Suunto at the Red Bull X-Alps

SEVEN THOUSAND CALORIES IN ONE DAY – MAURER’S START DAY

2009-08-26T12:01:00.003+03:00

Logfiles from Christian Maurer (SUI3) on the first day of the race give an indication of just how hard the Red Bull X-Alps is.

Beginning the 818km adventure race at 11.30am in Salzburg, Austria Maurer raced the 6km up to the summit of the first turnpoint, the Gaisberg, quickly reaching a Training Effect (TE) of 4.0.

The screenshots show his heart-rate rising to a maximum of 180bpm as he hiked up to the 1272m high peak before dropping again while he prepared to take off and then fly.

After his first flight, the 26-year-old Swiss made a two-hour hike and took off again, thermalling up to 2162m. “He was working hard,” says Eddie Fletcher, Suunto Ambassador and top coach. “His heart-rate reached a maximum of 186bpm!”

Maurer’s second flight ended just before dusk on day one at 810m near turnpoint two, the Watzmann peak in Germany. Since the Red Bull X-Alps never stops, Maurer’s logfile shows he carried on hiking, reaching another highpoint at 1164m and then walking downhill in the direction of turnpoint three, the Grossglockner, Austria.

“In total he consumed 6933kcal during the day,” says Eddie. “His energy consumption ranges between 5kcals/min to 22kcals/min, which come in short bursts but are equivalent to 1320 kcals per hour! It works out that he burned 660kcal/hour on average.”

SUUNTO ASSISTS 30 ATHLETES FROM 23 DIFFERENT NATIONS IN WORLD'S TOUGHEST ADVENTURE RACE

2009-08-26T11:43:00.003+03:00

Just nine days, 23 hours and 54 minutes after leaving the centre of Salzburg, Austria, Swiss athlete Christian Maurer stood on a blue float off the coast of Monaco and lifted his arms in triumph.

He was first to complete the 2009 Red Bull X-Alps, an adventure race where the only permitted forms of transport are hiking and flying with a paraglider. Measured over a straight line, the route is 818km but throw in difficult alpine passes, glaciers and inclement weather systems and the actual distance covered by Maurer was 1379km.

The 27-year-old Swiss athlete was one of 30 participants from 23 different nations that began the race on July 19, 2009. Negotiating seven mountain turnpoints in Austria, Germany, Italy, Switzerland and France before landing on the float in Monaco, the event is for experienced paragliders and hardened endurance athletes only.

Usual tactics involve hiking to high mountain take off positions and using thermals to stay aloft and paraglide long distances.

When unable to fly, they must carry their entire kit, which weighs up to 12kg. No motorised transport is allowed but they can have one supporter each to provide food, supplies and navigational advice.

Such a challenging race means the athletes are on the edge 24 hours a day, and that to make the extreme decisions necessary, the athletes use quality equipments to assist them.

Each competitor was provided with a Suunto Core, using the outdoor watches’ ABC functions throughout the event to measure altitude, barometric pressure and to make compass readings.

Maurer and his supporter, Thomas Theurillat, hiked over the huge 3600m high Monte Rosa glacier in Switzerland using their Cores to record altitude as they climbed. In such an environment, keeping tabs on changing weather is critical, and the duo were able to use the barometer feature to check on dropping air pressure signalling approaching storms.

While the race itself is tough enough, many athletes spend over a year training and preparing for the physical exertion required. Four athletes, Michael Gebert (GER), Aidan Toase (GBR), Honza Rejmanek (USA) and Christian Amon (AUT) received customised training programmes from Suunto Ambassador and coach Eddie Fletcher.

Fletcher regularly analysed the logfiles of the foursome and provided guidance and tips for six months leading up to the start.

The project was a success, with Rejmanek, Toase and Gebert finishing third, fourth and sixth respectively. Unluckily, Amon injured his ankle on just the second day and had to withdraw.

In the race’s closing stages, Rejmanek and Toase were engaged in a ruthless battle for third place. They regularly overtook eachother, but ultimately an excellent flight by the American saw him pull ahead of the fast running British athlete.

