The Perfect Weekend Bag

KARKOA

The perfect weekend bag.

I was recently contacted by Karkoa to see if I would be interested in testing one of their bags. I have plenty of running bags, yet never really found or bought a go-to weekend bag. With so many weekends away for running plus travelling for weekends away in other cities, I know this bag is going to be put to good use.

The other weekend I had a girly trip to Dorset for the Endurancelife 33mile ultra and thought it would be the perfect opportunity to test it for the first time.

It really is a nifty bag and it does exactly what it says on the tin! There are compartments for plenty of goodies, including:

·             Water bottle (with insulation)

·             Shoes (which is perfect for dirty shoes post trail runs!)

·             Dirty laundry

·             Toiletries

·             Laptop

·             Clothes

·             Tennis racket (with a clip to keep it in place)

·             Smaller things like money, your phone, keys and chargers

The relatively sturdy backing and separate compartments are great for keeping everything exactly where you need it to be and preventing your clothes from getting creased.

Its straps are cushioned and supportive on the shoulders which make it suitable for heavy loading. The only change I would make to the bag is to have adjustable shoulder straps with extra room for the neck. This would make it slightly comfier when running, though may lose the bags ability to carry lots of weight! Having said this, I prefer the bag for weekends away anyway so most of the time this won’t apply!

In terms of quality and life expectancy, I can see the bag lasting for years and years. The material is very durable as are the zips and straps. I can’t see me having to buy another weekend bag for years.  

The smaller 25 litre sportsbag is available in ‘Ceramic Blue’, Orange Sunrise’ and Mulberry Grey’ and the larger 40 litre smartbag comes in ‘Grey’ and ‘Dark Blue’. All variations are classic, sheik and suitable for travelling.

Here is a video of the 40 litre smartbag.

Here is a video of the 25 litre sports bag.

The company who have created the bag are very friendly French innovators with an ambition to re-invent leisure luggage while creating a unique user experience. Their customer service reflected this perfectly for me so I am sure everyone else would have the same experience if they need to contact anyone working at KARKOA.

One size fits all for all of KARKOA’s bag ranges. They can be for both men and ladies and are suitable for all occasions, whether it be running, a weekend away, to and from work or going to the gym.

If you’re looking for a weekend style bag, I would highly recommend KARKOA. 

Suunto Traverse

On Tuesday I received my Suunto Traverse in the post after being chosen to be 1 of 20 people that are part of the #SuuntoAdventure testing team.

I was delighted to have been chosen. Not only do I love running gadgets but this will also keep me motivated to be on the move for the next couple of months as I start training for Marathon des Sables 2016.

I will be doing most of the testing in December and January right up until I fly all the way to Mongolia for an expedition and ice marathon in -40 so I plan to put it to its most extreme test in those freezing conditions. Lucja, who has also been chosen to be part of the testing team will also be in Mongolia with me so it will be a great chance to compare our Movescoumt records from the trip.

I am no stranger to Suunto as my first and only running watch is the Suunto Ambit 2. I carried this around the Kalahari desert with me last year and personalised the settings for 'Desert Racing' to conserve battery and allow me to view the data I most needed to see. I look forward to being able to compare both Suunto watches.

My first impressions are nothing but positive! It arrived in the post well packaged with the watch half charged, a charger and the instruction manual. I have been given the white which would have been my first choice had I bought the watch myself.

The strap is a lot more flexible and makes it less weighty than the Ambit 2. The buttons have been slightly updated and require less force to navigate your way round.

The battery is blooming amazing. I have 92% left after 24 hours of use which includes a bit of playing around and a quick 5mile run. Further to this is only took 30 minutes to be fully charged (so would take an hour if totally run down). The website says it has 100hours of battery life which is more than enough for my long runs.

The GPS takes a very small 5 seconds to get signal so there is no standing around waiting in the cold making sure no miles are missed.

Generally the watch is very easy to use, despite all of its complex and brilliant features.

I've been wearing the watch not only for my runs but also throughout the day. Some features I use when I'm not running are:

• Seeing how many steps I have walked/run in a day
• Checking when sunrise and sunset are
• Seeing what altitude I am at (though this doesn't change much in London)
• Checking the temperature

There are still some features I haven't yet tested including:

• Navigation
• Linking it with my smartphone to see when I have notifications
• Using the data on the watch to generate an animated GPS map of my running routes

Watch this space as I start testing more of the features and putting it to different tests. This weekend I'll be using it in the 33mile Dorset EnduranceLife ultra. The perfect opportunity for an animated map of my run along the coast!

