The Runner Returns

Well it's been a rather long time since my last post but that's not to say I haven't been up to anything. In fact I don't really know where to start with what I have been up to.

Val Veny , Italy

I really want to keep this blog away from turning into a skiing blog over winter but it's kinda hard to do considering it's mainly what I do for 5-6 months. This winter really has had a different feel to it for me. I have had some great normal downhill days and when I have used the lifts it's been for powder. Other than that all I have done is tour and it's been excellent.

Cosmiques lap with old friends Rob and Kerr

So the past month has consisted of a lot of ski touring days and now the running season is upon us the trail shoes have been out and are going to stay out now for quite a number of months. I will let my pictures do the talking with regards to ski touring and focus a little more on how the legs are ticking over on the trails.

Out in Switzerland with Ben and Fin

So at the end of last summer I really didn't want to stop running for a full winter. I was the strongest I had ever been and was worried all that running fitness was just going to disappear. With Transvulcania only just over 5 weeks away I was getting a bit worried as just to what kind of running shape I was going to be in when I started back again. I have been out on some very short leg stretches over the season but not many. I have done so much ski touring with days ranging from short easy 1000m days to long 30km 2700m days and I think it's helped me a lot. When I starting hitting the trails a couple of weeks ago I knew it was going to be tough. As it usually does every April it takes a while for me to find my stride again but it has been much smoother and less painful than ever before. Normally it takes me a good 3+ weeks to find some kind of rhythm with my pace , climbing and descending but in all honesty so far all is going pretty good.

Scrambling up VERY loose rock with Naila at Col Terrasse

I am for sure a long long way off of 70km+ distances at the moment but I am feeling damn great when I am out running anything from my flattish 10kms to longer 20kms with 1000m+ climbing. Yeah for sure I am still a little rusty on my fast descents but that will come pretty soon I reckon. As usual I have no training plan to stick to. They are just not for me. I do what my body feels like doing. I guess plenty of people out there will tell me it would help to get a proper plan sorted but I prefer to do what I want and when I want. I really think I got my training spot on last summer just doing what I felt was right and that gives me an excellent starting point to build on this year. I don't have to look at a piece of paper to tell me what I should be doing or to motivate me.

Col Terrasse just up and slightly right of my head

I am just happy to finish these longer races of 80km and more but this year I have chosen a lot of much shorter distances around the marathon mark or less and most of them are pretty technical which will hopefully suit me considering where I train. On races like the Cerdanya Marathon , Cham VK , The Rut , Lone Peak VK and Tromso I am going to give them a bloody good go. Transvulcania and The Bear are the exceptions. Transvulcania is my first race and I will just be really happy to run in that race with some friends and test my recovery and enjoy the sunshine. The Bear philosophy will be much like RRR(I hope) where I will just go out and see how I feel and if I somehow feel strong after halfway then who knows but definitely for The Bear 100 the goal again is to finish and finish as strong as I can. It's a long way off for me to start feeling confident about my 3rd 100 miler after just a few weeks back on the trails.

More playing above Loriaz Chalets

So April is going to be a month of running. Probably 4 days a week minimum with some days doing two runs , one in the morning to work and one in evening home both times up and over via the Merlet Park. My days off will be ski touring and running but I will be having one full rest day a week. Tapering is a thing that to be totally honest I don't do much , isn't it really just a fancy word for rest? Well anyway probably the week running up to Transvulcania I will ease right off and maybe only go out for 3 days that week and all will be very short outings. I will aim for a long run of 40km within the next 10 days and that will be my longest run before going to La Palma.

Trail Running around sunny Lake Annecy!

So it will probably be another little update in a couple of weeks. It's raining/snowing a lot here at the moment so it means the late season touring could be great. As long as it rains up to 2000m from now on and the trails stay clear to run then I am happy with that.