The training programmes’ were documented at http://suuntoatxalps.blogspot.com

Suunto Ambassador, Toma Coconea (ROM) was one of many athletes to be eliminated after flying into forbidden airspace near an airport.

Coconea, famously known as the Running Man, was in the top ten at around the halfway stage, relying on his unflappable endurance strength to keep him in within reach of the leaders when the rule infringement occurred.

The next Red Bull X-Alps takes place in 2011, check www.redbullxalps.com for more information.

The Red Bull X-Alps has now started!

2009-07-19T20:42:00.004+03:00

The Red Bull X-Alps has now started! Here's the official press release:

Today 30 athletes set out from Salzburg on the adventure of a lifetime: the Red Bull X-Alps.

At 11:30 the start gun went off, startling much of the crowd gathered in the Mozartplatz – but it was nothing compared with the shock of what’s to come for the competitors.

Ahead of them, they face Europe’s harshest mountains and extreme alpine weather conditions. Rules state they must cross the entire Alpine chain by foot or by paraglider in their quest to reach Monaco.

The athletes burst over the start-line and ran full pelt for the first of seven turnpoints: the Gaisberg. Pierre Carter (RSA) was the first to reach the 1288 m summit. Thousands of spectators watched the 43-year-old South African crush his opposition with a 1hr 10min time, recorded by event sponsor Suunto.

This is Carter’s first Red Bull X-Alps, and before the start he commented that he was feeling relaxed: “this is my first time, so there’s far less pressure on me than the others”, he said. Carter’s reward is the SalzburgerLand Gaisbergkonig prize: a luxury three-day break, but he won’t be taking that for quite some time.

Hot on his heels were Christian Amon (AUT2) and Michael Gebert (GER). All athletes launched their paragliders into cloud-covered skies. With no lift to keep them aloft, they glided down to the valley below before packing up their rucksacks and setting off south-west.

A tight race is now unfolding as athletes battle it out on foot. Their next objective is the Watzmann. They must then conquer the mighty Grossglockner: at 3798 m, it’s Austria’s highest mountain. Then they must tackle the Marmolada, the Matterhorn, France’s Mont Blanc before heading south to Mont Gros and gliding to the beach at Monaco. The race is expected to take between ten and fifteen days, depending on weather conditions.

Film and photography crews are in pursuit by helicopter, paraglider and SUV. Hundreds of thousands of people are watching the race unfold live at www.redbullxalps.com. The site’s Live Tracking and news reports reveal every athlete’s position and route in real time.

Aidan ups the kilometres

2009-07-10T15:12:00.006+03:00

Just days to go to the start, and Aidan, well known for his endurance ability, has spent the last month upping his training to long distance running carrying his backpack.

"After my fall my knees are still swollen and a little sore," said Aidan. "However the injury, although not fully recovered, appears to have stabilised so I ramped back up the training again running, 42km in four hours with my rucksack. My knees seem to take that relatively well so I stepped up to a 70km run the next day.

"Mixing walking and running I kept my heart-rate between 55% and 75% of the maximum and averaged 65% over the distance. This can be clearly seen in the chart (below).

"There is a period where I walked a long section in the middle where my HR dropped to 80bpmm (45% of maximum). My overall Training Effect for this was 2.4 and I burnt about 4000 calories.

"The beauty of running in London is that there are no mountains, and wonderful river paths which are almost perfectly flat – my height gain during the entire run was only 70m (and it also has the advantage that I did not trip over).

"Anyhow this meant I could keep up a steady 9km/h and cover the distance in just under 8hrs (not including a short break for lunch). My knee stood up reasonably well to the pounding although the swelling did increase a little which is not ideal.

"The obvious thing that stands out here is how much easier it is to cover large distances on well paved flat London roads compared to struggling across difficult mountain paths. Maybe we should do a Red Bull X-London?

"This was followed up a couple of weeks later by a 90km jaunt again around London over 12.5 hours – average HR was 57%, average speed 7.1 km/h and I burned a massive 4640 calories (below).

"Just what I need to prepare for the daily requirements of crossing the Alps!"

Says coach Eddie Fletcher: "These are great long distance logs and show the massive calorie count with the combination of long duration and low intensity and speed.

"Overall daily ‘effort’ in the Alps will be higher so the calorie intake will be an important issue."

