I HOPE EVERYONE HAD A GREAT TIME AT YOUR ACTIVE NETWORK HOLIDAY PARTY. WE’VE GOT A PRETTY SPECIAL COMPANY BECAUSE OF ALL THE GOOD PEOPLE THAT WORK HERE. A LOT TO BE THANKFUL FOR! Mike

MICHELLE CREPEAU with Active Giving out of NY ran the New York Road Runners Club 4 Miler. It was held in Central Park on a chilly 29 degree day. Michelle ran thru the cold with a time of 33:19 which equates to 8:37 pace per mile. Way to get out of bed on a cold morning Michelle and do it!

SARI RUDY an Account Executive with Active Tennis says she didn’t do anything this weekend but her son sure did. She was a proud Mom watching 12 year old Andrew compete in his first Golf qualifier with top kids in the Country and low and behold he won! Andrew will now be taking Mom and family to Myrtle Beach to play in the World Championships in August.

CAITLYN BARKER Support Team Lead in SD took her two Retrievers and went up to Idyllwild, CA and spent the entire day hiking with the pooches. There was a foot of snow on the Southern California Mountains which made for a challenging trek. The dogs had fun eating the snow (hope it wasn’t Yellow) but Caitlyn didn’t have fun trying to get her car out of an icy parking space.

TOBY GUILLETTE, Online Community Specialist for Endurance Sports. Now I like Toby, he’s a cool kid but what he did this weekend was not normal, which is Okay. Toby ran 52 miles on Sunday! You heard me right. What he did was run a series of four, 13-mile loops in Los Penasquitos Canyon in San Diego that lasted just over 12 hours. He said, it was a test of the training I've been up to this fall to get a feel for where I’m at and to end the year on a positive note. He was very happy with his run now I’m going to go see him to see if he can walk!

AND NOW HERE IS A REAL TEAM EFFORT FROM ACTIVE TEAM MEMBERS. From PHILIP ROWCLIFF Senior Director of Active Tennis.

Here’s the scoop on the First Ever Active Tennis Doubles Tournament which was held from December 11th -13th (last Tuesday thru Thursday). Active Tennis account manager MELISSA MAGAT planned, hosted and ran the tournament…and did an outstanding job all around. A total of 18 Active employees (9 teams) participated in the event in 2 divisions Beginner/Intermediate and Advanced.

In our Beginner/Intermediate event, 5 teams competed and here are the results:

• KATE HANAHAN and MOLLLY MUELLER vs. VICTORIA TINSLET & ALISON HALL - Kate & Molly won ( 8-6 )

• MARC VILLANUEVA & JESSE HAMMOND vs. JENN TAPSCOTT & SARA ALLEN – Marc & Jesse won ( 8-3 )

• Kate and Molly vs. Philip Rowcliffe and David Rubio – Philip and David won ( 8-1 )

In the Finals - Marc and Jesse vs. Philip and David - MARC AND JESSE WIN THE EVENT ! (8-4)

Highlight of the final was David hitting a serve directly at his partner, Philip…which Rowcliffe says threw him completely off his game, hence the loss. Just kidding! Huge kudos to Marc who is a developer and Jesse, a content producer, both on the Consumer Media team…well played!

In our Advanced event, 4 teams competed and here are the results:

• Nelson Abalos and Andi Neugarten vs. David Kipper and Danielle Grassi – Nelson and Andi won ( 8-3 )

• Adnan Zaidi and Rich Neher vs. Adam Kossak and Melissa Magat – Adnan and Rich won ( 8-2 )

• In the Finals - Nelson and Andi vs. Adnan and Rich - ADNAN AND RICH WIN THE EVENT ! (8- 6)

For those who don’t know Adnan, he’s a technical account manager on the USTA account, lives in Miami and is a former coach and accomplished player. Watch out, he plans to be in SD for all future tournaments! Rich

Other Tournament Winners:

Winner of Best Christmas Themed outfit: Kate Hanahan and Molly Mueller - looking super cool in their offsetting/matching red and green elves outfits…complete with Christmas knee high socks. The tournament was fun for ALL! We hope more Active employees will participate in the future, as we plan to organize earlier and hold a tennis tournament quarterly!

