Jim Garfield (AMG) and Active alum Chris Wheeler, did the Big Rock Triathlon this past Saturday.  It was great to hear the fans cheer "Go Active".  Wish the cheers could have loosened my tight calf's.....but fun all the same!!

Last Saturday, Oct 31, David Detar (National Account Manager - ActiveOutdoors) and his son Matt (10 yrs old) participated in a local Jack-o-lantern Jog.  It was a 5K race.

The course was tough - a 3/4 mile hill less than a mile from the start and then rolling hills throughout.  We also were forced to run through heavy rain and wind.  We still enjoyed our time together and finished respectably in 27:30 and 27:31.  Pacing with Matt, I my time actually put in in 7th in my age group while Matt finished 4th in the under 11 age bracket.  Next up for both of us is a Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving Day!

Michelle Nation, Product Manager - I travelled to Las Vegas this weekend to take on the Desert Beach Big Dirt Triathlon.  The weather and the 1.5 k lake swim were perfect, but the 30 k bike and 10k run were brutal!   As the only female to finish the long course, I brought home the first place trophy which helps me feel a lot better about all the cuts, bruises and sore muscles from crashing on the bike course.   It was my first off-road tri and I will definitely be back for more.

Jim Hine, GM for Consumer Access, rode with a group of eight riders on a 24-mile loop along the South Fork of the Boise River on Saturday.  The stock trails in the Danskin Mountains aren’t maintained so you get pretty worked on the side hills and washouts. You can only ride this area in the fall/winter due to the heavy rattlesnake population in the spring.  I hooked a pedal and got a close-up look at a rock, but the trails were a blast.

Mark Lister (Documentation – Burnaby) competed in the Haney 2 Harrison 100 km road relay this past weekend. Running with “Oconnor’s Washed up All Stars” (comprised of current and former Richmond Kajaks track runners), the team finished second overall in a time of 5:43.48.

Mark was 3rd on his leg of the race, running the 13.1 km stage in 46:26, despite the cold, persistent heavy rain.

Stage 6 results: http://www.raceheadquarters.com/results/2009/run/H2H2009Stage6.html

Marea Blue (Implementation Analyst) and I (Kirstin Hartos, Technical Account Management Team Lead) traveled to San Francisco over the weekend with our rugby team to play for the Division 1 National Championship.  We faced the Atlanta Harlequins in Friday’s semi-final match, and although they scored first we managed to come from behind in the second half to win 21-10 and advance to the final against Northern Virginia.  We had Saturday to rest and refocus, and came out firing on Sunday – scoring within the first minute of the game to go up 7-0.  We got penalized several times for repeated offenses, and one of our players was sin-binned (like a penalty box in hockey) so we played a man down for 10 minutes in the middle of the first half.  Although we didn’t score again until well into the second half, we managed to hold NOVA scoreless throughout the game.  The final score was 14-0, marking our team’s first ever National Championship.  Marea was also named MVP (well deserved).  Thanks to everyone here for your support throughout the season!

Chris Ochs,  Sales Manager - The Boulder Team participated in Habitat for Humanity.

L-R:  Chris Ochs, Jen Napoli, Dan Partain, Aaron Romero, Eric Johnson, Holly Hale, Nick Stevens.

A fun time was had by all!

Here is the Weekend Warrior from China.

Phoenix Zhong, Jex Chen and Crusoe Xia (From left to right) from Foundations, Chengdu office attended a cycling match at Sunday.

This is the first time China ActiveX team members to attend a national wide, public cycling match in China!

Crusoe got the 1^st place in his group and got 53^rd in the whole match. It is China ActiveX team’s first record.

“225” in these two pictures is Jex

Scott Novell, Development Manager in San Diego - Participated in the La Jolla Gatorman  race for the sixth time.  The Gatorman is the longest running swim race in America, it is a 5k swim from the La Jolla cove to Scripps pier and back, No wetsuits allowed!  It was a tough race this year with 6-7 foot swells and a lot of current, there were times I thought I was going backwards.  It was not one of my fastest times but was still an exciting and challenging event and always an exciting start as seen in the picture!