Adrenalin Rush!

2009-07-03T18:28:00.003+03:00

The buzz of flying is something paragliders talk about frequently, but with Honza Rejmanek's latest logfile you can actually see it happening.

Says coach Eddie Fletcher: "On this fly and hike session you can see there is a big heart-rate (HR) spike right after takeoff as adrenaline caused his HR to jump to 184bpm - his maximum is 189."

"He says he knew it would be a choppy ride for the first half minute until he was well clear of launch. His HR then settles down to normal levels as the flight commences before rising again as he lands and gets into the hike.

"This will be a typical race log, although with longer duration hikes, his EPOC/Training Effect will rise well above 3.6."

Suunto launches limited edition Core

2009-07-01T19:33:00.001+03:00

Red Bull X-Alps partner Suunto has launched a limited edition version of its award winning Suunto Core outdoor sports instrument. The Suunto Core Extreme - Limited Edition features a refreshed, brave design, and will be available in a limited number of 3000 individually numbered pieces.

Suunto Core instruments will be supplied to all Red Bull X-Alps athletes to help them meet the challenges that await them during this extreme race.

Combining advanced ABC (altimeter, barometer and compass) functions, the instrument shows elevation gained and lost, and records sessions for review. The automatic alti/baro mode switches between altimeter and barometer depending on the activity. Along with the compass setting, the three functions are valuable tools for Red Bull X-Alps atheltes who depend on their equipment to help them navigate and keep tabs on the weather situation.

The Suunto Core Extreme - Limited Edition will be available at selected retailers from July 2009. Retailer details will be announced soon, but for more information on this instrument, click here.

Michael training in the Alps - Photostory

2009-06-29T22:40:00.003+03:00

Another great logfile from Christian

2009-06-19T12:41:00.005+03:00

Coach Eddie Fletcher is usually happy with Christian Amon's logfiles and his latest is no exception. Racing in a local mountain running race, the 38-year-old who lives in Hallstatt, Austria, took approximately 45 minutes to gain over 650 vertical metres.

"He reached an EPOC (Training Effect) level of five with constant climbing," says Eddie. "His speed was low because of the climb but his heart rate high, over 170bpm for the whole race."

Says Christian: "I was a little bit tired from the last week of training."

Busy schedule means shorter sessions and higher intensity for Honza

2009-06-08T10:50:00.010+03:00

Juggling a family and job with training for the Red Bull X-Alps is a huge challenge for the thirty athletes. In the past few weeks, American competitor Honza Rejmanek has had to cut down on the length of his sessions, instead raising the intensity to ensure value for money training.

"The first of these two logs show one 15km run effort at a good pace of 13-14km/h and at Training Effect (TE) 4.4 which is a high improvement and also highly fatiguing level," says coach Eddie Fletcher. "The other log is over a similar 15km with a 4.7 TE but slightly faster at 14kmh.

"They're great looking logs and a good demonstration of even-paced running and the link between duration and intensity."

Says Honza: "My best 15kms come after at least five days of rest and I can feel their effect for a few days afterwards."

"This is normal," comments Eddie. "It takes between two to seven days to recover from the demands of TE 4 sessions."

Check out Suunto's Running Guide here for more tips and training information.

Christian Amon - training overview

2009-05-29T15:16:00.007+03:00

The Red Bull X-Alps requires extremely high levels of endurance as this overview printout of Christian Amon's logfiles shows.

These 42 logfiles, recorded between December 29, 2008 and May 11, 2009 indicate most of the Austrian's time has been spent at reasonably low heart-rate (HR) levels.

Coach Eddie Fletcher established six personalised training zones based on a test Christian did last year. Christian's training plan was then based around these zones.

"Ninety percent of the training has been in zones one to four which means his heart-rate is below 80% of his maximum," says Eddie. "About 62% has been in the critical 70-80% area.

"Only 10% of his training at 80% and above, with a tiny 1.5% above 90%.

"His average HR across the 42 logs is 71% with a Training Effect of 3.1, which illustrates the need to do hours of endurance training."

