Active Warriors

Labor Day Active Weekend

IMVoice — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 16:55:49 GMT

THEY TELL US LABOR DAY IS THE END OF SUMMER. DON'T YOU BELIEVE IT, STRETCH IT OUT AS LONG AS POSSIBLE, HAVE A SUCCESSFUL WEEK. Mike

LIZ HARRELL says "It's just a hill, get over it!" - That was my mantra this weekend as I climbed my first set of hills (ever!) on my bicycle. 31 miles (including hills) on two (non-motorized) wheels and one very sore tooshie, that was my accomplishment this weekend. I am training to ride a "century", taking place this November. I've joined Team in Training to get me to my goal. They train me to ride and I raise money for a great cause. I still haven't decided which is more difficult, fundraising or training. OK - shameless plug coming...here's my website...check it out...http://pages.teamintraining.org/sd/tucson08/lharrell

Bonjour dear Mike,

LAURENT GAUTHIER European Managing Director reports Active is truly International and this weekend 3 of the French team gathered in Paris to race the Nike+ Human Race. LAURENT (sunglasses in pic) was supporting one of his friends along with ALEXIS TACQUARD (French account manager in the middle on the pic) who joined the team almost a year ago was doing his first running event ever and he was quite happy to cross the finish line in a little more than one hour. PIERRE DUVELLEROY (Executive account manager International - with his white cap on the left) did this race with his cousin who recently got kidney transplant so they both took the start with the only goal of finishing this race together and that's what they did 1h and 10 minutes later. It was a special experience for all of us. First running event ever for Alexis, first time live coaching for Laurent (next time, it will with Pierre on an Ironman but he doesn't know yet).
It was a very enjoyable 10K with very nice weather for this end Parisian summer with 4200 participants who all registered through Active!

JIM GARFIELD (AMG) ran the run portion of the Niles,MI Olympic Distance Traithlon with his brother Craig this past Saturday. Mayberry, USA is alive and well in MI where the gas is under $3 and the fresh peaches are as big as your head!

ALI TERRY Account Exec Swimming says ALOHA and practices what she sells! On Saturday, August 30th, I crewed for my husband who swam the Maui Channel(from Lanai to Maui) solo race in 3 hours 53 minutes. He was the 2nd solo swimmer out of 12 and was 14th overall including 45 relay teams(6 people)! I was extremely proud of him to say the least. He also raised thousands of dollars to support innercity drowning prevention programs! Today, Labor day, I swam the Maui 'Aumakua 2.4 Mile Swim. I was 2nd in my age group and not sure yet of my place overall. The swim was incredibly warm, clear and beautiful!

MICHELLE CREPEAU and the tennis group attended and worked the US Open then Michelle headed out to Lake Tahoe, CA for an end of summer trip with friends.

TOYA REAVIS, Implementation Analyst raced the famous (AND VERY TOUGH) Balboa 4 Mile Cross Country race this Saturday. I had trouble sleeping for the past 3 nights leading up to race day and did not know how I could race this challenging hilly course. I raced for a team so I could not back out. I raced on 4 hours of sleep! I ran tough - I ran 28:55, 23rd woman overall and won 1st in my age group. I still can't believe I ran. That was one of the toughest races in my life due to lack of sleep. Toya, Sleep is overrated! Mike

KEITH WILLIAMS, Account Exec in London, England raced a mountain bike enduro event on Saturday with around 300 other participants in Mid Wales. Here is the link to the event. The event was real good, and we had a sunny day! (very rare in Wales)
http://www.konaworld.uk.com/mash-up/

BROOKE KIRKPATRICK, Account Exec ActiveSports in Colorado GOT MARRIED! Her and new husband Jim tied the knot this last Saturday on top of Vail Mountain. The weather held out long enough for our ceremony overlooking Gamecreek Bowl followed by an awesome reception at the Gamecreek restaurant. Everything went perfect and we had the best time you could ever have! One year of planning for a 1 day event would make anyone build expectations, but when the day finally came, we could not have asked for anything better!

CHRIS INOUYE Implementation Thriva had a chance to run the Super Jock 'n Jill Half Marathon in Woodinville, WA. Perfect temperatures and a flat course helped me to PR with a time of 1:34:16. The best part: it ended at the Red Hook Brewery! I'm not sure what I was doing with my shirt when this picture was taken.

KRISTI DUBIEL, Implementation Analyst with Thriva. This weekend my kickball team traveled to Las Vegas, NV to represent Arizona in the Founder's Cup National Championship. Yes, this is the same kind of kickball that you probably played in your youth. There were 64 teams that qualified this year and we ended up tied for 5th. My team played so well and even though we didn't win, we played much better than we even knew we were capable of doing. We won 18-1, 12-0, 7-1, 12-0 and then lost to the eventual champs 0-1. After playing sports all throughout my childhood and college, it was definitely exciting to get the adrenaline pumping like that again. Who knew kickball could be sooooo much fun and competitive J (Attached is a picture of our team before the tourney started)

HECTOR SUAREZ in SD likes to bike, swim, and run for recreation as well as work out at my club. I also hike near my home in Mission Trails Regional Park.

MICHAEL READE spent the weekend with HIS wife hiking in the Eastern Sierra. The scenery was incredible and the weather was usually good. We got ambushed by thunderstorms and hail right after reaching Bishop Pass at 12,000 feet, but except for that a great time.

BILL BLIVEN Account Exec is working hard on his Mountain Bike getting ready for a MTB camp in Tahoe October 2nd

EDNA CASTANEDA, Client Services- NYC Active Office took part with 10,000 runners on Sunday at Randall's Island (in NY) for The Nike Human Race 10K. The race was born with the goal to celebrate runners and their sport, while uniting athletes through the world's largest running event ever organized in 26 cities world-wide. Each runner was able to pick from 3 charities that the race was benefiting: The UN Refugee Agency, WWF and the Lance Armstrong Foundation...Edna (obviously) chose to have her donation go towards LAF which empowers survivors to live life on their own terms and raises awareness for the cancer fight.

BURT REPINE, ANDY GEORGE and a friend summited The Grand Teton (13,770 ft.), in Teton National Park, Wyoming, via the Pownall-Gilkey (5.8) route --- in a single day. The originally planned 2-day climb was shortened to just a day to avoid an impending snow storm. The trip covered roughly 20 miles, gained just over 7,000 feet in elevation, and involved 3 technical rock-climbing pitches above 13,000 feet. It took us 14 1/2 hours round-trip, beginning at the beguiling hour of 2:45 am. This single day effort was both one of the coolest, and hardest, things either of us has ever done. The views to and from the summit are indescribable.

MATTHEW HENRY, Interactions Designer Foundations did a seven mile run with Team in Training on Saturday morning and then ran the Super Jock 'n Jill Half Marathon on Monday in approximately 2 hours!

ASHLEY ELLIS, Acct Exec Swimming adventured out to the Channel Islands off the So Cal coast. There are five islands about 19 miles from the coast of Ventura CA where I spent my day sea kayaking, hiking and snorkeling around Scorpion Anchoage, Smugglers Cove and Prisoners Harbor. I had the pleasure to see a 4 pound FOX and over 100 dolphins for a 40 minute boat ride show. It was absolutely inspiring and incredible. The clarity to the water was stunning and learning all about the history to these Islands was fantastic. My body was sore from a 4 hour kayak followed by a 3 mile hike. Then on Monday pushed myself again for a nice Mile swim in the La Jolla Cove...getting all geared up for the race this weekend.

MICHELLE SHAFFER, VP of Compliance in preparation for her trip to Mt. Whitney, I hiked the Twenty Lakes Basin Loop near Saddlebag Lake, located between Yosemite and Mono Lake. The scenery was breathtaking, and so were the 60-70 mph winds! Check out the pic attached.

Tri's, runs and rides -- another Active Warrior Weekend

Active Toby — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 18:36:55 GMT

After some last minute tips from triathlon legend Michellie Jones, JIM GARFIELD (AMG) PR'd in the Santa Barbara Long Course Tri. This in spite of last Wednesday's ActiveX hate-a-thon work out!

