La Ruta Day 2

photo: Cycling News

Suunto superathlete Rebecca Rusch is tearing it up at La Ruta de los Conquistadores.

Here's a sample from her blog of what Day 2 was like for her:

I’m in the hotel room after day 2 with ice bags on my legs. There’s no bath tub here, so I can’t take a full ice bath.
It was a really tough day with about 45 miles of riding and 11,000 ft of climbing. The climbs were so steep that some of them were unrideable.

Ouch.

Rebecca is keeping pace with Adrianna Rojas, who is currently race leader, and they spent a portion of day 2 riding together.

And what does Day 3 hold?

Tomorrow is the big climb up the volcano. There are some really steep parts at the beginning, but most of the climb is a steady paved road where you can settle into a smooth pace. At the top, you head down for about 40 km. It sounds amazing, but the descent is really technical and tiring.

Keep tabs on the race at Rebecca's blogsite.

Great videos of the race here.

La Ruta Loves the Queen of Pain

La Ruta de Los Conquistadores kicked off on Wednesday, and runs for four total days over 240 miles and five mountain ranges as it takes racers across the continent from the Pacific Ocean to the Caribbean Sea.

photo: Cycling News

Suunto athlete, Rebecca Rusch is taking on La Ruta and keeping us informed on her blog. Here's a bit from her Day 1 update:

Day 1 of La Ruta is in the books. I had a great day and it felt so good to be racing and working hard again. I’ve sort of had a couple months of really unstructured training, so I had no idea if my legs would remember how to race. I was pleasantly surprised with how I felt today on what they call the hardest day of La Ruta. There was over 10,000 ft of climbing in about 110 km. The jungle hike a bike portion is a bit of a slip and slide event, but it went OK.

Make sure you take a look at this photo gallery from Cycling News!

Coverguy comes to the NYC Marathon Expo!

Suunto is excited to be participating in the New York City Marathon Expo this weekend!

We've partnered up with the awesome Paragon Sports to host booth #406 and showcase the Quest.

Mikael Hanson, Outside Magazine's September 2011 Cover Athlete will join us! Bring your September issue for some autographing, and bring your questions for this cross-training overachiever!

Check out these magazines and feel the love

We love it when we flip through the pages of our favorite magazines and see Suunto products getting great reviews.

Outside Magazine is featuring the Suunto Quest Pack in their Buyer's Guide.

Powder Magazine likes us too! The Core is their choice in their backcountry recommendations feature.


Mountain Living also digging the Suunto Core for the 2012 Resort Guide.

Extreme in 3D

Alexander and Thomas Huber, better known collectively as the Huber Brothers or Huberbuam, are recognized as two of the world’s best extreme mountaineers.

Check out their new 3D film that documents their ascent up the “Karma route” of Loferer Alm near Berchtesgaden in Germany, which at grade 11 is one of the most challenging climbs in the Alps. This gripping film captures the brothers’ efforts in one of their final ascents as extreme climbers. Both in their 40s, the duo describe it as “their final statement.”

“This route stands as a mark of our teamwork as brothers,” says Thomas, “for all the conflicts that have been and that we have solved.”

In the 2007 film "On the Limit," these two Suunto ambassadors attempted a speed climbing record on El Capitan’s Zodiac face. Although they initially failed to set a record during that particular ascent, they returned later in the year and achieved their goal. And of course they used Suunto every inch of the way.

You can catch the entire film - “Extremkletterer auf ihrer Schicksalsroute”- on Youtube. So grab your 3D glasses and your German dictionary (ja, ist auf Deutsch, but you don't need to speak German to love this amazing film). Prepare for some extreme!

The Gear Junkie's Essential? SUUNTO VECTOR HR!!

No one needed to tell us, of course, but it sure is nice to have the validation from such notables as Stephen Reginold, aka: GearJunkie.com.

In the latest Outside Magazine issue, dear friend GearJunkie sends out his list of Top 10 Adventure Racing Essentials, including the Suunto Vector HR.

Thanks for the nod.

2011 XTERRA USA is all about the race

Although the most talked-about element of the 2011 XTERRA USA - held Sept 24th in Ogden, Utah - was the presence of legend Lance Armstrong as a competitor, in the end it was the race - the water, the dirt, the wheels - that determined the winner.

Not that four-time XTERRA champion Conrad Stoltz was at all intimidated by the larger-than-life Tour d' France champ: "I told him not to bring the 26" bike - he can leave the kiddie's bike at home. Bring the 29er." BOOM!
(check out video highlights here)

Conrad helped douse some of the media hype when he finished 2+ minutes ahead of the superstar Armstrong. His 2:27:30 overall time put him three spots behind this years winner, Nicolas Lebrun. Which goes to show ya: your competition is not always the grandest guy in the room.

Conrad ripped that race apart, of course, but it is a harsh road to run.

QUICK STATS*
1.5k swim / 28k mountain bike / 9.8k trail run
Swim course distance: 1,500-meters (0.93 miles) Combines two 750-meter laps (no run in-between)
Elevation at Port Ramp Marina for swim start: 4,900-feet
Water temperature: Expected to be in the 65-degree range
Mountain bike course distance: 28-kilometers (17.7 miles)
Total climbing on bike: 3,400-feet
Elevation at highest point: 7,300-feet (where Sardine Peak Trail meets the ridgeline)
Elevation at T2/Snowbasin Resort Lodge: 6,400-feet
Trail Run course distance: 9.8-kilometers (6.1 miles)
Total climbing on run: 700-feet
Total climbing on course: 4,100-feet

The U.S. Forest Service started work on the Sardine Peak Trail near Snowbasin Resort three years ago and for the first-time in XTERRA racing history, it was ready to ride. The new 7+ mile section of single and double track is the sweetest and smoothest piece of trail on the mountain, and makes the bike course “a true mountain race course that weaves in-and-out of aspen glades and pines,” said Snowbasin Resort sport event operations director Steve Andrus.*

Congrats to Conrad on his awesome finish, and to all the other competitors that ripped that track up!

*from XterraPlanet.com