Transvulcania de La Palma Race Report - May 2013

This weekend I was lucky enough to head over to the beautiful island of La Palma in the Canary Islands, to take part in one of the top races in the world ultra calendar; Transvulcania. Last year, this was very possibly the biggest Ultramarathon in terms of media coverage, with the combined forces of iRunFar, Ultra168 and Talk Ultra to allow us to follow along from home. But this year, I would actually get to be there.

After a fantastic week away in the Peak District (just as a sort of acclimatisation to hills between Cambridgeshire and La Palma) with my wife and daughter, I left to meet up with Chris Baynham-Hughes, Martin Wilcock and Richard Webster to begin the rather convoluted journey to the "Isla Bonita". A very early 4am start, a taxi to the airport, a flight from Manchester to Tenerife, a hire car to the airport on the other side of the island, another flight to La Palma, and another hire car for use on the island itself, and we were there!

Salomon Advanced Skin S-Lab Belt Set Review

Have I ever told you how much I love Salomon gear? The gear coming out of the S-Lab is a rather stunning example of function dictating design, as the formidable stable of Salomon athletes work closely with the designers to create exactly what they need. The first example of this was the Advanced Skin race vest originally designed for Kilian Jornet in the 2011 UTMB which revolutionised the way we think about running packs, but the innovations have since come thick and fast.

The latest potential game-changer are the new soft water bottles and associated hydration systems in the 2013 line. These include updated versions of the S Lab Advanced Skin race vests, a rather ingenious looking (if slightly whacky) set of glove-style handhelds (the Sense Hydro Set), and the new lightweight Salomon Advanced Skin S Lab Hydration Belt.

This last one caught my eye as a potential way to cut down on bulk in my racing, being an incredibly lightweight waist pack relying on soft bottles rather than bulky plastic ones. If I could fit everything I need for a supported 100 miler like the upcoming South Downs Way, this could potentially be the perfect pack for me.

Last year, Salomon gear was like gold dust - travelling to Chamonix for UTMB last year was amazing as every other store seemed to stock it! But now we are spoiled for choice, with several suppliers in the UK taking delivery of the latest range (including the Ultra Marathon Running Store, Centurion Running Store, and Castleberg Outdoors). I contacted Keith Godden at the UMRS who sent me one to try out.

Unfortunately - shock horror - I wasn't overly impressed. Believe me, I wanted to love this pack. But sadly it wasn't to be. Unfortunately the very thing that made it so appealing (the lightweight nature) was also its greatest failing. I only used the pack for a short amount of time, so haven't put nearly as many hours into it as I normally would for a review, but this was enough time to identify problems which made it unsuitable for my needs.

But let's do this in a systematic way:

Salomon XT-Advanced Skin S-Lab

Being the huge (accidental) Salomon fan boy that I am, I have recently been bigging up the Salomon Skin S-Lab pack to some of my friends who have been looking for new packs this year. With the release of the Signature Series from Ultimate Direction, it seems that the race vest style of running pack is becoming more and more popular. With ultras, it is often important to take a lot of gear out with us on the trails, particularly if doing something long and self-supported, or up a mountain, in a jungle, in a desert, etc. Broadly speaking there are 3 choices for carrying what we need; a handheld water bottle (if all we need is a bit of water and maybe a few gels), a waist pack (to carry a couple of bottles and a bit of essential gear like a jacket), or a backpack (if we need to carry a whole bunch of stuff). Over longer distances, backpacks can get quite uncomfortable given the way that they sit the weight on the shoulders, with maybe some lumbar support as well. The race vests are designed to distribute the weight over the chest so that you don't get so much of that pulling on your shoulders.

I have been using the Salomon XT-Advanced Skin S-Lab since I started running ultras in 2011, and for the time-being have no reason whatsoever to switch. I love this pack. It is a masterful feat of design, with everything perfectly placed for me, and so many useful little features that another pack would have to do something very special to get my attention. Why go out for hamburger when you have steak at home?

There are currently two flavours of the pack - the 5L and the 12L. I reviewed the 5L a long time ago before I ran my first 100 miler with it, but have now used it so much that I feel that a new review is required. I have both the 5L (2 in fact...) and the 12 L, so will review both simultaneously as they are pretty much identical in most regards. Spoiler alert: I like them!

As a warning, this review looks at the 2012 edition of the packs. There is a newer version available (with a new colour scheme: ooh, pretty red!) but I won't need to replace these any time soon. But there aren't too many additions or changes other than cosmetic so the the vast majority of the review still applies to the latest 2013 models.

Salomon Sense Mantra Review

Ah! Gotta love that new shoe smell! They won't stay looking that clean for long...

Salomon are the Apple of ultrarunning. Their stuff looks sexy, it's highly functional, everybody wants it, but my word is it expensive! Generally speaking my choice of running gear is primarily based on price, but I have found the Salomon S-Lab Skin hydration pack to be so amazing that I now own 3 despite the high price tag (a 5L, a 12L, and another 5L as I have burnt through the first one now with overuse). I have also used the Salomon Speedcross shoe since my first 100 miler in 2011, although these are actually very well priced (particularly if you look around online). So I have found myself accidentally becoming a bit of a Salomon fanboy without really meaning to. But when the kit works so well, what can you do? 

When the Salomon Sense came out last year, I wanted them. I wanted them bad! I'm pretty sure that they automatically make you run like Killian Jornet. Well I would hope so at least, given the 150 quid price tag! I've never really had a problem with my Speedcross and am of the opinion that "if it ain't broke, don't fix it", but the Sense appeared to be the Speedcross but with a lower heel-to-toe drop that would be more suitable for my more forefoot/midfoot running style. They looked like they would be worth a shot, but I just couldn't bring myself to break my bank account for them. Instead, I went for an even more minimalist (and much cheaper) shoe in the New Balance MT110. 

Jump forward to 2013, when Salomon released their updated versions of the Sense; the Sense Ultra and the Sense Mantra. The Sense Ultra is very similar to the original Sense (with a few minor tweaks), whilst the Sense Mantra is more of a gateway shoe with slightly more padding in the sole. "Lovely", I thought, "but still outside of my price range". But thanks to Craig Meredith at Fit2Function, I was able to get hold of a pair of Sense Mantras at the very reasonable price of £85. Well alright then, if you insist!