55km Alpine training and man eating trees…

2009-05-22T11:04:00.006+03:00

Aidan Toase (GBR) fills us in on his recent training reconnaissance mission to the Alps:

"Well I have had a few weeks in the Alps which was a great chance to fly my new Ozone wing and to practice carrying it around. You don’t have to be Einstein to work out that flying over the Alps is definitely easy than walking over them. The terrain is so severe, making headway on foot is rarely easy.

"Anyhow I have taken this opportunity to simulate the Red Bull X-Alps by walking to a take off point and then flying every day – a great work out. One day was completely unflyable, so I put in a 55km training session with nearly 2000m of ascent covering the distance in 8hr 20min.

"The aim was to simulate the race so I kept my heart rate averaging 100bpm, which meant a good walk uphill followed by a gentle jog at 10km/h down. This was looking great and I figured if I could keep this pace up during the race, it would be fantastic.

"However it is far from clear than I can. At the end of the run not only did I have two beautiful blisters, but the terrain was not that easy either. Even the trees are dangerous (see photo) and look like they will eat unwary competitors for breakfast.

"I ended up tripping over a tree root and after performing a superman act flying through the air, I landed flat on my face and breaking my t6c heart rate monitor (HRM) in the process.

"So although I covered 55km I finished the day bruised with two blisters and a broken HRM... Hmmm this is not going to be easy!"

Says coach Eddie Fletcher: "This logfile of Aidan’s is a good one as it shows what the Red Bull X-Alps athletes may need to do all day in the Alps if flying conditions are not good.

"Steady pace and keeping heart-rate in check will be paramount to conserve energy. Although in this session, Aidan still consumed over 3000 calories!"

Honza's huge heart-rate variations

2009-05-14T17:29:00.006+03:00

American competitor Honza Rejmanek has been busy trying to replicate the actual conditions he will face during the Red Bull X-Alps, sending coach Eddie Fletcher some fascinating log files.

"These two very interesting logs from Honza probably typify the sort of ‘ups and downs’ which will happen in the race." Says Eddie. "The mix of flying, hiking and running that will occur is not the best for even energy expenditure but reflects reality rather than the contrived training efforts which can be controlled for duration, intensity and speed.

"A few weeks ago, he hiked up to a launch spot to fly his new wing that he will be using in the Red Bull X-Alps, flew around for 1hr 20min and then ran back to his car.

"His heart-rate (HR) was as high as 175 and as low as 68.

"Similarly on May 8th he went to a different site, ran and hiked up to the launch (albeit without much altitude gain) flew a bit but was slowly sinking out.

"He therefore landed on the side of the hill and hiked up to launch again. He relaunched, but slowly sank again, and landed on the side of the hill a second time. Again, he hiked back up, launched and this time flew all the way into the valley. Once safely down, he packed up, took a dip in the river, and hiked back up to his car.

"Here again he recorded a wide HR range: 172 maximum and 83 minimum."

Perfect half marathon effort from Christian

2009-05-08T18:00:00.003+03:00

Coach Eddie Fletcher was recently impressed by Christian Amon's effort in a half marathon race, held in his hometown of Hallstatt.

Finishing a very impressive 27th in 1hr 20min 12sec, Christian's Training Effect (TE) recorded on his t6c, showed a perfect upwards curve meaning his energy was well managed and distributed.

"He adopted an even pace strategy, which is always the best way, and averaged 16km/h (3min 48sec per kilometer) for a great 80 minute run," says Eddie.

"At this intensity EPOC is very high and his Training Effect was well into level 5 indicating that a ‘long’ recovery period would be required afterwards. Needless to say in subsequent days he followed this race with very steady TE levels 1 and 2 recovery sessions."

Christian's marathon

2009-04-30T11:49:00.015+03:00

While for most people running a marathon is the goal of a lifetime, for the Red Bull X-Alps athletes jogging 42km is just another part of their extensive endurance training.

Austrian athlete Christian Amon recently completed a marathon distance session in 3hr 38min around the streets of his home town, Hallstatt.

"Christian ran his in just over 3hrs 30 mins with his average heart rate (HR) at 80% of maximum," says coach Eddie Fletcher. "The logfile shows a steady HR for just over 2 hours and then a gradual drift upwards to peak at 88% of his maximum.