RAY EBERT Team Lead with League One in San Diego had a climb of a lifetime, here are his own words.

Well, finally made my attempt on some big mountains in Ecuador. I didn’t summit but I still feel good about my attempts. I made it to 19,100 on Cotopaxi, just 300 feet below the summit. I was pretty much suffocating at that elevation and could barely make a step after 3 or 4 pressure breaths. This after 7 hours on 50 to 65 degree ice. At one point we barely made 300 feet in an hour and were averaging 6 feet per minute. I decided to turn around when another climber was sent down with a “Productive Cough…”, I was seeing stars at this point – literally. For my attempt on Cayambe I felt great and it was a glorious day in the mountains, there was lightning below us and when the clouds broke we could see the town of Cayambe 8000’ below us. However by the time we’d crossed the corniced main ridge and entered the crevasse field below the upper headwall (sorry for the lingo but, well, that’s how it’s described…) we were in a nearly complete white out. We’d used all but three wands marking our trail to that point, we couldn’t see more than 15 feet, it had been snowing for hours, and one guide had already fallen into a crevasse to his thigh. The guides commiserated then opened the discussion to us, the three remaining climbers, and we all agreed that it was probably safest to turn around. No one had been higher than this point in days and going on not being able to see where we were going just didn’t seem smart. So at 18,200’ we headed back down in a snowstorm. By the time we got back the refugio at 15,000 it was raining and we were soaked.

On the way home as the plane was landing in Houston and the artificial atmosphere went below 5,000’ it felt like someone was pushing on my chest, pretty bizarre. Then as I walked around the airport at 500’ my fingers and skin started to tingle, it felt sort of like when you hyperventilate or blow up an air-mattress or something. I was kind of hyper-oxygenated just sitting there breathing. Now that was weird and it kind of made me dizzy. This lasted for about a week. Now I’m all better and rested and thinking about my next mountain(s)!

Couple of fun attached pics. One of my team in front of Cotopaxi and the other my watch at my high point. There’s much more detail on my blog if you want to post that: http://rayinecuador.blogspot.com

One year ago today I accessed my Active email account for the first time and read, "Trish, welcome to Active! We’re excited to have you on board," followed shortly thereafter by, "we’re all a team, support the same mission and should have fun doing it."

I came to this company a team sports fanatic (and will always be, first and foremost). But I'd be lying if I said that working at Active had not influenced me to pursue more endurance-type endeavors. Check out  Chicago Accenture Triathlon and  100 miles = done! to see some of the things I've been up to this past year.

I cannot believe a year has gone by! I truthfully have had fun being a part of this team and I look forward to more years to come.

KIND OF HARD GETTING UP THIS MORNING AFTER ALL THAT TURKEY WASN’T IT?

STEPHANIE SNAMAN Implementation & Training Specialist in SD ran with her uncle in the 40th annual Dallas YMCA Turkey Trot last week. This event was my first time running 8 miles and I had a blast! I finished the run in a little over an hour and 11 minutes. It was a great way to start the day! Stephanie and her Uncle ran in memory of her Aunt who passed away while competing at Ironman Florida on November 4th.

It’s great to hear from the BURNABY office. SHEILA VANDER-HOEK Systems Analyst, IS, DARYL SALISBURY Application Architect & ANGELA SO Developer, USTA went up to Whistler to ski/snowboard on opening day of Blackcomb. We are all jealous here in So. Cal.

MICHELLE ULRICH Account Executive Running SD office ran with her Twin sister the Run for the Hungry 10K in downtown San Diego. She ran a fast time of 41:01 which is a PR for her! She was 3rd overall female and 1st in her age group. Michelle that will beat about 98% of the guys in the company!

TOBY GUILLETTE, Online Community Specialist for Endurance sports in San Diego, backpacked in the Grand Canyon during Turkey Day weekend. He said that the Mule Deer, Rocky Mountain Elk and California Condor were more plentiful than hikers during his rim-to-river-to-rim trip. To learn more about the trip and to view candid shots of beautiful wildlife and scenery, visit: http://community.active.com/blogs/toby

NUNO COSTA Community Solutions ran the other San Diego Turkey Trot and it was a 5K. He ran in 19:31 7th in his age group and 36th overall, that equates to a 6:11 pace per mile.

