leading up to it this year. I think I’ve found that racing two 100s in one summer pushes my limit for training. Last year I focused solely on UTMB by running the mountains all summer, starting in June. This summer I was still training for WS100 in June, and there was too much snow up high to run the peaks until mid-July. So I feel a bit like I’ve had to cram my vertical training into a month or two. I’m not sure how it will work out for the race, but I do keep telling myself that the altitude shouldn’t be a problem because I live at about 10,000 feet. I’ve spent the last few weekends running 14ers and ski areas. On the weekdays, since I’m working, I’ve been leaving the house as early as 4:30 a.m. to put in some mountain trail running before work. I’ve seen a ton of bears this summer, too.

iRF: You’ve raced in Europe before, and you placed seventh at the 2010 UTMB. Is course knowledge and experience with the abroad racing culture important? That is, is this an advantage for you?

Cospolich: Yes, absolutely! While we didn’t see all of the course last year with the mudslide and reroute, I got a really good sense of the culture and the “scene” of the race, as well as the trails. I went into it last year expecting a course as technically difficult as the Hardrock 100, and was kindof shocked that it wasn’t at all like that. Yes, there’s a ton of vertical, but the trails are so well-used over hundreds of years that they are easily distinguishable, and pretty runable in most places. Last year I was so intimidated by the whole scene of the race, but this year I’m happy to be returning knowing what it’s like. And I think in some regards it’s easier to run your own race when there are so many people around you. I enjoyed being relatively anonymous last year and hope it will be that way again this year.

iRF: You must have a few goals for the race. Can you let us in on perhaps one of those goals?

Cospolich: Honestly, I haven’t yet pieced together my goals for this year’s race. I’m working on that now and should have a good sense of it after I study the other competitors and the course more. There are a lot of very fast American women running this year, but to my knowledge, few of them have done this event before. I’m actually more concerned about the Americans than the Europeans. I think we will have a great American showing there for both men and women! I came off of Western States a little burnt out, raced the Leadville Silver Rush 50, and then I got the stomach flu and spent a family vacation at the beach. When I returned to Colorado I jammed my leg pretty good on a scree face at 13,000 feet, but I’m feeling pretty good now and trying to enjoy the taper leading up to the race and gain motivation over this time. I figure maybe it’s a good thing that I’ve been really busy with work and getting my daughter ready for school and extracurricular activities, which start the week I’m away. But overall, I’m excited to run in the Alps and really looking forward to racing UTMB again.