"His average speed was 12 kph and total calories consumed were 2900, slightly less than Aidan's walk/ run marathon where he used up 3200kcal, but his hourly consumption was significantly more - 800kcal/h compared to Aidan's 600kcal/h.

"All in all, this is a good demonstration of even pace running and great endurance training."

Tip: check out Eddie's Suunto t6c Running Guide for advice and information on getting the best out of your Suunto heart rate monitor and training.

Aidan "trundles away the miles."

2009-04-22T13:09:00.005+03:00

British Red Bull X-Alps competitor has been beefing up his training, recently completing a long distance session using a variable speed technique and carrying a rucksack to "make it more realistic."

"This is a marathon session in which Aidan walked or jogged 42km in 5hr 20min," says coach Eddie Fletcher. "His average heart rate (HR) was 64% of the maximum and the highest it went was 73%.

"Average speed was 7.9km/h with a maximum of 13.4km/h. His calorie consumption was over 3000kcal which works out at about 600kcal per hour.

Aidan picks up the story: "There are only so many hill repeats of Richmond Hill that you can stand before you get a little bored, and you get strange looks from people worried for your sanity.

"I therefore decided to head to the wonderful Dorset Coast to attempt a 42km route along the notoriously hilly coastal path. The hills here may not be as high as the Alps, but what they lack in height they make up for in number.

"My average HR was 123 meaning I used 3200kcal, although I ate so many Jelly Babies en-route that I may have actually put on weight.

"Running a new route like this is a great way of training, the countryside and views are stunning, which it makes it so much easier to trundle away the miles."

This type of training is extremely important for Red Bull X-Alps athletes, says Eddie. "Energy efficiency will be important when in the Alps."

"Walking is very energy efficient (as expected) and it can be quickly seen how running, then climbing causes fatigue to build quickly and uses far more energy. A Red Bull X-Alps athlete must be able to balance the amount of walking, running, climbing and flying properly."

Michael's cross training

2009-04-17T15:40:00.004+03:00

As spring takes hold, Michael Gebert made the most of the remaining snow with a bike/ ski/ speedflying session, and used his t6c to measure total altitude gain.

Michael takes up the story:

"Last week I had some spare time and took the opportunity to use the snow conditions which are still really good.

"Previously I've made some short two hour trips to my nearest mountain, the Nebelhorn. It's five minutes away and also a really good flying spot. But this time there was fog in the valley and it was better to go skiing than flying. I did this trip with a good friend and it was a perfect tour to the 2400m high mountain.

Going up took five hours with skis and speeding down took only four minutes with the speedglider! Great fun! For first kilometers we rode by bike, with ski boots and skies on our shoulders."

More Honza: 'bread and butter' (or taco?) endurance training

2009-04-10T14:46:00.006+03:00

In addition to hiking and flying, Honza has also been mixing up his land based training, with this 6.5hr bike, hike, hike, bike(!) session.

"Yesterday I biked 35km to the closest mountains and did two uphill hike/ runs and then biked back," says Honza.

"This is not too fatiquing," says coach Eddie Fletcher, "but requires a significant calorie input."

The logfile recorded on his t6c estimated that Honza needed 3470kcals to replenish himself afterwards.

"On the ride back, I stopped to eat six tacos at a taco stand," he says. According to Taco Bell, one taco is approximately 200kcal, so Honza would still need substantially more fuel to recover from this effort.

However, the session cost Honza a little bit more than just a few Mexican delicacies.

Honza explains more:

"At the end of the second hike/ run I took a dip in the lake. I had my cell phone in my pocket so it too went for a swim, and messed up the screen. Took $25 to fix."

Simulating the Red Bull X-Alps: Honza hikes and flies

2009-04-03T10:23:00.006+03:00

In order to train for actual conditions that he will likely encounter during the Red Bull X-Alps, Honza Rejmanek (USA) has been hiking up mountains with a paraglider and flying back down again.

Take-off. Honza doing some hike-and-fly training in the USA

From the readings on the logfile, it's possible to determine that Honza climbed and glided down two mountains over a period of 2hr 6min 4sec.