So we went to ski a nice little couloir
near Morzine and just before the entrance
we found this lovely dog on top of the mountain!
The crazy idiot had walked up there through
deep snow that morning so we called the owner and rescued the
pup who seemed to enjoy running after us through the powder

Spring Like

A long settled spell with plenty of sunshine has graced the Alps recently so it's been pretty easy to get out the door and enjoy the almost spring like conditions. Again the downhill skis have been put away and the touring kit has been out as well as the crampons which is rather odd for me these days.

The Berard Valley

Given the high pressure and a quiet Aiguille Du Midi lift I managed to get some Cosmiques Arete laps in on my lunch breaks , once alone in an hour and the following day with Guillem taking it easy but still managing to stop and waste plenty of time enjoying the views just below the little wall move. It was great to be back up the midi doing some very chilled out climbing on the arete which only had a couple of people on it but were easily passed. The legs were feeling good but having not been at altitude since Colorado in the summer my lungs were feeling it a little on the first push up to the abseil but thereafter all was good. Probably the best way to spend a lunch break anywhere in the world I reckon.

Lunch canteen view

Works been pretty busy and having just the one day off a week has meant less up hill training at Les Houches but I have still managed some pretty decent tours on my days off. I headed up Mont Buet leaving the car around 6am. The plan was to try and traverse back to my house in Les Houches but the weather didn't look too tempting from the summit so I just did the usual ski tour up and down Buet. It's still a reasonable 1700m climb from car to summit. The final 300m or so on Buet somehow always seem to nail me. Even in summer when running up I always feel properly drained on the last stretch to the summit. It is not exactly high at 3100m well not high considering what's around but something always happens to me up there and I find it pretty hard on the last stretch. Anyway I was still 3hrs 30mins car to car and given most of the snow on the descent was horrible I was pretty happy with that. I then got home had some food and went for a skin up Les Houches with Guillem who was on his lunch break. Probably the slowest and worst I have ever felt on the climb up there but I did finish the day having done nearly 3000m of up hill work.

Summit of Mt Buet looking to the Mont Blanc Massif

So the sun keep shining and on my next day off it was looking all too good for a bash at going from Les Houches to the hamlet of Buet over the Aiguille Rouge. I drove up to Flatiere at 1300m and left the car at 7am. I headed up onto Aiguilette Des Houches at 2300m just as the sun peaked over the Dru which was pretty special. I then skied down a couple of hundred metres , skins on again and up to Brevent I went. From here a skied over to Col Brevent and headed down the backside skiing some really nice snow until I got down to the bridge where you cross in summer to get to Refuge Anternne. I stayed on the right bank of the gorge and skinned up towards the Chalets de Villy. Skinning up this valley which is one of my favourite summer runs was amazing. Nobody else around and the sun blazing down was excellent and I was loving it.

Sunrise on Aiguilette Des Houches

I stopped here for about 20 minutes just to enjoy the views and having a look around at the abundance of other tours around here to do in spring. It was then up to Col Salenton at around 2500m and down to Buet to meet Guillem who had kindly come to pick me up on his lunch. Probably my favourite ski tour I have done here with my first Paradiso mission coming a close second. It wasn't the best snow ever especially coming down off Salenton but the whole day and weather was just great. It was 30km with about 2500m of ascent and I was done in 5hrs 34mins. The snow is coming back this week but all I can think of is more long tours in spring like this one.

Deserted

Nearly at Col Salenton

I have managed one run this month! One lunch I went for 12km to Lavancher and back. Nothing amazing but I felt good. Lungs were going well but the legs felt a little tight. Normal I guess for this time of year but I really do need to start getting more runs in especially next month with Transvulcania only just over 2 months away. I am getting more and more excited for summer and back to the trails and races. Every time I look at my race schedule I have a double take. I honestly am unsure how I am going to afford it all but if it means living on pasta and tomato sauce all summer then so be it.

