Ice Bathing: Does It Improve Health or Is It All Just Imagination?

From Simon Joller on srf.ch:

More and more people are taking ice water baths since the COVID-19 pandemic, believing it benefits both body and mind. Goodbye flu, farewell winter blues. It’s also believed to aid in weight loss and protect against cardiovascular diseases long-term. While research has had to moderate some of these claims, it also confirms certain effects.

This view is shared by physician and extreme swimmer Beat Knechtle. He says he’s been asked so frequently about the effects of swimming in ice water in recent years that he wrote a review article (https://phc.swisshealthweb.ch/fileadmin/assets/PHC/2023/phc-d.2023.10702/phc-d-2023-10702.pdf) on the studies. His conclusion: there are indications of health benefits. However, similar benefits can be found in jogging, cycling, or swimming in normal water temperatures. This suggests that the benefits are more likely due to physical activity rather than the water temperature.

STARTSCHUSS RUN 3h│6h│12h #2024

Running in circles for 6 hours at minus 3 degrees in the middle of winter, that’s the season opener for the ultra runners in Jegenstorf.

Beat Knechtle: “You could have also run for 12 hours in the cold and fog, but after 6 hours, the first therapy session of the new year was done for me.”

https://my.raceresult.com/229726/info

IUTA Hall of Fame

After Beat Knechtle became the first triathlete in the world to break the barrier of 300 long-distance triathlons at the end of 2022, he was able to extend the world record to 326 long-distance triathlons at the end of 2023 thanks to second place at the BRASIL ULTRA TRI (Brazil) over five times the distance, 2nd place at the BRETZEL ULTRA TRI (France), also over five times the distance, 1st place at the SWISSULTRA (Switzerland) over ten times the distance and 1st place at the VIRGINIA ANVIL ULTRA TRI (USA) over five times the distance.

IUTA World Cup Ranking 2023

The IUTA (International Ultra-Triathlon Association) has finalized the ranking of the 2023 World Cup after the last race of the season. After 2022, Beat Knechtle again achieved second place in the rankings behind the renewed winner Goulwenn Tristant from France.

https://www.iutasport.com/world-cup/world-cup-2023

Lake Maggiore Marathon

The marathon on Lake Maggiore from Arona to Verbania is considered the marathon in Italy with the most beautiful panorama. Particularly noteworthy are the ‘Isole Borromee’ near the village of Stresa and the large hotels on the ‘Lungolago di Stresa’.

See more: https://lagomaggioremarathon.it/en/homepage-english/

Victory at the VIRGINIA ANVIL ULTRA TRI QUINTUPLE

Beat Knechtle finds history repeating itself once more. Following his solo triumph in the Swissultra, covering ten times the regular distance, he achieved another solo victory just a few weeks later in the USA, conquering the five-fold distance at the VIRGINIA ANVIL ULTRA TRI.

In the brisk morning chill, with temperatures hovering around 5°C, it was time to plunge into Lake Anna. Following the frigid swim, the journey continued with a grueling 180-kilometer bike ride through Lake Anna State Park, featuring almost 1000 meters of elevation gain. Finally, the day concluded with a marathon that included uphill and downhill segments. This demanding triathlon was repeated for five consecutive days, each with a strict time limit of 17 hours to complete the Ironman course. After a total of 76 hours and 31 minutes of relentless effort, the goal was achieved.

Reichenau Marathon

The first Reichenau Marathon took place on September 30, 2023.

With a start in Switzerland, then around the UNESCO World Heritage Reichenau Island through the Wollmatinger Forest and Constance back to Switzerland.

Beat Knechtle in conversation with Emma Beddington for The Guardian

Dr Beat Knechtle has conducted much of the research on age and ultramarathons; the 59-year-old Swiss GP is also an ultra-athlete himself. It’s a lot to do with experience and mindset, he says: “Experience, starting slow, going slow, focusing on the aim … younger athletes always tend to want to achieve a place, a podium, a time. The older ones like me say the first aim is to finish, and finishing means preparing and going to the race knowing it takes, for example, 5 or 10 or more days.” Knechtle has just completed a terrifying-sounding “deca iron”, which is 10 triathlons in 10 days; he was the only finisher (the professional triathlete who came second gave up after seven days).

Swiss Championships in Brugg

Beat Knechtle finished third in the 6-hour race behind runners Benjamin Bollin and Marc Graf.

In addition, he also took third place in the senior category.
  

On the third weekend of September, the traditional Brugg running weekend took place in Geissenschachen, where Swiss Ultra Running Swiss Ultra Running hosted the Swiss Championships in various long-distance running disciplines.

The three main events were the 5th Swiss Championships in 6-hour running, the 11th Swiss Championships in 12-hour running and the 4th Swiss Championships in 48-hour running.