Active Warriors

St. Patrick's Day and More

IMVoice — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 18:05:21 GMT

HAPPY ST. PATRICK’S DAY EVERYONE THIS WEDNESDAY from MICHAEL JOSEPH PATRICK REILLY!

LISA BALDWIN participated in her first running event, the 2010 Green Thumb Shamrock n Race in Abbotsford, BC. She finished the 5K course in 34:40. While that may be slow, Michelle Nation assures me that the best part of your first race is that it is your personal record so I have comfort in that fact :-) Weather was a balmy 5 degrees C with no rain making it perfect running weather. Now that the first race is under the belt, time to get serious about training for the 10K Vancouver Sun Run in May.

JIM GARFIELD (Active M & M) and LAURENT GAUTHIER visited ESPN X-Games first winter X-Games held in Tignes, France. The half pipe was epic as 150 athletes from all over the world competed. The three year deal ESPN has with the French Alp town assures that France will known for more then just wine and cheese!

SIJEN OLTHOF, Sr Implementation Analyst in Bothell, WA says Happy St. Patrick’s Day!! He ran the St. Patty’s day dash in Seattle with the family, baby stroller and all.

RYAN WOOD, content producer in San Diego, ran the St. Patrick's Day 10K in Mission Bay. The cool weather and flat course really made me happy, and I motored to the finish in 54:33, a couple of minutes under my goal.

ALEX AFANDI had a volunteering opportunity come up with the Catalina marathon and I took care of the First Aide Station. Some of the injuries were deep due to the terrain of the island. I also got to announce finishers and interview a group of runners that ran the marathon twice in the same day, back and forth!!! Great day on Sat... Top female finisher set a new record for the Catalina Marathon at 3:07, beating the previous record of 3:15. MIKE’S COMMENT - THAT TOP FEMALE WAS HEATHER FUHR 14X IRONMAN CHAMPION INCLUDING THE 1997 HAWAII WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

SCOTT FRIESEN, Associate Product Manager for Golf Solutions in Burnaby, BC participated in the Shamrock’n Race 10K in Abbotsford. While the rain was pouring down on the drive to the Fraser Valley, the skies cleared up just prior to the start which made for a very enjoyable run. Scott finished 8^th overall with a time of 47:31.

TODD PREECE came away with 4th place in his age group at the Xterra Black Mountain 15k Trail Run on Sunday missing getting an Active.com jersey on the podium by only 30 seconds. The course is advertised as the flattest and fastest of the Xterra trail run series but with 1200 feet of climbing and an 8% grade for the last mile its definitely not the easiest.

MICHELLE ULRICH & JEN ROMINE (Endurance Sales) ran the St. Patrick’s Day 10k AT Mission Bay in San Diego on Saturday. This was a really fun event with a lot of runners getting in the St Paddy’s Day spirit running in costumes, and the weather was perfect with surprisingly little wind around Fiesta Island. Michelle finished 2^nd overall female and 1^st in her age group with a time of 39:15 and Jen Romine PR’d at 58:44. YOU ARE A FAST GIRL MICHELLE!

THOMAS DRUDGE Climbed Mt. San Gorgonio in Southern California, didn't summit but did get some good experience with ice axe and crampons!!!

MEGAN DUVALL, Project Manager along with JEREMY SPITZBERG & MARC VILLANUEVA completed the Gran Fondo do over 54 mile course provided by ARCH FUSTON on Sunday morning. We started at 7:30 a.m. and had a great time! The weather was gorgeous and as Jeremy said - real "Wish you were here" postcard quality. Check out the video http://cid-6a71084a6c623bb2.skydrive.live.com/self.aspx/.Public/gran-fondo-redo.wmv We’re all much happier now that we have closure from getting rained out the week before.

SEAN ZIMMERMAN, Visual Designer, EILEEN ZIMMERMAN, Sport Product Manager and MICHAEL STRICKLAND, Copy Writer all participated in the St. Patricks Day 10k and 2-4 mile run/walk over at Mission Bay Park in SD. It was an awesome run that was nice and flat. And you can't beat the free beer garden at the finish line, supplied from local breweries in San Diego.

SCOTT YESKE, Industry Manager played Ice Hockey this weekend in the Las Vegas Hockey Classic Tournament. My team (the Los Angeles Rasputin) took home the Championship and beat Bakersfield 5-2 on Sunday. He netted two goals in the championship game and walked away with a total of 9 points in 5 games in the tourney. We played a total of 5 games with two games on both Friday and Saturday. We beat teams from NY, NC, CA and WA and went 5-0 in the tournament. ALL THOSE GAMES NOW THAT’S AN ENDURANCE EVENT!

VANESSA ALLEN, Senior Mkt Manager hiked up Iron Mountain, in eastern San Diego County and enjoyed the native western lilac blooming and water actually running in the creeks - exotic sights for southern California!

Gran Fondo Warriors

Active Toby — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 21:14:21 GMT

Robert T. Klingensmith, Vice President, Media + Marketing, Thanks to everyone at Active who participated in -- and volunteered at -- the 2nd annual Gran Fondo Colnago San Diego (and bike wash). Conditions were truly heinous. You all are tough!

Ricky Grey (Active Creative), Race Director and Active M @ M VP Rob Klingensmith and Jim Garfield (Active M&M) enjoyed another successful Gran Fondo Colnago San Diego. Jim once again channeled the mighty voice of Active's own Mike Reilly in announcing the race and battling the elements. Over 3,200 riders braved a couple rain drops and participated in this year's event!

Chris Gielow, Lead Interaction Designer, Foundations, San Diego, did the San Diego Gran Fondo with the Active crew! There were 8 flats between us, but we hung together and finished strong!

I was intwo of the San Diego Union Tribune photos:

Emily Nesselroad Manager, Sampling/Promotions & ActiveRewards, San Diego, my sister and I rode in the 32 Mile Gran Fondo bike race on Sunday. It was poring rain for about 80% of the race. It was a real test of inner and physical strength. I'm so happy that we finished the race. The Gran Fondo was an all around amazing experience!

Jamie Williams, Data Warehouse Architect, Jamie Williams survived the Gran Fondo ride this weekend - starting from Little Italy in downtown San Diego, across the Coronado bridge, around the bay and back into town. Actually it was the cold and the rain and the 8 flat tires our group of 7 had that made the ride a challenge! :-O We opted for 32 miles instead of a longer ride since we spent over an hour just changing tires. On the plus side I think we're all tire changing experts!

