WHAT A WEEKEND HAD BY ALL WITH TOBY LEADING THE WAY! CREATE A SUCCESSFUL WEEK FOR YOURSELF EVERYONE! Mike

YOU’VE HEARD OF THE AMERICAN IDOL WELL TOBY GUILLETTE IS BETTER THAN THAT HE IS OUR ACTIVE IDOL!

He took on the San Diego 100 Mile Endurance Run this weekend. There were 82 runners to start and only 43 finished because it was a hot day and the course has 12,000 feet of elevation gain/loss. All of my training and planning had me more ready for this event than we realized. I started conservative and maintained a steady pace during the heat of the day and through the night (my second 50 miles was 45 minutes slower than my first 50). This strategy proved itself as I began to make my way from the back of the pack, passing runners who went out too fast. I finished the race in 24 hours and 32 minutes in 13th place overall. It was an amazing experience and I had such a strong team in my corner making sure I stayed on point. I’ll have more posted this week but thanks to Arch, Jesse, Airey and Mike for coming out to support me. Check out what Arch posted: http://community.active.com/blogs/ActiveX/2008/06/08/my-view-of-tobys-sd-100

JESSE HAMMOND reports about the 100 miler he with AIREY BARINGER & ARCH FUSTON went to Cuyamaca State Park in SD County to cheer on Toby Guillette during his San Diego 100. Along with his support crew, we met him at an aid station 62+ miles into the race. Toby looked strong, happy and ready to keep going when he cruised into the checkpoint. He downed some root beer, got some fuel and off he went.

On Sunday, AIREY & JESSE did the 3rd Avenue Grand Prix criterium in Chula Vista. It was my first crit, but definitely won’t be my last. Even though I got dropped from the pack, I managed to stay close enough to finish the entire race. My legs were sore, but I had a ton of fun and learned a lot about bike racing. Airey, racing Category 4, had an awesome race and placed fifth overall.

JULIE ORR, Manager Professional Services participated in the Marines Camp Pendleton mud run on Sunday. 10K in mud with obstacles including hills, tire obstacles, river crossings, two 5-foot walls with mud on both sides, tunnel crawl, slippery hill climb. I did it with a 5 person team and had a blast. We placed 14th out of 62 all women’s teams.



RICH NEHER had a super fun Saturday, playing Beach Tennis at Ocean Beach. Beach Tennis San Diego had 7 courts set up and lots of booths for sponsors and tournament management, as well as live music entertainment. The event featured approx. 80 players of all levels who had more fun and more competitive tennis than “legally allowed”. Although my partner and I didn’t make it into the finals, we think we came out a winner, because vigorous, competitive tennis in the sand is a tremendous workout and the good time we had is just simply “priceless”! We’ll be back for some more (and even more competitive) Beach Tennis at Hermosa Beach June 28, a huge event 5 times the San Diego size and possibly five times the fun! I promise to also bring some photos from this tournament back with me.

SHANNON IBERGER, Acct Mgr Ops participated in the AFSP (American Foundation for Suicide Prevention) Overnight Out of the Darkness Walk on Saturday night. It was a 20-mile walk through Brooklyn, over the Brooklyn Bridge and all around Manhattan. Each walker had to raise a minimum of $1,000 for the cause and there were about 1,000 walkers. Was a great experience and can’t wait to get out there to San Diego to participate in more weekend races/activities!

ELAINE BERGERON, Acct Mgr did a 15 mile trail run/race in Big Bear, CA on Sunday. The weather was awesome, and the course was very challenging. The first 2 miles were a straight climb, but fortunately the last 2 miles were a descent. There were lots of rocks and some single track to make things really interesting. I kept thinking I was glad I was not Toby at this point (doing 100 miles), b/c the 15 miles were really tough. If anyone wants to do trail runs in the future…email me at elaine.bergeron@active.com.
I am hosting a fundraiser for the Monarch School at the La Jolla Brewhouse on Friday, June 13 at 7 pm. There should be a good turnout from what I hear so far. I hope some Active folks can make it. It will be a mixed crowd and a good time!

More ELAINE from ALLY WARD. Elaine is too embarrassed to add the following to her race notes from this weekend up in Big Bear. She placed FIRST in her age group this weekend in her 15 mile trail race! She got a phenomenal trophy on a piece of a tree with a little bear sculpture on it – coolest thing I’ve ever seen!