Trails running well to Lavancher

Transvulcania(Canary Islands) , The Rut(Montana) , Tromso(Norway) and The Bear(Utah) are huge races for me. All four of them I would love to do pretty well in , which is a new feeling for me as normally I just want to finish. It's going to be great getting to see new places. The past two years my focus has always been on my hundred miler and just to get it finished and that will never change. My main goal this year is still The Bear 100 however having also entered the other epic races I feel pretty driven to really give them a good go this season and just see what I can do. It's still in the back of my mind that I am only doing one 50 miler this year before my hundred and I am still unsure if it is a good idea to have it 4 months before my hundred , I would prefer it to have been 2 months. I did have the chance to run one in July but I really want to run The Rut and Tromso so I decided to do races I really want to run rather than just enter another 50 just for the sake of it. Who knows if this will work but I feel I know what I have to do to be successful in completing the Bear in September.

Anyway enough of this running chat for now , I am off for some Les Houches laps........

The Pow was fun...now let's Tour

Well the snow finally decided to fall in abundance at the tail end of January so the skinny skis went away for a little while and made way for some brilliant pow skiing. A trip to Alagna in Italy was well worthwhile as well as a jaunt over to the tiny Champex(still my favourite place to go for pow tree skiing) and also the usual trips up to the midi mid station(Plan D'Aiguille) the scene of the best skiing I have ever had when last season myself , Lorne and Graham pretty much lived up there for weeks skiing untracked powder day after day. The excitement of the fresh snow has slowly eased off and I now find myself back on the rando(ski touring) set up.

Ahhh Powder

And a bit of a navigation error with Stokes!

Dont' you just hate queues on pow days?
Yeah us too, that's why we ski Plan D'Aiguille. No hassle at all.

The rando fitness seems to taking shape and I am pretty effortlessly blasting out Les Houches climbs and Brevent home run ascents in reasonable enough times and more importantly not really feeling it in my legs once at the top. I ain't really one for number crunching but here goes... I am usually up the Brevent home run in 45-47mins but I have never really given it a proper all out go to see just how quick I can get up it. Les Houches I can do the climb(880m) and descent in a total of 1hr 4mins sticking to the piste and not taking the forest track which is actually in great condition right now if you want a more scenic way up and also if your going up during daylight hours to avoid the skiers coming down. I usually head up Les Houches in the evenings after work so just stick to the piste which on the way down if it has just been groomed is an absolute joy for descending with the headtorch on.

More Horrendous powder queues at Champex

Loriaz Chalets

I have also been up to the Loriaz chalets yet again. I love this area as it's always really quiet and safe to go alone so it's a place I frequent often this season on bad weather days. It's a really mellow skin all the way up and I can crack out a pretty good near jog on the skis for most of this ascent.

Watching the World Skimo Champs in Verbier.
Very very impressive stuff at the sprints.

Myself and Graham had a great lunch break the other day and managed a fairly rapid Crochue Berard Traverse from Flegere to Buet in 1hr 14mins. Timed from Floria drag lift to Grahams car which we had stashed the night before in Buet. The Crochue Berard is a very easy but a nice beginners ski tour in the Aiguille Rouge which I have done too many times to remember over the years. I wouldn't do this kind of tour now on my days off as I prefer to do bigger things but cracking it out during work lunch hours isn't really too bad! The Aiguille Rouge is a place I have explored a lot over the years in the summer when out running and now I have my very light touring set up I am all ready for stable weather to now go and explore more of it on my skis.

Some/most days I like to cruise but occasionally I get
the urge to have a bloody good go at it. Today was
one of those days.

I love the midi side of the Cham valley but the Aiguille Rouge is so often overlooked by those who want the steep and the dangerous which is fine by me as it means the Rouge is nice and quiet if you pick the none popular tours. I quite like the no glaciers , no seracs , no crevasses aspect of the Rouge. The only real danger up in there is the Avalanche risk that you get anywhere and is all part of skiing. Nobody is invincible no matter how much you know about avalanches but I just find the Rouge so much less hassle to go away for a day touring. I will still be going up the midi this season for sure but at the moment I just want long link ups in the Aiguille Rouges so long as the weather allows.

