There's something about the extreme beauty and challenge of this course all rolled into one epic event that makes this an unmistakably attractive race to me.

From the Wikipedia page (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultra-Trail_du_Mont-Blanc):

The Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc (also referred to as UTMB) is a mountain ultramarathon. It takes place once a year in the Alps, across France, Italy and Switzerland. The distance is approximately 166 km (~103mi), with a total elevation gain of around 9,400 m. Some believe that it is the most difficult foot race in Europe.

While the best trailers complete the loop in slightly more than 20 hours, most runners take 30 to 45 hours to reach the finish line.

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On the bucket list for sure. Must focus on finishing http://RaceTheTrace.com first!!!

Contrary to conventional wisdom, Silicon Valley isn’t the only place to go when you get serious about building a new company in the technology space.

Sure, it’s  a great place to start this sort of business, but the case for moving your company there is not as strong as it used to be. I’ve stared, run and sold companies in the Valley – but my latest venture is firmly based in Philadelphia. Here’s why:

If you are currently located outside the Valley but in a so-called secondary market such as Philadelphia or Boston, Seattle or Austin, you may be well-placed to succeed without moving. Yes, Silicon Valley still has large amounts of human capital, venture capital, and deal-making expertise, but there are also a very large number of companies competing for it.

The availability of venture funds in secondary markets, as well as angel money and super-angels, has also increased substantially in recent years – in some places outpacing the supply of exciting local projects seeking funds. As a result, the chances of your project getting the VC attention it deserves may be higher in a secondary market.

Of course, simply having access to money isn’t everything. To grow a successful technology company from the ground up, you need investors who have experience doing just that. Increasingly, you can find them in secondary markets.

While it’s getting easier to mature a tech company away from Palo Alto, there have been some historical downsides. People in secondary markets used to suffer from an information disadvantage, whether they were investors, entrepreneurs, engineers, designers, deal-makers, bankers, or lawyers. That’s because a lot of the information about how to do things and get things done was shared in social circles or networks that were defined geographically, namely Silicon Valley.

With the advent of blogs and other social media, though, there is now much more information sharing and transparency in the startup world, both on the founding side and on the funding side.

Should you move out of Silicon Valley if you’ve already started operations there? Probably not. But if you’ve started your company somewhere else – such as Philadelphia, where there is a thriving local VC community, a good supply of talent from good schools, and mentors accessible through social networks – then your chances of success are a lot better than they were five years ago.

Finally, starting up outside the Valley means you won’t be competing with Google for people as you build your team, and there’s less chance that Facebook will stunt your growth by stealing your best players. Just don’t expect to have the local playing field all to yourself. Building tech companies outside the Valley is one trend that is likely to keep growing.

My friends Ainslie (http://twitter.com/ainslieg), Lucas (http://twitter.com/lucasparry) and I broke a world record for saying the word "Na" 112 times sequentially in 30 seconds.

Why not...

You can try to beat our record by going to: http://urdb.org/wr/saying-na-sequentially-30-while-recording-studio

About this project

Hi! Thanks for checking out our project. With your help we would love to make our idea a reality and get them on as many wrists as possible.

TikTok and LunaTik simply transform the iPod Nano into the world's coolest multi-touch watches. The idea to use the Nano as a watch was an obvious one ever since the product was announced. But we wanted to create a collection that was well designed, engineered and manufactured from premium materials and that complemented the impeccable quality of Apple products. Not just clipped on a cheap strap as an afterthought. We wanted to create a product that your friends and strangers would stop you and ask "WTF is that??? And where can I get one?!"

TikTok is a simple snap-in design. It allows the user to easily and securely snap the Nano into the wrist dock. It cleanly and simply integrates the Nano and transforms it into a modern multifunction timepiece.

LunaTik is designed and intended to be a premium conversion kit for someone that wants to dedicate their Nano to being a watch and the newest conversation piece with their friends. It is forged from Aerospace Grade Aluminum and then machined via CNC into its final form.

The straps are made from high grade silicone rubber and the hardware is solid stainless steel not some chrome plated brass that will wear off. The quality of these watch cases and straps will be scrutinized very carefully and produced in the same factories that produce the best watches for companies like Nixon, Diesel, Vestal, and Nike.

So many watch companies have struggled to make a multi-touch color display watch to date. It is no small task. The Nano itself is an engineering wonder. Multi-Touch, color display, long battery life, MP3, radio, photos, pedometer, Nike and clock all in an impossibly small package. Just like reinventing the phone it took Apple to make it possible. And in clock mode the Nano battery lasts at least a week before recharging. We are excited to help complete the effort in converting it to a watch that everyone can enjoy.

So here is where you come in. Designing products is what we, MINIMAL, do day-in and day-out for big brands. But like most designers our dream is to eventually make our own products. But funding, manufacturing and distributing a new product is a whole other story. Kickstarter is a great way for us to realize many of the ideas that we have in our small studio that we know people will love but big companies are scared to do. We love creating cool stuff without the big company politics and indecision. We believe in the emerging power of community and the individual to bring ideas to life and we hope that this is just the beginning. By pledging at least $25 you are pre-ordering TikTok or by pledging $50 you are pre-ordering the LunaTik and helping make what we believe is a very cool iPod accessory a reality.

And if you pledge at the Limited Edition levels you will get one of the red anodized Backer versions.

With your support we are targeting to have the TikTok shipping to Backers by late December and the LunaTik by mid January. We hope that you are inspired and excited by the idea and choose to support the project. Either way please spread the word and share with your friends. Everyone has at least one friend that is a watch geek.

Thank you!

Note: TikTok will retail for $34.95 and LunaTik will retail for $69.95. iPod Nano not included.

Project location: Chicago, IL