Grand Trail: A Magnificent Journey to the Heart of Ultrarunning and Racing

by Frederic Berg, Alexis Berg (Photographer)

Overview

Grand Trail shares the stunning beauty and raw emotions of ultrarunning, paying tribute to the passion and splendor of the sport and lifestyle. Filled with powerful photographs and intimate stories, Grand Trail portrays ultramarathon champions and their extraordinary world.

Grand Trail features the icons of ultrarunningpeople, places, and racesin spectacular color and black-and-white photography by Alexis Berg. Exploring iconic courses like Western States, Hardrock, Marathon des Sables alongside personal portraits of heroes like Kilian Jornet, Emelie Forsberg, and Scott Jurek, Grand Trail is as inspiring as it is beautiful.

In its pages, Grand Trail shares the indescribable feelings that spring from running free in a wild place, alone in thought or sharing the miles with another of the tribe. The simple beauty of the task. Stunning views of the world’s most beautiful trails. Faces lined with exhaustion in gritty aid stations. The unguarded gaze of a spent runner who half hears the concerned whispers of his wife. The overwhelming emotion of the finish line after countless hours of silence. The agony that melts in the relief of the finish. The dazed bliss of exhaustion. The sadness of a journey completed.

Grand Trail offers an enchanting encounter with the people, places, and emotions that make ultrarunning special:

• Intimate interviews: Kilian Jornet, Emelie Forsberg, Anna Frost, Anton Krupicka, Stephanie Howe, Scott Jurek, and eight ultramarathoners from around the world.
• 13 iconic courses: Western States, Hardrock, Marathon de Sables, Ultra-Trail du Mont Blanc, Transgrancanaria and races in Asia, Australia, and Europe.
• Stirring photography: Breathtaking landscapes of the world’s most beautiful trails, moving portraits of ultrarunners, and remarkable scenes from races.
• Vignettes on trail running: Culture, history, training, night running, nutrition, and how the body bends to the miles.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781937715649
Publisher:	VeloPress
Publication date:	11/15/2016
Pages:	320
Product dimensions:	11.90(w) x 9.70(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Frederic Berg is a reporter. As a trail runner, his performances include finishing two legendary trail races, the Diagonale des Fous (three times) and the Ultra-Trail du Mont Blanc (once), plus a dozen other ultramarathons.

Alexis Bergis a journalist and a professional photographer focused on trail running. He was the official photographer of the 2015 Ultra-Trail World Tour, travelling around the world to photograph the people, scenery, and race action. His work has been published in a dozen magazines including National Geographic and UltraRunning magazine as well as by iRunFar and Strava.

Table of Contents

About the Authors

Foreword by Joe Grant

In the Stride of the Passengers of the Dream

13 Trail Races

Kilian Jornet: A Legend from Above

Diagonale Des Fous Grand Raid Reunion (France)

Off on a Diagonal

Emelie Forsberg: The Northern Star

A Short History of Trail Running

Hong Kong 100 (China)

Antoine Guillon: The Metronome in the Shadows

Coming to Trail Running

Tarawera Ultramarathon (New Zealand)

Anna Frost: The Snow Queen

Born to Run?

Transgrancanaria (Spain)

Gediminas Grinius: The Fighter

Ultratrailer, Who Are You?

Marathon de Sables (Morocco)

Laurence Klein: Mother and Desert Runner

Trail Running, A Meeting Ground

Ultra-Trail Australia

Ryan Sandes: A Class Above

Mother Nature, a frail setting and an implacable judge

Lavaredo Ultra Trail (Italy)

Anton Krupicka: The Genuine Icon

A Trail Night's Dream

Western States 100-Mile Endurance Run (Lake Tahoe, California)

Stephanie Howe: The Ultra Brilliant One

Trail Running, The Original Version

Scott Jurek: The Green Samurai

Great West, Great Open Spaces, Great Trail.

Hardrock 100 Endurance Run (Durango, Colorado)

Sebastien Chaigneau: A Taste for the Wild

Training, An Endless Trail

Eiger Ultra Trail (Switzerland)

Iker Karrera: The Keeper of the Peaks

Eat, Drink…and Run

Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc (Chamonix, France)

Dawa Sherpa: The Luminous Pathfinder

The Ultra Inside Your Body

Ultra-Trail Hurricana du Canada

Florent Bouguin: The Magnificent Unknown

Before and After Harricana

Ultra-Trail Mt. Fuji (Japan)

Francois d’Haene: The Great Vintage

Trail Running at the Parting of the Ways

Thomas Lorblanchet: The Heart and Mind

150 Ultras

Legends

Index

Afterword by Jenn Shelton

The Authors Warmly Thank

Editorial Reviews

An amazing, engaging journey... Heart-wrenching and simultaneously heart-warming. It’s raw. It’s beautiful. The photography alone is worth the purchase price... An incredible photographic masterpiece... Put it on your list of ‘must read’ running books.