Coach Eddie Fletcher explains more:

"This log shows the benefit the Red Bull X-Alps athletes will get whilst flying. They reduce heart rate (HR) and conserve energy. The more flying they do the better. Of course coach Fletcher suspects that in the race conditions HR will be elevated somewhat, but flying will always be better than hiking!

"Over the two hours, Honza's log show significant reduction in kcal need compared to Christian’s equivalent run (see previous blog entry) and has a Training Effect of 2.8 compared to 3.4."

Honza in flight mode during the 2007 Red Bull X-Alps

Christian builds his endurance base

2009-03-26T16:03:00.007+02:00

Despite the seemingly never-ending winter and huge amount of snow in the Alps, Christian Amon has managed to get out running in the region surrounding his home town of Hallstatt in Austria.

Coach Eddie Fletcher has analysed his latest effort: a half-marathon session that took 1hr 55min 9sec.

"This is a steady run of 22 km," says Eddie, "note the control of heart-rate (HR) and speed for energy conservation. However even at this low intensity (average HR is 78% of his maximum) energy consumption was 1674 kcals due to the long duration.

"Nutrition is so important on a daily basis. On days like this Christian would need up to 3900 kcals depending on what other activities he does. If he only rested for the next 24 hours he would need 3200 kcals.

"This type of long endurance session is extremely good for building the base which Christian will need for the Red Bull X-Alps. At a Training Effect of 3.4, recovery is short providing he rests and eats accordingly."

Fartlek anyone?

2009-03-20T12:38:00.008+02:00

Writes Aidan:

"Fartlek training (Fartlek means 'speed play in Swedish') is a great way of improving speed and performance and is particularly useful if your short on time but need to get a good training session in. Fartlek is all about mixing it up and introducing variation in speed and intensity in to your running routine. Pick an object in the distance and run towards it as though your pants were on fire.

"How fast and how far you run is up to you. Following bursts of speed with recovery jogs. The amount of time allotted for recovery is up to you as well. Catch your breath, let your heart rate slow down, and jog the jelly feeling out of your legs. Then take off for another 30-second burst.

"It also helps you understand your body. You don't want to push so hard you injure yourself, yet you need to rise to the challenge of pressing past the point where you want to quit. For this reason, Fartlek sessions are great for developing self-awareness of what you're capable of as a runner.

"Here is a log of a Fartlek session, The good thing with the Suunto Training Manager software is that after you have finished, you can download your heart-beat and distances and see how hard you actually worked. The top graph is heart beat, the bottom line measures the 'Training Effect'."

Tip: Use the Foot POD to measure speed and distance, and click here to learn how to pair it with a t6c.

Honza goes running

2009-03-13T12:09:00.006+02:00

One of the benefits of Suunto's Training Manager software is the ability to overlay graphs of similar training sessions and analyse the difference in performance between each session.

Honza Rejmanek (USA) regularly runs a standard 15km route, maintaining a similar average speed. You might think that his heart rate (HR) and Training Effect (TE) would also be similar, but the graph below showing three separate sessions on the 15km course indicates how they can vary.

Note that while his average speed changes very little (13.1, 13.2 or 13.3km/h), his average heart rates were 163, 153 and 158bpm. Consequently, his TE was 4.8, 4.0 and 4.3.

"The 4.8 reflects a hard day at work!" Says coach Eddie Fletcher. "It really illustrates why it is better to train HR to make sure TE doesn't go too high and cause recovery issues."

"Listen to your heart," advises Eddie.

Keep an eye on your heart rate Honza!

Re-creating the Alps.. in London

2009-03-09T16:26:00.007+02:00

Here's what British athlete Aidan Toase says about preparing for tough alpine climbs despite living in London. Bear in mind that the Grossglockner pass, which Aidan hiked over in 2007, rises to 2428m above sea level, whereas the highest point in Great Britain's capital is Westerham Heights, 245m above sea level.

"One note I made whilst competing in the Red Bull X-Alps 2007 was that the Alps are definitely somewhat more mountainous than London. I suffered with injuries because I was less adapted to climbing mountains. I therefore need to bring more hills into my training this year to improve this.