WARNING! Tights.

I stuck on my trail shoes the other night and actually went out for a bit of a leg stretch. Nothing major. Just an out and back by the river from my house to Cham. It's about 16km and all went fine. The track isn't great right now with lot's of refrozen footsteps to concentrate on but it will soon flatten out. It was nice to get back out for a little run and I felt pretty damn good on it.

What do you do when you
destroy 3 pairs of Salomon Sense in a summer...well
you get 3 more. All set for summer 2015 now.

For me the real Chamonix running comes in summer once most of the snow clears and you can get up high and across the awesome ridges that surround the place. Winter running here is fine and running through powder can be quite fun but skiing powder is way way better. I guess I will be out running a bit more often from now on and maybe from March get the trail shoes on way more in prep for Transvulcania in May but at the moment I really think the touring legs are keeping me strong.

February is a bit of a hectic time with work and with only one day off a week this month I will be making the most of that one day. Fingers crossed for sunshine as I want some BIG tours!

Training Going Well....Rant Time

Well it's been a while since I last stuck a blog up here and to be honest I have done so much that I don't really know where to start. I am going to go on a bit of a rant shortly so I will let the pictures I have taken in the past couple of weeks do the talking with regards to training , skiing and touring. It's been pretty full on and I am starting to feel pretty strong on the up hills now but I still have a long way to go to really get into Skimo shape.

Intervals at Le tour with Naila , Emelie and Joanna

It's been a mixed bag of short tours , long tours , Lot's of skinning at Les Houches(day and night) and also my first ever Skimo interval training which was a bit of an eye opener. Last year was so good for me with so much powder that I am not really going out on my proper big skis unless I am guaranteed an epic day. Pathetic I know but unless the snows going to be great I am sticking to the lightweight fitness regime for now. It's just nice to have a fresh outlook on something this winter and a real goal to work towards....Transvulcania in May.

Hellish hangover skin up Les Houches with Guillem. The picture is not
a set-up , I was actually that bad at the top.

I have a pretty full on summer this year but my running fitness will slowly start to take shape and I am more confident than ever in my running abilities after what an entire summers dedication did to me last year. I am just hoping that I can start the season in the Canary Islands and not have a complete nightmare like I did on my first race last year in Scotland.

A little tour with Sandy in the Aiguille Rouge

Now rant time(this could be long)....apologies if I offend anyone but it's only my opinion and thoughts on things that have been on my mind for a while now. I thought why not lay it all out here for all to read.

I have always been outside in the mountains(hills) from a young age. When I was around 13/14 when most of my friends from school would go “doon the toon” and party and drink(maybe not alcohol at 13 but it was Ayrshire!) I could be found up in the local hills of Largs exploring and camping. I am very fortunate to have grown up where I could walk out my door and head up past the farms to play and have a laugh with friends. I dread to think how my life may have ended up if I grew up in a city. I have nothing against cities , I just don't like them. Too busy , too many people. I know many people do not have the chance or have the option where they grow up but for me I was lucky to live where I did. This is really where it all started for me and my love for just being out and away from normal life.

Ensa couloir with Guillem on lunch break

Since then I have just progressed on and on from running around those local hills to then heading to the Highlands to walk then scramble then slowly I made my way to winter antics and lot's of winter climbing before heading over to Chamonix to explore bigger mountains where I still ski and climb (a little) but as most of you know my attention has turned to running around this special place and entering some ridiculous races that I myself am surprised at. I don't see myself as an amazing mountaineer or alpinist or even runner but I do see myself as experienced in most of this to a reasonable level. I for sure have so much more to learn but I am quite content with knowing that when people come out in the Mountains with me whether it's skiing , climbing or running that they feel safe to be with me. I must stress I do not want to come across that I am perfect by any means. Things can be misinterpreted all the time on these blogs but I know more than anyone my abilities and whereas I sometimes underestimate them I do have my feet placed firmly on the ground as to my technical level in skiing , climbing and my strengths at running. I am not a world class athlete , I am just someone who keeps fit and does a lot of exercise and I chose my life to be that way.