TINA WILMOT Director Corporate Communications went up to Orange County to run the beautiful Dana Point Turkey Trot 10K. She has done that race almost 20 years now and was 9th in her age group with a time of 45:32 – WOW OUR WOMEN ARE FAST!

STEVE MAZZA wanted to get away so he camped and hiked in the largest national park in the continental US, Death Valley. A 3.8 million acre park known as the hottest, driest and lowest place in North America. The photo is the Panamint Dunes, a 9 mile round trip hike. Complete silence. No other humans. And one incredible view!

JANEAN NATION Jr. Account Manager also did the Fr Joe’s Turkey Trot in Balboa Park in SD with her boyfriend Tyler and her Dog. It was Tyler’s first 5K but the dog’s 5th. Man’s best friend nosed them both at the finish!

ARCH FUSTON was in San Anselmo, CA on Thanksgiving and ran their Turkey Trot. All he remembers is getting beat by a 5 year old riding his bike in the race.

NATALIE TILLEY Corporate Recruiter ran the beach Turkey Trot in San Francisco and because of the oil spill up there the event was changed for a 10k to a 5k. Natalie said she “leisurely ambled in at 33 minutes.”

CARRIE JAMES & ANDREW COLE School Finance Consultants, JIM DOMINELLO Manager Strategic Development climbed Iron Mountain in SD County. Carrie and Andrew were climbing together and when they got to the top there was fellow Active team member Jim Dominello enjoying the view. Carrie made it up even though she was stung by a bee in the ear.

LAUREN DACHILLE Account Exec Running appropriately Ran the turkey Trot in downtown SD and said she had a great time.

TAMMI SCHMIDT and MICHELLE NATION joined family and friends up in Sacramento for the Run to Feed the Hungry. Thanks to the miracle of cell phones, we were able to find each other in the crowd of 26,000+ runners & walkers!

DANA BLACKWOOD AE in SD ran/walked the Fr. Joe's Turkey Trot with her family as she does every year.

It was a great weekend had by all and with the Holidays and the drinking and eating going on (probably in that order) we need to all stay Active!  MIKE REILLY

JUSTIN RAMERS here in San Diego visited our China offices last week and on his way back stopped in Beijing for the weekend and climbed one of the steepest parts of the Great Wall of China.  About 3,000 feet of elevation from the parking lot to the top. 

Amazing! 

TOYA REAVIS raced in the San Diego USATF Open 4 Mile Cross Country Championships Saturday at Morley Field.  (Yes, we did that famous hill twice!

PATTI ROSENTHAL out of Durango, CO (Look at her Leading the pack) did the16th Annual Riding of the Fools - 53 Mile Mountain Bike Ride from Durango, CO to Farmington, NM on Saturday November 10th.  A group of 17 local Durango mtn bikers did the ride this year - point to point ride all on back roads.   A self supported ride with a potluck & beer waiting for us at the finish.  Started at 9:30 am & finished around 4:15 pm (including our lunch stop at the arch where we had 15 flats thanks to the "goatheads").  A long day in the saddle!!!

DEBRA URKA Jr. Client Support specialist in SD participated in the 8K World Day run and said it was harder to run because there wasn’t a large group of people with her.

AMBER MARTIN Senior Mkt. Services Analyst (pictured in the middle) did the Silverstrand rollerblade half marathon in SD. A couple of my friends who don’t like to run wanted to experience doing a race with me, so we decided rollerblading was a good option. It was nice to do a race with friends no pressure, but my competitive nature still got to me and I hated being passed, even by other rollerbladers.

CHRIS BOHNERT ran the Silverstrand ½ Marathon in SD and went a great 1:51 and finally figured out training really does help!

MICHELLE ULRICH Account Executive in SD had a couple of first this weekend.  She went camping for the first time in the Joshua Tree National Park (but didn’t find Bono) and also rocked climbed.

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TOBY GUILLETTE Online Community Specialist for Endurance Sports in the San Diego office, was also at Joshua Tree National Park with his friends for a weekend of camping, hiking and rock climbing. Read more about it and watch his Active Videos in our online community.