"Hill repeats are a great way of training, with the Sunnto t6c I can exactly monitor how much ascent and descent I do on any particular run and see how my heat beat changes increasing dramatically as I reach the top of the 40m hill before recovering on the way down, see charts below, the top chart is my heart beat and the bottom is my altitude). I will be doing increasing amounts of these over the coming months to improve my strength and overall fitness - let's hope it works!"

Gebert goes from Brazilian beaches to Alpine powder

2009-02-26T11:03:00.006+02:00

Last month Michael Gebert (GER) was paragliding in Brazil, taking training runs along scorching hot beaches. Now back in his home town of Oberstdorf, Germany, his training consists of cross country skiing and ski tours due to the excessive amounts of snow covering the Alps at the moment.

"The last two weeks I was outside every day because of this perfect powder!" Michael says. "My training has only been on skis: downhill skiing, mountain skiing, cross country skiing."

"I think the next weeks will be like this because we have a lot of snow this year."

"Cross country skiing - in fact all forms of skiing - are extremely useful for cross training," says coach Eddie Fletcher. "Physiologically, it's one of the best workouts you can get as it employs most of the major muscle groups in the body and is a great cardiovascular workout."

Tip: use a GPS POD paired with a t6c to get the most out of your cross country skiing training.

Even pace, even heart-rate

2009-02-17T16:45:00.013+02:00

Despite the Alps currently under mountains of snow, Austrian athlete, Christian Amon has still managed to get out training, adopting a steady training method that coach Eddie Fletcher is happy with.

Christian ran over 22km, a half marathon, in two hours at an average pace of 11.3km/h. He consumed 1819kcal and his average heart rate was 141bpm, 80% of his maximum.

"Christian's log is interesting in the fact that it looks like the Red Bull X-Alps athletes have already worked out that even pace, even heart-rate at moderate intensity is the way to do these things." Says Eddie. "And I agree. This mitigates fatigue and distributes energy efficiently."

Christian was able to monitor the speed on his run using a Suunto Foot POD paired with a t6c heart rate monitor. The Foot POD is the ideal solution for measuring speed and distance in running. Once calibrated to the individual, two acceleration sensors in the POD provide even more accurate results than a GPS. It is more sensitive to a change of pace, is lighter, less battery consuming and costs less.

Athletes should leave it attached to the shoe so the position is always the same. This is an important detail to keep getting precise information.

Athletes complete set up test

2009-02-10T12:45:00.006+02:00

Six months out from the start of the Red Bull X-Alps 2009 and the four athletes on Suunto's training programme have begun training in earnest. Christian Amon (AUT), Honza Rejmanek (USA) and Aidan Toase (GBR1) have completed set up tests and are now reporting back to physiologist and coach Eddie Fletcher on a weekly basis with thier training log files.

Michael Gebert (GER) has just got back from a trip to Brazil and will begin the programme within the next few days.

Eddie established Christian, Honza and Aidan's personal settings by getting them to do a Conconi test on a treadmill. Says Eddie, "starting at 8.0km/h, the speed was increased by 0.5km/h every 200m to failure." And by failure, Eddie means until they couldn't keep up with the increased running pace.

A typical log file from a Conconi test looks like this:

"Set-up is so important to get right," continues Eddie. "all three are extremely talented athletes and on pure test came out at Activity classes 8-9. On training hours they will increase to Activity classes 9-10.

From the test data, I've been able to establish the durations and heart-rates applicable to each Training Effect level."

Here's Honza's settings:

RED BULL X-ALPS ATHLETES TRAINED BY SUUNTO – THE BLOG

2009-02-05T17:30:00.030+02:00

THE EVENT

One of the toughest and most spectacular adventure races in the world, competitors in the Red Bull X-Alps will race non-stop from Salzburg to Monaco, beginning on July 19, 2009.

Thirty athletes must navigate an 818km route through the Alps via seven turnpoints and must cover the distance by either flying with a paraglider or on foot. No motorised transport is permitted and they must carry their glider at all times, but participants can nominate a supporter to provide food, shelter and information.

The race goes on day and night until the first participant reaches the Mediterranean Sea in Monte Carlo.

Using the latest in technology, the athletes’ every move is monitored in real time and displayed via the Live Tracking facility on www.redbullxalps.com.