Robert Subkow, Director of Network & Communications - This weekend marked the 4th annual Helen Woodward Surf Dog Competition at Del Mar in which the Golden Surfer’s were well represented.  Jill Sonar Subkow (Our Golden Retriever) placed 4th in her heat of 13 dogs over 60 pounds, and 7th overall in the X-Large dog category, (Please don’t tell her she is extra large, she is a bit touchy about her weight, lol)….  The waves were challenging as the rip current was strong but Jill was able to get in 11 runs in 20 minutes, well she rode while I ran after the board and reloaded her for the next wave. Hope this is a worthy update

Ryan Lyster, Customer Experience Project Manager - I returned last week from Peru where I did a 4 day trek up the Inca trail to reach Machu Picchu with my Dad on his 60th birthday. The trek was difficult for my standards, reaching 4,215m’s above sea level and hiking the vertical of whistler mountain in a single morning! It was well worth it to see all the stunning ruins along the way and to be surrounded by the Andes. Cant say enough about the experience, would recommend it to everyone! 

Charlie Trottier, Team Manager in San Diego, CA played with his Saturday Ultimate Frisbee league team for 60 minutes, 8 v. 8 and surfed on Sunday for 40 minutes. The waves were huge!

Jim Garfield (AMG) joined 1,500 athletes to compete in the Nautica Malibu Olympic distance triathlon.  Jim joined fellow Active X’s Rebecca Divita and Kelly Schulty along with Active alum’s Chris Wheeler and Carrie James.  In addition to Sunday’s race Jim channeled his inner Mike Riley once again to announce Sunday’s celebrity race.  This year’s field included Terri Hatcher and Felicity Hufffman (DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES), Paul Lieberstein (THE OFFICE), William H. Macy and his high school buddy Jeremy Piven ( ENTOURAGE) among many other celeb’s and 3,500 hard charging athletes. This year’s event raised over $1 Million dollars for Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles.

Dave Detar, Account Manager for ActiveOutdoors - My ten year old son (Matthew) chose Labor Day to run in his first ever timed race.  We registered and ran in the 27th Labor Day 5K Classic in Washington, PA.  Since he had never run in an organized race of this length, I kept cautioning him against starting too fast.  Even with the first part of the course downhill, I was concerned when our 1 mile split was 7:15.  I thought Matt was in trouble.  Much to my surprise and delight, he kept running, stopping only for a quick drink at the mid-point water station.  With the finish line in sight, he pushed forward and crossed in 24:03.  This time earned him first place in his age group.  I finished 6th in my age group.  Not bad for what I thought was going to be a leisurely jog to introduce Matt to organized racing! Here is a picture of Matt picking up his first place trophy.

Tina Novak, Software Consultant in Colorado - This weekend I competed in my first adventure race, the Bearable Adventure Race in Lakewood, CO. It was a partner race, though my friend I signed up with hurt her foot last week and had to recruit my boyfriend as a last minute substitute! We had to complete a water crossing, where the hardest part was inflating our mattress we both had to touch at all times… After the swim we mountain biked 10 miles and ran 4 trail miles over the rivers and through the woods with our stuffed bear in tow, all the way to our orienteering challenge where we had to find 6 different points before running to the finish line. IT. WAS. AWESOME.

Jessica Wexler, (Foundations) - Spent the weekend mountain biking, hiking, and camping in the Hurkey Creek area near Idyllwild, California. Next weekend is the big 24 hours of Adrenaline Race so there were many experienced riders practicing the route and zipping past me on the trail. Note to San Diego co-workers this is an excellent place to camp with your dogs!

Toby Guillette, Community Development Specialist, San Diego - For my last long training run before the Noble Canyon 50K on 9/26, I ran up and down Palomar Mountain this weekend via the Nate Harrison Grade Rd. It was a brutal 10-mile ascent with an 8% grade and 4,700’ of climbing. I would recommend it as a solid mountain bike ride but not as a run. The 10-mile descent was a quad killer and got really hot. At least the view was "kinda" worth it

Bret Harris, Account Manager in San Diego - I helped organize this year’s Paddle For Clean Water event around the Ocean Beach Pier.  This is an annual gathering of ocean enthusiasts organized by the Surfrider Foundation to raise awareness about clean water issues here in San Diego by orchestrating a mass paddle out around the longest pier on the west coast.  Unfortunately, this year’s 1.2 mile paddle adventure had to be postponed due to the large swell, but the festival carried on and was a huge success!