TAWNYA BORDALO and her husband ran the End of Summer Fire Run from La Jolla to PB on Sunday. This was our first event together and we had such a great time! The conditions were nice and cool in the morning and the course was easy and quick. I was able to decrease my average mile time by 54 seconds! Big thanks to ActiveX and the weekly trail running group!

BROOKE KIRKPATRICK and her fianc� Jim ran the Copper Mountain Half marathon this last Saturday finishing at 2:10. Out of the women, I was the 14th to finish, but there were a total of 82 people for this race!! The first half of the race took us around Copper Mountain Village and the second half was climbing up Vail Pass and then a nice run down to finish!

TOYA REAVIS competed in the Wild Duck 5K Cross Country race this Saturday. It is the 1st race of the Dirt Dog Cross Country series. It was very very competitive as most of the best runners in the region come out for the series. I was 17th woman overall and won 3rd in my age group. My time was 20:22 on a tough hilly course and it was warm and humid. 20:22 was same time I ran last week in the AFC 5K which was a flat road race on pavement - I am getting stronger.

HANNAH SANSONE made the long drive South to Imperial Beach for the IB Sprint Triathlon on Sunday. I placed 4th in my age group and was 20th overall out of a field of 152 women. This was such a fun day - everyone at the event was happy and positive and stepping up to cheer each other on. And I ran into another athlete from Active, Emily Ogata, which was definitely a highlight of the morning!

NUNO COSTA also competed in Imperial Beach Tri this weekend - finished 2nd in my age group - 25-29 Best finish in a race for me ever

ARCH and Christy Fuston moved this weekend with the help of some ActiveX'ers. We had a moving dolly, but we all agreed it would make it too easy, so we left it in the truck. Ahh, the intrinsic benefits of ActiveX!

LIZ & Scott HARRELL (San Diego office) rode with Team in Training this Saturday. Liz rode her bicycle for 21 miles!!! First time ever. Was even able to clip in and out with out falling down (not as easy as it sounds). Scott tackled 26 miles and discovered that padded bike shorts really do help!!! We are training for a century ride, El Tour de Tucson with Team in Training. They train us; we raise money for a really great cause.

TRISH OBERHAUS did the Accenture Chicago Triathlon for the second year and had a great time. We had beautiful weather for race day and I improved my sprint distance time from last year. I was also able to meet and hang out with Toby this weekend which was very cool. My wave started the race more than an hour before Toby's did, so when I finished I went back to the part of the course where the run begins. I ran with him to cheer him on (but only for a little bit because I couldn't keep up)

TOBY GUILLETTE raced the Olympic-distance Accenture Chicago Triathlon against 4,088 others and finished 262nd overall. The highlight of my trip was finally meeting Trish, my fellow Online Community Specialist, who I've worked with for over a year.

America's Finest City (AFC) Weekend

IMVoice — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 17:59:04 GMT

SUMMERTIME, DON'T YOU LOVE IT? RUNNING IN SAN DIEGO, MTN BIKING IN COLORADO, HIKING IN SO CAL, ACTIVE TEAM DOES IT ALL! Mike

LAUREN PISCO, Implementation LeagueOne ran the America's Finest City (AFC) Half Marathon this weekend in San Diego. The beginning and middle of the course was great. The hill at the end was grueling, but I made it through in 1:51!

KEVIN BEATTY wants us to feel sorry for him. After a great vacation in the Punta Cana and almost having my flight cancelled in the Dominican Republic due to the tropical storm that tore through the island, I successfully landed in San Diego around 10 pm on Saturday night, all to wake up 4 hours after I got home to run the AFC Half. Definitely planning I don't recommend to anyone but it was worth it because I completed my first Triple Crown by running Carlsbad, La Jolla, and AFC Half Marathons. Way to get it done Kevin.

MIKE COLEMAN, Dir of Bus Dev ran another half marathon, competing in America's Finest City half marathon this weekend, completing this year's triple-crown series. I highly recommend training for races rather than Mike's strategy of "I just do races" without any training. This year races, next year training. HA HA Coleman real funny!

JIM DE LA CRUZ was able to successfully finish the AFC half marathon yesterday; I ran the race in 2:09, completing this event accomplished my goal of receiving the Triple Crown award for running the Carlsbad Half, and the La Jolla Half this year. No strollers allowed so I could not to push my son and double the work-out but my wife cheered for me after she finished the AFC 5K. Credit goes out to Ryan Drew for cheering me on throughout the race on his bike, thanks Ryan for the support! Great event looking forward to next year!

ANGIE TOWERY ran the AFC Half this weekend with her sister, Alicia. They ran this race together last year and definitely saw improvement in their time this year, but that hill at the end never seems to get easier!!! They celebrated their run afterwards at a friends Birthday BBQ Wig Party!!!

ARCH FUSTON and his wife Christy ran the AFC Half, the third race for the "Triple Crown". Had a great day, felt X strong. Was on the way to a half-marathon, post-Achilles PR when the Brown Family knocked at the door and we ended up having a 7+ minute visit at mile 4. I kicked them out and tried to chase Christy down, but missed her by 2 minutes. Great morning, nice and hot, and you can't beat having IM Voice bring you across the finish line. Awesome day!

MICHELLE ULRICH ran with her twin sister LARA and said it is always good Mike to hear your voice bringing me in to the finish! Yesterday was great running the AFC Half Marathon. I ran a 1:31:03 to finish second in my age group and 19th female overall.

TOYA REAVIS ran the AFC 5K in Balboa Park in SD. She ran a fast 20:23 good for 1st in her age group and 8th female overall. But the best part is she was interviewed live on the local FOX news station after the race!

MICHELLE NATION reports the Nation sisters (Michelle in Product Management & JANEAN in Team Sports Sales along with our sister Kristie who flew in from Salt Lake), did the AFC half marathon this weekend. We had a blast jogging the whole thing together in matching shirts and enjoying the beautiful views. When we reached mile 11, Janean was particularly glad to have practiced running the hill on Lusk! The day ended with a PR for Janean and big thanks due to Mike Reilly for an awesome welcome call at the finish line.

JUDY FLYNN, School Finance ran the AFC Half Marathon on Sunday. I ran slower than planned but had a great time!

CHRIS WHEELER, Account Exec Blue Bear got off land and competed at the US Rowing Masters National Championships this past Thursday-Sunday with San Diego Rowing Club. We were blessed with tons of sunshine (Duh San Diego) and lots of good racing with crews from all over North America. To cap off the weekend, we won a National Championship in the Men's A 4 w/coxswain. This was by far our best race of the regatta. There were some pretty decorated rowers in the field and it was a very closely contested, so although it really hurt, it was great crossing the finish line first.

Take a guess what PATTI ROSENTHAL did this weekend. Of course Mountain biking in Crested Butte, Colorado. Unseasonably cold weather this last weekend in Crested Butte - snow in the upper local mountains. Still was able to get out & ride up Gothic Road to one of the epic trails in Crested Butte, Trail 401. An 11-mile ride up Gothic Road to the trailhead which is at 10,707 feet. Then up from there to over 12,000 feet where there are an abundance of wild flowers. Crested Butte is known for the Wildflower Capitol of Colorado. Beautiful!!

BURT REPINE (3RD from left in photo) with 3 friends spent a windy night on the summit of San Gorgonio (11,499 --- highest peak in SoCal). Aside from the wind the weather was great and the night time views of the valleys below were fantastic.

NICOLAS REIS, Marketing International went out on Mission Bay in SD with some friends on a boat to go Wakeboarding and Waterskiing. Well, this was my first time out there and man do my arms hurt today...(scared of ActiveX today). While I really had to fight to get up on the board, I was able to stay up on the Ski's a couple of times (Proof attached J). Great times in sunny San Diego! Nico

So everyone in the SD office didn't run the � marathon. TOBY GUILLETTE & JESSE HAMMOND did a long swim this weekend. Inspired by that Phelps kid (and to train for the Gatorman open water swim I'm doing in September and the Silverman full-distance triathlon Toby is doing in November), we jumped in at La Jolla Cove Sunday morning. Our swim took us straight to Scripps Pier, and then we headed back to La Jolla Shores for about a 2.2-mile trek. It was a beautiful day with perfect water temps and clear visibility.

