Meeting Trail Legend Iker Karrera, Salomon Ambassador

Last April 18, I was one of the fortunate bloggers who got invited to the meet and greet session with Iker Karrera at ROX. He is very well-known in the trail running community, with a list of credentials from way back 2005. His latest addition to his trail run wins is the recent TNF100 held in Baguio, where he bagged 1st place. Iker was accompanied by Edu Martinell, who also served as Iker's translator (Iker is Spanish-speaking by the way).

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Iker Karrera

Age:
37 years

Residence:
Tolosa, Basque County, Spain

Occupation:
Rural Development Technician

Favorite Trail:
Anywhere in Aralar or in the Pyrenees (which is near my home)

Dream Trail Run or Race:
There are many, more than I could ever run (within the duration) of my life. The world is full of beautiful mountains and I would like to run at all!

How can you describe your ordinary training week?
It depends on the season of the year. In Winter, I run less. I do other activities like Nordic skiing and biking. More or less I try to train 6 days a week. Sometimes, I have active rest days--not too many hours a day. During weekends, I run or ski from 8 to 10 hours.
Spring and Summer seasons have better weather. There is no snow in the Pyrenees! This marks the start of the racing season. The workouts are much longer, more intense. Active rest days are still present. On weekends, training volume increases. But this depends on my work, after i have organized my week.

What are your goals for 2012?
To run better and have less physical injuries (Not that i have many injuries but,....). Also to enjoy running more. The results come if I´m training well and if i am enjoying the mountains. 

Iker Karrera's Trail Running Achievements

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From L-R: CJ aka Runadoboking, Edu Martinell, Rolly aka Speedytitan, Iker Karrera, Noel aka Deemen

During the Q&A portion, one of the participants raised a very interesting question: "What top advices can you give to runners who would like to start trail running?" This particularly aroused my interest, having not tried trail running yet. Here are Iker's responses:
- Enjoy outdoors, if you don't, then trail running is not for you.
- Consult experienced trail runners.
- Start with short distances, and increase distance as you begin to feel comfortable with the trails.
- Use stairs instead of elevators.
- When going to the gym, do a lot of lunges, squats and core workouts.

Iker was also able to showcase the different Salomon trail gear - from running tops to compression shorts to calf sleeves, and of course the different Salomon trail shoes, with special focus on the latest model XR Mission.

Salomon XR Mission

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PRESS RELEASE - XR MISSION

Salomon, the innovative outdoor brand, Introduces XR Mission, all terrain trail running shoes with specific men’s and women’s designs and constructions. XR Mission is for runners who train regularly and vary their workouts.

Light, flexible, unbelievably comfortable, the XR Mission  is the newest member of Salomon’s award-winning XR family  of door  to trail running shoes. “The XR Mission is a trail running shoe for people who want to take their training seriously and want lightweight and flexibility,” explains Jeff Dill, Salomon’s Product Line Manager for Trail Running Footwear.

The XR Mission is not simply a slimmed-down version of the very  popular (but  higher mileage) XR Crossmax. New from the ground up, XR Mission is light and  responsive with a women’s specific version. The heart of the shoe is the OS muscle and tendon, Salomon’s patented cushioning midsole and energy returning tendon system. It cushions shocks while improving heel to toe transition, making the shoe simply easier to run in.  With a Contagrip™ outsole, XR Mission naturally adapts to variances in terrain, aproviding great grip and rebound on any surface.

XR Mission  has  a host of comfort features that specifically address the most critical issues runners typically contend with. Sensiflex™  is a soft mesh  fabric,  coated with flexible  TPU and  placed on the metatarsal area of the foot. This provides great foot support in the forefoot, but  reduces bunions that occur in about 30% of runners. Add internal Sensifit and Quicklace, and the Mission  adapts comfortably to almost any foot.

XR is also specifically tailored to the morphology and motion of men and women, respectively. XR Mission Women is the first shoe built with Women’s Specific Ride. In addition to  a specific last shape, asymmetrical fit that wraps medially to support a higher arch  and  taller instep, common among women, and  thicker foam around the heel,  XR Mission Women has more and deeper flex grooves to accommodate a lighter average weight and  more  rigid foot, also common in women. “Developing the XR Mission was very much two different projects,” explains Dill. “Although they look similar, it was critical throughout the process to define specific fit and performance characteristics for each gender. We have given women a shoe that is designed for them in every way.”

The Primer Group of Companies, Asia’s next retail giant, is the exclusive distributor of Salomon in the Philippines.

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* Photo with Iker courtesy of Roland Pangilinan