This weekend Tina Wilmott in the PR department took trapeze classes in Escondido for a friend’s birthday. I’ve always wanted to try and highly recommend. It was amazing! Here is a video of me (see attached) flying through the air.

The San Diego half marathon triple crown series came to an end this weekend with the America's Finest City Half Marathon and Active's Mike Reilly announcing the event.

Michelle L. Ulrich - ran AFC Half yesterday and had a great race.  I ran a 1:29:55 placing second in my age division. 

Kevin Beatty ran the AFC half and finished with a time of 1:41. Getting stuck and having to wait for the trolley to pass was a little disappointing, but overall a great day for a race. 

Carol Martin - My goal was to finish in less than 3 hours. And here’s the result…  Just made it. I came in 32nd of the 38 women in the 60-64 age group. The fastest one in my group did it in 1:05 – amazing. It was a real challenge.  But I’m ok.  Have a couple of blisters, but otherwise intact. I think I’ll probably sign up for Carlsbad Half in Jan. 

Jim de la Cruz, from the San Diego office writes, “I am so grateful, I finished the AFC yesterday in 2:06:00 it was great hearing Mike Reilly bring me in and pickup my triple crown award for the 2nd year!”

Anusheh Chavez participated in the AFC 5K.

GISELLE DOMDOM went kayaking with my brother and sister in La Jolla. Then we took advantage of the summer’s last “Free National Parks Weekend” and visited Cabrillo National Monument. We enjoyed beautiful views of San Diego and a great hike.

Steve Mazza went mountain biking in the High Sierras – pics of Minaret Vista and Mammoth Mountain!

Chris Inouye from Thriva Implementation completed his first triathlon under perfect weather conditions.  I thought I’d start small for my first triathlon so I raced the Lake Stevens Half Ironman.  My swim and bike were good, but I cramped up in the first mile of the run.  The cramps never went away, but I thankfully finished in a total time of 5:51.  If Joel Werdell from Thriva Product Management doesn’t get his report in, I’ll brag for him: Joel also raced his first triathlon this weekend.  He had a blistering pace on the bike and finished his Half Ironman in 5:24.  Already looking forward to next year!

Chris Ochs, ActiveEvents OnDemand-Boulder, and his partner Missy Simpson competed in the Muddy Buddy-Boulder on Sunday.  The dirty duo won their age group with a time of 45:57, barely edging out the next finisher by 9 seconds!  Most of all, they had a blast.

Tina Novak got muddy this weekend at the Muddy Buddy race in Boulder, CO. Both my buddy, Katy, and I had never done a Muddy Buddy and had no idea what to expect – so we donned our shiny gold capes and got at it. Needless to say we were NOT disappointed with the trail runs/rides and muddy obstacles, and can’t wait to compete again next year!

Jim Hine - On Saturday we biked the Deadwood River-Julie Creek loop near Lowman, Idaho.  The Deadwood is named for the hundreds of fallen trees that jam up the river most of the year.  Only expert kayakers will risk running it.  The 24-mile loop started with a long push to the main ridge, but the trails on top had fun ups/downs, roots and rocky sections.  The fast switchbacks and creek crossings on the descent were a blast.  Our total elevation gain was 6,110 feet…with 4,300 climbed in the first 10 miles.  We cooled off in the fast-flowing Deadwood after the ride - but the run-off was in the low 50’s so it was a quick dip!

LAUREN EDER found a great way to get the heart rate up while strapped to a seat.  I spent an exhilarating hour on Saturday in a 2-seat glider over the Fraser River and British Columbia coastal mountains, near Hope which is about 2 hours west of Vancouver.  Geoff, the pilot, is husband of ex-Class employee Judy Holt, who is really just on extended maternity leave. J  Of course I had to say Yes to the offer of experiencing some aerobatics.  I cannot describe the feeling of “pulling 2 G’s” (new lingo for me), but want to do it again!

Saturday, three members of European Active Team went to volunteers to the St Jean de Luz stage of the charities race series called Odyssea.

