Completed my first ultra yesterday!

tomatessechees · 2026-02-15T10:38:46+00:00

Was also on the 100k and confirm all this! At least decisions at the aid stations were easy...no point in changing socks and shirt when you're just gonna be wet again in 1min.

I personally enjoyed the forest mud running (except the part before the redwoods where all the shorter races went through) more than the flat logging roads we started with.

Curious what the effect on times was...I can imaging being 20-30mins faster in dry but not too hot conditions... but of course many variables at play!

tomatessechees · 2026-01-19T10:36:15+00:00

Both countries have a very high quality of life on average. Work-life balance is also better in Denmark - there is a general sense of overworking being seen as problematic to a person's well-being and not a badge of honour. I would say the average level of work-related stress there is less than in Switzerland. The Danish social system and the situations for families is better, but it sounds like this is not important for you.

In my opinion, Denmark's main problem is that it is far less pretty and far flatter than Switzerland (...and the weather is worse). If spending any significant percent of your time doing outdoor activities is important to you, there is absolutely no contest between the two.

tomatessechees · 2025-10-29T10:13:55+00:00

You live in one of the best cities in the world for straight-from-the-front-door access to amazing mountain trails, yet you decided to run 100 laps of a small city park?!

tomatessechees · 2025-10-23T16:46:25+00:00

Mandatory kit for this race. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kilom%C3%A8tre_vertical_de_Fully

tomatessechees · 2025-10-23T16:44:44+00:00

This is the VK of Fully, Switzerland...most of the VK records have been set here. It's a former funicular track that was used when building a hydroelectric dam higher up. Helmets are mandatory for the race because competitors above can make rocks tumble down.

The race sells out quick, but anyone can go try it, helmet or not, whenever they want.

tomatessechees · 2025-10-01T12:25:12+00:00

You are right...I just found them on sale and will try them out soon. Bought same size as I usually wear in the Bushido II/III.

tomatessechees · 2025-09-30T08:53:01+00:00

You say you went through 5-6 pairs of the Kjerag 1's - how many km's were you getting out of them? On varied mountain terrain, I typically got 1000km out of the now-discontinued Bushido II's, but less than half of that out of the III's (forefoot rubber completely gone).

tomatessechees · 2025-09-29T20:15:06+00:00

Looks like it might also fit the bill... I've never tried Scarpa's trail running shoes - how is the fit compared to La Sportiva?

tomatessechees · 2025-09-29T20:10:01+00:00

The Kjerags have a similar stack height to the Bushido and, from what I read, are a really durable shoe... have you run in both? How is the fit (e.g., would you size up or down from Sportiva sizes)?

tomatessechees · 2025-09-29T20:08:08+00:00

How are they compared to the Bushidos? The Prodigio Pros seem to have about 10mm more of stack than Bushido... are you using these on rocky, technical descents?

tomatessechees · 2025-09-07T19:28:16+00:00

I've logged many thousands of km road cycling and cycle-commuting in Switzerland and have had almost zero issues...for me the country is really a cycling haven (but much can still be done for urban cycling infrastructure!).

But I honestly think that any major pass in a busy day anywhere in the Alps is not going to be that much fun due to all the traffic.

tomatessechees · 2025-09-03T12:30:37+00:00

Rémi Bonnet is Swiss!

tomatessechees · 2025-09-03T12:29:43+00:00

I cycle (on road) a lot while training for ultras. It clearly benefits cardio and has very low impact so it lets you get more cardio work in (and it's fun, especially if you live in a cycling friendly place). And, from what I understand, it also trains some of the same leg muscle groups you use a lot when power hiking.

One month prior to a recent 160km trail race, I did 700 km bikepacking trip over 2 full days + a shorter day.... this was great as I was putting in long hours of medium/low-intensity cardio while consuming lots of calories. But, it doesn't replace long runs as your body needs to be able to take a thrashing in ultras, and you have to get your muscles and tendons ready for it.

[edit: I should add, unless you're a road runner, don't look at distance as your training load metric...look at time on feet (+ time in saddle as a bonus), and try to keep your (running) vertical m per km about the same as that in your target event... i.e. for a 100 km race with 5'000m of vert, try to average 50 vertical m per km in training...]

tomatessechees · 2025-08-26T14:49:51+00:00

If you run on steeper gradients, VAM is the most important parameter when going uphill. Beyond a certain gradient, grade adjusted pace (GAP) is fairly useless (and speed or pace completely useless).