As I reported last week MICHAEL WILSON Endurance Acct Mgr was doing the AIDS ride so here is his report. I just got back from my 545 mile, 7 day AIDS Lifecycle from SF to LA. We left last Sunday, June 1 out of the Cow Palace in SF and pedaled into LA this past Saturday, June 7. Being my second year riding, it was even more inspiring, rewarding and fun. I rode every mile, with no injuries and not one flat! The event raised over $11.6 million!!! It is an event that has once again changed my life. There were 2,500 riders and over 500 roadies (volunteers) that travel in this community over the entire week. I am extremely proud to be a part of such a wonderful group of people. I am already excited for next year and plan on registering this week for ALC 8!

ERIKA WINTER ran in the Coronado Stride and Ride on the hard packed sand beach along the strand. It was 8.2 miles and finished in an hour.

FUN IN TAHOE – REBECCA DIVITA, MIKE GARFIELD, MIKE CARRAN, KIRK JENSEN, AMBER MARTIN, RYAN DREW, SILVIO FRISON, ANDREW COLE & FERNANDO CADORE went up to Reno, NV to compete in the Reno-Tahoe Odyssey Relay Race Adventure. This was an amazing race and it turns out “adventure” was a pretty accurate description of the whole experience. It was a 178 mile relay race with legs ranging from “easy” flats to Trail of Tear quality climbs for seemingly never ending mileage. The course wound its way around Lake Tahoe and through the Eastern Sierras starting in Reno and ending in Reno, the Biggest Little City in the World. The scenery was unbelievable and we ran into some wildlife. One of our runners saw a bear, another, a coyote. Thirty degree night time temperatures, sleep deprivation, and altitudes ranging from 4000-7500 feet made this a challenging race. All of our runners were all-stars completing some ridiculous feet at some point during the 24 hours. Killer climbs, knee pounding downhills, and having your “easy run” be a 6 miler with rolling hills at 7500 feet and 3 a.m. made this an event that none of us will soon forget. We finished 5th place out of 12 in the Corporate Men’s event, and feel pretty good about this, as we were one of two teams that came from sea level. The rest were Reno Natives. Overall, we finished 24th of 99 teams, completing the course in 24 hours 29 minutes. Today we’re all pretty sore, but feel fulfilled, satisfied, and pretty darn accomplished. I think this all really sunk in when we were driving home down Hwy 395, gazing off at the Sierras and realized that we ran up, down, over, and around them.

We’d also like to say congratulations to Toby. After running 22 miles up in the mountains this weekend and facing the challenges of calculating appropriate nutrition, sleep deprivation, altitude, and cold, his accomplishment is something astounding. Toby, simply setting 100 miles as your goal, let alone accomplishing such a feet is something to be proud of that truly sets you apart from the pack. Congratulations buddy. You’re amazing.



EDDIE STRICKLER ran the 800m in the Oregon Track Club Qualifier Meet before the Prefontaine Classic on Sunday. It was great to run in a high caliber meet and rub shoulders with some of the greatest track and field athletes in the world. I ran my fastest time of the year at 1:52.84. Though the best part was that I got to warm up while Kenenisa Bekele was cooling down after he finished running the 4th fastest 10k ever run in the world and the fastest 10k ever run on American soil (26 min 25 sec). I also thoroughly enjoyed watching the Pre Classic which had so many amazing performances which included a new American record in the Pole Vault, the farthest hammer throw on American soil, a mile where all 9 athletes broke 4 minutes, Maria Mottola winning the 800 for 16th year in a row, and many more.

MIKE REILLY last Friday had the pleasure of attending the San Diego Marine Corps Recruit Depot Boot Camp graduating class Alpha Company. EDGAR OROZCO from Palm Desert, CA graduated with honors at Private First Class. Edgar is a member of the Exceeding Expectations group formed by Ironman Age Group champion Cherie Gruenfeld. It guides and helps youth in Southern California to find their way that live in a disadvantage situation. Edgar proved you can become a man without being a member of a gang. He has attended Ironmans and thru Cherie’s effort realized there is more to life. If you ever get a chance to see MCRD’s graduating ceremony do it, it is an uplifting experience.

The picture with Edgar is my brother Don on far left, Edgar (who lost 15 lbs in camp), Kevin Kelly friend and former Marine and me.



LAUREN ELDER While on a Mediterranean cruise recently, we climbed the volcano at Santorini and felt the hot earth and smelled the sulphur. Besides being hot from the climb in the Greecian sun, walking past the steaming volcanic rock was something else.