More and more people are running at night on trails. Running with headlights on a trail at night might seem daunting or uncomfortable – only for the truly daring. Why run at night when running in day light is fine. Why push the limits? Ok the pros do it in Ultra-marathons where they run non stop over 24 hours in multiday races usually starting at night or before dawn.
Is night trail running so difficult? Why at night? These were the questions that were running through my mind as I joined an evening trail run team. I enjoyed night trail running right away and have not stopped since. You are in the woods with the wild boar and deer, you climb hills without seeing the top and then down the other side. In day light you might feel tired looking at the top of the hill. At night it is very quiet and there are no cars on the road. Once you are done you marvel that you ran so far and climbed so much.
You will need a good pair of trail running shoes with special soles to avoid sliding too much. Make sure they are water proof or you will have wet feet– especially in the winter when you are running through puddles, wet grass and mud. You will also need a good headlamp. Most people just choose the cheapest headlamp and pay the “price” later when they can’t see what they are stepping into….spend more for a better/ stronger lamp that is rechargeable so that when you are descending you can see what lies ahead especially when the descent is tricky. When with other night runners, try to keep the light aimed down and not in other peoples faces.
I am a regular cyclist, riding over 100km a week, with a vertical climb of around 1000 meters up and down the hills near my house. Often, as I am sweating and climbing up a steep hill , I will hear a clicking sound and then someone on an ebike passes me, smiling. I usually pass them later on, as soon as the road flattens out a bit or starts descending. I have often wondered about ebikes. Friends who are not active in sports at all have started riding up steep mountains to enjoy nature and the mountain huts that serve delicious food and provide incredible views before riding back down to the valley. They have done this thanks to the new ebike technologies which are spreading throughout the world – growing 30% a year. Some people consider ebikes cheating and only for older or inactive people. Yet gravel and ebikes are the biggest growth segments in cycling.
I tested a BMC gravel bike with a Shimano drive train and battery on a rainy and cold spring day, starting at Riva on lake Garda and riding up into the beautiful mountains above Lake Garda. This was my first time both on an ebike and a gravel bike.
My first impressions: before getting on the bike I checked the tires and noticed they weren’t fully inflated: my immediate reaction was to request that the tires be inflated more, but I was told that gravel bike tires should not be inflated to the max to allow for better grip on the rocks and gravel and to better absorb impact, since the bike does not have shock absorbers. Once riding, I got a quick instruction on how to change gears and to change ride mode – eco, trail, boost, off. I learned the hard way that you have to put the bike into low gear and shift the mode to boost if you want to climb a sudden steep trail, because if you are in a high gear – even if you put it on boost – you won’t make it up. Battery consumption depends on how often you use boost and whether you are putting in some effort to peddle. During our four-hour climb and descent, I used up a bit more than half the battery’s power. The bike is great, speeding quickly to 25km/h, and then it stops assisting – according to EU regulation that allows only a maximum assisted speed of 25 km/h. When you are going over this speed – especially downhill — means that you are actually peddling, no assistance. That is why non-ebikes can easily pass an ebike rider going downhill.
I went with a group of testers – using the BMC eGravel bike powered by Shimano battery and drive train. We had such a good time, we returned home very late. Had I peddled my non-powered bike up those mountains, I would have been exhausted – instead I must have used up about 30% or less of the energy usually required, even though I did sweat. The bike is very stable on the paths and going down the rocky hills and fast on the road – the power is fun to use – a different type of bicycle experience.
Most of the mountain bike rentals on Lake Garda are ebikes – since tourists prefer an assisted climb to see the beauty of the mountains and enjoy the views without too much effort. Try one regardless of your level, and have fun…….It’s the future!
