At La Sportiva's trail event in May, there was the opportunity to try out La Sportiva's trail running shoes Mutant, Akasha and Helios 2.0. The models are specially selected for the trails at EcoTrail Stockholm, which takes place on 15 June. Find out more about the race and register here.
The event also featured super cool ultra runner Ellen Westfelt, who has completed one of the world's toughest ultra races, the mythical La Diagonale des Fous. The Diagonal of Fools race, as the Swedish translation reads, consists of 165 kilometres of running, 9576 metres of altitude and a time limit of 66 hours on an island off Madagascar.
"Ultra running is like life - there are no limits to what is possible"
The quote comes from Ellen's lecture from the trail event. She talked about the art of mentally coping with long and short runs and what it means to be Sweden's runstreak queen. We took the opportunity to ask her some questions about inspiration and motivation.
Hi Ellen, what inspires you?
My runstreak! A runstreak means that you run at least 1 mile, that is 1.6 km every day. I have been running at least 20 minutes every day since 4 September 2013, which is over 2000 days in a row. I am also inspired by being able to do all the adventures that the world offers.
Have you ever felt like breaking the run streak?
Yes, I thought I would stop after 1000 days, but it just kept going.
You have two children, how have you managed the logistics during the years of the runstreak?
Sometimes I've had to run back and forth on the road outside the house, or on the driveway to get it together, but it's possible if you want to.
Do you have a favourite race you want to run?
I would love to travel back to the paradise Reunion Island off Madagascar to experience the race The diagonal of fools. A race report from the race can be found in our podcast episode #87.
How do you manage to run so far?
For me, it's about loving the adventure. I believe in being humble in the face of distance, running slowly, eating and drinking and taking care of your body. The mental part is thinking about what's over the next ridge and what the sunrise will look like. Knowing that I will make it, that's what drives me.
How do you manage it in practical terms? What do you need to take with you, where do you sleep and how do you look after your feet when the race lasts up to three days?
My tip is to lubricate your feet with Shea butter and to change your socks after 12 hours. You can also rinse your feet at some depots. Sometimes there are also Drop Bags where you can change your bag if you need different types of equipment along the course, such as new socks, more energy and a change of clothes.
There are also requirements from the race organiser on what you should always carry along the course, such as gauze, rain jacket, food, at least one litre of water, headlamp with an extra battery.
The own company Pace on Earth
Ellen runs the company Pace on Earth together with his partner Johnny Hällneby, also an ultra runner. Together, they inspire and coach runners to run further, more often and faster. They also organise running trips, run a podcast and give lectures on ultra-running at companies and events. Want even more inspiration? Check out Ellen's Instagram account @weselle!
Here are three tricks from Ellen to get a runstreak:
- A good headlamp.
- Don't be too demanding. Think about going out for a walk and run if you get the 'feeling', it always comes once you are out.
- Change well in advance. I change before doing some household chores, then the step to get out when they are done is much smaller.