Life As An International Mountain Leader (Podcast)

April 28, 2020 by Francesca Pioli
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A Chat with Emily Geldard We had the opportunity to catch up with the busy bee that is Emily Geldard to find out more about life as an International Mountain Leader. We discover more about Emily, what brought her to the mountains, we discuss her top tips for trail running and favourite destinations to visit. We hope you enjoy the podcast and it helps the motivation in planning your next adventure whilst the lockdown continues. Below are some of Emilys’ top tips if you’re planning Continue reading →

Time to get ‘Sit Fit’

April 24, 2020 by Francesca Pioli
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For a lot of us, if not all of us, our daily routines have had a big impact and an inevitable change, and so have our bodies. We may have gone from working on our feet from 9-5 to being limited to our 1 hour of exercise a day (French restrictions), or have gone from our usual desk working space to our less ergonomically designed sofa office. Ultimately the majority of us are spending more time on the sofa and less time on our feet. Continue reading →

What is my core and where can I find It?

April 14, 2020 by Francesca Pioli
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Is this you? You may have heard us discuss our ‘core’ a number of times in many of our articles and fitness apps. Perhaps with your physiotherapist, in Pilates, your Yoga class, or at your local running club. It is a hot topic, with good reason. But what is it? We all know that it is good for our balance and stability but what actually is it? Classically in the past when people used to refer to your ‘core’ they were referring to your rectus Continue reading →

The spring transition from ski boots to trainers

April 7, 2020 by Francesca Pioli
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trail running
What do we need to be thinking about and doing to stay injury free this summer? Well what an unusual time this is! It has to be said, we did not expect to be writing this article so early in the year, but here we are. While a lot of us are stuck at home and are limited to running as our means of exercise, it seems to be the perfect time. Personally, here at BeFit Apps, we are still hopeful for some late spring Continue reading →

Obligatory Equipment Lists, Top Tip #1 Adhesive bandage

August 24, 2017 by Jackie Maclean-Martin
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The town of Chamonix-Mont-Blanc is welcoming ultra-runners from around the World, registered in one of the most demanding ultra-trail running events you can find – the UTMB (Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc)  events include: UTMB (Chamonix-Courmayeur-Chamonix) 171km, 10,000 mt+ TDS (Courmayeur-Chamonix) 119km, 7,200 mt+ CCC (Courmayeur-Champez-Chamonix) 101km, 6,100 mt+ OCC (Orsieres-Chamonix) 56km, 3,500 mt+ PTL (Chamonix-Chamonix) 2901km, 26,500 mt+ Like the majority of endurance races, runners have to carry an obligatory list of equipment  and for some it could be the first time they’ve carried or Continue reading →

Can I vote myself off ‘Someday Island’ before my next challenge?

April 15, 2016 by Jackie Maclean-Martin
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This is my imaginary island, my ‘excuse island’ for when I’m suffering from ‘excuse-itus’. Brian Tracy, author and presenter in personal and business development suggested many people get stuck on ‘Someday Isle’ which limits success in achieving our goals, unless we vote ourselves off the island and basically get on with it. Life is busy, a tricky balance between family, friends, work, home, admin, holidays, health and hobbies, so when do we find the time to exercise?  I could be an Olympian if there was Continue reading →

10 Top Tips For Your First Ultra Marathon

September 17, 2015 by Jackie Maclean-Martin
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I have written a very long and quite garbled account of my recent ultra-marathon which might bore you to tears. So I thought I could summarise all the things I learnt during my race, a cheat sheet for you so that you can have the confidence to run one for yourself. Whether you succeed or fail to finish your first event, the journey on how you arrive at the start line is what it’s all about. You can – Always believe you can do it! Continue reading →

My First Ultra Marathon – A Beginner’s Guide To the UTMB

September 7, 2015 by Jackie Maclean-Martin
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Ten days ago I ran across the finish line of the OCC, an ultra marathon that makes up part of the infamous Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc (UTMB). The race had started in Orsiers, Switzerland and finished 53 kilometers later in Chamonix-Mont-Blanc, France. Along the way I had to navigate 3,300m of elevation gain and crucially stay ahead of the time barriers and cut-off points. It was my very first ultra and I made it home in 14 hours. Running 53km was a serious step up for me, the furthest I had run Continue reading →

Top 5 Tips To Consider When Buying Your First Trail Running Pack

August 12, 2015 by Jackie Maclean-Martin
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There’s just over two weeks to go until the OCC and over the past few weeks I’ve been upping the altitude and kilometres and it has been causing a few niggles. My knees have been giving me some problems so I booked in with Neil for a physio consultation (yes, even his wife has to book herself into his diary to be seen!). I obviously went in for my knee diagnosis but Neil had other ideas: “When did you sprain your right foot?” “What?” And then I remembered that a few years ago I Continue reading →

Trail Running Gear Shopping Part 1 – Sports Watch and Heart Rate Monitor

June 23, 2015 by Jackie Maclean-Martin
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So I’ve finally gone and done it ………………. I am the proud owner of a heart rate monitor and watch and I love them! For many years I have pushed off the time consuming, research-loaded, slightly geeky world of buying gear. My issue with sports watches and heart rate monitors was basically down to the perceived time involved in acquiring all the data. Why on earth would you want to spend 4 hours training then get home and have to spend yet another 4 hours analysing Continue reading →