From last weekend MEGHAN SWIRSKI & LEAH PARDINI participated in the Seattle City Chase event on August 9, 2008. Among the day's challenges were Can-Can dancing with total strangers, tight-rope walking, kayaking on Lake Union, and lots, and lots of running...followed by the best beer ever tasted at the Finish Line.

Olympic Weekend Warriors

IMVoice — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 17:33:31 GMT

A lot of you must have been watching the Olympics instead of doing. Mike

How appropriate to hear first thing today from JEAN SU in our China office.

Our first Active basketball team won championship in Xian Software Park 2008 Basketball League.
The league started in the beginning of July and there were 32 teams and 8 groups that our team competed with for a month before we won our final game last week.
Here are our basketball team heroes:
Bill Zhang; Bruce Xu; David Qu; Dion Mo; Eric Sun; Gary Chen; Jacob Zhang; Joe Zhang; Lei Zhang; Michael Zhang; Nemo Ding; Ray Geng; Rui Zhang; Sean Guo;

Congratulations team!

SCARLETT DALGLEISH, Software Consultant participated in the Camp Pendleton Sprint Triathlon here in San Diego on Saturday.

MICHELLE ULRICH, AE Endurance was in San Francisco this weekend and biked over the Golden Gate into Sausalito and then back. It was a great ride, good exercise and beautiful views!

AMBER MARTIN and ANDREA RISHMAWI hiked Iron Mountain Saturday afternoon in east San Diego County. It was pretty hot out, and we only ran into about 5 or 6 other hikers the whole time!
Way to be out there girls!

JASON LO, Account Exec reports on Sunday afternoon in Burnaby, Canada The Active Assassins Roller Hockey Club came back from a 2 - 0 deficit to win 3 - 2 and became the BRASS II Vancouver Inline Hockey League CHAMPIONS! The Assassins got the most out of their season by coming back through the secondary playoff bracket in the double-elimination playoffs, eliminating every single team from the tier out of the playoffs. With a VIHL record 8 game playoff stretch necessary to take the title, the Assassins did so in style led by Playoff MVP Lou Douillard. The Assassins lost in round 1 to a score of 4 - 3, but came back with 5 straight victories including 3 shut-outs which is unheard of in Inline Hockey.

The final three game series for the Championship title started off with a 7 - 0 victory by Active, then followed by a 3 - 2 overtime loss, and with a 3 - 2 victory to end the season on top! The Active Assassins are going to proudly display somewhere in the office (location TBA) the championship cup and are looking forward to another season again next April. Thanks to all the team members who made this year a successful 26 game run including: Brian Choy, Matthew Cox, Inderpal Dhaliwal, Lou Douillard, Matthew Hoffman, Megan Hollstedt, Jimmy Lam, Justin Leung, Jason Lo, Ryan Lyster, Jarryd Pinto, and Anthony Wong.

ALISON TERRY, Account Exec Swimming on Friday and Saturday competed at the United States Lifeguard Nationals. More than 2,000 of the USA ocean lifeguards competed south of the pier in Manhattan Beach, CA which proved to be a great surf racing venue! Lifeguard Nationals includes events such as paddle boarding, surf ski, swimming, rescue races, surf dory boats and running events. Some of the best surf lifesavers around the country competed and it was once again a high level national competitive event. Competition was fierce yet friendly and at the end of the day, we all bond together, tell stories of the past, and discuss lifesaving ideas for the future.

AIREY BARINGER and TOBY GUILLETTE did a scenic 100-mile bike ride throughout San Diego county on Saturday morning.

Summertime Weekend

IMVoice — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 18:39:43 GMT

A PRETTY CALM WORKOUT WEEKEND BY THE ACTIVE TEAM. HAVE A GREAT AND PRODUCTIVE WEEK. Mike

PATTI ROSENTHAL had an awesome mtb ride from the top of Hotel Draw to Kennebec Pass on the Colorado Trail. An epic 7-hr day with 5 hrs of riding plus hike-a-bike. The wild flowers were plentiful with incredible views. We did have to ride in the rain for about an hour (afternoon storms are pretty common this time of year) but the rest of the ride was sunny & beautiful. Another must-do ride here in Durango, Colorado!

JIM GARFIELD (AMG) took race director Michael Epstein, Yahoo Sports Director Wayne Sieve and AMG's own Jessica Givens and friend on a VIP tour of the X Games this weekend in L.A. Thrills, spills and major heat were the theme of the successful 14th showing of these exciting games!

MICHAEL VALENTI I did his first 70.3 this weekend in Sonoma. JESSE HAMMOND did the aquabike after convincing his girlfriend and I to do Barb's Race. While Jesse racked his bike and kicked back his heels, Emmy and I headed out for the Half Marathon run in 98-degree heat. Emmy placed 3rd in her age group and Jesse placed 1st in his despite taking a wrong turn. Other than the heat, the course was beautiful and fun.

DAK JORDAN, ActiveEducate K-12 Division, and some friends hiked to the summit of South Sister Mountain (10,363 ft.) on Saturday. The weekend included a 24-mile backpacking adventure with the highlight being the summit of South Sister Mountain in the Three Sister's Wilderness near Bend, Oregon on Saturday.

RYAN DREW, Tennis Division raced XTerra Snow Valley yesterday (1000 yd. swim, 11 mile mtn. bike, 4 mile trail run). As it was my first Off-Road Triathlon, I was painfully surprised with a brutal race up and down the ski mountain at Snow Valley resort. The bike ride was pretty technical as the downhill portions were all sand and loose gravel which made for an interesting ride. On the first loop of the downhill portion I was cruising behind a guy who flew off the path and flipped over his handlebars. This was my initial warning that the rest of the day was going to be intense. I crashed on the second loop of the downhill portion, when my handlebars swept under me and I luckily clipped out in time to perform the ever amazing "superman" maneuver off of the bike, sliding 10 feet or so, skinng the right side of my body. I got up, pretended like nothing happened, got back on the bike and made my way to the bottom. The run was more of a hike as all the participants were huffing and puffing climbing up and down this mountain to make it to the finish. This was one of the harder races I have been apart of, and I was really happy to see the finish line. It was also very cool to see defending XTerra world champion Conrad Stoltz racing this course with us.

A TEAM Weekend to Remember

IMVoice — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 17:32:37 GMT

IT WAS A SPECIAL DAY IN SAN DIEGO WITH OVER 80 ACTIVE TEAM MEMBERS DOING THEIR FIRST EVER TRIATHLON AND DUATHLON! THIS WAS ONE OF THE BEST ACTIVE TEAM EVENTS IN THE LAST 10 YEARS, THE CAMARADERIE WAS INFECTIOUS! PLUS THEY ALL COMBINED TO RAISE OVER $57,000 FOR THE MONARCH SCHOOL. I NEVER SAW SO MANY SMILES AT A FINISH LINE; EVERYONE WAS HAVING A TON OF FUN!

FOR ONE WHO HAS BEEN INVOLVED WITH THE SPORT OF TRIATHLON SINCE THE LATE 70'S IT WARMS THE HEART KNOWING THE FUTURE IS VERY BRIGHT WITH ALL OF YOU NEW TRIATHLETES! Mike

Team Captains making it all work for the Solana Beach Triathlon were ARCH FUSTON, ALLISON REUTTER & ALYSON TYSON. With their leadership and passion the dream for so many to complete a triathlon became a reality. Check out the group picture and the Captains looking fresh after the race.

In ARCH FUSTON'S (YOUR COACH EXTRAORDINAIRE) OWN WORDS:

There are events that happen in everyone's life that lifts the spirit to a new height. Sunday was one of those events. Starting on Saturday night, the ActiveX Charity Team began the final journey towards their goal. Nearly 40 of us gathered for our own pre-race carbo load in Pacific Beach, toasting, staying loose and warding off the nasty pre-race jitters. You could tell right then and there we would be a huge success, as everyone was sporting the right attitude and confidence.

Sunday morning came very, very early. But who were the first ones on site? ActiveX. We immediately filled the parking lot, laughing, checking out the water, bathrooms, and just keeping it loose. What a great start to the day.