Regina Huricks also completed the Family Fondo ride and sent in some photos...they capture the mood of wet, cold and shaky...as most are blurry..hahaha!

Toby Guillette, Social Media Specialist, San Diego, rode with the above-mentioned crew from Active (including Airey Baringer, Evan Witte, Brett Davies and Mike Reade) during the Gran Fondo and put this video together:

Jeannie Freis, Associate Product Manager in Boulder, snowboarded at Eldora Sunday. Friday night I took 2 dance classes (hip hop and jazz). Saturday I took 2 tap dance classes.

Penny Curry, ActiveNet Consultant, my C League Ice Hockey team won the Winter Season Championship! I don't have a picture yet of the team, attached is a picture of the cup. Unfortunately, I was not able to play the last 4 games because I was injured during a playoff game February 24th. I broke my right clavicle during a playoff game. The break was severe enough to require surgery, which was performed last Wednesday. Luckily, I was able to attend the last two playoff games last night to watch my team, and my husband win the championship!

Paul McLure, Account Manager, My wife, two daughters and I participated in the Kids Magic Mile on Saturday in Balboa Park. It is a nice short 1 mile run - Lily our four year old ran the entire mile. Stella our 3 year old was on my shoulders most of the way for a free ride.

Joe Schum, Account Executive, Activeevents, Atlanta, GA, Ran the Albany Snickers Marathon in Albany, GA last Saturday, March 06 in 3:53:00.

Michelle L. Ulrich, Ran the SCPD 5k at the Beach 5k in 18:35 to finish first female and set a new course record for top female finisher!

Sijen Olthof, Sr. Implementation Analyst, Bothell, WA. Took advantage of the sun and went hiking with family and friends at Barclay Lake, beautiful day. Looking forward to spring and summer.

And last, but certainly not least, we have Demian Dorrance, Sr. Systems Engineer, Active Systems Team:

In our second year participating in the Gran Fondo Colnago San Diego, my 15-year-old son and I were determined to challenge the 101 mile route and complete a first century ride for each of us. We spent the week before in the bike shop and on the road preparing for the event, and we both volunteered at the Gran Fondo event check-in. We were going for it rain or shine, but the weather didn’t cooperate. We were already soaked through before the start but still cheerful as we crossed the start line with a great group from Active.

The heavy rain and winds for the first 22 miles caused us two stops to buy extra layers and a pair of dry gloves. We reached the 2nd aid station at mile 30 in the Olympic Training Center well behind the other century riders, and my son’s bike needed a bracket repair. Despite the delay, we were feeling good and decided to push on into the countryside for full mountain route rather than turn back for the 50 mile route.

We were the last ones to start the climb at the King of the Mountain timing line, just as the course timer was packing up. Neither of us are strong climbers, but we ground out the mountain stage one mile at a time. The course crew tried to talk us out of it three times since we were now the tail end of the century group and behind course schedule, but neither of us would quit. We got a mental boost at the mountain aid-station, and some quick support to temporarily fix a broken bolt on my son’s bottle cage with tie wraps. Ride tip: you cannot each a sandwich on a mountain descent… even at slow speed each bump throws tomato and cucumber on the course

At mile 64, we met our match. My chain started skipping then the rear derailleur caught on a short climb and snapped off. We had brought the parts and tools we might need, but somehow a derailleur hanger hadn’t come to mind. I told my son we were done and called ride dispatch to see if we could get a repair. By this time, the repair teams were elsewhere on the course and they would only pick us up. When I broke the news to my son, he wanted to continue on solo and finish what we started. I admired his determination, but wouldn’t let him go on without support. With 37 miles to go, I decided to convert my 18-speed bike to a single speed by tying the derailleur out the way and shortening and repairing my broken chain. I thanked the SAG vehicle for the awesome moral support, but turned down the last ride in. The course was now closed, and we were on our own adventure to finish what we started. Who knew that you could seat mount a derailleur?

At mile 78, my son had a flat tire. After we had replaced the tube darkness had fallen, so we installed his bike light and made a push to get out of the backcountry. We were never so happy to see a street light, and the final miles in the city felt fantastic despite my slower pace with a single gear.

We successfully crossed the finish line in San Diego’s Little Italy 14 hours after we started. We were thoroughly soaked, but incredibly thrilled to have finished 101 miles distance, 4,000+ feet of elevation on climbs, and overcome every obstacle to finish our first century ride.

Winter Warriors

Active Toby — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 21:17:04 GMT

Jeannie Freis (Associate Product Manager, RegOnline) found some good bump skiing and powder on Eldora’s backside.

Jake Cooney While I wasn't actively participating in it other than drinking Canadian beers (sidenote: I did a 15 mile training run yesterday), I had the opportunity of attending the short track speed skating finals. It was by far the coolest sporting event I've ever attended and a very exciting event to see live. Unfortunately Apolo was robbed of the silver but at least we got a silver in women's and a bronze in the men's relay.

Matthew Henry (Interaction Designer on Foundation in Bothell) filled his weekend with endurance and athletic activities. He started his Saturday morning with an hour long run with Team in Training around Seward Park, preparing for the Seattle Rock and Roll Marathon. Immediately following, he endured 13 hours watching Avatar, Up in the Air, Precious, The Blind Side and Inglorious Basterds without falling asleep once. (It doesn’t have to be an athletic event to be an endurance event!!) Finally on Sunday morning, he showed up at the Granite Curling Club behind 150 people looking to try curling. Curling’s actually harder than it looks. For anyone with yoga experience, imagine half-pigeoning across the ice. At the end, the junior national champions showed up to make all the newbies feel extra bad.

Let me know if you’re interested in an ActiveX curling team. Leagues start in April!!!

We rode in the Chilly Hilly this weekend here in Seattle. A beautiful day for a bike ride and 2,675 feet of Hilly climbing!

In photo (JASON KARLS, UX Design Lead; SIJEN OLTHOF, Sr. Implementation Analyst; Nicole Wilde, Business Analyst) BOTHELL OFFICE.

ANDY GEORGE and his daughter AVA from the San Diego had an adventuress snowy weekend. Their group weathered over a foot of new snow in less than 18 hours at a remote YMCA Adventure Guide camp located in the southern California mountains.

