The Elements: Eliud Kipchoge runs 2:01:09, plus hiking therapy and more

The Elements is a new weekly newsletter from The All-Season Co. Each Wednesday, we round up and highlight a few interesting stories and ideas from the week that are related to running, hiking and the great outdoors. 

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• Can you even imagine being able to run a marathon in 2:01:09? That's exactly what running legend Eliud Kipchoge ran last week in Berlin. 2:01:09!

• Speaking of running legends... trail and mountain runner Kilian Jornet is coming off his best year of racing ever. If you've ever wondered how he trains for his high-vertical adventures, he's made it easy for you to wonder no more. The 34-year old Spanish athlete recently published a highly detailed blog post recapping his 2022 training regiment and race experiences.
"Each of us is very different, so to copy / paste or to adapt this plan to you without first analyzing what your different capacities are, would probably be a big mistake," Jornet cautions early on the post. And whether you are looking for tips, or just interested in how one of the greats does what he does, it makes for interesting, runner-nerdy reading, especially if you are looking for new ways to think about your own race training.
Check out the post here.

• Planning a multi-day fall paddling adventure? If so, you are undoubtedly trying to find some efficiencies in what you pack. The folks over at Campfire Stories have some good tips to go from a light load, to an ultralight one. Check it out here.

• Picture this: you leave the mainland on a small boat. Along the hour long sail, you pass pods of dolphins as you approach a series of eight small islands. These secluded islands have been inhabited for over 1300 years, and are filled with amazing caves and hiking. Here, there is no frost, no snow and no cars. Oh, and it's just off the coast of California. The Channel Islands are one of America's National Parks and are a must see for kayakers and hikers. Here's more on the islands.

• "Trail running has had double digit year-over-year growth in every continent for more than a decade.” And that's at least part of the reason why IRONMAN is going all in on the trail racing. Read more over at Outside.

• The pandemic, with its lockdowns and quarantines brought a lot of attention to the health benefits of both getting outdoors and talk therapy. So it's probably no surprise that "Hiking Therapy" is trending. Also known as "Walk and Talk" or "Forest Therapy", the premise is pretty simple. Instead of a zoom call or office session, you get out for a walk in nature with your therapist. Modern Hiker has an interview up with an L.A. based hiking therapist, and here's another deep dive into the topic.

DISCOVERY OF THE WEEK
Have you always wanted to go skydiving but have a fear of heights? Or maybe just a fear of... skydiving? There's a new VR app for that. SkydiveSim gives you all the thrill (ok, some of the thrill) without the actual waiting, training, jumping out of a plane, pulling the chute, etc. You'll need a VR headset to experience it, but you can watch a preview video here.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK
"Wild is the music of autumnal winds/Amongst the faded woods."
— William Wordsworth