Jessica Skea’s Post

𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗮 𝗯𝘂𝗰𝗸𝗹𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝟭𝟬𝟬 𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗲𝘀? Have you ever wondered why VMM 100-mile finishers receive a belt buckle? The reason is steeped in ultra running history. The Western States Endurance Run (for which VMM is an official qualifier) is one of the world's oldest and most prestigious 100 mile trail races. This was the first trail running competition to award a belt buckle, mainly because the race was inspired by the Tevis Cup, a horse race in which participants had to cover 100 miles within 24 hours on horseback. Other races began to follow suit and now 100 miles buckles have become a coveted item to be earned at many miler races, not only in the US, but around the world. The history of awarding buckles for sporting achievements stretches back way further than the Western States, however. As far back as the 1800s, the earliest ultra athletes were receiving awards for pedestrianism (multi day indoor walking) contests. Nowadays, some races also award buckles for shorter distances, but for us at VMM, we like to keep the ‘classic’ meaning of the ultrarunning buckle reserved for 100 miles only. Therefore, if you see a VMM buckle, you will know the owner is a seriously hardcore mountain runner! Some choose to wear their buckle on a belt, but for many it is an item to be put on display at home. Looking at a buckle will bring the owners many meaningful memories, not only of the event, but of the countless hours poured into training in order to achieve it. Multiple finish buckles are the most coveted of all. We look forward to the day we award our first VMM 10 Time 100 Mile Finisher buckle! - 𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗧𝗡𝗔𝗠 𝗠𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗧𝗔𝗜𝗡 𝗠𝗔𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗛𝗢𝗡 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗦𝗮𝗽𝗮 https://lnkd.in/gvJVy2ci 𝟭𝟬𝗸 | 𝟮𝟭𝗸 | 𝟱𝟬𝗸 | 𝟳𝟬𝗸 | 𝟭𝟬𝟬𝗸 | 𝟭𝟬𝟬 𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝟮𝟬,𝟮𝟭,𝟮𝟮 - 𝟬𝟵 - 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟰 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗩𝗶𝗲𝘁𝗻𝗮𝗺 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗹 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗯𝘆 𝗧𝗼𝗽𝗮𝘀 𝗩𝗠𝗠 | 𝗩𝗧𝗠 | 𝗩𝗝𝗠 | 𝗩𝗨𝗠 #VietnamMountainMarathon #VMM #VietnamTrailSeries #Topas

Nobody likes change... but we have to embrace it as it is everywhere... with tomorrow being Preakness Day, the 2nd race of the triple crown, regardless if Mystik Dan wins there will be an asterisk for the "Belmont Stakes"... This year the race will be run at Saratoga racecourse in upstate New York since Belmont Park is going through a 2-year renovation, and they will be shortening the race from 1 1/2 miles to 1 1/4 miles. I know it seems insignificant, but for the purists it's a travesty. Just like during the Pandemic when the races were run out of order, the same people stepped up and said the same thing. For 37 years between Affirmed and American Pharoah we had so much time to debate as a racing community, about racing these horses 3 times in 5 weeks was too much, maybe it couldn't be done again, then it happens two years in a row. It's been 5 years since we have had a triple crown winner or even a horse contend and be in the running for the triple crown, so of course I am going to be pulling for Mystik Dan to pull of another victory and give the fans something to cheer for on June 8th. Meanwhile today is the Black-Eyed Susan the filly version of The Preakness for 3 year old fillies. Which I don't understand why any other "series" of races do not catch peoples attention. We do have big race days, but not a multi-track string of races that draw as much attention of the Triple Crown. My take on the Black-Eyed Susan: The only graded stakes winner is Lemon Muffin. Gun Song is the favorite for having run the fastest Beyer speed figures. Here are my plays: If #8 Recharge gets the lead she can control the race. I am leaning #7 Corposo, an angle I like is when a horse regresses in Beyer figures on the 3rd race. Meaning the old adage is the horse needs time to "warm up" between races, and typically when they come back from a longer layoff, you can see the progression, and by the third race there could be a pop, well this horse ran a 73, 79 (and won) and third off fired a 78, which was also a G2. This talked me into the pick, lol. Other horses I like: #4 Call Another Play - Won 3 in a row at Laurel Park and with a smaller type of field might be fine with the added 1/16th of a mile. #2 Ringy Dingy - Coming off a layoff, but solid outside of the G2 on a muddy track at Aqueduct. Good luck and stay tuned for the Preakness tomorrow!

Ending the Euro trip on a high… Joshua Johnson has been racing back to back races for the past 3 weeks in France and Belgium. It was a rough start with a puncture at Le Pevele Classic but still hanging onto finish 28th out of 167 riders followed by a crash the next day whilst in the break away at Ruiselede. The second weekend of racing saw a turn around with a 6th place finish at Roeselare on the Saturday and then the result we were waiting for, victory at South Leeuw. During the final weekend of racing, it was clear that Josh was a marked rider and teams played tactics against him throughout the two days of racing. On Saturday Josh raced Zandvoorde - Zonnebeke, managing his race well and a small group of contenders made the break, lap by lap little attacks whittled the group down to just 3 in the end, with the other two riders looking at Josh to do the work in order to not get caught by the pack they were able to come around him in the sprint with Josh securing another podium finishing 3rd. Sunday at the Beloeil it was a similar scenario with individuals from various teams making an attack on each lap. On the last lap there was one rider up the road and Josh could see he was not going to get help, instead of sitting in the pack waiting for a sprint for second he went to try close down the gap but in the end was a few seconds too late and with the effort during the lap couldn’t contend the sprint and settled for 4th and another big result. Three weeks... Six races... Two podiums including a win… An incredible opportunity to race on cobbles for the first time in what is known as the u/17 Paris Roubaix. Josh plans to return later in the year to compete in some of the Junior Stage Races. However, for now, Josh heads home to swap his road bike for his mountain bike and prepare for SA XCO Champs in May. Thanks to Andrew(Josh’s Dad) for all the video updates from the races. #athletemanagement #athletes #sports #southafrica #brandbuilding #partnerships #sportsmarketing #cycling #roadcycling #victory #belgium