Larry Andruetti and Stephen Matsuba were Olympic weekend Warriors. On Saturday, they went to the Gold Medal Men's Curling game that saw Canada's Kevin Martin rink win Gold. Then they went to see the Bronze Medal Hockey game between Finland and Slovakia. Finland won the Bronze.

Then on Sunday, they went to see the Gold Medal Men's Hockey game between Canada and the USA. The overtime goal scored by Canada's Sidney Crosby is now one of the greatest goals in Canadian hockey history (sorry, USA).

After the game, Larry went to watch the closing ceremony and Stephen went to view the Olympic Cauldron and celebrate with 100,000 other people in Vancouver's downtown core.

Rebecca Zent, New Account Specialist, did a two mile run with my dog in our open space. I also did lunges half way around the .5 mi loop and squats on the half of loop.

Alex Afandi volunteered at the Catalina Half Marathon. My assignment was to annouce the finishers throughtout the race and the race winners at the end of it. The boat ride to Catalina on Saturday morning was extremely bumpy so I also did some first aide assists with folks who were getting sea-sick.

Toby Guillette, Social Media Specialist in San Diego, took on a 23-mile portion of the Pacific Crest Trail for a trail run that climbed for the first 18 miles on a beautiful SoCal Sunday

Another Active Weekend

IMVoice — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 20:30:17 GMT

MICHELLE CREPEAU On Saturday Michele Crepeau joined Brenda Seidner and 8500 others to run a 4 mile races in Central Park to raise funds for Haiti. $400,000 was raised with just over 18 days to plan the race. NYRR immediately put into action their ability to rally runners in NYC who were blessed with a perfect spring like day in Central Park. Sunday brought more spring like conditions out east so Michele spent Sunday afternoon snow shoeing in Mohonk with good friend Matt Morchower.

DAMON MATHEWS, Sr. Web Designer and his wife ROBIN MATHEWS Web Production Manager for M + M participated in the 2010 Las Vegas Footbag Jam! This year the Tournament was held at UNLV Student Center and was sponsored by Freedom Footbags and Nucleus Footwear. I placed 4th in the annual Rippin' Run contest and helped to introduce the world's first Footbag Freestyle shoe called the Nucleus.

Current US Footbag Champion Jim Penske from Boise Idaho was also in attendance and blew away the competition in ALL categories.

It was a blast and Robin and I are excited about attending these years’ world championships in San Francisco later this year.

TOBY GUILLETTE, Social Media Specialist in San Diego, ran 32 miles in the rain this weekend. 12 on Saturday and 20 on Sunday. The run on Sunday was quite the adventure, starting at the US/MEX border in Campo, CA and running 20 miles north to Lake Morena. There were two big climbs (1000ft each) on the way and the last hour we were running in the dark and in thick fog. Here's a video from the adventure:

ANDY GEORGE, BRAD WILLS, and PAUL APODACA from the San Diego office poached some Colorado powder this weekend with big smiles and sore legs to boot.

Active Working at the Olympics and San Diego Squid

IMVoice — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 16:58:30 GMT

MEGAN HOLLSTEDT, Web Designer in Burnaby, BC participated as a volunteer performer in the opening ceremonies for the 2010 Olympic winter games. It was AWESOME! I was one of the skaters in red towards the end of the show. The energy in the stadium was incredible and when the Canadian team entered I have never heard such a sound. A major perk was the fact that we got to keep the costumes at the end. I spent the better part of the weekend celebrating in style in my a bright red unit-tard/jacket combo that lights up, very stylish indeed. Kudos out to the Active Assasins roller hockey team for encouraging me to start playing roller hockey. It was through the team that I learned about this (random yet brilliant) volunteer opportunity. Go Canada Go!

JON BELMONTE and his Son CALVIN had a great weekend all around. Cal is turning 7 this week and is a BIG TIME fisherman (fisherboy?). Took him out for a big night of squid fishing Saturday night. Late hours, rocky waters, freezing cold. Cal had a blast...and made the catch of the night! (with a little help, of course) Pretty intense…as you haul them up, they squirt water and ink at you from the surface. Yes, ink! Toothy tentacles and a sharp beak round out the fun. All that said, I highly recommend it to anyone that can tolerate the high seas.

ANDY GEORGE from the San Diego office returned to the podium after coming off the injury reserve list in the Southern California Racers and Chasers Mt Bike Series. Andy took 3^rd

this race and is now holding a 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd going into finals.

JAMIE WILLIAMS, Data Warehouse Architect ran the San Dieguito Half Marathon in San Diego on Sunday – the weather and the course were great. And Sunday I went on a quick 30 mile bike ride along the coast – preparing for the Gran Fondo ride.

FRAN BENEDICT (Email Traffic Manager) showed her LOVE for San Diego County Parks on V-Day by participating in the San Dieguito Half Marathon. The weather was absolutely amazing, the course challenging, but all in all it was a blast finishing 1:34:24 – 6^th in age group.

PAUL MCLURE, Account Manager Active Educate this weekend also ran the San Dieguito 5K for the first time finishing at 29:02. Lily our 4 year old daughter ran the 5K (her first event) with mom and finished at 47:03. It was a fun event with the family.

ADNAN ZAIDI, Technical Account Mgr Tennis played in the 58th Annual Challenge Cup Seniors tennis tournament in Stockton, CA this past weekend and won the tournament in my division, the Men’s 35 Singles.

http://tennislink.usta.com/tournaments/TournamentHome/Tournament.aspx?T=83665

BRET HARRIS, Account Mgr Strategic Accounts ran in the San Dieguito Half Marathon this weekend up in Rancho Santa Fe. It was a perfect day for the run and the course was absolutely beautiful. For some reason I heard that the course was relatively flat and easy….but when I heard the announcer say “remember, what goes down, must come back up”, I knew I was in trouble…fortunately I was able to PR though and had a great time!