From left to right: Loic Metais (St Jean de Luz triathlon race director), CEDRIC PRIMAULT (France account manager), PIERRE DUVELLEROY (Senior account executive) & LAURENT GAUTHIER (Endurance European managing director)

JIM HINE's Bogus Basis Weekend:

On Saturday we mountain biked the Boise foothills to Gardener Peak, just East of Bogus Basin ski resort....climbing 7,490 ft over 32 miles in a little over 4 hours.  The single track along the ridge was solid, but one of our favorite descents - Shingle Creek - was rutted and sketchy after the heavy rain a week ago.  Then on Sunday my family (and Grandparents!) drove up to Bogus and hiked to the summit of Shafer Butte.  The views came and went with the clouds, but we made a couple snowballs before switch-backing down through the wildflowers.

ROBERT SUBKOW: There were dogs from all across the United States that came to ride the waves in Southern California.  CBS morning show, Channels 5, 8, 9, and even a station from Germany were there filming the contest.  The event has gotten so much notoriety that the film makers for the new movie Marmaduke were there to get shots of the “Big Dogs”.  Although my dog Jill didn’t place this year, her team mate from the “Golden SurFurs” took 1st place in the dogs over 40 pounds.  Next Year!  Pictures are courtesy of the Union Tribune.

JAKE COONEY reports, "With one week left until the Seattle Rock ‘n Roll Marathon, the Bothell office has done 2 team bike rides as an alternative training event.  Cody Lamens, Jake Cooney, Jay Lee, David Knapp, Nicole Pelley, Chris Inouye, Joel Werdell, Zach Panther, Sijen Olthof, Jason Karls, Brian Grover, and Stephen Branstetter have all participated in the rides."

FRANCIS DUPUIS and his wife, Faye Dupuis were in the dragon boat races this past weekend: Recreational Div C Consolation – 4th place @ 2:21.240

She's in the back of boat #2

Also, my two boys played in a roller hockey tournament, their teams finished first and third. This is Devon with his third place trophy.

TOBY GUILLETTE completed the 26-mile 9-Peak Challenge across the San Bernardino mountain range on Saturday in 8.5 hours. My 32-mile day started at 2am with an ascent of San Gorgonio (11,499ft), the highest mountain in SoCal, arriving at the summit for sunrise and continued with hike/running 8 more peaks all above 10,000 feet. Since it was a point-to-point route, I had another 10 miles to go to get back to my car after the 26-mile traverse was complete. This is when the real adventure began. I'll post a blog this week with details

DAVE NEFF reports, four members of the InfoSpherix (Frostburg, MD) branch competed in the inaugural Mountain MD Marathon 5K Race.  Pictured left to right are:  Larry Golden - Finished 7th (23:02), Joe Snyder Finished 6th (23:00), Dave Detar Finished 12th (24:07) and Dave Neff Finished 29th (25:58) out of a field of 137 runners.  All four members surpassed their own expectations by posting their personal best times and finishing within the top three of their respective age groups. 

ADNAN ZAIDI played in and WON the Coral Springs Adult Tennis Championships in the Men's 35 Singles this past weekend. It feels GREAT to win a tournament again. Here is a link to the draw: http://tennislink.usta.com/tournaments/Draws/EventDraw.aspx?T=74485&E=4

JIM GARFIELD (AMG) had a blast at Active X’s first charity work out! It was truly the gift that keeps giving….I’m still sore!

CATHLEEN SWALLOW and ANDREA RISHMAWI started out Sunday Funday the right way with a hike up Iron Mountain in the 85 degree heat.  We love San Diego!

BROOKE KIRKPATRICK and her husband, Jim, celebrated the last day of Vail, skiing (sort of) and having a blast.  Everyone went big with their 80's neon, shorts, and wigs.  A group of my friends pulled out the sombreros and I skied in jeans and powder gaiters, which actually was not so bad!  O.A.R. played a free concert in the village as well.  Now it's time to pull out the bike and hiking boots. 

Vancouver Sun Run!

One of the largest 10 K runs in North America swelled by 40 Active Corporate participants this weekend.