Heading out of the Aiguille Rouge.....Ski and Run...Perfect

Many people , especially friends I do not see much any more but keep in touch with on line always go on about “oh you have an amazing life” yes I like my life but all they ever see is the pictures I post or blogs I write. Yeah my free time is amazing but trust me my whole life is not nearly complete or amazing. I work my ass off to live like this and have this time to play in the mountains. Whereas many people see me escaping to the mountains and being away from it all , they don't see my bank balance for example! All my money goes on rent , food , fuel , kit , race entries and travel to races , I own nothing but that. Yeah it ain't great but it's the price I pay to live this way. Whereas I know many people who have the family life and security , others have girlfriends etc... I have none of that. Please don't feel sorry for me but yeah sometimes I do think what if I had all that , what would it be like , would it be better? Every time the answer is no. I would not change a thing at this moment to jeopardise the life I am living right now. That all may come back and bite me in a few years when I ease off of my running and sit down to find myself alone but hey what can I do. I am not stopping now.

Night time Les Houches. Chamonix all lit up.

My whole life centres around escaping and being outside. Obviously now that involves a lot of running. It's just who I am and what I do. Nowadays there seem to be people everywhere popping up on social media who just “love” the mountains more than the next person. Now it just seems like the cool thing to be doing. Whereas when I was younger It was completely not cool to be going camping or exploring in the hills. I do not think I deserve to be in these mountains more than anyone else but please do not go on and on and on about your love of freedom and the fresh air when you just fell out of some city a few weeks ago and act like it's been your passion for your entire life when really it's just the next craze on twitter or facebook. Yes.....granted I do also use twitter and facebook to let people know what I am up to but I don't use it as a tool to sell myself as something I am not. I am not a sponsored athlete , I am not good enough for that. I do get help from some companies but this is only help and very much appreciated. I get very little free and actually feel like I don't really deserve anything free , especially from running companies. At the end of the day I am not going to win big races but the help I do get is really really great and just means the bank balance gets hit a little less.

Heading up Col Crochues

I do feel that within the past couple of years my running has come on so well that yeah maybe I could pursue some kind of sponsorship from some brands or at least a little more help. For example... you may notice I run in a LOT of Salomon kit. I pay for all of it. It's the only kit I will run in most of the time. I could never be sponsored by a company like that , have you seen their trail team???? Francois D'Haene , Ricky Gates , Dakota Jones , Emelie Forsberg , Anna Frost , Stevie Kremer and eh.....Kilian. These people are proper athletes and the best in the world. I wear the kit because for me it really is the best trail running gear out there. It all just works , yeah it's overpriced for sure but what isn't these days in the outdoor industry. I would actually be a bit embarrassed to try and blag some kind of deal from companies like this even if I felt that in a way I deserved maybe a little something for my efforts.

I am just getting a bit sick of so many people these days selling themselves as something they completely are not. In a way you need to congratulate these types as they manage to fool somebody into thinking they are more than they are and who am I to have a go at these people for getting free stuff. Jealous?? No chance. I just feel like it is removing all the life and soul out of so many sports these days and especially the ones I am involved in.

2 x Les Houches with Naila

I have a couple of friends who I shall not name. One a runner , one a skier. Now they are pretty damn good at what they do but they would never go down the road of selling themselves as being more than they are. Why? Because they would be embarrassed. They may not be world beaters but they sure are more deserving of some help than the social media fakes. These two know what it means to be sponsored or be some brands athlete and there is a pressure to that. I know for sure these two could get deals with companies but they won't bother. They have too much respect for their sports and know that there is probably someone out there who deserves it more than them. It just annoys me that these days if you have a huge twitter or facebook following it has a massive impact on what brands will do for you and that is scary. Yeah the brands want to make money I know but please do it with people who are actual athletes and not a load of fakes flooding social media.