Skort Reviews

Over the summer I have tried and tested quite a few skorts so now I can list them all together to rate and compare.

Skorts are my favourite part of my ever growing running kit. Being blessed with rather a large behind means that any piece of clothing that hugs my bum leaves very little to the imagination and makes me feel rather uncomfortable running around London knowing how exposed I am.

So when the skorts started becoming 'a thing' it was like a revelation to me. They hide the shape of the bum, flatter the legs by flowing over and hide the nasty bit at the top of the thighs under the bum, hooray!! (I appreciate not everyone 'suffers' from this). So I've ended up buying far too many skorts. We all know how important it is to feel good in your exercise gear. Here's a list of the ones I bought and my review of them:

Fabletics - Carmo Skirt

Rating: 5.5/10

Look: I love the pattern shorts underneath the grey skirt. I also like the simplicity of the skirt shape. Not too much fuss makes the skirt quite flattering.

Practicality: I wouldn't go on a run over 10 miles in this skort because the shorts ride up and cause chafing. I made this mistake one morning and ended up bleeding quite badly which turned into two nasty scabs in a rather strange place.

Retail Price: £35

Lululemon - Hit Your stride Skirt, Purple

My 'go to' skort.

Rating: 8.5/10

Look: I really love this look of this skort. The layers of flare make it very flattering and the colours are great.

Practicality: Very suitable for many types of runs. With two side pockets on the outside, two side pockets on the shorts and one at the back, it has enough room for hours worth of gels. The leg pockets are also big enough for an iPhone 5 (not 6) so great if you don't want to have to bring a bag with you. Like the other Lululemon skorts below, it has the grip hems at the bottom of the shorts which stop them from riding up. Another great thing about the lululemon skorts is they sit perfectly on the hips without slipping down or digging in to the hips but also have a drawstring if it is too loose for you. 

Races: I would most likely wear this for a trail ultramarathon or a short training run. I wouldn't use it for anything over 20miles on road because you start to chafe after excessive rubbing between the legs which you wouldn't get in a trail race as you tend to vary your running 'stroke' more on trails.

Retail Price: £58

Me in the skort running in Cornwall

Lululemon - Pace Rival Skirt, White and Yellow

Rating: 7/10

Look: Flattering and glamorous! 

Practicality: Very comfy just as the lululemon skort above. Wouldn't rate it as highly because it doesn't have as many pockets for gels / keys / phone.

Retail Price: £58

Yellow Version

White Version at the Paris Marathon

Lululemon - Pink, Pleat To Street Skirt II

Rating: 6.5/10

Look: I mean it's pretty garish! I look a bit like a marshmallow in it but if you're in the right mood (like me below) then it's great! I'm not rating it as high as the other lululemon skorts because I think it's not as flattering as the other lululemon skorts. The pleats almost make everything underneath look a little bit bigger than they actually are. Maybe if the pleats were slightly wider it would be better?

Practicality: Very comfortable to run in. Just the same as the two Lululemon skorts above! It also has the shorts pockets so practical for long runs when you need gels and your phone.

Retail Price: £62

Me looking like a Pink Marshmallow with my sister

Solomon S-Lab Twinskin Blue

Rating: 8.5/10

My most reliable skort.

Look: I love the baby blue colour but think the shorts would be better in grey mainly because white is a dangerous colour to wear on your bottoms but also because the shorts are slightly longer than the skirt and grey might be more flattering as less obvious. Otherwise I love the look of the skort, it makes me feel like a pro!

Practicality: Definitely the most practical skort on my list here. The compression shorts mean there is no chance for chafing and also help the blood circulate round the upper leg muscles during the run. The material is lightweight so perfect for summer days. 

The shorts are very tight with the compression and it feels like you are going to break the ribbed like material when you first put them on but after a few wears you'll end up shaping the shorts so they fit perfectly.

Sizing: I originally bought small and had to return it for the medium because the shorts were so tight on my huge arse so if you are debating over the two sizes, be safe and get the medium. I'm usually a 10 but in this instance a 12!