NUNO COSTA Health and Fitness Community Solutions competed in the Blue Water Triathlon in Parker, AZ  He finished 26th overall in the long race. 1000m swim, 34 mile bike ride and a 5 mile run.  It was the longest distance race I have done so far, and getting me in the mindset to do my first half Ironman next year.

I was in contention in my age group, but the run really slowed me down, I had a monstrous blister on my left foot that made my whole left leg numb, needless to say it was quite difficult to run fast (check out the picture of the blister)

Here were my splits, Swim, 18:40 rank 18th, bike 1:41:09 rank 38th, and my run was 37:26th, and ranked 30th.  My total time was 2:37:16 – NUNO, Toby and I looked at the picture and we’ve seen and had much worse blisters buddy!

RAMON EBERT - Team Lead – Team Sports, League One

With the Angeles National Forest opening last Thursday I headed back up to Mt. Baldy yesterday for another training hike.  I did the same Manker Flats/Ski hut trail with the same 8 mile round trip distance and 8000’ gain and loss.  Except this time I went alone and carried 50 pounds in my big pack. 

What a difference that 15 pounds made from my last trip up there before the fires!  I felt good though and since I was alone this time the iPod helped a lot.  I went up in 3 hours 20 minutes, 25 minutes faster than last time when I was only carrying 35#.  It was 42F on top and the wind was really blowing, the summit was in the clouds.  I put on a quick show to change out of my wet clothes and put some dry stuff on then got out there!  Coming down took two and a half hours and I decided I hate that trail going down.  It’s almost all steep down and I fell at least 5 times.  It was a hike where I got to use all those really good bad words…  But it was a great training hike and I hope to get one more visit in to Baldy before my Ecuador trip in a couple weeks.

ERIN GAY Senior Staff Accountant SD and MICHELLE SHAFFER VP of Compliance ran in the Silver Strand Half Marathon yesterday.  Our times aren’t posted yet, but we think we came in around 2:05.  It was my first half and her second.  She is totally hooked and already set to run in the Rock and Roll Half Marathon in Phoenix in January. (Still too cold outside for me-I’ll have to wait for the La Jolla Half in April)  TOO COLD OUTSIDE, ERIN YOU LIVE IN SAN DIEGO!

Active San Diego was Boot Camp crazy this weekend. Seattle was in Half-Marathon Mania mode and let's throw in Ultimate Frisbee for good measure!

If anyone was missed this week I apologize.

Be sure to watch the Ironman World Championships from Hawaii this Saturday and check out all the great stories on Active.com. It is going to be one hell of a race!

CAITLYN BARKER and ANGIE TOWERY led a group from Active at the Boot Camp Challenge with help from the United States Marines Corps. The ladies were part of a three-person team along with a bunch of folks from downstairs. The course was better than last year as there were haystacks, a fire hose (mostly to ensure they would not come out without a nice layer of dirt stuck to them), tunnels, ditches, pushup stations, logs, logs and more logs. It was tiring but so much fun you didn't even realize it, even with drill instructors "cheering" you on. The bruises on folks' knees from the tunnels proved it really wasn't your average 5K.

Team #1 - Marc Villanueva, Danny Roa, Jesse Hammond, Vicky Eydelberg, Kate Nelson (RadioActive)

Team #2 - Luke Smith, Sean Thompson, Melissa Eisler, Michael Cramton, Michelle Valenti (HyperActive)

Team #3 - Angie Towery, Caitlyn Barker & Jenny Allen (NonActive)

RICHARD NEHER also did the Boot Camp Challenge (check out his team) and writes: "I am very proud to have completed my first short marathon ever. As a tennis player, I am not used to running long distances but was challenged by a friend to participate in the "BOOTCAMP CHALLENGE 2007" at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego near Lindbergh Field. Over 3,000 runners participated and I was the captain of a three-runner team (two of my tennis buddies) named "Old but Fearless." The three-mile course featured obstacles used by Marine recruits, barriers to climb over, tunnels to crawl through, push-ups along the way. Each obstacle was manned by one or two MCRD Drill Instructors shouting 'encouragements' and giving us a taste of the real life drills on that base." Congrats, Richard, and I'll bet tennis was never as fun!