Our times ranged from 50 minutes to 1:50

http://www.vancouversun.com/sunrun/Gallery+2009/1512553/story.html

Our team included Behrad Bayanpour; Benjamin Wong; Brandon Leung; Carlos Chan; Carol Zhang; Daniel Li; Darren Jensen; Doreen Xue; James Reyes; Jamie Haaf; Jan Karlsbjerg; Jane Van Sickle; Janette Kim; Jennifer Yang; John Kadota; Julius Dagot; Mark Myo; Matthew Hoffmann; Megan Hollstedt; Myo Thein; Paul Cheung; Paul Hiller; Raymond Lei; Rong Peng; Ryan Carniato; Shazia Iameo; and team captain Doug Johnson

MICHELLE NGAI – Co-op Website and Email Designer – finished my first Vancouver Sun Run (10k) in 1 hour, 8 minutes and 50 seconds!

DARIN ADLER drove up to Lake Elsinore this weekend to take part in my first solo jump skydiving.  I flew up to about 13 thousand feet and jumped without being attached to an instructor.  Attached is a picture in the plane and one of me jumping out with my teacher. The weather was beautiful and it was an amazing jump.

ALISON TERRY swam with the Mission Valley YMCA Masters Swim Group on Saturday morning and on Sunday, I helped my husband Alan Voisard conduct a swim clinic for the Challenged Athletes Foundation’s Catch a Rising Star program.   There was a great turn out and it was a beautiful day.

The purpose of Catch a Rising Star (CRS) is to provide post-rehabilitation support and mentoring to individuals who have suffered a traumatic injury or been born with a congenital defect, resulting in a physical disability. The support consists of an introduction to sports activities and mentoring relationships.  This program is for the physically challenged person who desires a balanced life of work, family, friends and fitness. Whether you desire to learn to ride a bike, handcycle, rock climb, swim, run, engage in winter sports, or compete in a triathlon, this program will provide you the opportunities, knowledge and confidence you need to pursue an athletic life.     Visit  http://www.challengedathletes.org/ to learn more.

KIRSTEN DIXON did her first charity event this weekend.  I was part of the Walk for Autism Speaks and earned $165.00 for the cause. (Sat) Also, I was part of a big golf group from our office.  We had 13 people participate. (Sun)

Bothell Corporate Challenge – Group Run

As we prepare for the Inaugural Seattle Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon/Half Marathon. Team Bothell takes on Discovery Park the biggest urban park in Seattle. We finish the run with a Team Breakfast of pure energy and nutrition. 

TOBY GUILLETTE (AMP) volunteered at the Sunstrides Chollas Lake 5K on Saturday and helped with set-up, split timing, photography and breaking down the equipment after the race. The race doubled it’s numbers from last year as more folks learn that the proceeds from the event go to the Sunstrides Foundation, which funds solar power projects in Africa. 

The Gran Fondo Colnago was GRAND!!

JIM GARFIELD (AMG) had a grand time announcing ROB KLINGENSMITH’s new event, the Gran Fondo Colnago San Diego. He joined fellow Active volunteers MARK  KUUSIK (Active) and DAVE ALBERGA (All Active) in cheering fellow Active colleagues including REBECCA DIVITA (Active Camps) who came in Third Place for the women in the King of the Mountain hill climb competition up Honey Springs.  She accepted her award from none other then Ernesto Colnago, founder of Colnago bicycles.

!GF markjim dave.jpg! 

PHILLIP GRAHAM and his wife rode the Zion Country Century -  a 105 mile road ride from St. George Utah to the entrance to Zion's National Park and back. The fun part was we did it on a tandem.  After 4,600 feet of vertical climbing, about 8,100 calories and some sore back ends we did it in 5:58. Pictured is myself in the middle with my wife on my left and friends we met up with.  The two other couples pictured also rode tandems.  The other picture is of my wife and me at the start.  33 degrees at the start and 70 at the finish - perfect day and great fun!

CATHERINE HANSEN joined the “Critical Mass” ride on Friday night. Over 250 participants started at the Balboa fountain. It was so amazing following the flashing red lights. The police were heavily patrolling the event, so I felt safe. It’s pretty dangerous though because we go through red lights and hog up all the lanes Went to Kensington and turned around for about 16 miles. We’re going to do it again on the 27th

TOBY GUILLETTE set out at sunrise on Saturday for a 20-mile trail run on the Pacific Crest Trail by Warner Springs with a couple running buddies. We had over 4,400 feet of climbing, perfect weather and beautiful views. 