Races: I would most likely wear this for an ultra in non-extreme weather.

Retail price: £120 on the Salomon site or cheaper with other suppliers.

Me at Race to the Stones (2015) in the Salomon Twinskin

Solomon S-Lab Sense Skort Black

Rating: 5/10

After loving the Salomon twinskin and then seeing Frosty and Forsberg in a new skort, I thought I'd splash out and try the new range.

Look: Love the simplicity of this skort and how you can wear it with anything. I also like the slits at the front making it a more flexible skirt.

Practicality: This must have been designed for all women with legs like Forsberg, which I unfortunately don't have so I didn't wear this skort more than once. The short material is very light and thin with no grip mechanism so they rode up all the time and caused chafing. It's a skort which I'm sure works for some but unfortunately not for me.

Size: I bought the medium based on my twinskin size. However I do think the short material is so light and elastic with room for growth that I could have got away with a small. BUT it was very short so quite exposing on the front and back. Probably would have worn it more 5 years ago!

Returns: I ended up contacting both Salomon and SportsShoes with feedback. SportsShoes wouldn't allow me to return it because I had already worn it but if I had bought it directly through Salomon I would have been able to use the warrantee. Lesson learnt! You get what you pay for. 

Retail Price: £90 with Salomon or cheaper on wiggle and other suppliers!

I don't even have a photo of me in this one :-(

Amalfi Coast Ultra Trail

There is a reason why The Amalfi Coast Ultra Trail awards you 3 UTMB points if you reach the finish line. The utterly brutal and relentlessly unforgiving route pushes everyone that is brave enough to tackle it to their undiscovered limits. The Amalfi Coast is on the western coast of Italy, an hour south of Naples not far from Mt. Vesuvius. The area known as the 'Jewel of the Mediterranean' has a wealth of medieval architechture, cliff edge side villages and beautiful sea views. With 6981m of cumulative climbing to cover over 76km and over 11,000 steps to climb, I knew this wasn't going to be an easy ride. Competitors are given 19 hours to complete the race, which before starting, I thought might be a generous cut off time. As it's only the third year the race has been running, it is not widely known so only 60 competitors took to the start line of the 76km race. As the only UK representative and 1 of 6 ladies I had the opportunity to aim for a decent position.

76km route profile

The race also offers distances of 18km and 33km for those not wanting to do the ultra and these proved much more popular with over 200 people taking part.

The 76km route

I entered the race a few months ago after doing some research into European mountain races. Race day was Sunday so I took the Friday and Monday off work with the idea that I would be able to have a look around Amalfi on Friday and be able to put my feet up on Saturday to conserve as much energy as possible before the race. Unfortunately, after waking up at 04:30 to make my flight in time for the 13:00 transfer, I was made to wait 8 hours for someone to pick me up at Naples airport. The transfer was part of a package deal I booked through a company called Lost Worlds. The package includes a race place, 2 nights accommodation and all ground transfers. I unfortunately had a few problems with them during the trip but they have since made it up to me by offering me a free race at any one of their other races listed in the Lost Worlds Series... so no hard feelings now.

Sight seeing the day before the race

So Saturday ended up being a day of preparation rather than relaxation. I budded up with a lovely Kiwi called Tamara who I ended up rooming with for the weekend. We collected our race packs in Minori and went to a race briefing in the evening whilst whopping down a takeaway spaghetti bolonaise to save time and get to bed as early as possible. The race registration wasn't easy to find as we were given no instructions on how to find it so ended up asking local Italians to show us the right direction. The race briefing was presented in Italian with English translation and went through the 76km route from start to finish with time at the end for any questions we had (of which we had plenty!). 

Pretty bare race registration

I woke up at 03:10 on Sunday morning to make my way to the start line with all my race gear, two small Nutella bread rolls and a High Five energy drink. The Minori Palace Hotel where I stayed was a 3 minute walk from the start line on the pier so I would recommend it to anyone taking part in the race as I wasted no time before the race travelling which is ideal with such an early start time. It was warm and humid outside as a storm was heading our way from over the sea so there was no need to wear a jacket as recommended on the kit list.

