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Active Endurance Sports : March 2008

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NOW THIS IS POSITIVE SPIN
FRAN DRESCHER AND THOUSANDS OF VOLUNTEERS PLEDGE TO JOIN
'SPINNING® NATION', A NATIONWIDE DAY OF SPINNING® TO CHANGE
THE WORLD.

(March 12, 2008 Los Angeles) This spring, fundraising for charities will take on a whole
new spin. On June 28, thousands of Spinning® enthusiasts across the country will join
actress Fran Drescher and other actors, athletes and enthusiasts to make the U.S. a
"Spinning® Nation". The largest fundraising event of its kind, registered fundraisers will
participate in four consecutive one-hour classes conducted in licensed Spinning®
facilities throughout the 50 states. Each rider will have raised at least $250 in pledges,
and collected funds will be donated to Athletes for a Cure, The AIDS Research Alliance
and The Cancer Schmancer Movement.

Response to "Spinning® Nation" has already been overwhelming. According to Scott
Zagarino, Executive Director of event-developer Sportsgrants, Inc., over 150 clubs
signed up to participate during the first 10 days of registration. "We designed the event
to accommodate up to 500 clubs which we thought was a very ambitious goal," said
Zagarino. "However, we have experienced such enthusiastic support for 'Spinning®
Nation' we may have to expand the parameters to include more clubs who want to take
part."

"Spinning® Nation" will be a day that marks several firsts in event fundraising. Mad
Dogg Athletics Inc., owners of the Spinning® trademark, has for the first time endorsed a
single nationwide charitable event, and health clubs from coast to coast have never before
joined together to simultaneously conduct the same charitable program. In addition, this
will be the first time three charitable organizations with diverse constituencies have ever
partnered for a single event, one of the goals of the Sportsgrants, Inc. organization. "In
2007, various charity events held in the US raised 43 billion dollars, but at a cost of 57
billion dollars," commented Zagarino. "We hope to change that fundraising paradigm
through Sportsgrants, Inc. by fostering innovative ideas and cooperation among
foundations, businesses and private citizens that result in effective fundraising with
minimum overhead and maximum benefit to the people and organizations who need our
help the most."

According to John Baudhuin, CEO of Mad Dogg Athletics, there are currently 165,000
licensed Spinning® instructors and over 1 million people attending a Spinning® class
every week. "We are proud to choose 'Spinning® Nation' as our first nationwide
fundraising effort, " Badhuin said. "It is fantastic to be able to channel the enthusiasm
people have for Spinning® towards fighting some of the world's most devastating
diseases."

Fran Drescher, who is president of Cancer Schmancer, is delighted to be part of this
groundbreaking event as well. "I'm absolutely thrilled that Cancer Schmancer has been
included as part of the Spinning® Nation fundraising event. I will do everything in my
power to make the day a success and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for helping
us realize our goal to ensure that all women's cancers get diagnosed in Stage One when
they're most curable."