RON GAETZ, (Pictured to left) ActiveNet QA Engineer, remote – Knoxville, TN and a contingent of local Tennesseans participated in the in the 5^th annual Labatt Blue/USA Hockey pond hockey championships held on Dollar Lake in northern Wisconsin. The Knoxville Ice Bears went 4-1 to take second place (beginners division). The weather on Friday and Saturday was sunny and warm - 25 degrees or so - and we were 3-0 in the B pool. Sunday morning we won the semi-final against the #2 Yaks from the A pool as the weather deteriorated. It was cold, windy and snowing hard for championship game against the Evanston Ice Men. Knoxville lead 6-4 at halftime, but that quickly evaporated as fatigue caught up with us. The final score was 11-7. We're proud of our second place finish, but are hungry for next year!

WINTER TIME WHO CARES WE STILL PLAY!

IMVoice — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 19:59:49 GMT

WHEN YOU SEND IN YOUR REPORT MAKE SURE YOU HAVE YOUR SIGNATURE LINE INCLUDED WITH YOUR TITLE AND WHICH OFFICE YOU WORK AT. WE ALL WANT TO KNOW. Thanks, Mike

Here's a weekend warrior update from Switzerland. BRIAN BERGEY (ActiveEvents EMEA), ERIC OLSON, (ActiveEvents) and ANTHONY MILLER (ActiveEvents EMEA) did some team building in Flumserberg, Switzerland Saturday, taking some time to enjoy the Alps and "shred some serious Swiss gnar." I WONDER IF THAT WAS A WORK TRIP?

ADNAN ZAIDI, Tech Account Mgr Tennis played in the 58th Annual Challenge Cup Seniors tennis tournament in the Men’s 35s Singles division in Stockton, CA. I won my semi final match and am now in the finals this coming weekend. I am currently 22 in the country in the Men’s 35s. If I win this next match (i.e. tournament) I should move into the top 15. Here is a link to the tournament.

http://tennislink.usta.com/tournaments/TournamentHome/Tournament.aspx?T=83665

TODD PREECE reports a rainy weekend canceled most of the San Diego events this weekend so I went for a 10-mile trail run out of pure spite. It was a cold, slippy, sloppy mud bath with intermittent downpours. Felt more like an Amazon expedition than a trail run.

ALEX AFANDI had the pleasure to assist with the Pasadena ½ Marathon. My duties were mostly to organize the course and prepare the Aide Stations. The course was hilly and the vast majority of it was on dirt roads. Walking on wet dirt while carrying equipment took some balance skills. The race was very successful and 1200 competitors finished the race. I also got to cheer as I directed racer. Only one medical aide was needed. THANKS ALEX VOLUNTEERS ARE THE LIFEBLOOD OF ALL ENDURANCE EVENTS!

KAT KEIVENS (Online Account Coordinator) competed in the Surf City Half Marathon this past weekend. This is her second half marathon ever in just two weeks (first was Carlsbad)!

EVAN WITTE had a leisurely relatively injury-free Surf City Half Marathon in Huntington Beach followed by an intense afternoon of chips, dip, and the Super Bowl.

More Gran Fondo (http://www.active.com/triathlon/san-diego-ca/gran-fondo-colnago-san-diego-2010) training for MARC VILLANUEVA, JEREMY SPITZBERG and TAWNYA BORDALO (Media + Marketing) who rode from Fiesta Island up to Del Mar, via the hill at Torrey Pines, and back.

MIKE REILLY, VP Major Event Sales along with his niece visiting from Columbus, Ohio did a 35 mile ride up and down the coast. While all the SD people riding on a 60 degree blustery day with long pants and sleeves my niece thought she was in the tropics wearing shorts. We are such wussies here!

TOBY GUILLETTE, social media specialist in San Diego put in 2.5 hours on the stationary trainer on Saturday while it was raining outside to prepare for the Grand Fondo San Diego in March. Then on Sunday, despite the weather, ran 14 miles in the mountains in east San Diego County. The run was 7 miles of climbing and 7 miles of descending. During the climb, the rain turned to snow! SEE EVERYONE IT DOES SNOW IN SAN DIEGO, AT LEAST IN THE MOUNTAINS.

Active Lifestyle Weekend

Active Toby — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 22:01:31 GMT

ActiveX made a good showing at the 2010 Endurance Sports Awards ride and expo this past Saturday. A number of Xers participated in the 200+ cyclists, 25 mile bike ride. Mike Reilly, Ricky Gray, Airey Baringer, Mark Warble, Marc Villaneueva, Tawnya Bardolo, Chris and Julie Barnwell, and Arch and Christy Fuston rode in the peloton with the likes of Craig Alexander (2009 Ironman Hawaii winner), Chris Lieto (2009 Ironman Hawaii runner-up), and Kristen Armstrong (world-champion trim trial). We got dropped.

Rebecca Divita (ETeams), Jim Garfield (M&M) and Tina Novak (Active) journeyed to Aspen for the winter X-Games. Thrills, chills and definite spills were had by all, including the three of us. Truly death deifying and gravity resistant tricks were the rule of the weekend….oh and a live concert by 50cent….

Orlando, FL, some of the ActiveGolf team went to Orlando for the 2010 PGA Show. The day prior to the show a group of us (Ben Cruise, Matt Kessler, Joe Pink and Don Cramer) were able to get in a round of golf at the new Waldorf Astoria Golf Club at Disney World (OpenCourse Client). The golf was unfortunately, well above par. However, it was a great time to catch up and enjoy the sport we are involved in.

Liz Harrell (Director, Product Management & Projects), Kat Keivens (Online Operations) and Jeremy Spitzberg (Development Manager, UI) rode the coast on a beautiful Sunday morning in Southern California. 26 miles from Solana Beach to Carlsbad and back. Gearing up for the Gran Fondo in a month!

Deborah Linggi, Director, Employee Communications -- New Year's resolutions to get/stay fit are still going strong. I taught packed spin classes on both Saturday and Sunday morning at 24 Hour Fitness.

On Saturday, Kat Keivens (Online Account Coordinator) ran in the Lake Hodges 5k Race along with some fellow Active Employees and finished with a time of 26:04.40. On Sunday Kat enjoyed a scenic 26 mile bike ride and played a soccer game.

Michele Crepeau Skied Vail sat, snow shoed at Beaver Creek Sunday, AMAZING:)

Toby Guillette, Social Media Specialist in San Diego, ran the Sun Strides Foundation Lake Hodges 5K on Saturday morning in 18:24 which was good for 8th place overall and 1st place in the 20-29 age group. It was great to celebrate at the finish line with fellow Active Weekend Warriors who also ran the 5K: Andrea Rishmawi, Giselle Domdom, Kat Kievens and Jason Johnson!

