Special Offer on Snow Running

It's here! The snow has fallen in them there hills, so it's time to get the winter gear on and get into the white stuff!

Our snow running weekends have swung into action, and we're offering you a special price of £95/day (usual price: £125).

What's Included?

• Running/coaching/mountain skills & navigation
• Full access to our experts – pick their brains!
• Master classes in kit, hydration, eating on the move, looking after your feet and many other topics 

When?

NOW! Time is of the essence to ensure we make the most of the snow to cover all the techniques and coaching involved in snow running.

• Next weekend (26/27th Jan)
• Can't do this weekend? Then contact us with your preferred dates - as long as it snows we'll go!

Where?

• North Yorkshire
• Peak District

What now?

Contact Annie straight away to ensure your place.
Email: annie@alpine-oasis.com
Tel: 0845 250 0648

Why?

Snow running is fantastic for improving your mountain skills and navigation, and you'll also have the chance to pick the brains of our expert coaches throughout the day (and make a few snow fairies and snowmen whilst you're at it!). Our day includes master classes in kit, hydration, nutrition on the move, and more.

See you on the hills,

Annie (snow fairy champion)

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Kick Start Your New Year!

Kick start your New Year with Alpine Oasis

Happy New Year!

With the festivities fading into a warm, fuzzy memory it can be easy to hunker down into the post-Christmas slump. But don't despair. Now is the perfect time to kick start your New Year and start planning and training for some fantastic trail running events in 2013.

Whether you are looking to build new skills, challenge yourself by running an ultra or just want to enjoy running on trails in some stunning scenery, our 2013 programme of trail running trips is sure to have what you are looking for. From week-long trips in the French Alps and Crete, weekend camps in the Lakes and Peak District, through to tailor-made day courses in the Peak District, we have the experts and the hospitality to ensure your trail running in 2013 is better than ever!

To help you reach new heights (pun intended!) in 2013, here are our five Top Tips to help you stay motivated, remain in-the-know and keep you eager for more.

1. Beware Gear Reviews - Reviews are good for technical info, but cannot tell you whether it fits your shape or how comfortable it is. You need to try it and be prepared to kiss a few frogs before you hit the jackpot.
2. Keep It Simple - Running is a simple sport: You need something on your feet, something to at least cover your modesty and the motivation to get out there. Resist the urge to get overly-complicated. 
3. Knowing When You're Ready To Ultra - If you have the commitment and courage to enter, then you’re ready. Everything else between entry and start line is detail by comparison.
4. Learn To Love Your Feet - Get proactive with your foot-care. Get into a daily/weekly routine to keep your feet smooth, supple and resilient, and remember that toenails are just extra weight to carry around, so losing a few is absolutely fine.
5. Get Your Head Up - Not only does this help you with your posture, your biomechanics and your breathing, but it’s easier to take in the view from this position – and we do this for fun, right?!

To view our 2013 programme see our website for a comprehensive list of our trip locations and dates. Bookings are now being taken, so to be sure of your place don't leave it too long!

All the best for 2013 and happy trail running!

Annie

Email: annie@alpine-oasis.com
Tel: 0845 250 0648
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Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

We hope you've all been very good boys and girls this year and Santa brings you some shiny, new trail running gear.

To get your new gear broken in, why not join us on one of our 2013 trips. Places are now booking up, so book soon to ensure you your place is guaranteed.

All information and dates of our 2013 schedule is available on our website.

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and a fantastic 2013.

Annie

Contact Alpine Oasis on 0845 250 0648 or annie@alpine-oasis.com for further details of any of our trips.

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Dave's Dailies in the Peak District

Last time we introduced Dave Taylor, our new running coach. Since then we've been busy putting together "Dave's Dailies".

The Peak District in winter

Dave's Dailies are bespoke, one day specials designed to give you a taste of trail running without you having to fork out for a full weekend. We can organise these dailies to fit in with your schedule and we don’t need a minimum number, so tell us when you want to run and we’ll do our best to organise it!