Athletes for a Cure is a sports fundraising initiative of the Prostate Cancer Foundation.
Prostate Cancer is the most common non-skin cancer in America, effecting 1 in 6 men.
The AIDS Research Alliance is a national leader in fast-track independent AIDS
research, seeking to develop a cure for AIDS and develop strategies to prevent new HIV
infections. Thirty-three million people are currently diagnosed with HIV/AIDS.

~~~
Media Contact:
Kathy Jones
Halo Group
310-994-0066

For more information:
Spinning Nation www.spinningnation.org
Athletes for a Cure www.athletesforacure.org
The Aids Research Alliance www.aidsresearch.org
The Cancer Schmancer Movement www.cancerschmancer.org

Visit the Spinning® Nation Online Community

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Cycle safety campaign in London:


Velonews posted the column, Questions about the Cupertino crash..., written By Bob Mionske, that asks some important questions about media bias and cyclist safety resulting from the fatal accident in SF last week.

How would you like to be able to run any race in 4 weeks? Active Expert Matt Fitzgerald gives us the skinny on nonlinear periodization.

Our own Active Expert, Joe Decker gets interviewed by Endurance Planet about taking on Barklay 100, arguably the world's toughest 100 mile race. Listen to the interview

While we're on the topic of impossibly difficult events, check out this video from Pittsfield Peaks Ultra Challenge - Death Division


You can expect barbed wire, mud boggin, wood choppin, tunnels, deep water diving, running, crawling, crying, screaming, and sweating. Doubtful you'll finish but be proud of yourself for trying. www.peakraces.com for more info.

Do you dream of toeing the line in Hopkinton? Check out this discussion of the fastest marathon courses. You just might get the extra edge to qualify for next year's Boston Marathon!

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Active contributor and EveryMan Triathlete Roman Mica and the endurance-loving folks over at raceAthlete.com have created a challenge worthy of celebration. Well, chances are you were going to be celebrating on your birthday anyway...

But this takes the party one step (or several, depending on how old you are) beyond the traditional cake and ice cream. The idea behind the B-Fit B-Day Challenge is to swim, bike and run your new age. To do this, take your age and:

1) Swim the number of miles in the first number
2) Run the number of miles in the second number
3) Bike the number of miles in the combined number

So a 45-year-old athlete would:

1) Swim 4 miles
2) Run 5 miles
3) Bike 45 miles

"My goal in creating the Challenge was to come up with something that has all of the athletic appeal of a triathlon, but with a much more gentle and family-friendly atmosphere," says Mica. "We really hope this new Challenge will encourage athletes, their friends, and their family to celebrate their birthday in a unique and healthy way."

The B-Fit B-Day Challenge is completely free and open to anyone of any age. The website currently boasts over 120 members. Those who join can create profiles with photos and video, interact and encourage others, post completion times and take part in some great sponsor premiums offered on the site.

http://api.ning.com/files/0NBnDaBDrgoLZP8-B9ZktylYfmVRBZohGBFjbUrH*Tk_/cg_bday_tri.jpg
(Thanks to B-Fit B-Day member Stronger for permission to use her awesome photo montage!)

The Challenge is divided into three levels: Gold, Silver and Bronze.

Bronze: Do all three (swim/bike/run) during the week of their birthday.
Silver: Do all three (swim/bike/run) in the 72 hours (three days) before, after or during their birthday.
Gold: Do all three (swim/bike/run) in 24 hours to celebrate their birthday!

Some important notes: Since "0" birthdays (like 10, 20, 30, 40, 50...) are important milestones, the "0" represents a 10. This means that on those "0" birthdays athletes must celebrate this big milestone by running ten miles.

Also, note that transitions don't count in the overall time.

"It's not so much about how far or how fast you go or how many people you pass, but more of a celebration of your life, health and fitness on your birthday," Mica says. "In other words, where a race is highly competitive, stressful, punishing and very public--you know...a race--the B-Fit B-Day Challenge is personal, intimate, rewarding and stress free."

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TCSD (Triathlon Club San Diego) released a preview of their 2008 race apparel:
http://community.active.com/servlet/JiveServlet/downloadImage/3603/TCSD_08.JPG

For those of you coming down from your weekend runner’s high, check out this article posted by Active Expert Charles Stuart Platkin, where researchers have finally demonstrated the existence of an 'endorphin driven runner's high'.

Do you get enough sleep? Check out this study released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) suggesting that Americans aren’t getting their Zzzz’s.

Did your favorite marathon make the list? Check out the Guide to Some of the Best Marathons in North America and let us know.

"You can't keep those women down, you can't get them back in the kitchen." Read the full story to find out which major marathon event director has his foot in his mouth.

Listen to this podcast from Endurance Planet, where USAT Coach Troy Jacobson answers a question about strength training for the marathon, finishing strong in a 70.3, and full Iron-distance event.

And last and certainly not least, ActiveX: ARMaggedon

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The latest hot topics, news and updates from the Endurance Sports world. We cover topics from various sports, so don't be shocked if you see a running related post on the cycling community. In the end, it's all relevant in one way or another. :)