And then it happened. Over and over again, more and more Active.com kits were showing up. Before you knew it, you couldn't look anywhere and NOT see one of OUR athletes! We DOMINATED the event with our new presence. We received loads of air time from the race announcer, congratulating us on our numbers, the bulk of which were first timers. Everyone took notice. Comments abound throughout, like "I wonder if they would sponsor me next year" to "I wonder if Active.com is hiring?" We made an impact.

So I've raced a lot over the last 10 years. But NEVER in my race career have I winded myself yelling words of encouragement on course. Everywhere you looked, there was an Active.com athlete. "Go Carrie", "Go Ryan", "Go Nahied", it was non stop! I was like being hooked up to an IV bag of liquid motivation, it just kept coming.

At the end of the day, all 80+ were successful in the quest, and it showed. Hugs, high fives, slaps on the butt (not really, HR) were shared, a massive tangle of Active.com tri kits. Photos were taken by the hundreds, and Allison and Alyson were able to present our check of FIFTY-SEVEN THOUSAND DOLLARS to the Monarch School. The crowd went nuts! Active.com, if not already, was the hit of the event. What a day.

Next year, I predict, we double our participation numbers. Heck, that's what we're all about. Spread the tri gospel my friends, it is an amazing lifestyle. WHOOO HOOOO, GREAT WORK!!!

Oh, we also had a party that afternoon at the gracious Carson and Jared Hinkley's house. I'll let the stories speak for themselves. Not going there.

KEVIN BEATTY finished the Solana Beach Tri this weekend with a time of 1:06. Can't wait for the AFC � Marathon and Mission Bay Tri coming up!!!

HANNAH SANSONE was one of the MANY competing in the Solana Beach Triathlon. She placed 6th in her age group and REBECCA DAVITA placed 7th in her age group!

DEBRA URKA Application Specialist competed and finished her First Ever triathlon in 1:23:24 but who is counting! She can't wait to do her next one.
I finished the Solana Beach Tri (first ever!) in 1:23:24! It was great fun and I will be another one shortly!

NOLAN HANSEN was the big Actve Winner because he WON his age group!

Mike, Thank you for all the support yesterday. CHRIS WHEELER said it was great seeing you along with everyone else out there. Crossing the finish line with 80+ Active team members cheering me on was one of the best athletic experiences I've had thus far. Chris was 2nd in his age group!

STEPHANIE SNAMAN writes it was a great weekend!! What an amazing day, no matter where you looked Active was there! Luckily BETHANY DOMINICK and I were able to run the last leg together and help keep each other motivated. We crossed the line together and clocked in at 1:05.10 which put us tied for 11th in our age group! We can't wait for the next one!

A BIG thank you to RUDY NOVOTNY the great announcer of the Tri who called all the Active team members across the line and helped us with the check presentation.

NUNO COSTA said he was proud to be a part of the Active group yesterday - racing representing Active was one of the best experiences I have ever had. Knowing what a great cause we were helping and how much we had raised collectively gave me some inspiration to compete really hard and I finished 4th in my age group with a time of 52:52, which is my best tri finish ever. Nuno looked like he could have done another one!

ANDREA LEVINSON says what a great race that was! Everyone did so well and on top of that have such a Great day!!! I'm sure everyone has a lot of great pictures to share (I know I do) So, I thought it would be easiest to create an account on Snapfish for all of us to share our photos with each other. If you are interested just contact Andrea.

MARK WARBLE did the Solana Beach Duathlon yesterday morning. Had a great race finished 3rd in my age group with a time of 56:20. More importantly, I'm so happy everyone on the ActiveX Charity team finished with smiles on their faces. Congrats to you all! And a huge thanks to Arch for his amazing coaching skills. This was such a success for Active- we certainly made ourselves known at the race.

THERE WERE OTHERS IN THE COMPANY WHO WERE ALSO ACTIVE THIS WEEKEND.

Starting with TOM MCGORTY: Well Mike, as I've mentioned before, I don't do much more than umpire so not sure if I belong in the same crowd as the Weekend Warriors. But, I did umpire in the Little League Michigan State Tournament (11-12 year olds) where the winner, Bay City SW heads to the Central Region tournament. If they can win there, their next step would be the World Series in Williamsport.

I'm writing a blog which started with my District and then the State. I will be continuing with the Central Region tournament and then the WS. (http://community.active.com/blogs/behindtheplate)

STEVE HOOVER, ActiveNet Development Manager enjoyed a great day of hiking and fishing with family and friends in Lake Tahoe's Desolation Wilderness region.

BURT REPINE, Foundations Development was out in Colorado over the weekend with his Mom and friend in tow. On Saturday we ticked off Mt. Elbert (14,440 feet --- second highest in continental U.S. next to Mt. Whitney) and on Sunday we hiked up Gray's (14,270 ft.) and Torrey's (14,267 ft.) before flying back to the cozy comforts of sea level.

JARRYD PINTO, Inside Sales Health & Fitness reports the Active Assassins squeezed out another thriller in Sunday's 6-5 overtime victory advancing further in the VIHL playoffs. With the return of stars Lou Douillard, Jason Lo, and Brian Choy, the team pulled together negating 3 deficits leading them to victory in sudden death overtime. With two more knockout games remaining before the finals, the Assassins will need to bring their A-Game to beat the Burnaby Blues on Tuesday night. With anticipation of a full line-up, the Assassins look forward to sending yet another team packing.

Next game: Tuesday July 29th @ 1045pm at Bill Copeland Arena, Burnaby, BC.
The arena happens to be around the corner from the Burnaby office so any supporters in the area are encouraged to come out and help your Assassins through another conquest.

LEVI SMITH also participated in the Solana Beach Triathlon yesterday. It was my first time competing in a triathlon and I had so much fun. It definitely will not be my last! I was worried from the start about the swim. Once in the water, I started panicking and couldn't control my breathing. I saw some divers come out of the water and started feeling a little calmer. I continued my swim. About halfway through, I had to hold on to a life guards board for about 30 secs and then continued on. I am also very greatful for swim buddies, they were very encouraging! Coming out of the ocean I was puking and in shock that I had finished the swim. Once I heard the crowd cheering, I instantly started felling energized and began to run towards the transition.

The rest of the event was pretty smooth except the bike to run transition(T2); I almost ran out of there without my helmet on!

NICOLAS REIS, Intenational was not one of the Triathletes in Solana Beach, shame on me, I know. I went to Huntington Beach to see the US Open Surf Championship. Although I am not a big surfer (Well, I am big, just not a surfer:), it was amazing what those guys were able to do.

Nico is the tall guy with the hat on.

Active July Weekend

Active Toby — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 20:02:10 GMT

MIKE REILLY was enjoying the 10th Anniversary of the Ironman Lake Placid in NY this weekend. He was joined by vacationing VICKY EYDELBERG who works in the SD office and ex Active team members SARAH LOWELL (who currently works for Ironman New Zealand), SARAH TROWBRIDGE AND COURTNEY GAY. It rained hard from the start of the event until almost midnight. Athletes had to navigate on the bike thru tons of water and then run in portions that were ankle deep. But the resolve of an Ironman is amazing because the drop out rate was no worse than any other Ironman worldwide. By the way the event for 2009 will be full within 10 after we open it today online at noon.

Jim Hine spent 6 days on the Main Salmon River last week. Three families on 5 boats and a couple of kayaks did about 80 miles unguided through the Frank Church - River of No Return Wilderness Area. We had to rig a block and tackle on a steep rocky shore to right a fully loaded oar boat that flipped through the hole in Big Mallard, which needed 12 people on the ropes to pull over. Fortunately only one dry bag tore, converting a couple of sleeping bags into water filtration systems. It was a ton of work loading and unloading the kitchen, tents, coolers (and the Groover) each day...but the boogie board sessions, bridge jumps, dear invasions, and smores on the beach every night made it all worth it.

Brooke Kirkpatrick - A.E. Sports (Denver - working remotely)
Jim (my fianc�) and I ran the Vail Half Marathon yesterday, which was really 14.5 miles! The run started at Golden Peak and we ran 10 miles at a continuous climb (gaining 4000 feet elevation). The last bit was traversing across the mountain at 11,000 ft and finished at the top of the gondola (where we will be getting married)! The views were spectacular and the challenge was difficult...it doesn't get much better than that! Let's just say I didn't go for my PR time on this one.