DEBRA URKA did her first-ever 8K at the Pacific Beach run. She said it was a fun run but she ran hard to finish in under one hour.

PATTI ROSENTHAL is never home on the weekends. She did the 27th annual Road Apple Rally on Saturday, October 6, (longest running annual mountain bike race in the world) in Farmington, New Mexico. Placed second in masters beginner female division (PR'ed last year's time by 11 minutes). Super fun event with Mexican food, music and raffle with lots of great folk (no mountain lion sightings on this one!)

Now, you may have heard the Chicago Marathon was a very difficult day with the unusual heat, but our AMBER MARTIN in San Diego marketing finished the event, pushing through with a 4:15 marathon run. She is a little disappointed because she wanted to qualify for Boston and didn't. Be proud, Amber; over 10,000 runners didn't even fininsh!

How about MARC VILLANEUVA in SD doing a double for the weekend? He also did the Boot Camp Challenge on Saturday with Active teammates but then got his butt out of bed again Sunday morning and rode the tough 62-mile Tour de Poway bike race in San Diego County. The ride has over 3,700 feet of climbing. You da man, Marc!

MICHELLE RUSS with ActiveEducate has a special reason she does the Boot Camp Challenge. "I am proud to finally have the opportunity to report my weekend activity! My two brothers and I competed as a three-man team in the 5^th annual 5K Boot Camp Challenge obstacle course at MCRD on Saturday. Our father ran it with us the first year they held the race five years ago, then passed away suddenly four months later. We now run the race every year in his honor. We didn't win; but we finished together as a family, carrying the memory of our father as we do every year!" Dad is no doubt proud, Michelle.

AARON PELANDER, business dev specialist commerce, ran in the Boot Camp Challenge with four friends. "It was my first race of any type and the course obstacles made it a little challenging, but we did well. We finished with a time of 25:42, good for fourth place among five-person co-ed teams."

We did have an Active Warrior do the entire Boot Camp on his own with no teammates: ARCH FUSTON. It's not because Arch doesn't have friends, it's because he's just faster then them all!

AND NOW THE SEATTLE BUNCH who ran the NORTH FACE ENDURANCE CHALLENGE.

STEPHEN BRANSTETTER ran his first half-marathon: "The plan was to start out slow and steady and conserve energy for the finish. About 1.5 miles into the race I heard fast approaching foot-steps and prepared to step off the trail to let the faster runner pass. I turned my head to see 'America's Greatest Runner' Dean Karnazes, the host of the event and a recently discovered hero of mine. I decided to screw my pacing and run with the guy as long as I could. Needless to say I absolutely died at the end of the run and even had to stop and ask hikers for water and salt tablets (yes, pathetic, I know)--BUT I got to run with Dean Karnaze for 3-4 miles and even re-caught him at about the seven-mile mark. I couldn't have done a worse job with my pacing or race strategy but if the race were tomorrow I'd do the same thing again (accept of course that I can hardly walk right now).

JOEL WERDELL also ran the North Face Endurance Challenge and loved that he had Active company team members DAN BARR and ROBBIE RECH out there with him.

After running the AFC Half in August, JENNI MILLER did the BeachFest 8K this weekend in Pacific Beach in San Diego. Well, "the combination of having not run in over a month and the soft sand we had to run on, made this in some ways harder for me than the half. I am still paying for it today; although glad I went for it." Next time, Jenni, a little training in between events might be good.

ULTIMATE FRISBEE

MARA LEMAGIE, implementation analyst, and her ultimate frisbee team just missed going to club nationals. "We played four games on Saturday (against three teams from California and a team from Utah) and then one incredibly windy game Sunday morning against another group of Californians (neither team was able to work the disc upwind). We had a great season pushing each other at track workouts and practice, and living it up all the time. So that's what I did this weekend, I attached a picture of our team after the last game."

TOYA REAVIS is still running well racing the Ursula Rains Balboa Boogie 5K Cross Country meet this Saturday. It was at Morley Field in SD. "I was 14^th woman overall, 2^nd in my age group 40-44, time was 19:56. This is part of the Dirt Dog Cross Country series."

GREAT WEEKEND EVERYONE!