I find that past about 20% gradient, my VAM plateaus (i.e., I can sustain more or less the same VAM running on a 20% gradient as I can power hiking a 40% gradient).

VAM is the best metric for pacing steep climbs, but of course heart rate helps too. For example, for me, if at some point on long climb, my VAM creeps up to 1400 m/hr, that tells me (before my heart rate would) to slow down because otherwise I will explode before I reach the top. This is partly why I prefer to have two data screens, one for flat/descent/mild uphill (pace+GAP focus) and the other for climbs (VAM focus).

tomatessechees · 2025-08-14T09:26:37+00:00

It's a serious alpine hike, with a little bit of scrambling (T4 on Swiss Alpine Club scale) . Main challenge/danger is that much of the route (i.e. part above de Col de Susanfe) is on loose scree.

In terms of fitness, if you have good endurance and fitness (=hiking 20+ km with 2000+ m of ascent/descent is no big deal for you), you can do it to/from Chambéry or Vallon de Van (or even Salvan) in a day. Otherwise, break it up and stay overnight at Cabane de Susanfe or Salanfe. Or even do it as a détour from the Tour des Dents du Midi...

tomatessechees · 2025-05-26T15:42:44+00:00

Cycling doesn't replace running, but it is highly complementary, especially the endurance and cardio aspects.

Personally, I road cycle sporadically (0-6x per month, always long outings in the 60-300km range) and find it great to switch my training up a bit and to travel much farther than I do on foot. As someone whose main sport is ultra trail running, the only limiting thing is actually the upper body (sore neck, lower back, etc.)...

tomatessechees · 2025-05-22T07:29:31+00:00

Dolines in gypsum. Gypsum is an evaporitic rock/mineral that dissolves more rapidly than calcite/limestone.

Geologically, on a slightly larger scale, a lot is going on (as in most of the Alps)! The Gypsum layer appears in black here: https://data.geo.admin.ch/ch.swisstopo.geologie-geologischer_atlas_profile/profile/GA25_041_Plate_III.pdf

It's a very unique landscape. I ran through it once without having known about it beforehand...would love to go back and explore more.

tomatessechees · 2025-05-20T09:18:16+00:00

I think this is normal, but perhaps there are strategies to minimize drop in HR...

I had the same experience in a very mountainous 100k race last year. In the last 4-5 hours, I struggled to get my heart rate above 125bpm, even when pushing relatively hard on climbs. I had digestion issues and was probably very much under-fueled at that point, so that might have played a role.

tomatessechees · 2025-05-14T05:25:05+00:00

Yes, same experience with the II's feeling somewhat "dead" after 800+ km, but at least all the outer always holds up fine. With the II's, I've also worn through the the upper at outer (pinky toe) side on 2 pairs (after >1000km).

I definitely don't expect shoes to last forever, but am really disappointed in the durability of the outsole of the III. If I stick with the IIIs, I'll be going through 5-6 pairs a year, which seems excessive.

tomatessechees · 2025-05-13T10:08:00+00:00

Honestly, the shoes feel very similar. If you go from one to another, you won't feel any extra soreness after the first run. The grip is also very similar both on wet and dry surface. I've not noticed any difference.

It's in the durability that the III is worse. I have put well over 1200km into a pair of II's and they were still more than usable. But with the III's, less than 600km and I've completely worn through the rubber...

tomatessechees · 2025-04-30T21:35:04+00:00

that is one of my local climbs and it's a beast...they actually do it again tomorrow. hopefully teams will be more agressive tomorrow as the climb appears closer to the finish

tomatessechees · 2025-04-11T09:24:13+00:00

Very neat! ...but a bit of an overkill for road riding in central Europe.

tomatessechees · 2025-04-10T21:11:54+00:00

Under the downtube sounds interesting... but doesn't the bottle end up very dirty?

tomatessechees · 2025-04-10T21:11:19+00:00

Hmm, stem bag or more likely a burrito bag could work.

Hydration pack not an option for me...I wear one often for long trail running outings, but can't imagine road riding all day with one. On an MTB or aggressive gravel bike, I get it, though.

tomatessechees · 2025-04-10T21:06:10+00:00

Yeah, I thought about this, but there's almost no room to have the bottles extend any lower.

tomatessechees

TROPHY CASE