Sandy on his way to the Keyhole

I am not going to get started on the rich kid explorers/adventurers who have never had to work an hour in their life to pay for their so called passion as this post would never end. I want to stress that I am not against (well not completely) these type of people and I am genuinely not jealous of them in the slightest. Hat's off to them for getting something they shouldn't but please oh please don't act like you grew up like this and it's been your life long goal or dream to aspire to climbing that route or running these races when really your doing it to escape the office(fair enough) and sell yourself to be something your way more than you really are. Just admit who you are and where you came from. Honesty goes way further than lying your ass off.

Brilliant day off up behind Chalets Loriaz

 “What do you get out of running in the mountains?” , “what do you do it for?”. If you need to ask me then I am afraid you are missing the whole point completely as to why I/we do it.

Sorry if that was a bit of a long rant and sorry if I offended anyone. I am sure many out there will understand what I am on about. Tomorrow I am off to ski some powder........Laters.

Hello 2015

Now that we are into 2015 my race schedule is pretty much completed for this coming summer albeit with a couple of little tweaks from what I posted last time. The trail shoes are now tucked away for the next couple of months and the skiing will continue until nearer to spring when I start to get properly ready for Transvulcania in May.

Out for a tour with the one and only Rob Stokes

All I have been doing recently is ski touring on my days off and some lunch time uphill work every other day. It's going to continue like this for a while now and I am really enjoying this Skimo thing. So now I have my goals set out for this coming summer I thought it might be a good idea to just have a little recap of what went on last summer. Some good , some awful and some surprising performances.

Out for a nice little tour near Les Gets

Night time Skimo with Woody at Les Houches

It all started in April when I travelled over to Scotland to run the Highland Fling 83km race. The race didn't go very well for me. I still finished in a pretty decent time but I was not happy with the state I was in at the finish. Then in June I ran the CMC 40km in Catalonia and this went a lot better and really boosted my confidence. It was then time for Colorado and the entire 3 months spent there were perfect and I came away incredibly happy with all my results , Leadville 50 , Aspen Valley Half Marathon (just 6 days after LT50) , Arapahoe Basin Summit Challenge and then my strong performance at Run Rabbit Run. I then returned to the UK in October and less than a month after RRR100 I ran the Lake District 80km with Lauren. Definitely RRR was my highlight last year but a close second is my Lakes 80km run. I was amazed at just how strong I felt on this course from start to finish and really couldn't believe that it felt quite easy for me. It's a tough tough course and I thought it may have broken me being so close to RRR but it ended up being a great day and I loved every second of it. Including the torrential rain in the morning. My favourite race from start to finish was 100% the Arapahoe Basin Summit Challenge , it was only a 7.5km race which involved a steep uphill push to start then a lovely ridge run and finished with a speedy 2km downhill. Short and sweet and not normally a distance I race but it was a cracking morning.

Some time during RRR 100

Thank you to everyone who supported me on all my races and the words of encouragement on the web and in txts etc... Big shout outs must go to Anna for joining me on many CO runs , Kim for pretty much making it possible for me to stay in the US for so long and last but not least Woody for helping me out at the Highland Fling , inspiring us all with her Mont Blanc Marathon result and making the trip over to Colorado for some epic runs in Utah and The San Juans and finally for helping to not only crew but pace me for 30 miles on what turned out to be a cracking 25hrs of running in Steamboat and making me realise just how I can push at the end of 100 miles with someone beside me who knows my running all to well.

Woody running in The Needles area UT. Best run ever???

So I am currently booking flights and accommodation for this years races and I am starting to prep for what is going to be an epic summer of running yet again. Now I have three days off of work and it's time to ski tour.

Nearing the summit of Mt Sneffels in the San Juans.
At around 14'000ft. Can't wait to be back there.