Mark Warble ran the Run & Stride for Pride 5k on Saturday. I finished 22 overall and 5th in my division, with an overall time of 19:40. It was a nice flat course through the streets of Hillcrest with people cheering all along the way.

AMBER MARTIN and ANDREA RISHMAWI summited the "elusive" 14,500' Mt Whitney this weekend. As a challenge, they made the ridiculous decision to do a night hike, starting at 10PM Friday night, on very little sleep. Fighting altitude sickness and near-frostbitten appendages, they reached the peak at 6:25AM Saturday morning, just missing sunrise. Turns out the elevator down was out of order, so they had to hike the 11.5 miles all the way back down the mountain! (Bummer!) They descended in just over 5 hours, even jogging portions of it making sure to befriend the rangers on the way down...note the pictures J After the 14.5 hour hike, the two ladies have a new motto in life: Sleep is really overrated.

Arch Fuston lead the ActiveX Charity Tri Team did it's final race prep Sunday evening with a simulated race at Fletcher Cove. Don't let the transition wipeout and running with the helmet still on fool you...this group is ready to rock this coming Sunday!

Chris Wheeler did the ActiveX tri. It was a lot of fun seeing some new faces out there. This trial run was a real confidence boost for everyone. It'll be fun to see 80 of us out there this weekend all sporting the matching ActiveX Charity gear.

Peter Hottenstein, I wanted to share some photos from the Full Moon Sea Kayaking client event Jessica Wright and I hosted last Thursday night in Sausalito's Richardson Bay. We took agency representatives from Columbia Sportswear (Butler, Shine, Stern and Partners), 24Hr Fitness (Agent Silverfox) and a brand marketing representative from Clorox.

To highlight the charitable nature of Active Network's audience, we selected Environmental Traveling Companions (ETC), a non-profit, volunteer based organization that provides outdoor recreation opportunities for people with disabilities to guide our trip. All of the fees we paid went directly to fund trips for Bay Area special needs populations and our expert guides were all volunteers.

We met our clients on the beach, got a quick kayaking lesson and then hit the water around sundown. We paddled to a nearby restaurant for dinner and once again hit the water again to paddle home under a spectacularly full moon over the San Francisco and Oakland skylines.

We were able to spend quality time with key decision makers, received tremendous feedback, and a great time was had by all. Juli Johnson, Media Supervisor, Butler, Shine, Stern and Partners, who's media team has been working night and day to get Columbia Sportswear's new messaging produced said, "I feel like I have been on a four hour vacation."

Sandy Oldaker from Clorox sent an email early Friday morning saying, "I cannot thank you enough for inviting us to last night's moonlight kayak trip. It was an absolutely amazing experience and the guides were phenomenal. After leaving I looked up ETC on my blackberry and was reading things to Tyler on our way home. Just a great program. Thanks again. Sandy"

Also, Mike Grinde, Partner & Client Service Agent, Agent Silverfox said he would not only tell other media people he network's with about the trip, he plans to tell of his friends too!

Mary Meagher participated in the Trans Tahoe Relay put on by the San Francisco Olympic Club. The 11.5-mile race goes from Sand Harbor on the Nevada side to Skylandia Beach on the California side. Most swimmers are part of a six-person relay team (150 teams participated), and start with a 30-minute stint in the water, then tag a teammate and rest in a boat before swimming shorter, 15- and 10-minute legs. The water varies from 60-65 degrees with no wet suits allowed! It was my first open water swim and I can't wait to do it again next year!

Patti Rosenthal, Mountain bike from Purgatory to bottom of Hermosa on the Hermosa MTB Trail. Close to 25 miles of awesome single track, creek crossings, some mud & wild flowers. Another must-do mtn bike ride in Durango, Colorado.

Hannah Sansone met up with two old college roommates/former Rutgers Crew teammates and we competed in the Olympic Triathlon at the Strawberry Fields Multisport Festival in Oxnard, CA. SCARY hard one-mile swim, and then a flat and fast 25 mile bike and 10K run. The strawberries and complimentary beer tent at the end were a nice touch too!

Jim, Nolan, and Nuno all raced in the Vineman Ironman 70.3 series race on Sunday and each of them set a PR on the course. All of the hard training paid off. Nuno was really happy with his overall time; Jim was stoked that he broke his previous time by 1 minute; Nolan developed a filthy handlebar mustache and is convinced that is why he ran a sub 1:30:00 Half Marathon; Ryan was happy to be apart of the experience cheering on his fellow Active buddies and had fun riding alongside Nolan for the entire run portion of the race. Vineman was quite the experience for all of us!

Results

Nuno: 05:07:27.0
Jim: 05:32:05.5
Nolan: 04:33:27.3
Ryan: 08:15:06*

*Total time driven on Sunday following the race (including Starbucks Double Shots and multiple bags of sunflower seeds)

From Left to Right: Ryan Drew, Nolan Hansen, Jim Garfield, Nuno Costa

Active Weekend working out with John Mayer

IMVoice — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 17:14:07 GMT

ACTIVE TEAM MEMBERS WITH CELEBRITIES WILL ALWAYS MAKE THE REPORT! ENJOY YOUR WEEK. Mike

LAURENT GAUTHIER has 2 reports below and he says greetings from the very beautiful south of Austria where has taken place the IM Austria yesterday. NICO REIS German account manager & marketing – with myself Europe Manager were at Klagenfurth to meet Triangle Sports owner of IM Austria a good client of Active International. The race has been amazing and really fast, specially with two woman breaking the world record of Paula Newy Fraser.

Last week end LAURENT GAUTHIER – Europe Manager – gather a group of friend and client to ride l’Etape in the south French mountain called “Les Pyrenées”.
A nice and scenic bike ride of 169kms/106miles, as usual, morale was high this morning in Pau, where nearly 8 500 amateur cyclists were ready for the start of the latest edition of the MONDOVELO Etape du Tour. A fine rain over the race area that began around 5:30 am called for special precautions, and it took nearly half an hour for everyone to cross the starting line.
The ride has two main difficulties with the Tourmalet pass (Km 116,5 Col du Tourmalet Ascent of 23,4 km at a 7,5% gradient) & at Km 165 Hautacam Ascent of 15,2 km at a 7,2% gradient.
Despite the bad weather, the group manage to get to the finish line and have had lot of fun while this week end.
Special congratulations, for Nathalie Jouffret who finished in 8h40’ with her husband Christophe from Look Bicycles & some big congratulations to Peyo from AI for completing this very hard bike race in 8h18’ with only three months of bike training!!!!
Next year, Dave Alberga & Mike Reilly will be with us. J

From left to right: Christophe Reece ( Xerox), Georg Hochegger (Triangle – IM France), Christophe & Nathalie Jouffret from Look bicycles, Stephane Janssone (Compex), Laurent Gauthier (AI – Europe Manager), Peyo Duvelleroy 1er (AI – Account Executive), Ben Armengaud from TriOx!

JENNIFER SALTERS MAGNONE, Dir New Business Dev and EDNA CASTANEDA from the New York office had a different sort of ‘active’ week last week. They were lucky enough to see John Mayer’s performance in Times Square last Tuesday and MORE IMPORTANTLY meet John Mayer!!!

But EDNA CASTANEDA met John and also worked out! She completed a 63 mile bike ride yesterday for the American Cancer Society. The ride began at the Ben Franklin Bridge of Philadelphia and ended in south Jersey close to Atlantic City. She was accompanied by the rest of her “Dream Team 7/13” members as well as first time ride cyclist, her 13 year old goddaughter/cousin Danielle Gonzales who rode the first 25 miles and showed glimmers of Lance Armstrong throughout the tough hills. The day was beautiful, the ride was long but the event was inspirational to see thousands come together to fight cancer and remember those who have been lost. We did this one for Chila!