Me at the start line

At 4am we set off through the local villages and started the first and smallest ascent. With plenty of steps to climb this was almost a teaser for what was coming up next. Within a minute the elites disappeared and as people charged off behind, I hung back knowing I would be stronger later as we had a long day ahead of us.

The 76km race competitors at the start

I felt rough for the first couple of hours and it wasn't until we reached the pine forests at the top of the first big climb, when the sun was coming out that I felt as though I was getting into the swing of it. Getting to the top was tiring, technical and steep. There were lots of hairy sections with steep drop offs so I was glad to be in the dark at that point! The climb was so tough that every so often I had to stop to take a breather where I would lean over my poles and get my heart rate down, making sure I was listening to my body and not pushing myself too hard to knock me out for the rest of the day.

Beautiful scenery at the top of the first climb

I didn't reach the top of the first climb early enough to catch the sunrise but nevertheless it was beautiful watching it reach daylight with such great views of the villages below.

I had one of my favourite runnable sections here. One of very few, as there weren't very many due to the technicality and steepness of the course.

Another beautiful view from the top

The route was marked by white spray arrows on the floor and red and white tape tied to anything slightly higher off ground. They weren't very clear and could have done with bright orange tape as it is much more visible. The rain also managed to wash off some of the floor spray so it wasn't that visible after the storm. A combination of this and me enjoying the views meant I didn't see a white arrow pointing left at about 10 miles but after 500m I realised I hadn't seen another marker so turned back. This happened again to me about 2 miles later when I was with another lady who ended up getting stuck in a field of bracken so I waited for her until she could get escape. Hopefully they learn from this year and make the marking better as I know a lot if people got lost along the route. 

As the sun was setting, before the last descent

The endless climbs and declines were relentless. They were so steep with no recovery in-between so it was hard to keep momentum and speed up. As I was going slow, my legs weren't in too much pain so the real test for me on this one was to cope with the extra long time on my feet.

Imagine 11,000 of these!

On the third big climb I was sabotaged by a pack of barking dogs who trapped me against a wall until the owner came to let me pass. I must have been barked at by a dog every 20 minutes! It's fair to say Italian dogs must hate runners!

I spent the last 30km running with Sanna Jansson from Sweden and Tom Maessen from the Netherlands. It was great to have company for the last few hours because it got dark by 19:00 with some of the most technical sections to go. The most technical downhill we did in pitch black. The light of three head torches definitely helped, even though I did take a few tumbles and left myself with plenty of cuts and bruises. The trails were dry, dusty and steep with lots of loose rocks. It was mentally challenging knowing how long it was taking but I was pleased to be with Sanna and Tom to keep my mind off the fatigue. By this time I was starting to feel weak and hungry. I had been taking salt tablets every hour and a gel every 1 hour - 1.5 hours but after so many hours my body was craving solid food so I was eager to get to the finish for a pizza! The three of us stayed with eachother right until the end and held hands to finish all together. As Sanna had been ahead of me at the start of the race they gave her 2nd lady and me 3rd which I was very happy with. 

Me and Sanna enjoying the views before the last descent

The whole experience was brilliant. Yes there were lots of complaints along the way, like lack of water, too few checkpoints, not enough marshalls and bad sign posting but the trails were truly spectacular and enough to tempt me back to Amalfi again. The volunteers that did help along the route were lovely too which is always nice to have when you need a bit of TLC. I'm sure as the race gets bigger and they have had more years of experience, there will be race improvements, so bearing in mind my learnings and recommendations below I would say yes I do recommend the race to anyone looking for a mountain ultra in Europe... But be prepared for a tough, very long, challenging but rewarding day.

Village view

Learnings for anyone interested in running the Amalfi Coast Ultra Trail:

• Bring more than one litre of water OR use the natural spring taps for refilling - I was deceived by the 'water stations' on the route profile. I was not aware that some of the stations would be natural spring water taps rather than checkpoints so I passed a few without filling up and as a consequence ran out of water in the first 20km.
• Wear gaiters!! They do not mention this on the kit list but the ground is so dry so a lot of the trail was on dusty paths, including some of the downhill so it completely filled my shoes up.
• Bring some sort of solid food. By the end of the day I was craving for something solid! I was so sick of my gels and needed something to fill the hole in my stomach after not eating anything for 18 hours. 
• Have a bright head torch. I made the mistake of not buying an expensive one and spent 6 hours in dark without a strong light. Don't forget there are so few people in the race that you will most likely be on your own in the dark at some point so can't rely on the light of other peoples head torches.
• Don't carry too much extra weight on gloves and jackets as recommended on the gear list. It was high 20s, even at 4:00 in the morning so I only needed one layer. 
• If you don't want to be alone in the dark at the end, buddy up with someone in front or behind you. It will really help with morale towards the end of the race.
• Watch where you are going!!! It's seriously easy to get lost and with so few people doing the race you really have to rely on your own directions and route awareness.
• Prepare to be slow. This is the steepest race I have done and it seemed next to impossible to run up or down some of the sections. 
• Stair train! There were so many flipping steps you wouldn't believe! 
• Make the most of the views and have fun!

My kit for the race:
X-Bionic Trik T-Shirt, Pink

Lululemon Skort, Yellow

Injinji Socks

New Balance Leadville 100 Shoes, v2

CompressSport Visor

Mountain King, Trail Blaze Trekking Poles, Pink

Race to the Stones 2015

Two years ago I walked 100km from London to Brighton and said I would NEVER cover that distance on foot again. Who was I kidding? The other weekend I ran 100km in Race to the Stones, one of the UK's most well known and biggest ultras. I entered knowing that Princess (a friend from KAEM) was flying from Tanzania for the race and Lucja and Dion would be flying down from Edinburgh to support him. I was also needing a mid-summer ultra to keep me ticking through the summer so the timing was perfect. 

I came into the race not feeling fully prepared or confident that I was at my fittest, having come back from Transvulcania in May, knowing that my body needed a rest from the hard training, early mornings and dieting so I took a step back to relax. My weekly mileage was hitting 30-40miles so definitely not enough for a 100km race. Though I felt bad for not training hard enough, my body definitely needed it and some might even argue that I was fresher coming into the race because of it. 

Race to the Stones is an ultra marathon for many abilities. Runners can choose from the 100k in one day, over 2 days or just 50k on one day. I find it hard to book anything but the hardest option so I went for the 100k in one go. The route is from Oxbridge to Avebury along the Chilterns on the oldest path in Britain. About 90% of it is on trails that frequently undulate with a cumulative elevation of 2306ft, though most of this is runnable. As race day is in the height of summer the ground is very compact on both the chalky and grass sections. I was wearing my favourite and faithful New Balance Leadville 100s which are well cushioned so they saved me any trouble on the hard ground. 

On race day I drove up with Rhianon, who I've been doing a fair bit of my training with since about November last year. Rhianon did the 50k and came home with an amazing 3rd position for the ladies!!! We dropped my car off at the hotel Lucja, Princess and Dion were staying at so Dion could drive us all to the start line incase we had problems with the traffic. 

Me, Lucja and Rhianon

At registration, I bumped into Sorrell who has been leading the WMNRUN100 team which I joined and is in aid of getting more women into ultra running. Sorrell did a fantastic job of supporting everyone throughout training and the gap was certainly bridged with women making up about 40% of the race. 

Lucja and I also introduced ourselves to Sophie Radcliffe (@challengesophie) before the start, who very last minute decided she was going to take part in the 100k in one day.  It's always great to meet people face to face having only ever met online. 

Lucja, Sophie and Me

Much to our surprise we also bumped into Harry who took part in KAEM 2014. Great to know he's still on great form and hasn't run out of stories to tell :-)

Me, Harry, Lucja, Princess and Sion. Team KAEM!

After a few words of encouragement from Lucja to put me in the right frame of mind I set off for the days adventure! I didn’t necessarily have a game plan other than to listen to my body and keep a steady pace so that I wouldn’t burn out too early. The more races I do these days, the less I over think them. 

The first section was a mixture of trails with a few fun forest sections and the famous poppy field which I couldn’t help but take a selfie in (yep i'm back!).

I had arranged with Lucja and Dion that I wouldn’t see them until the 50k mark as I could do without support until then. I spent a good 10k with Sophie from about 20k in. We had a good chit-chat about our adventures so far, what brought us to the race and what we have planned for the future. It was one of the most enjoyable parts of the race for me as we had plenty to talk about and time passed by quickly. 