HORIZONSPORTS.TV, the only Nature Sports & Wellness video platform has acquired the rights for the third year in a row to the most important Ultra Trail event in the world – the Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc (UTMB) which is headquartered in Chamonix at the foot of the French Alps. HorizonSports will broadcast four UTMB magazines 24 minutes each as well as daily interviews with athletes. These programmes will be made available in English, French, Spanish and Chinese.In addition, HorizonSports will be on location in Chamonix with a team in order to provide exclusive backstage coverage of all the magnificent races.The over 600.000 HorizonSports viewers will be thrilled to see some of the most exciting Ultra Trail running and mountain scenery in the world.
Laurence Fox Hopper, HorizonSports.TV CEO said: “we are really focused on Ultra Trail races so it is awesome to, again, have the most important Ultra Trail event in the world available for easy viewing on our platforms”
Catherine Poletti, Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc President added, “We are very pleased to highlight that the media coverage of UTMB is growing all over the world. Once again, HorizonSports viewers, will be able to enjoy the action and drama of UTMB Mont Blanc in the weeks ahead.”
About HORIZONSPORTS
HorizonSports is the only nature sports & wellness Video On Demand (VOD) platform that caters to people who hike, run, cycle, love mountains, want to be healthy and more active in nature with over 600,000 unique viewers per month through a combination of SVOD platform, Android / Apple App, OTT platfoms, and through smart TVs. HorizonSports aggregates and produces the best inspiring video content from the top outdoor, sports events, lifestyle and adventure TV producers with a balance of sports and Wellness premium programming available for unlimited on demand, Live sports and streaming TV viewing. HorizonSports is also available on Watch It, Samsung TV Plus, Vewd, Pluto TV, ROKU, Amazon Fire TV and Distro TV. #naturesportswellness #horizonsportsTV, #justwalkgo
About UTMB ®
The UTMB® is a trail-running event full of superlatives! An essential event for trail-runners from all over the world. Each year, Elite runners from the trail running community find themselves in the Mont Blanc region as well as almost 10,000 enthusiastic runners (all events combined) in order to participate in one of the event’s 7 races. The 2019 edition (the 17th) will take place from August 26th to September 1st and will gather 10 000 runners and 20 000 accompanying from 100 nations. The event takes place in 3 countries and 18 communes, across 7 valleys, 71 glaciers and 400 summits. The most famous races are UTMB® (171 km, 10 300 m D+), TDS® (145 km, 9 100 m D+), CCC® (101 km, 6 100 m D+).
While an avalanche backpack can keep the victim breathing and alive until rescuers arrive, another tool can play a critical role in locating the victim.
RECCO is not an Italian sea-side town
(which is what shows up in Google searches) but rather a two-part system involving
a reflector that allows a person to
be located and a detector, typically
used by rescue crews to search for avalanche victims. RECCO is a product that has been around for over 30 years, but is
now starting to gain a much higher profile. RECCO labels are increasingly shown alongside GoreTex tags. Recco is the
annoying little bar that you can find integrated in high-end ski and mountain
clothing—and now even in mainstream items — and that most people don’t even
know that they have. Last year a skier was rescued in Switzerland thanks to a RECCO
he didn’t even know he had in his jacket.
Rescue
crews around the world have Recco detectors, which have until recently were
hand-held devices that are used by search and rescue crews on the ground, but
now, thanks to further developments by the Swedish company, larger and more
powerful detectors can be deployed on search and rescue helicopters, allowing
rescuers to cover a much larger area in far less time. In the future, detectors
will also be able to be mounted on drones that can cover areas where it is too
difficult or dangerous to fly helicopters and to get much closer to victims.
Frederik from the RECCO
team explained how the device is not only being used for the most dramatic cases
of avalanche rescue (only a small share of the persons rescued, as seen in the
statistics from AiutAlpin), but also for who are people lost or injured in the
woods, hikers, mushroom hunters, and particularly children. A big growth segment for the installation of
the reflector devices is in outdoor clothing for children 8-12 years of age, as
these youngsters often like to ski or snowboard off-piste and go exploring in
the woods, but cannot always find their way back.. With the expansion in the
consumer segment, the way the RECCO reflectors are being sold has also changed
as the interest in the product has grown. Now it is no longer necessary to buy
a new jacket, as you can buy attachable RECCOs for helmets and backpacks—and my
favourite—integrated into a wool-insulated cellphone pouch.