THE PROGRAMME

As proud sponsor of the 2007 and now 2009 editions of this biennial event, Suunto is providing personalised training programmes for four of the athletes. Requiring incredible endurance, Aidan Toase (GBR), Christian Amon (AUT), Honza Rejmanek (USA) and Michael Gebert (GER) must be in top shape to take part, while at the same time avoiding the risk of over exertion.

This is where renowned physiologist, coach and Suunto consultant Eddie Fletcher comes in. Fletcher, author of Suunto’s Concept 2 Indoor Rowing Training Guide and Running Guide, will provide personalised training programmes, advice and tips on how the four athletes should prepare for the hardest race of their lives.

Stay posted to this blog for training updates, images and stories from the athletes’ and Eddie Fletcher.

THE ATHLETES

Aidan Toase (GBR)

Age: 35

Profession: Management Consultant

Previous appearances at the Red Bull X-Alps: 2005, 2007.

Biggest sporting achievements/ claim to fame: Coming sixth in the Red Bull X-Alps in 2007.

Which Suunto products are you using?
Suunto t6c, Foot POD, Road Bike POD and Comfort Belt and Suunto Core.

What are your best sporting memories?
Taking my family on a tandem flight and sharing the thrill with them.

Christian Amon (AUT)

Age: 38

Profession:
Test Pilot

Previous appearances at the Red Bull X-Alps:
2005.

Biggest sporting achievements/ claim to fame:
I was in the winning team at the 2005 Red Bull Dolomitenmann and also the Red Bull Cape Town Man.

Which Suunto products are you using?
Suunto t6c, Foot POD, Road Bike POD and Comfort Belt and Suunto Core.

What are your best sporting memories?
I won the 2004 Red Bull Dolomitenmann.

Honza Rejmanek (USA)

Age: 33

Profession:
Graduate Student of Meteorology, Tandem Pilot

Previous appearances at the Red Bull X-Alps:
2007.

Biggest sporting achievements/ claim to fame:
Ninth in the 2007 Red Bull X-Alps; fifth at the 2004 US Nationals; winner of the 2002 Dave Bridges Hike & Fly Race.

Which Suunto products are you using?
Suunto t6c, Foot POD, Road Bike POD and Comfort Belt and Suunto Core.

What are your best sporting memories?
Best: bivi flying with my wife in the French Alps.

Michael Gebert (GER)

Age: 28

Profession:
Hang-gliding and Paragliding Instructor

Previous appearances at the Red Bull X-Alps:
2005, 2007.

Biggest sporting achievements/ claim to fame:
In flying: Two times winner of the Junior Challenge with the hang-glider. Second at the Bavarian Open. Winner of the Para- Bavaria. Fifth place in the Red Bull X-Alps 2005.

Which Suunto products are you using?
Suunto t6c, Foot POD, Road Bike POD and Comfort Belt and Suunto Core.

What are your best sporting memories?
A small one hour, 20km cross country flight on the Brazilian coast at night with full moon in 2007.

THE COACH

Eddie Fletcher

Motto: Train less, get more.

Profession: Physiologist and coach for Endurance sports, rowing, running, cycling, swimming, triathlon athletes. Eddie is the author of the Suunto Set-Up and Interpretation Guide for Runners (http://tinyurl.com/capzh6) and the Suunto/ Concept 2 Indoor Rowing Training Guide (http://tinyurl.com/6dnkvn).

Biggest sporting achievements/ claim to fame: I’m known as a specialist indoor rowing coach and for producing British, European and World Champions and am also acknowledged as being ‘different’, using HRV and recovery as prime training tools. I have a growing reputation in the triathlon/ Ironman arena.
My athletes have won over 65 medals at British Indoor Rowing Championships and as Team Manager (from 2004-08) for the British Indoor Rowing Squad, we have won European and world titles as well as setting British and world records along the way.

Which Suunto products are you using?
Suunto t6c, Memory Belt, Team Pod, Suunto Team Manager.

Coaching since?
Full time since 1997.

Most memorable sporting moment?
So many high points! I take delight from every performance of my athletes and enjoy seeing the results of my coaching.

Read Eddie Fletcher’s full profile here: http://tinyurl.com/dh4tpx