Running on Happy

Grand Trail, with its stunning visuals and well-chosen descriptions, will enable your family and guests to murmur at long last, ‘I get it.’

American Trail Running Association

Grand Trail features incredible pictures and stories from ultramarathon and trail running’s greatest: Anton, Kilian, Jurek, and more. It’s truly the most beautiful trail running book I've ever owned.

Ultrarunnerpodcast

An enjoyable global tour of the ultra-trail scene in words and impressive pictures...A great reference for future destination races to put on your bucket list, and it’s an easy way to show your non-trail runner friends why it is you do what you do.

Canadian Running magazine

Grand Trail offers visual proof of the beauty and harshness that runners only find when they test their limits.

Men’s Journal

"Simply put, Grand Trail is the most inspirational and breathtaking coffee table book about running ever published. It shares the stunning beauty and raw emotions of ultrarunning, paying tribute to the passion and splendor of the sport and lifestyle while eloquently depting 13 amazing trail races around the world and profiling 16 of the world’s top ultra-distance athletes including Kilian Jornet, Scott Jurek, and Emelie Forsberg.

Competitor magazine

You’ve never seen ultrarunning like this before. Two brothers published a book stuffed with photos of the passion, suffering, and victory that make up ultrarunning.

Trail Run Project

Grand Trail is the first book that brought me to understand running less by the end of it than when I started. Which is to say, Grand Trail is the first book on running that expresses what it feels like to actually put one foot ahead of the other, and run.

Jenn Shelton

A gorgeous coffee table book...The quality of writing matches the stunning images...Flipping through a few pages at a time each night is an experience to savor.

The Runner’s Trip

Grand Trail combines profiles of elite ultrarunners with stunning photography from the most famous ultra courses in the world. Highly recommended... Grand Trail is the type of book you can flip through over and over again without losing your sense of awe and appreciation.

Ultrarunning magazine

Simply put, Grand Trail is the most inspirational and breathtaking coffee table book about running ever published. It shares the stunning beauty and raw emotions of ultrarunning, paying tribute to the passion and splendor of the sport and lifestyle while eloquently depting 13 amazing trail races around the world and profiling 16 of the world’s top ultra-distance athletes including Kilian Jornet, Scott Jurek, and Emelie Forsberg.” — Competitor magazine

“Grand Trail offers visual proof of the beauty and harshness that runners only find when they test their limits.” – Men’s Journal

“Grand Trail features incredible pictures and stories from ultramarathon and trail running’s greatest: Anton, Kilian, Jurek, and more. It’s truly the most beautiful trail running book I've ever owned.” —Ultrarunnerpodcast

“Grand Trail combines profiles of elite ultrarunners with stunning photography from the most famous ultra courses in the world. Highly recommended… Grand Trail is the type of book you can flip through over and over again without losing your sense of awe and appreciation.” —Ultrarunning magazine

“Grand Trail is the first book that brought me to understand running less by the end of it than when I started. Which is to say, Grand Trail is the first book on running that expresses what it feels like to actually put one foot ahead of the other, and run.” — Jenn Shelton, ultrarunner

“Grand Trail, with its stunning visuals and well-chosen descriptions, will enable your family and guests to murmur at long last, ‘I get it.’” — American Trail Running Association

“An enjoyable global tour of the ultra-trail scene in words and impressive pictures…A great reference for future destination races to put on your bucket list, and it’s an easy way to show your non-trail runner friends why it is you do what you do.” — Canadian Running magazine

“You’ve never seen ultrarunning like this before. Two brothers published a book stuffed with photos of the passion, suffering, and victory that make up ultrarunning.” — Trail Run Project

“A gorgeous coffee table book…The quality of writing matches the stunning images…Flipping through a few pages at a time each night is an experience to savor.” — The Runner’s Trip

“An amazing, engaging journey… Heart-wrenching and simultaneously heart-warming. It’s raw. It’s beautiful. The photography alone is worth the purchase price… An incredible photographic masterpiece… Put it on your list of ‘must read’ running books.” — Running on Happy

“Absolutely breathtaking photographs. These pictures capture not only the gorgeous scenery awaiting racers who toe the start line, but exhibit the pure and visceral emotions felt by those who tackle these challenging courses.” — Run Oregon

From the Publisher