HORIZONSPORTS.TV, the only Nature Sports & Wellness video platform dedicated to motivating the world to be more active in nature will broadcast the 34th Edition of the MARATHON DES SABLES every day starting on the 7th of April until the 14th of April. A full episode summary of the race will also be shown on HorizonSports.TV a couple of week after the race. The over 500.000 HorizonSports monthly viewers will be able to watch all the action on their APP and browser as well as on Smart TVs.
Laurence Fox Hopper, HorizonSports.TV CEO said: “We offer the best venue to watch all the top Ultra Trail action. Marathon des Sables is a thrilling experience for our worldwide viewers who can enjoy endurance content on all their favorite devices anywhere and anytime”
About HORIZONSPORTS.TV
HorizonSports is the only nature sports & wellness Video On Demand (VOD) platform that caters to people who hike, run, cycle, love mountains, want to be healthy and more active in nature with over 500,000 unique viewers per month through a combination of SVOD platform, Android / Apple App, OTT platfoms, and through smart TVs. HorizonSports aggregates and produces the best inspiring video content from the top outdoor, sports events, lifestyle and adventure TV producers with a balance of sports and Wellness premium programming available for unlimited on demand, Live sports and streaming TV viewing. HorizonSports is also available on Watch It, Samsung TV Plus, Vewd, Pluto TV, ROKU, Amazon Fire TV and Distro TV. #naturesportswellness #horizonsportsTV, #justwalkgo
The MARATHON DES SABLES is a foot race, open to runners and walkers, with several stages, free style, and with food self-sufficiency over a distance of about 250 Km. Each participant must carry his/her own backpack containing food, sleeping gear and other material. The 34th Edition will start on April 7 and will bring more than 1000 competitors in the Moroccan desert for a 250 km and 6 stages race. http://www.marathondessables.com
HORIZONSPORTS, the world’s Nature Sports & Wellness video platform, which is motivating the world to be more active in nature, launched on Roku® streaming players and is now available in the United States, Canada, UK, Ireland, France, Mexico and various countries in Latin America.
HorizonSports is delighting outdoor enthusiasts by broadcasting a selection of adventure races, ultra-trail competitions, mountain films, mountain bike competitions, triathlons, outdoor adventure documentaries, product tests and lots more. Our approach is to blend activity at any level with wellness, balanced nutrition and being healthy. HorizonSports can be found in the Sports category in The Roku Channel store on Roku streaming players. Laurence Fox Hopper, HorizonSports CEO, said: “Launching HorizonSports on the Roku platform is a big step in bringing nature sports and wellness programming to TV viewers worldwide in order to inspire more people to be active in nature “
About HORIZONSPORTS
HorizonSports is the only nature sports & wellness subscriber video on demand (SVOD) platform that caters to people who hike, run, cycle, love mountains, want to be healthy and more active in nature with over 500,000 unique viewers per month through a combination of SVOD platform, Android / Apple App, and through smart TVs. HorizonSports aggregates and produces the best inspiring video content from the top outdoor, sports events, lifestyle and adventure TV producers with a balance of sports and Wellness premium programming available for unlimited on demand, Live sports and streaming TV viewing. HorizonSports is also available on Watch It, Samsung TV Plus, Vewd, Pluto TV and now also ROKU. #naturesportswellness
HorizonSports, the world’s only Nature Sports & Wellness video platform, motivating the world to be more active in nature, is partnering with RAID AMAZONES, a women-only adventure-sports camp, mixing team racing and local discovery that takes place in some of the most beautiful locations in the world. Raid Amazones provides a perfect mix of adventure, nature sports, teamwork and women power as well as social responsibility. HorizonSports will broadcast the exciting series of six-day all-women adventures that take place in Bali, California, Cambodia and soon in Sri Lanka. The programming highlights speed, strength, endurance and problem-solving skills, featuring amateur female participants from different countries.
