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.
Active Warriors
18 Posts tagged with the weekend tag 1 2 Previous Next
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 ½ 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 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. 
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.
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.
IT WAS A ROCK ‘N’ ROLL MARATHON WEEKEND IN SD WITH ABOUT 18,000 RUNNING AND A FEW ACTIVE WARRIORS DOING THE 26.2 MILES OR 42.2 KM
STACEY JOHNSON Account Manager ran the RNR Marathon yesterday. I remember hearing you Mike tell everyone at the start of the race that it all boils down to that last 10k… I knew all too well from experience that this was true and once again, I thought I was going to die those last 6 miles. I had a great race through 20- perfect weather, feeling good, and then at about 21 my legs turned to lead- they just did not want to go. I was still happy with my finish of 4:09:14.
AMBER MARTIN also ran the Rock n’ Roll…you turned away right as I finished…bummed I couldn’t get your attention. SORRY GIRL! Anyways, I ran a 4:28:22, which is a half hour slower than I usually do, but with concentrating on triathlons lately, I didn’t get the miles under my belt that I had hoped. I have decided to put triathlons on hold until I qualify for Boston Marathon, as that is my main goal. I will be spending the coming months concentrating on getting under the 3:40:00 mark at the Philadelphia Marathon.
ARCH FUSTON and his weekend report: Rock and Roll Marathon:
After spraining my colon waiting in the porta john line for 45 MINUTES, my Rock and Roll Marathon experience finally started. Great course, great weather, great bands. A must race for any endurance athlete. My race...a challenging day. But, we finished, stayed out of the medical tent, and was greeted by Christy who raced to a PR. In all, a great experience, a great day!
ActiveX Charity Team Training:
We had a group of twenty or so show up for the ride and swim on Saturday morning! After a few hot laps around Fiesta Island, the crew headed over to La Jolla Shores for an open water swim. We were greeted by “larger than last time” surf, which made for some fun entries and exits. The group did AWESOME. We learned to dolphin dive through the surf until we got past the break, swam a few lengths, then worked out way back in, catching the swell and riding it in. It was more fun than scary, the comfort level of being in the ocean, learning how to dolphin dive in and out of the water made for a great morning!
LORRAINE RYGLEWICZ ran her very first Marathon yesterday finishing Rock N Roll. She said she wasn’t proud of her time of 6:55:33 but Lorraine you should be VERY PROUD because you are a Marathoner and no one can ever take that away from you!
HANNAH SANSONE, Acct Exec Swimming had a great time running the San Diego Rock & Roll Marathon finishing in 4:08:07. She loved seeing all the Elvis impersonators! There were 150 of them running!
Yours truly had a blast announcing the RnR for the 11th year in a row. I worked with John “The Penguin” Bingham and Kim Williams from Sugoi Clothing Co. Sorry we missed some Active people finishing, 18,000 finishers sure is a lot to look at and spot!
NISHAN RUDRAKUMAR, Graphic Designer in the Burnaby office for the marketing team. This weekend I went on a hike for the first time in years, at "The Chief" in Squamish. It's about 700 vertical meters (I have no idea what that is in feet), and the weather was absolutely perfect. Unfortunately I ignored the "Adequate Fitness Needed" line under the "Items You Will Need" on the Park's Welcome/Warning sign. I was huffing and puffing at the beginning but towards the end it was fine, and the view definitely made the hike worthwhile.
NOW THIS IS INSANE – ROB KLINGENSMITH VP in his continued attempt to get back in cycling shape rode in San Diego county up Mt Palomar – twice – on Saturday, and Torrey Pines – six times – on Sunday. In all that was worth about 14,000’ of climbing and permission to eat a couple bags of Pepperidge Farm cookies. Wait… oh yeah… I’m trying to lose weight… Or as some of think trying to lose his MIND!
CHRIS CARVER GM Education and ROMY SMALLER and his friend plus 4 other friends ventured up to the Yosemite in CA and climbed Half Dome. Although we were all exhausted after the long hike, we all agree it is one of the most amazing places in the world.
JAMES ROJAS Web Developer and BRAD LAMOTTE, JOHN RAMOS & DOUG WELLS sent in a “Non-bicycling, non-swimming, some-running” section report. Last Saturday they went to Velocity Paintball Park in lovely Ramona in SD County to play some paintball. It was a close-to-perfect day to crawl through brush, weeds and trees, shooting our opponents before they shot us. We hope to make this a regular event (maybe monthly) so we welcome anyone interested in joining us.
KELLY D. BELL, AMG Senior Account Manager had the chance to participate in the Inaugural Mile High Mile race sponsored by PUSH Fitness and the Greenway Foundation this weekend in Denver. This is the first mile run of its kind in Colorado which attracted over 500 kids, parents, adults and elite runners which started and finished at the Capital Building in downtown Denver. Some highlights from the race included the fastest male teen with a time of 4:50, the elite male winner with a time of 4:15, fastest female elite runner with a time of approximately 5:44 and then me, with a time of 7:36. Okay, so I was a few minutes behind the best of the best, but not a bad race overall finishing 5th out of my age group!
MAREA BLUE & KRISTIN HARTOS Implementation Analysts Endurance attended the final try-out camp in San Diego for the Southern California (SCRFU) women’s select side rugby team. Each of the seven territories in the US will put a select side team together to play in the USA Rugby National All-Star Championships (NASC) Tournament on June 13-15th in Pittsburgh, PA. Almost 8 hours of practice on Saturday (fitness testing, tackling, rucking and running through our plays), and then we won the scrimmage on Sunday against our region’s Under-23 women’s team. It was Marea’s first rugby weekend back since her foot surgery on February 21st, but she didn’t miss a beat. We are both pretty sore and extremely sunburned, and we will be sure to report back and let you know how we fare at the national tournament in two weeks. Way to go Girls!
LACEY SHAW Online Ad Account Coordinator AMG didn't participate but she gets huge points for being a volunteer at the AIDs Lifecycle in San Francisco this weekend. Over 3,000 cyclists are biking from SF to LA this week. The participants raised over $11 million dollars to fight AIDs. Our very own MICHAEL WILSON in the SD office is doing the ride.
TYLER CAIRNS watched this weekend. He watched his future Brother in Law who is just 16 years old play some great baseball. First a little history on how the league works, they play 4 games a weekend because he is on the travel team from Kamloops (roughly 3 hours north east of Vancouver). Pitchers can only pitch 14 innings in a weekend and if you pitch 7 in one day you are done for the weekend.
So Colin started the first game of the weekend pitching and pitched 6 innings. The amazing part was his stat line: 6 IP, 101 Pitches, 15 K, 4 BB, and 0 ER. He also had a fielded put out as well for a total of 16 outs of the possible 18 for the innings he was on the mound. The rest of the weekend he played 3rd Base and topped off his weekend with a Home Run!
You all know I am a softie for any Baseball stories! Have a Successfu$ week everyone. Mike