From about 30k I was starting to feel slightly sluggish and my stomach was beginning to not cope with the amount of fluid and gels I was consuming. I drink a lot of water anyway but as it was hot I was even more conscious of making sure I was drinking enough. That mixed with a gel every hour didn't sit well in my stomach. Knowing I was getting closer to half way where Lucja and Dion would be, I pushed on so I could start counting down with 50k left to go. I ran the final km to the half way point with Dion who's springy step made me very jealous but kept me company as he updated me on everyone else's whereabouts. We met Lucja by the car so I could restock on any extra food I wanted, especially as there was no cake at the CPs!! Lucja has taught me and she is totally right in saying that you only have yourself to rely on in races. So for any first timers wanting to take part, make sure you either carry your days food on you or have someone supporting you who can feed you along the way. 

At the 60k CP I spent a good 5 minutes in a portaloo relieving my stomach and taking the few minutes sat down to reset and recharge (i'm sorry if that offends anyone ha). It sure worked because I left feeling like a new person. For the next 20k the legs felt fresher, I felt a lot lighter and my stomach was finally empty so a lot easier to run on. I was definitely on better form when seeing Lucja and Dion for the second time at the 7th CP and they could tell my pace had improved. I had a bit of perpeptuem, half a chicken and bacon sandwich, which was my first bit of solid food since breakfast and plodded along the next km with Lucja. The next 20k were a slog but I kept a consistent pace, making the decision to walk parts of the uphill. I was starting to yo-yo with the same group of people so we started to share our pain to each other. The CPs were not only getting further apart because we were slowing down but also because they actually were getting further away by about 2-3kms which made a big difference. I'm sure there was a logistical reason behind it but it felt like the backwards way of placing CPs! Nevertheless, having Lucja and Dion supporting was a huge morale boost and enough motivation to get me to the next CP. 

At 90k I saw them for the last time before the finish. They had calculated that I could finish in 12hrs if I really pushed it in the last 10k and that my aim to be back in time for a pub dinner was likely to happen so I set off as soon as I had more water and waved goodbye until the finish line. 

The views in the last 10k were lovely as we made our way down to Avebury but the wheels had come off and although I knew how close I was, my watch had run out of juice so I could only gage how much further was left and it still felt like a very long way. In hindsight I could have pushed harder but I was already feeling happy at how far i'd come and now I realise this, I will make sure I push harder on the next one. 

Forget the stones, it's all about the finish line. The final stretch of about 200m put a huge grin on my face. Seeing Lucja and Dion there put an even bigger grin on my face as I've shared so much of my journey over the past couple of years with them and as you might know Lucja has coached me since last year now. Seeing how much I've improved since then is credit not only to my hard work but also due to the time she has dedicated to training and supporting me. There will be a full testimonial on this soon! 

16th lady!

I crossed the line in 12:22 putting me in 16th position out of 262 ladies and 97th overall out of 861 runners... Just in time for last orders at the pub near the finish. Lucja later drove me to the Hilton hotel we pre-booked in Swindon so I could shower and start recovering while she drove back to watch Princess over the line with Dion. Hats off to Princess for pushing through the last 70k that he had to walk due to cramping. All in all, a great race and yet another chance to push my limits and prove to myself what the mind and body is capable of if you truly put your mind to it, train hard and believe you have it in you. 

My main tips for anyone doing RTTS 100k would be:

• If you can, find someone to support you along the way. I gave Lucja and Dion a bag full of shot blocks, gels, malt loaf and sweets for me to pick at and top up on at CPs. 
• Be consistent. Don't set off too fast... you'll only burn out too quickly and pay the price later in the race. 
• Bring your own food!!!! Don't rely on the CP food. You never know what you feel like eating on race day so bring a variety.
• Book a hotel near the finish line. The last thing you want to worry about at the finish is having to get home (unless someone can collect you).
• Bring salt tablets. It was a super hot day and this was the only thing I forgot to bring with me and certainly regretted it during the race.
• At the start, get yourself near the front. Don't be shy! The path gets narrow a couple of km's in so if you're too far back you'll be stuck in traffic for a while.

Next up for me is the Amalfi Coast Crossing, a low key 76k in beautiful Italy with 6900m of elevation and a 19hr cut off. Couldn't keep away from the mountains for too long! :-)