Laurence Fox Hopper, HorizonSports CEO said: “We believe that worldwide, women are becoming more active in nature sports and we seek more programming that motivates women to push the boundaries of nature sports and adventure. Our partnership with Raid Amazones is a step in that Direction.”
Alexandre Debanne, Founder of Raid Amazones said “I am delighted to partner with HorizonSports. They are an ideal media partner to help promote Raid Amazones adventure challenge to a worldwide audience and encourage more women to participate.”
About HORIZONSPORTS
HorizonSports is the only nature sports & wellness video on demand (VOD) platform that caters to people who hike, run, cycle, love mountains, want to be healthy and more active in nature with over 200,000 unique viewers per month through a combination of SVOD platform, OTT offers, Android / Apple App, and through smart TVs. HorizonSports aggregates and produces the best inspiring video content from the top outdoor, sports events, lifestyle and adventure TV producers with a balance of sports and Wellness premium programming available for unlimited on demand, Live sports and streaming TV viewing. HorizonSports is also available on Watch It, Samsung TV Plus, Vewd and Pluto TV.
About RAID AMAZONES
The all women Nature Adventure sports venue takes place in beautiful locations around the world. The Raid Amazones has already taken place in Guyana, Kenya, Sri Lanka, Reunion Island, Mauritius, Malaysia, Mayotte, Cambodia, Bali, California. ..
After eighteen years of success, ZBO (Alexandre Debanne) is actively preparing the nineteenth edition of the Raid Amazones. A women’s multisporte adventure and accessible to all.
The next editions will take place from 10 to 20 October and from 22 March to 1 April 2019 in Sri Lanka.
The elements of success of this unique women’s adventure experience include social responsibility, desire for discovery, adventure, teamwork and sports (Run & Bike, Trail, MTB, Canoeing and Archery).
Competitors have the opportunity to support a local non -profit association of their choice to make their participation in the Raid even more meaningful. In addition, each year, the Amazon Raid supports a solidarity association in the country visited. In 2018, the association Rebuild & Live is supported.
Rebuild & Live is a non-profit Sri Lankan local association founded in the aftermath of the tsunami of December 2004 and directed for more than 10 years by Patricia Wickramasinghe-Villette (French, resident in Sri Lanka since 1995, survivor of this fatal December 24, with Chandra, her husband and their 8 year-old son).
To date, in addition to helping families rebuild their homes, Rebuild & Live has built 3 kindergartens, 2 computer centers and a Community Center
What a Tor! So far the weather is splendid with a mix of heroic runners, well planned organization, hundreds of motivated spectators and on the first day, a festive atmosphere. It all starts in Courmayeur, Italy, one of the most beautiful Alpine towns at the foot of Mont Blanc.
Starting in Courmayeur, the runners must complete 330km and climb a total of 24 thousand meters within 150 hours – leaders complete the race in less than 75 hours. The day before the race, the runners are relaxed and looking forward to the challenge…most have done it several times and are there to try and finish…some know what they are getting themselves into – others have no idea and hope they can pull through. After the safety briefing, the night before the race, runners eat a pizza and have a beer in a local pub in Courmayeur….no big deal…everyone is happy and smiling…no stress…..
As Nicoletta (wife of a runner) said, the largest number quit after the first night out on the trail. Nonetheless, the first leg is the most festive. Federica Boifava stopped above La Thuile to play her flute for fellow runners before running off adding to a festive feeling about the race.
We saluted the first one to pass the refueling area above La Thuile on day one– local favourite Franco Collé– as he ran by at a controlled pace while chewing on an energy gel – he is still leading the race as of this writing and then went on to win in 74 hours and three minutes https://www.instagram.com/p/BnoDDYAgVYd/?taken-by=horizonsportstv . Then more and more runners appeared – Avery Collins, Mr. Runnin High from USA ran by, followed by male and female runners from Italy, Japan, USA, Canada, Spain, China, Germany, France….all very friendly and chatty.
