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.
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| Iker Karrera's Trail Running Achievements |
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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.
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| 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