EMILY CHAN-NORRIS reports in that on Sunday, Active X’ers Ryan Drew, Andrea Rishmawi, Jenni Miller, Karen Hardy, and Emily Chan-Norris watched the Carlsbad Triathlon to cheer on Hannah Sansone and Jim Garfield. It was a great time! (Picture Attached)

AMBER MARTIN pulled a double with a wedding in the Bay Area with childhood friends dancing until 1am. Then the next morning did the Jungle Run half marathon which is a First Wave event one of our great clients. Exhausted I ran the half in 2hrs, but it was a fun local race, and it was great to meet one of the race directors I have worked with over the phone for 3 years.

STEVE MAZZA was back east competing in the Rhode Island 70.3 half Ironman. He swam 36 min. bike in 3:30 and ran in 2:54 for a total time of 6:44. He practically had his entire family waiting for him at the finish line. He said it was one of the most beautiful events he has ever been at.

JIM GARFIELD reports that Active X’ers Bethany Dominick, Ryan Drew, Jim Garfield, Carson Hinkley, Jared Hinkley, Mary Cecil, Kelly Schulte, Latane Mead, Arch Fuston, Rebecca DaVita, Mike DaVita ventured into La Jolla Cove Friday night for swim to the buoys in preparation for the July 27 Solana Beach Triathlon. First time “Cover’s” Latane Meade and Kelly Schulte high five each other in the middle of the swim!

MICHAEL FOX, ActiveEducate Account Exec spent the weekend biking, kayaking and hiking around Catalina Island. It was hot and humid, and our hotel was at the very top of the hill which made for a challenging climb at the end of the day, but upon arrival we were able to jump in the pool for some much needed respite. The following day was spent entirely at Descanso Bay. The snorkeling was awesome; there were a ton of Garibaldi (pictured below, although not my picture) and a lot of other as-yet-unidentified fish. Also awesome was the raft that I spent most of the day floating on!

CHRIS WHEELER, Account Exec Blue Bear raced in Long Beach, CA at the Southwestern Rowing Regional’s with San Diego Rowing Club. I competed in the Men’s Masters 8, finishing third, Men’s Open Double finishing second by 0.4 seconds to a couple of other SDRC guys, and Men’s Open 8, winning by open water. The Open 8 was an especially big win because there’s a pretty historic rivalry between us and the second place crew. They aren’t used to losing by that much, so it was really exciting for the whole program.

SHANNON FIACK writes about ALLY WARD. Ally and he partner DOMINATED at the World Beach Bocce Ball Championships that were held Saturday at Dog Beach, Del Mar. This is the second time in her 4 years of competition that Ally has been crowned champion and she’s a dead eye. After a neck-and-neck game in the quarterfinals, she faced her arch nemesis, Trudy, in the semi-finals and easily defeated Trudy’s team, amid the chanting and heckling of the crowd surrounding her court (the booze ban was lifted for this special event). The strength of Ally and her partner lies in their long range game – most other teams lost accuracy the further away the pelina (the small ball you aim for) was thrown. Mild-mannered Ally Ward becomes a fierce competitor when it comes to her bocce game and she showed her will to win by becoming the 2008 World Champions of Beach Bocce Ball! WAY TO GO ALLY!

KRISTEN ADELMAN, account manager and 3 of her best friends from 3rd grade, Kristi, Dina and Heather) participated in the 2 Day Avon walk for Brest Cancer up in San Francisco this past weekend, where both fun and success were achieved by all, 3.200 walkers raised over $7.3 million dollars. The 39.3 mile route included all the great sites of the city, including their well known hills and the Golden Gate Bridge. The finish line was awesome we were surprised by both Kristi and Dina’s moms (a 10 year breast cancer survivor) we almost signed up for next year’s event but we were unable to reach an unanimous decision, Boston or D.C?

TOYA REAVIS kicked some serious butt this weekend. She raced the Mile at the USATF West Region Masters Championships at Cal State San Marcos this Saturday. I had a quite a week leading up to the race. I was in Eugene OR for the US Track & Field Olympic Trials for 10 days and just returned on Monday. Due to the quick deadline my friend signed me up for “a track meet.” She did not tell me it was a regional championship. I was so exhausted all week from the trip and not sure that I could race on Saturday. It was around 88 degrees and very windy for the race. I was beyond nervous. This would be my first track race since returning from injuries. The guns goes off and I take the lead. The first lap was 84 (slow), I was leading the whole time and hitting a tough headwind on the backstretch each lap L - the girl behind me was on my heels and I could hear her coach yelling “stay on her to block the wind.” She tried to go ahead of me on the last lap and I decided to just go at that time as I was holding back waiting for 200 meters to go. I won in 5:39 – I put 8 seconds on her on the last lap. My last lap was 78 seconds. Now I am the West Regional Masters Mile champion. – pretty good considering my fatigue and lack of races. Toya, wish I could have seen that last lap!

HANNAH SANSONE, account exec Swimming was back at it after a 2-year hiatus, I competed in the Carlsbad Triathlon on Sunday along with fellow Active X-er Jim Garfield. I had a solid race (she finished 15 out of 48 in her division) and it was an absolutely beautiful day, so the event was tons of fun. It was made even better when I heard Andrea Rishmawi, Jenni Miller, Ryan Drew, Karen Hardy and Emily Chan-Norris cheering from the sidelines, and they were right there to welcome me across the finish line – what a way to dive right back into racing!

JASON LO and The Burnaby Active Assassins finished off their season this past Sunday with their final regular season game. The Assassins going into Sunday’s game was bumped to 3rd place in the division through the week and played the 2nd place team in the div to determine who would solidify 2nd position. The Assassins came through with a whopping 10 – 1 victory over the Burnaby Blues and have solidified a good spot and confidence going into the playoffs beginning this coming Friday Evening. Game Highlights : “Mr Hockey” RYAN LYSTER missing his slapshot as pictured in the bottom left, but taking out his anger afterwards and upending a Blues player on the boards right afterwards as evidenced by the dangling wheels in the air on the next picture.

Active Warriors Holiday

IMVoice — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 17:28:16 GMT

I HOPE YOU ALL HAD A GREAT HOLIDAY WEEK AND WEEKEND. Mike

CAITLYN BARKER, Support Team Lead ran the Scripps Ranch Old Pros 10K in 52:39, a little warm and humid (we really shouldn't be allowed to say that here in San Diego) but fun as usual and doing the race help make room for the 60lbs of live lobster, steamers, steak tips and clam chowder that my relatives brought from Boston for the holiday. Fortunately I did not eat all of that but it was enough seafood to last me until their next trip!

LAUREN GUINN family of 4 with the visiting Magill family of 4 all ran in the Pacific Palisades 5K in LA. She said they all had a blast!

HANNAH SANSONE, ERIKA WINTER, CARRIE JAMES, LAUREN DACHILLE, JENNI MILLER, and ANDREA RISHMAWI ran the Coronado 5K the morning of 4th of July.
KEVIN BEATTY, LAUREN PISCO, and MICHELLE ULRICH ran the Coronado 15K – Michelle placed 2nd in her age division!!!

MICHELLE ULRICH did run the Coronado 15K on Friday, July 4th. She ran a PR of 1:04:25 and placed 10th Female Overall and 2nd in my age group (Kate Major placed first!). It was a great race!

KEVIN BEATTY Competed and finished the Coronado 15K with a PR time. Great way to kick off the festivities of the 4th!

KYLE PALANIUK with thrive went out wakeboarding and landed a back flip for the first time. Not sure if this is the sort of thing you are looking for, but it’s something Active that I did. You land anything Kyle after a back flip I’ll always post it!

JASON LO reports the Burnaby Active Assassins are nearing the end of their Inline Summer Hockey Season. Although suffering a 5 – 4 overtime loss on Saturday, is still currently sitting in 2nd place in the division with a record of 7-5-3. The Assassins are looking forward to a strong playoff push in the upcoming weeks. For those of you in the Burnaby office wishing to come out and support the team, the final game of the season is Sunday July 13th, 1:30pm @ Kensington Arena. Go Assassins!