Chris Wheeler, Account Executive, Blue Bear Software

I did the Fiesta Island Time Trial on Sunday morning.  It was a brisk morning with just enough wind to make it hurt that much more.  It was my first cycling race, so it was way outside my comfort zone, but a fun experience none-the-less.  Afterwards, I went on a 40 mile cool-down ride up the coast with friends. 

Steve Mazza

I rode my mountain bike at Mission Trails Regional Park (with former Active-ite Matt Codling) on Sunday. After some sweet downhill sections, we pedaled up South Fortuna Mountain as far up as we could, then carried our bikes up the west face to the top. Incredibly clear views to the east of the San Diego backcountry, and to the southwest of the Coronado Islands and Mexico.

Bill Bliven, Account Executive- Major Accounts

Twenty two riders from all over the country descended on Lake Tahoe for our 12th annual “Old Guy Mountain Bike Camp” As in previous years, the trails, and the weather and rider entertainment were outstanding.  The weather for the weekend: sunshine, rain, snow and wind were the order.   As for our rides the scenery, workouts and crashes were better than ever!  We spent our days on four fantastic, but different trails.

An update from last weekend on behalf of Emily Ogata Application Specialist, NFL and me Kirstin Hartos, Implementation Analyst:

Our rugby team, the San Diego Surfers, secured our region’s only seed for the USA Rugby National Championships in a decisive 24-0 win over our league rival Belmont Shore in the Southern California championship last weekend (please note: no ambulances or trips to the ER this time).  The first round of the tournament is held in St. Louis, MO on October 25-26 with the potential to advance to the finals in Sanford, FL on November 8-9.  The Surfers are one of only 16 teams that get the chance to compete at this level. Since we are a non-profit organization, funded almost solely by player dues, we are asking everyone we know to make a donation to help defray the cost of traveling and competing at a national level.  All donations are completely tax deductible.  Any support would be greatly appreciated and will assist us in bringing recognition to Southern California women’s rugby.  Visit our donation page here: http://active.com/donate/sdsurfersrugby2008.  Or check out our website for more info on the team: http://sdsurfersrugby.com.  Thanks in advance for your support!

Mathew Henry

I ran the 2008 Chicago Marathon with my sister after a rough 2007 outing.  We made it to the halfway point in 2:20, but the 80 degree heat got the better of us and we finished together in 5:07.  All in all, the marathon went much better for Chicago this time around.  Lots of water and much less busy medical tents.  All the better as they go for the Olympics in 2016!

Patti Rosenthal

Did the annual 55-mile mtn bike ride from Durano to Farmington.  A beautiful mtn bike ride on back oil roads & ends on 12 miles of awesome single track.  There were 8 of us & I was the token female on the ride.  It took us 6 hrs & 45 minutes which included 2 lunch stops

Mike MacDonald, Web Developer

From Tuesday to Friday I visited my aunt and uncle that live in a remote area of Mono Lake.  Wednesday I did some manual labor for their landscaping business in about 35 degree weather.  Thursday I drove 10 miles on an unpaved road to visit the ghost town Bodie, where I hiked around for 7 hours taking pictures and finding cool artifacts in 30 degree weather (and 50 mph wind!).  Friday morning greeted me with 14 degrees on the thermometer, and a blizzard between Mono Lake and Reno. Tons of fun!

Toby Guillette, Community Development Specialist

This weekend marked the end of my peak training for Silverman (my first Ironman) in November. Saturday I ran 22 miles from La Jolla Shores to Fletchers Cove in Solana Beach and ran into Michele Ulrich who was out for her final long run before her NYC Marathon next month. We ran together for ~6 miles. On Sunday, Ryan Drew, Airey Baringer, Rebecca Divita and I froze on our bikes in 32 degree temps at the start of our ride in Pine Valley. We rode the Laguna Triangle route which included over 30 miles of climbing in the mountains east of San Diego. Here’s the shot of the day:

This weekend's report is truley impressive and I'm proud of each one of you. Get ready for a big dose of inspiration:

SHAWN BOOM For the weekend warrior, I’m proud to say that I completed a 37 hour trail running race, traveling 102.6 miles this weekend. 

