Ambassador Spotlight: Rene Unser

Tell us a little about yourself

I live in Kelowna, BC with my husband and 16 year old son, whom are my favorite adventure buddies. I’ve worked in the fitness industry since I was 18 years old and in 2005, I started P.A.C.E. Sports Fitness. Under that umbrella, I direct 4 trail running races, coach seasonal trail running clinics, mountain running camps and offer personalized coaching options.

For the last 7 years, I have competed in and fell in love with the Gore-Tex Transalpine Run, a 7 day trail running race across the German, Austrian, Swiss and Italian Alps. This year I have taken on the role of North America marketing rep & liaison for the race.

I enjoy mountain biking, road cycling, rock climbing, trail running, nordic skiing and snowboarding. Although I have completed numerous trail running ultras, my passion is stage racing. I have completed in 8 trail running stage races and one mountain bike stage race. Next year, I will be preparing for the Singletrack 6 MTB stage race, along with my husband and some close friends. Lastly, racing and P.A.C.E. have provided me with opportunities to connect with community & travel, both of which are very important to me.

What are some endurance aspects of being an organizer that athletes never see?

Every event requires me to go out and pre-run each race course multiple times to ensure that the trails are in good shape, safe and plan for any potential re-routing. I integrate pre-running the courses as part of my training, as it physically prepares me for the actual course marking that takes place 2-3 days before each race, which requires carrying a heavy backpack of supplies and will take me and my team 4-7hrs per day to complete, depending on the race and distance.

The week building into each race requires long days, with early mornings and late nights. I also like to put personal touches into my series: my mom, 92 year old grandma and aunts help make apple pies for Nimble Bear, homemade jam for Broken Goat & Wandering Moose and I make handmade ceramic wine cups for Wild Horse Traverse & Broken Goat races. In addition, my mom and I spend over 40hrs per race making handmade ceramic finishers medals. It all requires long hours and patience, although I would be hard pressed to call it “work” as I absolutely love it. Lastly, my absolute favorite part is race day, working with my team, cheering at the finish line from the first to the last finisher, waiving my pom-poms and giving every single runner a hug. By the end of the event it often feels like I’ve also ran 50k and I love it.

With unlimited means, what would the ultimate trail race look like? Where would you hold it?

What an interesting question. Well, I have always wanted to host a race where there was no timing clock and no finishing times. You just run for the love of it and let go of any stats or defining your success by your outcome, so-to-speak. I have always wondered how, or if, this would change people’s attitudes, outlooks or overall enjoyment of an event, if they didn’t get a finish time. As for where? Probably Lech in the Austria Alps, because aside from Rossland, BC (where we already host the Broken Goat (50k/25/12k) this is one of our favorite mountain towns.

What are your top three Hammer products? And why?

Endurance Aminos - In 2014, they changed my recovery game 100% and I have been using them every since. Particularly during my back to back long runs and during stage races. I can’t recommend this product enough for anyone doing endurance events and high volume training where recovery in-between sessions is key.

Anti-Fatigue Capsules - In 2013, I started using these and noticed a difference in my endurance rides/runs right away. I combine them with Endurolytes while I run/ride and use the Endurance Aminos (mentioned above) post exercise.

Perpeteum - I actually put off using this thinking I couldn’t stomach it or that it was too “chalky”, however, I joined the Perpeteum bandwagon in 2016 and realized that it was the last key component, that put my fueling plan together perfectly for me. There are many ways you can prepare & use this product and once I was educated, it opened up the door and enhanced my performance immensely.