With Baseball season winding down and the NFL completing its 2nd week the Active Warriors are out in full force. Doing a workout or race sure keeps the guilt away when you become a couch potato later in the day watching your favorite team!

PATTI ROSENTHAL Last weekend did the High Sierra Fall Century at Mammoth on the tandem. Also riding was Greg Lemond & his 23 yr old son. Greg looked great! They both did the 100 miler as well. This weekend attended the Telluride Blues & Brews Festival & road our mtn bikes in Telluride - lots of great single track on the mtn with incredible mtn views.

TRISH OBERHAUS Yesterday completed the North Shore Century Ride. It went from the outskirts of Chicago, IL up to Kenosha, WI and back, staying near to Lake Michigan's lakefront. It was a beautiful day and a nice ride. I'm a little sore today, but it was definitely a cool experience!

CAITLYN BARKER - I did the Camp Pendleton Heartbreak Ridge Half Marathon on Saturday. It was pretty fun; the whole race is on a dirt trail out in the hills. I finished in just over 2 hours which surprised me considering it was the "hilliest" race I've seen so far as the second half of the race had a lot of challenging hills to offer. The race was definitely male dominated, plenty of marines who kicked my butt. Overall, I would say it was really fun & I might try it again next year! Yes Caitlyn with all those Marines I'm sure you'll do the event again!

STEPHEN BRANSTETTER did the Kirkland Sprint Triathlon. A Rough water made for a slow swim. Bike course has a ton of hills which made for a cramp-filled run. Felt great though, made me want to step-up with the real triathlete's and do some longer races. He was 25^th overall (734 participants), 3^rd place 25-29 age group (lost to the guys who were 1^st and 2^nd overall)2^nd place under-30 Non-elites (this is where I take pride-how well do I do against the other bums like me that don't train).

LIZ HARELL & MICHELLE NATION ran their bums off! Liz did her first Double Digit run covering 11 miles in training for the Nike 1/2 marathon. And Michelle ran 18 miles for her training for the Nike marathon. You guys rock, keep it up!

TOBY GUILLETTE climbed the 14,088-foot Mount Russell in the Sierra Nevada. To see pictures and hear more about the trip, check out Active Toby’s Adventure Blog: http://community.active.com/blogs/toby. Yesterday he ran 18 miles on the Noble Canyon trail with MICHELLE ULRICH in preparation for the Noble Canyon 50K on the 29th.

SHERRY BLUME participated on a relay team (bike leg) at the Malibu Triathlon this weekend. The results haven't been posted yet. But we know the results Sherry, you participated so that means you WON!

TOYA REAVIS did another CC run doing the Aztec Cross County meet in SD at Balboa Park. Another very competitive, challenging, hilly 5K. I was 13^th woman overall, 2^nd in my age group 40-44; my time was 21:28.

MAREA BLUE & KRISTIN HARTOS play for the local San Diego Surfers Women's Rugby team, and this weekend we traveled to Arizona for a match on Saturday against the Scottsdale Lady Blues. We won the match 56 to 19 in spite of the 105-degree heat, putting us at 6 and 1 for the year. We have three more regular-season matches before league play-offs start in October, where we hope to win our territorial (regional) seed for the National Championship tournament in November.

ARCH FUSTON & his wife CHRISTY ran the Maui marathon together this weekend in a tiem of 5:07. This isn't Kansas City anymore is it guys?

So sorry I'm later than usual with our Active Warriors Weekend update. Here you go:

Well, I saved the best for first.  BROOK KIRKPATRICK did a little climb up the second highest peak in Colorado on Mount Massive (14,421 feet but who's counting?).  She did the climb with her dad, a friend and her boyfriend, Jim.  They reached the summit after missing the regular trail and when they got there, her boyfriend Jim had something to say. "BROOK WILL YOU MARRY ME?" After Brook caught her breath with her sea-level lungs, she said, "YES."  It was definitely a MASSIVE day for Brook! Congratulations!

PATRICIA OBERHAUS did her her first triathlon and chose to do the world's largest.  She completed the Accenture Chicago Tri and couldn't believe how well the race went, with all the spectators cheering along the course (just for you, Patricia). She said she had never done anything like it in her athletic career and now she knows how people get hooked on triathlons.