First Timers Running in Carlsbad, CA

IMVoice — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 17:42:43 GMT

ANUSHEH CHAVEZ ran the Carlsbad 1/2 Marathon, finishing in 2:12. This was 2 minutes faster than her half in Las Vegas in December. Also pictured are JESSICA WEXLER (Sr. Business Analyst) and LIZ HARRELL (Director, Product Management & Projects) ran the Carlsbad Half Marathon together. Jessica and Liz have been training buddies for the past few months. Sunday all of their hard work paid off and they crossed the finish line together. The weather was perfect, the course was amazing and lots of Active folks were out there cheering us on! A truly epic day!

MICHELLE NATION WENT ALL THE WAY! She ran the Full Marathon yesterday in a new Personal Record of 4:39:39. She said it was great seeing so many smiling faces from all her Active friends and family out on the course.

TODD PREECE ran the Carlsbad 1/2 Marathon and had a fast day. He completely crushed his previous PR, putting in a 1:37 and placing in the top 10% of his age group.

JENNIFER ROMINE, Account Manager Endurance had a mini family reunion with both her sisters and Mom coming down to race the Carlsbad Half Marathon (this was the first half for the rest of the family and only Jen’s second). A little friendly sibling rivalry helped Jennifer to PR with a time of 2:12:22, however she still was not able to beat her older sister J.

JAMIE WILLIAMS, Data Warehouse Architect ran the Carlsbad Half Marathon Sunday – his first Half, so he now has a PR – 2:02! J

KEVIN BEATTY from the SD office completed the Carlsbad ½ Marathon while battling a head cold. He finished in 1:39, good job Kevin a lot of people would have stayed in bed!

STACEY JOHNSON also ran the Carlsbad ½ Marathon in a tiem of 1:45. She said what a beautiful day to run, clear skies and sunny with a big surf to watch along the course.

JASON GRIFFITH, Project Manager Foundations sending in his FIRST contribution after being here almost a year! He ran the Carlsbad Half Marathon (my first). I finished w/ a time of 2:22.57. Five Months ago I started doing trail runs w/ Michelle Nation & Kevin Burke and couldn’t run more than a mile. So I’d like to thank them for the motivation and support as well as the training plan Arch put together. Overall I’m very happy considering it was my first, I was able to run the whole race, no walking, and had no on course issues. The weather was absolutely perfect for running I don’t think it could have been any better and I feel great today my legs are only a little sore. WAY TO GO JASON GETTING TO THAT FINISH LINE!

ROB POWELL ran the Carlsbad 1/2 Marathon along wth 60 other friends/family as par of Chloe’s Crew, an organization inspired by Chloe Nichols, an 8 year old girl whose spirit and determination inspires others to reach for and achieve their goals. Chloe was a fiercely determined girl who never backed down from a challenge, and Chloe's Crew is determined to keep this spirit alive. She passed away at age eight on August 25, 2009 from complications due to medical treatment, and yes, she fought the good fight all the way to the end...

MATT BECKMAN did yesterday’s Carlsbad Half was a perfectly sunny morning. There were quite a few Active supporters out there, which is greatly appreciated, especially for the under-trained. Attached is a pic I snapped as we approached Highway 101 at Mile 3.

The Wheels were Rolling

IMVoice — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 18:41:29 GMT

THE WHEELS WERE ROLLING FOR ACTIVE TEAM MEMBERS THIS WEEKEND.

CHRIS OCHS, Sales Manager Active Events-RegOnline, and ERIC OLSON, Sr. Director of Strategy Active Events, took advantage of balmy 42-degree F weather with a 50-mile bike ride around Boulder, CO.

ELAINE BERGERON, Account Manager Active Sports and MIKE REILLY rode in the Stagecoach Century Bike ride on Saturday. The 100 mile ride starts 1 ½ hours east of San Diego in the Anza Borrego desert. The ride is an out and back 100 with 3 challenging hills and headwinds just to mix it up. Elaine rode on a 4 women time trial relay team. They got a late start and we met up at the half way point. I took off from there about 10 minutes before they did and in no time they past me like I was going backwards.

Elaine’s team time was 5:22 and they were the first Women’s team to compete in the team time trial. Elaine said it was fun and a special experience receiving encouragement from other riders and next year they are shooting for a sub 5 hours. She said the last 50 was much easier than the first 50 and I totally agree as I rode ½ faster coming back for a total time of 6:05.

ASHLEY ELLIS, Swimming Account Mgr this weekend attended the Grand Prix Swimming Invitational in Long Beach California. This was the first in a series of high level swim meets. Last night there were THREE meet records. It was incredible to watch Michael Phelps, Katie Hoff and Rebecca Soni [all Olympians] in the pool.

JENNI MILLER, Endurance Sales SD ran the P.F. Changs Rock N Roll Half Marathon yesterday in Phoenix, AZ! The weather couldn't have been any better which made it for a really enjoyable race. I finished with a time of 2:22 which for my low legs is great!

MICHELLE NATION, Product Manager SD Ran the Rock and Roll Arizona ½ marathon this weekend as a warm up for next weekend’s Carlsbad Marathon. As usual, our friends at Competitor Group put on an amazing event!

ANDY GEORGE Victory & Victim! Crazy man Andy took 1^st in his group at a San Diego area mountain bike race this weekend but not without a hospital visit for some shoulder damage and a nice elbow scrape. Way to give it your all Andy!

MEGAN HOLLSTEDT, Web Designer and some friends took on the 16km return snowshoe in Garibaldi Provincial Park to Taylor Meadows on Saturday. After a 5am start, one stuck and then un-stuck Honda civic, and a few cups of coffee, we trekked up the 915 metre elevation change to find one of the prettiest lunch spots ever. Great views of Black Tusk surrounded our happy (and tired) group.

LORRAINE RYGLEWICZ, Active Communities Gymnastics was in Puerto Vallarta last week and had the chance to go zip lining! I am absolutely terrified of heights so this was way more about conquering a fear than anything else. At the end of 14 zip lines across the tree tops I excitedly kissed the ground but am very proud to say I did it!