Pictured - Top: Lou D, Inderpal D, Gary S, Ryan L, Brian C, Jarryd P / Bottom: Kevin P, Jimmy L, Justin L, Jason L
Missing – Matthew C, Anthony W, Megan H, Matthew H

KRISTI DUBIEL Thriva (Bothell office but remote out of Arizona J) I was able to attend the Diamondback v Padres game on Friday. It was a great game and I got plenty of dirty looks when cheering for the Padres J After the game was a really nice 4th of July Fireworks show. I also play on an indoor co-ed soccer league every Sunday. The new season just started and our team came out with a victory (11-2). There was only one minor causality; a guy on the other team broke his leg after a collision with our goalie. Unfortunately, I didn’t score even after having like 20,000 opportunities…clearly I am not bitter about that and hopefully next week I will be able to finish! Anyways, it is a great way to stay in shape out here since the temperature is now at a consistent 110 plus everyday. That makes it a little difficult to exercise outside!!

PATTI ROSENTHAL Epic 4th of July MTB Ride over Kennebec Pass in Colorado (11,600 feet) & out Junction Creek to Carver's for some ice cold beer & grub! It's a 35 mile loop full of beautiful vistas, wildflowers, waterfalls & fun single track. A good 5-6 hour ride with some great friends. A must do if you're in Durango Colorado!

EDDIE STRICKLER, Tier III Bothal, WA competed in the Righteous Richland Sprint Triathlon this weekend. The race was early Saturday morning (8:30) and was a lot of fun. This triathlon had a half mile swim, 12 mile mountain bike, and a 5k run. The mountain bike section is fun but I think it hurt me a little because I’m not one to go skidding around corners. I finished 17th overall in a time of 1:10:22.

KATHIE FOLEY and her family participated in the Scripps Ranch 4th of July, 12 mile Bike Ride. I had it easy; my husband hauled the extra 80 plus lbs. J

MIKE REILLY also rode the Scripps Ranch bike race (50 mile division) and hung with the lead pack for 23 miles until he was dropped heading up a climb like a bad habit! Still managed to ride in feeling strong in 2:30:41

BURT REPINE, Foundations Dev and ANDY GEORGE with another friend spent yesterday rock climbing on Tahquitz in Idyllwild, CA. Fortunately we got on the rock earlier enough to avoid the sweltering sun. The views were amazing!

KELLY D. BELL, AMG Senior Account Manager had a wonderful 4th of July holiday weekend full of many activities including golfing, attending the Cherry Creeks Arts Festival to gardening and of course the highlight of sitting courtside at the women’s AVP (Pro Beach Volleyball) Crocs Slam Boulder Open at Folsom Field on Sunday. You can see the beautiful Flat Irons (mountains) behind the stadium as well as the swarm of spectators trying to get their picture and autograph from Olympic qualifiers Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh who won the championship match against Jenny Johnson-Jordan and Annette Davis for their 15th straight tournament title.

JULIE RAHILL went to Sequoia National Park with her family. They enjoyed a one day hike of about 10 miles round trip to Heather and Emerald Lake.

Active "Picture Perfect" Weekend

IMVoice — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 16:45:49 GMT

THIS WEEKEND WARRIOR REPORT IS CHOCK FULL OF PICTURES. THOSE WERE ALWAYS THE FUN BOOKS TO READ, THE ONES LOADED WITH PICS! ENJOY, Mike

Sorry this didn’t get reported last week but SCOTT EVANS VP of Sales is another Active Ironman! He completed June 22 at Ironman Coeur d’ Alene in beautiful Northern Idaho. His family was there watching him the entire day and his Dad was waiting for him at the finish line about 2 ½ hours before Scott arrived. As you can see by the photo he was a happy finisher in 13:03:00. Congrats Scott!

CHRIS INOUYE is a new implementation analyst up in the Bothell office. Last Tuesday was his first day, and the weekend before he took a mini vacation to climb Mt. Rainier with some buddies. Here are two pictures of him looking sick at the summit of Mt. Rainier.
On Sunday morning he finished the Seafair Half Marathon. Welcome to Active Chris!

NICO REIS writes to us from Munich, Germany. Yesterday was the Final of the Euro 2008 the Football (or soccer:) Cup that is held every 4 years. After a three week tournament, Spain and Germany met in the finals in Vienna, Austria last night. Spain won 1-0 and they deserved it, they had the best team of the tournament (now that is a gusty and classy comment from a German).
I watched the game in the historical Munich Olympic Stadium in a Public Viewing on a gigantic screen with 50,000 other fans! Can you imagine, so many people watching TV together? It was almost a live experience, people were singing, chanting, dancing. Very cool! Cheers from Munich,

BURT REPINE, Foundations Development Climbed Mt. Baldy (aka Mt. San Antonio, 10,064 ft. elev.) via the Bear Canyon Trail. The 12.8 mile round-trip had a 5,804 feet elevation gain and was a perfect way to spend this past Sunday.

LAURENT GAUTHIER & PIERRE DUVELLEROY from the Active International division went to the Mont Blanc Marathon this week-end in France. The Mont Blanc Marathon gathers 3000 participants on the marathon and the 26K Trail. They have been using Active Europe from the beginning and their event has grown by 50% this year! This is a very tough race. The marathon winner time was 3h52….

They both ran 26K trail run that was won in 2h08 and we proudly finished in the top 300 with 3h15 for Laurent and 3h20 for Pierre. Breathe taking race with wonderful scenic along the course. You run in the Alps with the Mont Blanc as a background. Try to picture this…

BRET HARRIS & MIKE DOBRANSKY from the SD office after weeks of preparation in the high altitudes of Mt. Cowell’s they finally embarked on our maiden voyage to conquer the infamous Mt. Whitney. In spite of the numerous warnings and sound advice we received from former Whitney trail blazers, we decided to tackle the 22 mile round trip death march all in one day (that and we could only get a one day permit…but I like to think it was by choice . Armed with nothing but headlamps, power bars, iodine pills and the blissful ignorance of youth, we hit the trails dark and early around 2am. We breezed through the first set of switchbacks, passing what I can only assume were a couple of beautiful waterfalls, lush forests and straggling snow fields. We cruised past the first camp site filled with all of the lazy (yet infinitely wiser) and still slumbering campers just in time to catch the sunrise over Mirror Lake.

Anyway, in the interest of keeping this somewhat short, we climbed hard, befriended a couple of local mountain hobbits, saw some guy get sick, Mike got sick, we hit summit and then climbed down…and down…and down…until we finally arrived home at the Portal around 7pm. Good times.

KELLY SCHULTE, AMG Client Services celebrated her birthday at the beach this weekend with some Active men. They had a “Who know Kelly best” contest (I don’t even want to know what the rules were). The Gold Medal “lucky” winners were JIM GARFIELD, RICKY GRAY, LUKE SMITH and ARCH FUSTON. I’ll also bet they were the only entrants!

JIM GARFIELD, AMG (he’s everywhere) cheered on 5 Active Newbies during their first triathlon this weekend. ALYSON TYSON, SILVIO FRISON, RYAN DREW & REBECCA DIVITA did the Breath of Life Triathlon in Ventura, CA. All of them not only finished strong but finished in the TOP 5 in their respective age groups. WAY TO GO ACTIVE X!

LEE GRUENFELD doesn’t work for Active but is a friend of the company. He is a renowned author and this article is about ready to run on Ironman.com. His wife Cherie is a many time age group world Champion at Ironman. It is a short read and very inspirational. http://ironman.com/columns/gruenfeld/lee-gruenfeld-provides-a-much-more-serious-column-for-us-to-enjoy-this-month

Caitlyn Barker hit up Imperial Beach on Saturday where my friend Teevan judged the 3rd Annual Loews Coronado Bay Resort Surf Dog Competition. I brought my dog but he preferred to catch some rays versus waves this weekend. I got a few pictures by my favorite is this picture of Tillman the bulldog who made a guest appearance on his skim board. For more fun pictures click here: http://www.loewssurfdog.blogspot.com/

35 athletes sweated in the sand with Suffer-Rama Sunday, an ActiveX charity workout for the Monarch School. We raised $436 for the school, and introduced a few new people to the beauty of burpess and handstands.

Toby Guillette, Online Community Specialist for Endurance Sports, met Jim Garfield, Arch and Christy Fuston, Jesse Hammond and Jana Stewart at La Jolla Cove for an open water swim and he brought his underwater camera along for the ride. Check out the video:

On Sunday, I rode my bike downtown to watch the San Diego International Triathlon and saw Airey Baringer during the run portion of his very first triathlon and also ran into Vicky Eydelberg taking photos at the event.