WANDA PREUSS, good for you keeping up with your walking to get back in shape and heal the body. You go, girl!

TOBY GUILLETTE and AIREY BARINGER completed the San Bernardino Traverse on Saturday. They tackled the 27-mile through-hike across the entire San Bernardino Mountain range in less than 10 hours. They reached the summit of San Gorgonio, the highest peak in southern California, just before a thunderstorm formed over Big Bear Lake. For an Active Video slideshow of the trip, visit Active Toby's Adventure Blog.

STEPHEN BRANSTETTER also did a triathlon. He competed in the Lake Sammamish Sprint Tri in Washington state with a swim of 400 meters, bike of 14.5 miles and a 3.5-mile run. Stephen ran the 3.5 in a fast time of 20:23, and that is great at the end of a swim/bike.

Triathlon fever here at Active with MAREA BLUE competing in one of the oldest tris in California, the Santa Barbara Sprint.  She finished in 1:05 and that included bike trouble with her chain breaking a mile into the ride course.  After a 10-minute fix she was on her way.

SHAWN BOOM and his wife tried their luck at a 21-mile, Class III, two-day whitwater rafting trip down the South Fork of the America River in California.  It was a guided trip with people from all over the world on it.  Yes, their entire raft did submerge but Shawn said it just fueled their desire for more. He recommends it to everyone before summer is over.

PATTI ROSENTHAL--who would have guessed she did a mountain Bike race.  She won the masters women's division in the Dirt Lover's Mountain Bike race Colorado in just two hours.  But she was disappointed her friend the mountain lion  didn't come for a visit while she was on the trail. Maybe next time, Patti.

IRONMAN CANADA was a great event. With as many Ironmans I've done, this one was pretty special--especially at the start.  The event made history because it was the largest mass start (more than 2,600 racers) in the history of the sport.  What a sight seeing all those triathletes getting into the water all at once. And TONY WHELAN was there to watch his first Ironman and now can't wait to learn how to swim so he can be out there one day.

Our weekend was led by TOBY GUILLETTE who likes to be outdoors for long periods of time.  He was putting one foot on front of the other for 15 hours and completed a 50-mile ultramarathon here in SoCal. 

We give Toby big props for sticking it out, especially in the last 2.5 hours in the pitch darkness of night, ascending 2,500 feet in six miles. He battled fatigue (no kidding), nausea and mild hallucinations (seems normal) to be the very last finisher!  He said “my body is destroyed but starting to recover.”  Congrats Toby for sticking it out!

Another person who likes to go long is GALE BERHARDT, our resident coach.  She did the Leadville, Colorado,  100-mile mountain bike race.  Wow, Gail really practices what she preaches!

JESSE HAMMOND competed in the Camp Pendleton Sprint Triathlon and finished 19th in his 25-29 age group with a time of 1:38:13.  Great work, Jesse.

And to WANDA PREUSS, our receptionist extraordinaire in SD who a year ago broke her shoulder and humerus in six places in an accident but is now feeling much better...she is now getting back into shape and proudly completed the five miles around Lake Miramar.  Way to go, girl!

YOU WILL NOT BELIEVE THIS NEXT STORY!

Now I suspect this one will go down thru the ages here at Active.  PATTI ROSENTHAL had a run-in with a 150-pound mountain lion this weekend. She was alone riding her mountain bike near her home of Durango, Colorado, and Mr. Lion appeared eight feet in front of her on the trail.  Patti’s first comment was “I could see her friggin' whiskers, it was so close”.

So the lion held its ground and what does Patti do? She start to roll her bike towards it (must be the elevation) and finally the cat turns and trots up the hill.  Patti's other comment as she rode past the lion while it strolled away? “I continue riding up the trail following this HUGE thing.  I'm telling you, she was as big as my dogs and had a huge long tail and big frickin' paws. Then I'm thinking maybe it's a tame mtn lionsomeone's petWTF.  This is not right. I'm riding up the trail following a mountain lion.  Then the thought crossed my mind that I could be breakfast so I screamed at the thing and he finally ran off.” 

Well, Patti, it’s hard to say what we would have done in the same situation but I know most of us here would have GONE THE OTHER WAY.  We are glad you are OK but from now on, ride with someone out on those trails!