Running, Hiking, Riding & Sailing

IMVoice — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 22:02:37 GMT

TOBY GUILLETTE, Social Media Specialist in San Diego, ran the San Diego Resolution Run 5K on Saturday morning. I finished in 18:27 (5:57 pace), good for 9th overall and 5th in my age group. This is also a PR for me -- not a bad way to start 2010! Then on Sunday, I went on a 2hr40min mountain bike ride out at Mission Trails. What a beautiful weekend in San Diego!

ROBBIE RECH, JOEL WERDELL and CHRIS INOUYE (all from Bothell) went backpacking high up in the Cascades this weekend as part of winter guide training for Peak 7 Adventures (http://www.peak7.org/). We hiked 4 miles in at Coal Creek learning some avalanche awareness techniques along the way. At Kenall Peak Lakes, we attempted to build igloos to sleep in. It was a good thing we brought tents as well. Below are some of the odd things that happen during instructor training highlighted with these 4 photos.

1. [P1030546.jpg] Ancient Inuit igloo foundation stomping technique (unfortunately, the igloo never completely closed)

2. [P1030593.jpg] No really, I'm cleaning out a stove

3. [P1030540.jpg] Hey, Robbie, eating snow will make you more dehydrated.

4. [P1030562.jpg] Amazing sunsets

MICHAEL STRICKLAND, Senior Copy Writer on Foundations, bags the peak of Iron Mountain, a popular San Diego day hike. The approximate location of The Active Network’s San Diego office is indicated in the background.

This weekend LIZ HARRELL (Director, Product Management & Projects) and JESSICA WEXLER (Sr. Business Analyst) took full advantage of the amazing weather that San Diego has to offer. A 26 mile bike ride along the coast on Saturday morning, followed by a 13 mile run Sunday morning. This was our last LONG run before the Carlsbad Half on January 24^th!

ANTHONY VALENTINO, Account Executive for the Communities group serving Higher Education, was part of the crew aboard the Beneteau 47.7 yacht El Sueno to WIN the Class 3 division in the Southwestern Yacht Club’s Cabrillo I "ROUND THE CORONADOS" 33.6 mile open ocean yacht race. The victory was extra sweet as the second place boat was skippered by none other than Dennis Conner (FOUR time America’s Cup Winner). Despite a poor start and some major kelp grappling, the crew of El Sueno finished ahead by a margin of 2:51 (corrected). It was a long day of racing that had us finishing in the dark after witnessing an amazing sunset over the vast Pacific. As this is only the first in a four part series, the stage has been set for some solid, competitive racing. If any Active folks are interested in getting involved in racing El Sueno, contact Anthony for more info!

MATTHWE HENRY, Interaction Designer Bothell completed the Goofy Race and a Half Challenge this weekend. Yes, that's 39.3 miles of running in two days. Saturday's Half Marathon and Sunday's Marathon started off unusually cold for Orlando, both with sub-freezing temperatures. Disney even managed to invite a special guest for 5 am on Saturday: snow. Sunday was cold and windy, but it at least stayed dry. Sunday was the first event I've attended that featured Powerade slushies and semi-frozen water. Even warnings of "Beware of the ice on the road." The event was great, as usual, despite the weather. I ran through Cinderella's castle twice, and saw almost every single Disney character you can think of out there cheering us on. Best part is, I don't actually feel that sore!

An Active New Year

IMVoice — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 19:22:50 GMT

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE MAY ALL YOUR 2010 GOALS AND DREAMS COME TRUE! Mike

PENNY CURRY ActiveNet consultant and RON GAETZ play Ice Hockey at the Cool Sports Icearium in their home town of Knoxville, TN (we are remote employees). Our team, Randy’s Heroes played last night. We lost 6-3 against the Blue Bombers (we are a newly formed team with a few newbies, like myself). Attached are a few pics from a previous game we played against the Wolves. Last night’s game was my 5^th hockey game! At 46 years of age, I decided I wanted to play. It’s a hard sport to learn but its great fun and great exercise. WOW ICE HOCKEY AT 46 PENNY WE ARE IMPRESSED!

ANDY GEORGE from the SD office had a minute of podium time taking 2^nd in a San Diego mountain bike race. 3 days later, he and his daughters hit some fresh powder and sunshine at Snow Summit in southern California. Love the weather!

STANELY ULMER from the Vancouver office ran the 5 km Resolution Run along the Stanley Park seawall in Vancouver, BC on New Year’s Day. It was raining pretty hard but I had great fun splashing through the puddles.

MICHELLE CREPEAU from the NY office ran the NY Road Runners club Ted Corbitt 15K in the frosty 27 degree temps in Central Park on Dec 19th followed by a week of amazing skiing with fresh powder at Squaw Valley near Lake Tahoe, CA.

JESSICA WEXLER SD office (Foundations) traveled to New Zealand to hike, bike, and kayak. The best parts included going on a heli-hike on the Franz Josef Glacier and taking a small plane into the backcountry and then spending a few days backpacking in the middle of nowhere. WE ARE ALL JEALOUS JESSICA!

ERIN LANG HR Assistant took a snowboarding trip to Utah for 5 days with my family between Christmas and New Years. The weather was definitely a little chilly compared to what I am used to in San Diego, but all of the fresh powder was amazing! Pictures attached of my Mom & I, as well as a shot of the view from the top of Snowbird.

China Riding, Cascade & Vegas baby!

IMVoice — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 19:23:21 GMT

JENNI MILLER reports that she and JENNIFER ROMINE, TAMMI SCHMIDT & JENNA CHABOT all ran the Vegas Rock N Roll Half Marathon. The course was absolutely awesome, sending us up and down the strip (completely flat!!). They even had a wedding ceremony available to couples at mile 3, so there were a ton of brides and grooms on the course, fully decked out! And of course with Vegas there was no shortage of crazy sightings... Tammi saw a guy running the race dressed as a Chip N Dale's dancer and after the race we ran into Dan Evans from last season's Biggest Loser! The only tough part of the race was the temperature... at mile 8 a sign said it was 38 degrees out (eek!). One final thing I wanted to point out was that this was Jennifer Romine's first ever Half Marathon and she finished strong, coming in at just over 2:13. Jenna beat Jennifer by seconds and Tammi rocked it finishing at 2:30. I think we will all be doing this race again next year!!!!

I can't tell what those cans are in your hands but we can guess!