Friday morning at 8am I toed the starting line of the Superior 100 Trail run on the North Shore of Lake Superior.  The Superior Hiking Trail (SHT) is rugged and wooded foot-traffic only trail that follows the rocky ridgeline above Lake Superior in northeastern Minnesota.  It stretches from Two Harbors to the Canadian border. The trail dons extreme “baby head” rocks, tree roots with nearly every step, heart racing uphills, and quad pounding declines.  None of the physical surroundings, however, compared to the monsters that attack the mind during a 37 hour event that had me see two sunrises and two sunsets before resting. 

I remember as a kid sitting down with a blank piece of paper and a penning my life goals.  Marathon, check.  Ironman, check.  Climb a mountain, check.  The one that scared me the most though, was to run 100 miles.  Ever since I was 13 and picked up a runner’s world magazine at the local library and read an article about the concept, I’ve feared the distance.  Mark Twain said “Do the thing you fear most and the death of fear is certain.”.  After running from 8am on Friday morning to 9pm on Saturday night without stopping or sleeping, I’m happy to report I’m not longer “afraid” of what lies on the fringes. 

I am not highly scientific about my training or about researching the course ahead of time, so I had overlooked the fact that what I initially though was a 100 mile run turned out to be 102.6 total miles on what the race directly claims to be one of the top five hardest trail races in North America.  Luckily I found out about the extra 2.6 miles a few days ahead of time.  Apparently they came free when you pay for the 100 mile entry fee.  

I had an incredible support crew in my fabulous wife Bethany and my parents who met me at every single aid station with warm soup, ginger ale, turkey sandwiches, and most importantly a healthy dose of mental nourishment. 

I’ve attached the finish line picture and I will put up more race images and a detailed race blog later this week for anyone interested in the nuances:  http://community.active.com/blogs/QuixoticGuy

Sunday the ActiveX team celebrated our fearless leader, Arch Fuston, with a “thank you Arch!” BBQ in his honor.  Arch has sacrificed a lot of himself this year, organizing our thrice weekly ActiveX workouts at the company headquarters in San Diego. He has pushed us athletically, challenged us to do more than we thought we were able, organized our weekend triathlon workouts, and has inspired us to reach goals we didn’t think we could reach. We have not only seen our bodies change, but we have created friendships that are very unique in a work environment. The ActiveX team has become like a family, and if it was not for Arch we would not have this truly unique experience. The least we could do was get a custom ActiveX surfboard made for him. Arch was very surprised and touched. Thanks to Hannah Sansome for organizing the event and coordinating the surfboard, and to Kelly Conti for hosting the event at her house. We feel very lucky to have a company that supports our athletic endeavors and gives us the ability to have such a unique experience. (Written by Carrie James)

MIKE DOBRANSKY and STEPHANIE SNAMAN competed in the LA Triathlon this weekend with a crowd of about 2000 finishers.  Armed with the preparation of Active X and weekly swims in La Jolla, we set off in search of fast times on the streets of LA.  Luckily for us we have experience in medium sized surf and didn’t get pummeled by the waves coming out of the water (some folks did)...  riding the empty streets of LA was a blast and actually pretty eerie.  We would definitely do this event again.  Special shout out to Bethany and Bekah for making the trip to be our support and crew for the weekend.

This week-end, 1 200 participants (all registered through Active Europe) gathered in Monaco for the Ironman 70.3. With a great sun and perfect conditions to race, it was one of the most exciting race of the season. LAURENT GAUTHIER (European Manager) along with PIERRE DUVELLEROY (European executive account manager) were there to meet some clients & prospects and monitor the entries opening for the 09 edition.

Even if this race is said to be one of the toughest Ironman 70.3, it’s fantastic to be able to race in Monaco and especially on the Formula One track. You get to do 5 loops of the official Formula one track… if you were able to do the 90k bike ride in the hilly French Riviera before.

If anyone wants to do an Ironman 70.3 in Europe, this is the one!

MIKE MACDONALD and his girlfriend camped with good friends at William Heise Park in Julian. On Saturday we hiked just over 6 miles around Mt. Laguna, discovering several “lakes” (read: stinky marshes) and dozens of cattle…some of which were not so friendly. It was a great weekend and we are already planning a return before the sunny weather goes away.