HorizonSports will produce a video that tries to capture what it means to be in the race….by mingling with the runners and speaking to them as they run …… and then following them on the GPS tracker. Some have already abandoned the race but most are still in the running.
You may ask why they do this? You probably think that after completing one they would never do another again but they return, to prove something to themselves. Not sure if enjoyment is the right term but all sports require giving it all. Maybe in this sport you are required to give even more and reach down into your inner self. Running / walking around 3 to 5 km per hour, after the first 100 or 200 km kilometers, it becomes totally mental. Your body says that is enough – can’t do it anymore but your mind forces you on over the next mountain….Its an adventure. Its tough even for the spectators – you can wait for runners in the towns or climb up the mountain and watch them come down or up……you have to make an effort to see them…The rules are a bit harsh – coaching and team motivation is allowed only in certain rest areas… …. all have tracking devices for safety.
It seems that a younger generation is picking up the baton from the older group – most top runners are between 40-57…….maybe older runners are mentally tougher…lets wait for the results of this TOR to see.
The Tor is one of the most notorious Ultra races….the weather can be brutal and in some cases fatal. The helicopter was called in at La Thuile for an allergic reaction to a bee sting and a runner was hurt falling…nothing major….no rain…warm …perfect…the weather may change…provide another dimension to the race….in the past the weather caused the race to be shortened but never canceled……The race continues until Friday and you can track the runners on the Tor web site. HorizonSports will have a short documentary of the race available by the end of the month.
HORIZONSPORTS, the world’s only Nature Sports & Wellness video platform will once again be covering on all its venues across Europe the UTMB® (Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc). During the event, HorizonSports will broadcast several News Reports and a few days after the event a 24-minute Highlight (Best of UTMB® 2018) and a 24-minute Magazine (Inside Running & Being). All these programs will be available for viewing anywhere and anytime on any connected screen within the EEU countries in Europe through the HorizonSports mobile APP and browser as well as on Smart TVs, reaching over 200.000 unique viewers.
Laurence Fox Hopper, HorizonSports CEO said: “We are thrilled to, once again, cover the UTMB® and propose a full range of programs about this fantastic event to all our viewers and more specifically to our strong community of ultra-trail enthusiasts”.
About HORIZONSPORTS
HorizonSports is the only nature sports & wellness subscriber video on demand (SVOD) platform that caters to people who hike, run, cycle, love mountains, want to be healthy and more active in nature with over 200,000 unique viewers per month through a combination of SVOD platform, Android / Apple App, and through smart TVs. HorizonSports aggregates and produces the best inspiring video content from the top outdoor, sports events, lifestyle and adventure TV producers with a balance of sports and Wellness premium programming available for unlimited on demand, Live sports and streaming TV viewing. HorizonSports is also available on Watch It, Samsung TV Plus, Vewd and Pluto TV.
Trail Running is a very strong category within HorizonSports’ programming line up thanks to official partnerships such as the one signed with UTWT® (Ultra Trail World Tour). Through this partnership, HorizonSports will also broadcast 2 x 52-minute programs dedicated to UTMB®, CCC® (Courmayeur-Champex-Chamonix) and TDS® (Sur les Traces des Ducs de Savoie).
About UTMB ®
The UTMB® is a trail-running event full of superlatives! An essential event for trail-runners from all over the world. Each year, Elite runners from the trail running community find themselves in the Mont Blanc region as well as almost 10,000 enthusiastic runners (all events combined) in order to participate in one of the event’s 7 races. The 2018 edition (the 16th) will take place from August 27th to September 2nd and will gather 10 000 runners and 20 000 accompanying from 100 nations. The event takes place in 3 countries and18 communes, across 7 valleys, 71 glaciers and 400 summits. The most famous races are UTMB® (170 km, 10 000 m D+), TDS® (122 km, 7 300 m D+), CCC® (101 km, 6 200 m D+).
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