LEIGH-ANNE FRANKLIN, a technical writer on the Foundations team, took advantage of the first sunny weekend in months—at least here in the Lower Mainland of B.C.-- and hiked up to Cascade Falls.

Active Chengdu, China office warriors CRUSOE XIA, JEX CHEN Foundations team went out for a one-day long ride. We joined a local team for Great Lion Lake which is not very far away from Chengdu. This travel has 63 miles level road and 16 miles mountain road. This ride was not only requiring good endurance, but also guts and swimming skill.

MICHAEL STRICKLAND, Senior Copy Writer just went scuba diving to San Clemente Island (65+ miles offshore San Diego) last weekend, and wasn't sure if that would qualify (since it's non-competitive).... I'm attaching a photo that I shot out there. Sure it does Michael.

TOBY GUILLETTE, Social Media Specialist in San Diego, raced the North Face Endurance Challenge 50K National Championship in San Francisco on Saturday in 6:18 and immediately flew to Las Vegas to run the Vegas Marathon in 4:08 on Sunday morning. The back-to-back long distances made Sunday's race a difficult and rewarding way to end the 2009 season! TOBY WE LOVE YA BUT I DON’T KNOW IF YOUR ELEVATOR MAKES IT TO THE TOP FLOOR!

Turkeys and Wild Pigs (Go figure)

IMVoice — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 17:58:31 GMT

MICHELLE ULRICH in the SD office was out of town last Monday to be able to report my Philadelphia Marathon (November 22) results: It was a perfect day to run the marathon. The race could not have gone better for me and ran a PR of 3:09! Finished 34th female overall and had my parents along the course (3 different times) cheering me on.

DAN JOSEPH, DENNIS KING AND HEATHER HAWKES all ran the Father Joe’s Turkey Trot race at Balboa Park in San Diego. The race benefits Fr. Joe’s homeless village in downtown San Diego.

ROB KLINGENSMITH VP Media and Mkt in the SD office following a button-popping Thanksgiving dinner headed north to Santa Barbara and logged 15,000’ of climbing in the Santa Ynez Mountains. This is my new favorite place for California cycling. BTW ROB HAPPY BIRTHDAY THIS WEEK OLD MAN!

Active had 1 more IRONMAN finisher this past weekend plus a former team member. Ironman Cozumel in Mexico was an inaugural event held on the beautiful island. Our very own STEPHANIE SNAMAN completed her first Ironman with a 2.4 mile Swim of 1:18:14 a 112 mile Bike of 7:33:23 and the 26.2 mile Run of 5:36:08 for a Total time of 14:43:06. MICHAEL DOBRANSKY also had a great first time Ironman finishing in a time of 12:33:47. STEPHANIE AND MICHAEL saw each other on the run course and stopped to hug and wish each other well. Great job guys “YOU ARE AN IRONMAN”!

JUSTIN TUMOLO ran the Mile High Denver United Way Turkey Trot in Washington Park.

ActiveNet Development Manager STEVE HOOVER and his wife Shelly participated in the 1st annual Roseville CA Turkey Trot 5k. Steve completed the run in 29:07.

Michelle Nation in the SD office and her big sister ran the Fleet Feet Turkey Trot in American Fork, Utah. It was 20 degrees Fahrenheit outside during the event, but we still had a blast. Hats off to all the Active folks who jog through the winter in snowy climates … don’t know how you guys do it!

ASHLEY ELLIS Account Exec Swimming in SD competed in her first Golf Tournament. It was the 7th annual Turkey Classic. This was my first time ever playing the sport and I ended up winning. Oh but that means I actually was the worst player!!! With an amazing 121 score on a par 3 executive course you can say that I at least I have a lot to learn and plenty of room for improvement. The event was on Saturday - raining, windy with even a rainbow. It was priceless! YES IT DOES RAIN IN SAN DIEGO!

WILLIAM BASSLER and his 8 year old son did the Turkey Trot in Oceanside, CA.

DAVE ALBERGA reports since Active powers the sale of hunting and fishing permitting across the country, I figured it was time to walk the talk. Wild pigs are hard to find, fast, and delicious. These wild pigs were taken in Central California where their overpopulation has become a real issue for farmers, ranchers, and the native animal species. The Three Little Pigs all weighed in between 120 and 135 lbs, and are currently being transformed into Hams, Canadian Bacon, Ribs, Chops, and Sausage. Way to be Active Dave!

KAREN HARDY & EMILY CHAN-NORRIS in the SD office ran the Father Joe’s Thanksgiving Day 5K in Balboa Park on Thursday. It was a gorgeous sunny day and a great way to kick off the long weekend.

STEPHEN MATSUBA (Foundations, Burnaby) passed his nidan (2nd level black belt) kendo exam last Saturday. Originally from Seattle Kendo Kai, he now practices with the Vancouver Kendo Club. Kendo means “the way of the sword,” and many people who have seen it think that it is about hitting people with bamboo sticks. But kendo is a martial art. It is a complex mix of physical activity, philosophy and spirituality. And every practiionner of kendo (referred to as a kendoka or kenshi) builds their own combination of the three to create their kendo.

JIM GARFIELD(AMM) had Pro-Triathlete’s Greg and Laura Bennett as guests over the holiday. Of course the holiday would not be complete without a monster trail run to the top of the Santa Monica Mountains. Pictured are Pro’s Greg and Laura Bennett with new Pro Triathlete Jennifer Fletcher and crew. 80’ on T-Day!! So-cal does not suck during the winter!!!

TOBY GUILLETTE, Social Media Specialist in San Diego, embarked upon an 8-day, 1400-mile road trip for Thanksgiving with friends. Our first stop was Joshua Tree National Park, then onto Mojave National Preserve, Red Rock Canyon Nevada, then to Vegas, through Death Valley National Park to Bishop and back to San Diego. We camped 6 of the 8 nights, rock climbed, hiked, went on a cave tour, ran and explored these beautiful areas. Here's a quick video slideshow from our trip:

EVAN WITTE ran the Father Joe’s 5K Turkey Trot in San Diego Thanksgiving Day. My costume is the Turkey Outfit. Yes, I did wear the entire costume plus legs for the race finishing in a Costume Restricting Time of 20:35.

CHRIS HEMPHILL and his wife Andrea and son Micah ran the 5K Run for the Hungry in downtown San Diego.