JIM GARFIELD (AMG) had a change of pace this weekend. Instead of being IN the water racing, he had the opportunity to be ON the water piloting his dream boat a 52' Hinkley for a spin in the pacific!

On Sunday MICHELLE VALENTI got up at 4:45 am to help her boyfriend pick and sort grapes for his wine-making experiment. Come 3 p.m. I was tired but still had to do a 12 mile training run. I went across the street to my usual running trails and I immediately noticed a bunch of pink flags all along my course. There was a race going on. I had caught the tail end of the Steven's Creek 50K, and although I was only running 12 miles it was great to have company and a cheering section on what would have been a long and lonely run.

Ashley Ellis participated in the 78th Annual La Jolla Rough Water Swim.  This was my first open water race EVER as well as my first time racing a mile.  After a long 4 days in Vegas working the ASCA conference for Active I had no idea how well I would do.  Shockingly enough I placed 3rd OVERALL in the Master’s Women’s 1 mile race.  I am still waiting for my official time and what place I took in my age division and will report that back to you as soon as I find out.

On Sunday, Jesse Hammond also lined up in La Jolla Cove with over 500 competitors for the 78th Annual La Jolla Rough Water Swim 3-mile Gatorman. After surviving the underwater wrestling match known as the start, it was a looong trip over to Scripps Pier. But that was nothing compared to fighting the rolling waves and current for the 1.5 miles back to the Cove.

But I made itthe clock read 1 hour, 23 minutes when I hit the beachand I had a lot of fun finding out I could actually finish a swim that long without having to do the elementary backstroke.

Steve Mazza reports, "A beautiful late summer day at the nations' oldest roughwater swimming event. I swam the 1 mile in the La Jolla Roughwater Swim. Clear and sunny, almost 80 degrees at race start, water temp was 73. A bit of swell/chop and some kelp, but a great day!"

The end result of a weekend “surfing” session featuring Ricky, Nick, Karen, Andrea and myself – followed by stitches and five hours in the hospital. A guy will do anything to get his picture taken with a lifeguard!

Picture #2 may be too graphic for less-than-mature audiences.

Eddie Strickler did the Mt Baker Hill Climb race this weekend. It’s a beautiful bike race along the Scenic Mt Baker Highway. The race starts in Glacier, WA (about 1,000 ft) and climbs up to Artist Pt above the Mt. Baker Ski Area (about 5,300 ft). It is 24.5 miles almost entirely uphill. It was my first time doing any serious riding and I kind of got worked on the hill. I finished in 2hrs flat. It was fun and a beautiful day for a ride.

GT and friends participated in the 26 miles first annual Bike the Bay ride (http://www.bikethebay.net/site3.aspx). About 2000 riders showed up at the Embarcadero on Sunday. Weather was perfect for riding but morning fogs affected the view from the Coronado Bridge. Crossing the Coronado Bridge on bicycle was interesting and the ride around the bay was a lot of fun.

Emily Ogata (Application Specialist) and Kirstin Hartos had their first rugby game of the Fall season against Coast WRC up in Long Beach on Saturday.  It was Emily's first game back after her ACL surgery last December, but that didn't stop her! (see attached for proof)  We did beat them 84-0 on the field, and won the boat race at the bar afterwards too! Shameless solicitation for fans: our first home game is this Saturday (9/13) at 11am at Robb Field in Ocean Beach, and should be a better contest against a more experienced team. 

Sarah Moosbrugger completed the Big Kahuna Half Ironman triathlon in Santa Cruz, Ca. on Sunday, with the time of 6 hours, 21 minutes, a PR for Sarah. The day started off rough for Sarah. Riding her bike from the host hotel to the race start, she caught her front wheel in train tracks and was thrown off her bike, hitting her head and scraping her palm and knee on the ground. Good start. Sarah had a great swim which you never hear her say, and a sketchy bike it got a little derailleur damage in the fall, and a hot, hot, run. Sarah trains hard, and it paid off with her personal best time for this distance.

Post race, Sarah walked into the chilly Santa Cruz water to cool off, only to be accosted by a very strong NoCal wave, sending her tumbling along the ocean floor, filling her tri kit up with sand. A tough end to an already tough day. At 8:00pm last night, she was having a drink. Or two.