https://lnkd.in/ep9iDFpW Worth taking 60 seconds out of your day to watch this video. I know I am not the first to draw an analogy of a boat race to business (Will It Make The Boat Go Faster by Harriet Beveridge & Ben Hunt-Davis have this extremely well covered). This was a race that took place last weekend at Holmes Pierrepoint National Watersports Centre, hosting the UK Dragon Boat Association Finals. The Go Pro Video is my local team Bristol Empire Dragons and YES, I am on that boat on seat 8 right!! Our crew is made up of paddlers from aged 21 to 65 years of age. This race is an Open Crew heat so we were racing against boats made up of all male paddlers. This was our very first race of the year, competing against over 20 crews that have been racing all season in the league series. So how on earth did we manage to compete in races and be within a second of the leading crews? My explanation.......... (1) Clear Objectives - Our inspirational (23 year old) head coach sets clear and simple objectives which we execute well i.e. We absolutely hammer our race start and leave boats chasing us down (2) Controllables - Sole focus on the elements we can influence on our boat only. The 3-4 minutes at race start when all boats lining up, all eyes remain in our boat, nobody looks left or right. (3) Hardwork and effort - We train up to 3 times a week, 52 weeks of the year. We do at least 6 race starts every session and push ourselves way beyond our own comfort levels on long upstream paddles. (4) Belief - We know that we are not the best crew on paper and physically we are nowhere near fitness levels and ability of the elite crews. But we believe in our club spirit and that there actually is an I in team... "If I execute what we have trained 52 weeks for, then WE will have a good race" (5) Power of mind - We should never ever underestimate the power of our minds and what we can actually achieve. This video looks brutal and it is. 52 seconds/200metres of 100% max cardio workout, then all over. 3-4 of these races before the actual final!! (Then we move onto 500m races and 2km endurance) I am hugely proud to be part of this team. I have worked in business teams almost as good as this and I know that the newly formed Italian Wine Brands S.p.A. UK Commercial team will also make our own culture of success. Bristol Empire Dragons looking for Sponsorship for the 2025 racing season where we hope to particpiate in all of the League Series and events & 2025 Nationals. A great sport to associate your ethical brand credentials. Please do get in touch to discuss 🐉

Visma-Lease a Bike is already dominating… Is this a misfire or a taste of what we may expect from this season? If you've been watching the news in the past days, you can't help but notice that the finishing line pics were dominated by the characteristic yellow jerseys of Visma-Lease a Bike. On Saturday Jan Tratnik won the Omloop Het Neiuwsblad. On Sunday Wout van Aert took the Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne. On Sunday Jonas Vingegaard won the O Gran Camiño, claiming the points and mountains jerseys as well. Clearly they began their spring classics campaign on a strong note. But those aren't really the big-name races. Those are still ahead of us. Can they deliver wins there too? It's hard to say, the competition at the really big races is going to be stiffer, including the likes of Tadej Pogacar and Mathieu van der Poel. Not to mention others. But truth be told, I don't think that those wins are key for them. For Vingegaard those are mostly training races for his Grand Tour campaign. Wout would certainly like to have some classics under his belt, though. Last year the Dutch team dominated the Grand Tours. Can they repeat the feat this year? Not if Primoz Roglic and Remco Evenpoel have anything to say. Tadej Pogacar is going to race the Giro and TdF, which begs the question if he's going to have the legs for TdF. That's a big question. Let's not forget that this is an Olympic year. And we have the World Championships in Switzerland. For some of the riders those will also be important points in the calendar. I know I've raised more questions than I've answered. But the key takeaway from this should be this: it's going to be a really exciting 2024 season! ⁉️Let me know your thoughts: Any particular race you can't wait for?⁉️ #cycling #season2024 #questions #excitingtimes

SUPER SPICY & MODIFIED 2024 @ATCM track will be inspected for the start of Super Spicy and Modified Training and Races By: Ildo Alfredo After successfully completing last week the rainwater drainage works on the main track of the Club House, the only Zone missing for the complete removal of the water, the ATCM takes one more step towards the official opening of the main track (Raceway) for free practice and for the start of the Super Picanto and Modified Speed Championships. In observance of the technical procedures for the use of the track after remaining for a long time under the rainwater, a technical team consisting of Jô Lima and Álvaro Quintas will inspect the track this week early on Thursday to assess the current conditions in the same one is found before it was reused for Super Hot and Modified speed races. The inspection of the track will have the presence of the members of the ATCM Management, the departments of the association's Automotive competitions, and the main objective is to assess the condition of the track in detail, especially some areas of the circuit that have been under rainwater for a long time. Despite the main track being free of rainwater and slowly drying out, which is a good sign for riders and speed racing teams that their use for free practice and Super Hot and Modified competitions can only happen after the result of the Inspection, according to our source, the Director General of the ATCM Nuno Sousa, who by the way is coordinating all the sporting activities of the Collective. Data collected by our reporting team on the ATCM track, activities are gradually resuming and the highlight is on the recently successful completion of the 1st Spinning Rivals test which had Pilot Adil Delgado as the winner, as well as the Food Fair held at the last weekend This week at the Maputo International Speedway which featured sports activities of Spinning, Drift and Motocross demonstration. #ATCM #Racetrack #cars #run #drive #sportscar #racing #motorsports #ride #car #racecar #engine #tire #motorsport #sportscars #raceweekend #racesuit #raceteam

So the journey continues