MATTHEW HENRY braved the Seattle Half Marathon with little training and a few glasses of wine under his belt from the night before. The weather was perfect, though, and he managed to finish in just over 2 hours and 11 minutes.

Ironman Arizona & More

IMVoice — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 16:10:41 GMT

REBECCA DIVITA & NOLAN HANSEN from the San Diego office accomplished the ultimate endurance test this weekend at Ironman Arizona. They both had tremendous races. Nolan blazed thru the finish line in a very fast 9 hours and 41 minutes looking like the 2.4 mile swim 112 mile bike and 26.2 mile swim was a walk in the park for him. Rebecca had the time of her life evident from the smile on her face which was painted on the entire day. She came thru the finish in 12 hours and 52 minutes. I was very proud to call 2 Active team members an Ironman, it made the day!

MIKE REILLY showed his true colors at IM Arizona. Showing off his Movember MOstash raising awareness to help fight Men’s cancers such as Prostate and Testicular cancers. You can still donate to his cause at http://us.movember.com/mospace/your-donation-page

PLUS showing off his San Diego Charger jersey from the announcing tower after we beat up on Denver.

MEAGAN JOHNSON (Senior Recruiter) & ERIN LANG (HR Representative)participate in the San Diego Mud Run on Sunday finishing the 5k obstacle course in less then 40 minutes! We play dirty!! Check out their before and after pictures.

Bret Harris (account manager), Toby Guillette (community specialist), & Fran Benedict (account coordinator) all embarked on a weekend warrior expedition to the infamous Joshua Tree National Park. Toby and Fran kicked the weekend off with a brisk 16 mile “warm-up” run on Saturday morning…and in typical Toby fashion, rather than simply running on paved roads or through well-defined trails, they opted to run the entire course through sand pits and boulder fields! Meanwhile, Bret was getting his first taste of outdoor climbing while top roping with a few friends. It was an incredible weekend with good friends and great adventures…Joshua Tree definitely lived up to all the hype!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!

Aussie's and U.S. Krispy Kreme's

IMVoice — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 18:05:14 GMT

ROHAN LAWTON from our Australia office reports that we have a new endurance athlete in our midst! Our Aussie Account Exec, FIONA MACMILLAN completed her second ever marathon this weekend before last and finished SECOND. The event was the Marysville Marathon held just out of Melbourne. Marysville was the town completely wiped out by the devastating Black Saturday fires in February.

TOBY GUILLETTE, Social Media Specialist, San Diego joined a group from the Allied Climbers of San Diego non-profit for a weekend of camping, climbing and turkey eating out in the Valley of the Moon. This was my first time to this remote area which is only accessible via 4-wheel drive vehicle. We cooked 5 turkeys on Saturday and I managed to fit in couple hours of trail running and a few hours of climbing before the tryptophan kicked in It was a great pre-Thanksgiving weekend! Here's a shot of our campsite and the surrounding area.

ANUSHEH CHAVEZ & MARK WARBLE participated in the Silver Strands ½ Marathon. Mark finished at an amazing time of 1:40 and Anusheh finished at 2:20. Mark writes: The course was very flat with one rolling hill around mile 10 and weather was perfect. Fortunately, I felt great the entire race. I kept a better pace than expected and finished in 1 hour 40 minutes- very happy with my time. I also had the privilege to share a celebratory beer with fellow Active employee, Anusheh Chavez:

JIM GARFIELD (AMM) ran the First Annual Malibu Marathon and Half Marathon. The race was unique in that it was a point to point all along a closed PCH. It was a bright sunny day and a real joy to run down PCH without any traffic!!!

GREG WONG held his donuts at an informal “Krispy Kreme Challenge” with a bunch of ultra-marathon runner freaks held Saturday morning at Hospitality Point, San Diego.

The events consisted of:

2 mile run + 1 dozen donuts + 2 mile run.

Time: 53 min 11 sec.

See splits below. To recover from the donut overdose, I ran 20+ more miles, surfed, and napped over the rest of the weekend…

Wow, what a morning and where to begin…

The discussion of the Krispy Kreme Challenge surfaced during a run several weeks ago and as often happens, smack talking ensued. Within a half mile, it was agreed that there should be a KKC on the west coast. A few e-mails later, much to my surprise, registrations started trickling in and then I started receiving applications from people I had yet to have the pleasure of meeting… We had an event!

It was suggested and also agreed that the KKC should be wrapped around a toy drive, so as part of the registration process everyone was asked to bring an unwrapped toy. There were 23 starters and combined a few other generous folks that wanted to kick in some toys, we have a SUV STUFFED with gifts that will be donated to the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation www.toysfortots.org . THANK YOU ALL!!

As for the competition, if was fierce! There were 23 starters and 13 that recorded an “official” finish by consuming the entire dozen donuts. The format for the event was to run two miles, stop and enjoy one dozen original Krispy Kreme donuts, and finish with another two miles. Here are the results.

Place	Last	First	Division	Time In	Eating	Time Out	Finish	Notes
1	M****	Tracy	M	0:12:29	0:07:05	0:19:34	0:31:40	Overall winner
2	C******	Scott	M	0:12:31	0:07:17	0:19:48	0:33:39
3	S********	Jeremy	M	0:14:39	0:06:43	0:21:22	0:35:39	Eating winner
4	K****	Stephen	M	0:13:26	0:12:19	0:25:45	0:39:50
5	E*****	Paul	M	0:15:11	0:12:34	0:27:45	0:42:26
6	D****	Matt	M	0:14:34	0:13:24	0:27:58	0:43:17
7	D*****	Robert	M	0:16:52	0:09:32	0:26:24	0:44:25
8	F****	Chris	M	0:15:41	0:14:35	0:30:16	0:47:14
9	Wong	Greg	M	0:16:34	0:18:51	0:35:25	0:53:11
10	S******	Joe	M	0:16:32	0:31:23	0:47:55	1:11:23
11	W****	Justin	U18	0:29:22	0:17:31	0:46:53	1:24:44	U18 winner
12	M*******	TJ	U18	0:29:22	0:25:32	0:54:54	1:24:45
13	W*****	Adam	U18	0:29:22	0:15:52	0:45:14	1:24:48

Congratulations to all that had the courage to start the event, it was very impressive!