Later that day, I joined the ActiveX crew for the Monarch School Charity workout on Mission Beach. Another Active weekend!

JAKE COONEY did the Seafair Half Marathon in Seattle. The highlight of the race was running across the 520 bridge which they partly shut down. I shaved off 1 minute from my half marathon a month ago for a time of 1:54. I wanted to do better but I’m blaming it on the unexpected heat and hills. J

Summer Solstice Weekend: 6/21 � 6/22

Active Toby — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 20:24:08 GMT

Renu Bhushan, ran 5K yesterday!! My fellow 'Diva's' and I participated in the Scotiabank Marathon over the weekend. It was a beautiful (and easy!) course, with lots of stunning views of our BC mountains and ocean. It has only been 6 weeks since I joined Active Burnaby and I am already running marathons! !

Paul Cheung, from LeagueOne dev team, completed Scotiabank Half-marathon on Sunday with a time 2 hr 02 min, knocking down my last year record by 28 minutes.

Arch Fuston and The ActiveX Charity Team completed a mock triathlon on Saturday at Glorietta Bay Park on Coronado. Nearly 30 came out to charge the 500m swim, 15-mile bike, and 3-mile run. It was a great event made even greater with a visit from Jessi Stensland, providing a transition clinic for the team.

Carrie James, Account Executive, Education. I did the triathlon workout with the ActiveX Charity training team on Saturday in Coronado. It was fun to put all three aspects of the race into action and actually finish a full “triathlon” on Saturday morning! Sunday I finished my FIRST 10K EVER in 71 minutes. Not bad for my first, I guess. It was HOT out and took everything I had mentally to finish, but thanks to some awesome encouragement from Karen Hardy and the other Active ladies at the race I made it to the end! It feels incredible to cross that milestone for myself. I barely notice the pain in my legs. HA

Jenni Miller, Janean Nation, Sari Rudy, Caitlyn Barker, Laura Hilts, Emily Chan-Norris, Hannah Sansone, Erika Winter, Melissa Cohen, Carrie James, Amy Sutton, Karen Hardy, Amber Martin, Caitlyn Barker, Tawnya Bordalo, and Andrea Rishmawi all ran in the Iron Girl 10K this weekend!

This year’s race was a new course, starting and ending in the Del Mar Fair grounds. The race as a whole was great, however the combination of starting and finishing on the soft dirt of the horse track and the grueling heat, definitely took its toll on the 3,000 women running the streets of Del Mar. The Active girls that ran the race met up afterwards – here is a picture attached.

Francis Dupuis and his wife (Faye Dupuis) competed in the International Dragon Boat festival this weekend in vancouver, and her team finished third in their division.

http://www.metronews.ca/vancouver/local/article/72280

(She’s in the second row obscured by the arm)

My older son D'Alton competed in an indoor Roller Hockey tournament (6-9 year olds) this weekend to finish off their roller hockey season. They finished second, and had a great time.

Tina Wilmott in the Public Relations department. Headed up to Ventura this weekend to visit a close friend, and on a whim we decided to compete in a Splash & Dash. We came in second and third and I won my age category. But I much confess, this was the first time they’ve held this particular race so there weren’t many participants. In fact, there were only eight women in the short course which we did (400m swim and 2K), but who’s counting! It was followed up by some great horseback riding in the hills.

Jim Hine, Director Database Sales, rode the Cycle Idaho Mountain Bike Tour from Boise to Idaho City this weekend. We had a group of four riders that did about 102 miles and +12,000 feet of elevation over two days. We camped overnight in Idaho City and drained a few kegs of New Belgium with the small group of 85 riders, then tenting it with light rain around a big campfire. We detoured on Day 2 in search of extra single-track and added 10 miles of pines to the ride.

Marea Blue and Kirstin Hartos (Implementation Analyst, LeagueOne) played in the Las Vegas Midnight Sevens Rugby tournament on Saturday. Sevens is a variant of rugby where teams of seven compete for seven minute halves on a full size pitch. Basically it’s fourteen minutes of sprinting (harder than it sounds) per game. We started our games at 5:00 pm in 104 degree weather and finished around 1:00 am. We held the first two teams we played scoreless and defeated our league rivals in our third game to finish as the top seed going into the finals. We won our semifinal match against a motley San Diego team and then lost in the championship to a Canadian team that frankly just seemed less tired. As usual, we went on to win the party, making us undefeated in social wins this year. J

Jim Garfield, proudly swam with Toby Guillette and Rebecca Divita (who had a PR of longest swim) in La Jolla Cove. I also waved the Active banner high training with the HerSports magazine team with a two hour costal ride on Saturday!!

Jesse Hammond and Jesse’s girlfriend Emmy went on a three-hour, hot, hilly bike ride through North County (San Diego) Sunday morning and joined up with Toby Guillette along the way. The ultimate goal was the Golden Spoon frozen yogurt store in Del Mar. However, when they got there at 9:30 a.m., they discovered it didn’t open for another hour and a half. If anyone knows where they can get frozen yogurt that early in the morning, they would be much obliged.

Weekend Father's Day

IMVoice — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 17:41:47 GMT

SEEMS LIKE EVERYONE STAYED HOME ON FATHER’S DAY. HOPE ALL YOU DAD’S HAD A GREAT DAY! Mike

TRACY VEZINA HR manager did the TRAC Father's day walk/run for Prostate Cancer. We participated in a 5k walk with our 3-year-old and a team of 6 this weekend, through Deer Lake Park in Burnaby. Our daughter ran her first race as well, the toddler race that was held before our walk started. I think she was more excited about her team shirt and number than the running, but she held her own!

We clocked one hour and 13 minutes for the walk - pulling Vida in a wagon behind us.

ARCH FUSTON reports:
ActiveX Charity team banged out a 15mile bike/3 mile run on Coronado Island. The team did great, and got a good feel of what it is like to run after thumping the quads and hammies for 15 miles. 20+ showed up, all made it through the workout, a great day. The session was followed up with food and a well deserved beer at Coronado Brewery. We’re back at it again this Saturday, again on Coronado Island, but doing all three. Should be an epic day for the group!

KRISTI DUBIEL with 7 of her friends hiked 11 miles down to Havasupai Falls in the Grand Canyon. It is an awesome hike with absolutely amazing scenery. The hike down and the majority of hike up weren’t too difficult, but the climb back up the side of the canyon wall was quite challenging. The last mile or so literally feels like you are doing consecutive squats with a 50 pound bar bell on your back thanks to all of your camping gear! On Saturday, we did an 8 mile ‘day’ hike and found fun cliffs/rocks to jump from. The first picture is of Havasu Falls…this is the very first image you see after hiking for 11 miles through sand and rocks at the base of the canyon and it is spectacular…this picture doesn’t do it justice. The next picture is me in front of Mooney Falls…to get to this waterfall you have to scale a 100 ft cliff using basically chains as your only support. All in all a great hiking/camping experience and I would recommend it to anyone who is looking for a weekend getaway…with a little workout Just be sure to bring LOTS of water!

MAREA BLUE & KIRSTIN HARTOS (Implementation, League One) went to Pittsburgh, PA this weekend to compete in the National All-Star Rugby Championships with our select side Southern California regional team. We played the Midwest in the first round of the tournament (imagine 15 corn-fed girls Kirstin’s size or larger) and lost 20-8 in a hard fought game. Three of our points came from Kirstin’s penalty field goal early in the first half. In the second half I picked up a loose ball and spun it wide to Kirstin who passed it to our outside center for a corner try. The score remained close until late in the game when the Midwest broke it open with two breakaway tries. On Sunday we played very well against the Pacific Coast Grizzlies – a team stacked with national team players – but ended up losing 32 to 0. The losses were disappointing but our region has historically been the underdog at this tournament and we received many compliments from the regional and national team coaches about our performance. This was our first year competing in the top tier of the tournament and I think we did very well. We were also able to redeem ourselves by “winning the party” and beating the Midwest in several games of flip cup at the social so I still feel like we came home victorious.

Weekend with TOBY doing his 100

IMVoice — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 17:46:17 GMT

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.