What You Get

• A one day special – meeting places will be decided (depends on the route).
• Guided and coached trail running along a specially selected route. Full details of the route/timings/gradients/difficulty will be given.
• Pick Dave's brains: you get full access to his knowledge for the day – use it!

Highlights

• Run safely with Dave who has won both individual and team medals in British & English Fell Running Championships
• Learn some top tips on how to navigate while on the move
• See those parts of the Peak District you didn’t know existed
• Get wet/muddy/tired/elated and motivated

See our website for full details and information on Dave's Dailies and to book your own excursion into the Peak District.


Dave is a qualified teacher with 15 years' experience coaching sport and outdoor activities. He holds the Mountain Leader Award, British Orienteering L1 coach and the UK Athletics Leadership in Running Fitness Award.

Dave has contributed to Outdoor Fitness and Trail Running magazines, writing about navigation and hill running, and he's written articles for Men’s Running magazine on topics including mountain marathons, navigation and night running. In 2012 he assisted with route planning and organising the inaugural 2012 Ultra Tour of the Peak District.

Meet Dave Taylor

Dave on the fells

We're pleased to announce that Dave Taylor has joined the Alpine Oasis team.

Dave is a qualified teacher with 15 year’s experience instructing sport and outdoor activities. He holds the Mountain Leader Award, British Orienteering L1 coach and the UK Athletics Leadership in Running Fitness Award.

He is an experienced, competitive fell runner having won both individual and team medals in British and English championships and in his spare time runs with Dark Peak Fell Runners.

Dave has also appeared in Outdoor Fitness and Trail Running magazine writing on the subjects of navigation and hill running, and has written articles for Men’s Running magazine on topics such as; mountain marathons, navigation and night running. In 2012 he assisted with route planning and organising the inaugural 2012 Ultra Tour of the Peak District.

On top of all of this, Dave is an accredited canoeist. This can come in quite handy...because you never know when you might need an experienced canoeist when running in the Peak District!

Dave will join us on the fells in 2013. See the website for 2013 trips.

Norfolk Ultra Route Recce

We recently went to check out the route of the Norfolk Ultra. Having recently returned from running in the high mountains of the Alps we were somewhat stunned to learn that there was an ultra race on our door step in the flat lands of Norfolk. We had to go and investigate.

Our run took us through heathland and woodland before bringing us out onto the beach. After a quick stop to throw the dog in the sea (everyone does that right?) we headed along the top of the shingle beach. This proved the harder option as we realised too late that there was a flat, more stable path running parallel to the beach!

We were rewarded for the extra effort in Cley, a delightful village, where we enjoyed a swift pint of lime and soda before turning round and heading back, staying off the shingle beach this time!

What a fabulous run with great views (we had good weather too!), we could be tempted!

3 Peaks Training & CycloCross : Yorkshire Dales

As we are planning to run/walk the 3 Peaks, we picked a wet and cold weekend to go to for a bit of training over the 3 Peaks of Yorkshire and to check out the 3 Peaks Cyclocross Race. Our Yorkshire Dales “Introduction to Trail Running” weekend is in this neck of the woods so we know the terrain well.

Friday was wet and blustery with the occasional chink of sunshine up on Pen Y Ghent and we were up and down the other side within a couple of hours. Phil’s Achilles is playing up so we decided to do 2 peaks, not 3, choosing Ingleborough. Unfortunately the weather wasn't happy with our decision! Oh well, it makes you feel alive.

French Alps Trail Running Camps 2012

With a fine group of runners from Estonia, Germany and UK we enjoyed another great trip out to the French Alps. With every kind of weather, night runs, sunrises (without the sun), tackling sections of the UTMB and watching the start and finish of the UTMB, we left the Alps tired and inspired.

Day 1.

Drinking wine and talking running in
the company of Jez Bragg

We headed up to the Tre la Tete refuge and across the ‘route de balcon’ path to Lac Armancette. We covered about 15km and around 1000m of ascent and by the time we’d descended we had a well-deserved dip into a glacial river to cool the aching thighs.

Day 2.
The night run.