12.30.2008
At the beginning of the 2008 racing season, all the members of Team GoLite agreed to give back to the environment in which we race and donate 10% of our 2008 sponsorship money to a non-profit association dedicated to conserving and protecting our lands. We believe there's more to racing than just winning, and we hope to prove as much by lessening our travel impact, off-setting the CO2 emissions that we could not reduce, educating at clinics and races, and then giving back to supportive organizations.
Today, we made a donation in the name of GoLite/Team GoLite to the Conservation Alliance Legacy Fund. The Conservation Alliance is the outdoor industry's collective commitment to protecting our wild lands, and its Legacy Fund Campaign will help to ensure that it remains a force in conservation and be a permanent figure in the future. The Legacy Fund will provide a stable source of operational funding, and our contribution will help them reach their goals to create a solid foundation for the organization's future.
Please check out more about the Conservation Alliance: www.conservationalliance.com. They are working to support and provide funding for so many worthy causes, many of them probably in your own backyard. For more information about the Legacy Fund, please visit www.conservationalliance.com/about/legacy_fund.
Have a great New Year!
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Monday, December 29, 2008
Happy Holidays
Hope everyone had a great holiday season! We have been out and about, never a dull moment around here! Tiff and I jetted off to Italy in early December to visit one of Tiffanie's best friends near Venice. It was a whirlwind tour from Venice, to Aviano, to watching Shelley's husband Greg taxi and takeoff (he is an F-16 pilot in the Air Force), to Cortina, and back. After nearly a week of missing our train connections, we were home, just in time for me to head out to Cleveland to visit my boys Davis and Chad, and to hit-up Ray's Indoor Mountain Bike Park. Pretty cool concept, lots of fun, can't wait for Boulder Indoor Cycling to open now! Davis's Christmas party was off the hook, and I am pretty sure I had as much fun as a Boulderite could possibly have in the Cleve! Since then, it was down 
to Pueblo, CO to visit the parents for the holidays, then a quick jaunt down to Crested Butte to take advantage of the 50" of snow they received last week! Luckily, Tiff and I were able to catch up with JB, Wick, and Jari from Team Salomon/Crested Butte, and had fun skiing with Wick and JB. After trying out Wick's Rando race kit, I think I am hooked, too bad I can't even afford a pair of race bindings! Hopefully I will have out the "Heavy Metal" this year and can do some COSMIC (Colorado Ski Mountaineering Cup) races, albeit much slower than Wick, JB and the boys on their race gear!Cheers and Happy Holidays. Still looking for New Years plans.
(Pictures are Brooks and Tiff in Cortina, Italy; Skinning up Crested Butte mountain at dusk on Wick's "crack" Ultralight race gear. )
-Brooks
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Ultimate XC 20-Miler in Moab, UT
November 15th, 2008
James Kovacs 1st Place Open, 2nd Overall
Chris Boyd 8th Place Open
From the viewpoint of Chris Boyd:
Moab, UT -- a must visit for any adventure-loving individual or really just anyone with an eye for the astonishing imagination found in nature. This year, Moab was the home to the Ultimate XC, a new offroad trail running event catering to the adventure lovers in us all. The race director Dan Desrisuers is a friend of mine from when we met at his notorious Jay Challenge in 2006. How does one describe Dan accurately, giving him credit for his immense passion for creating unique, enormously challenging and rugged course design? I'm not sure I have the words to do him justice other than by saying "This guy takes pleasure in seeing you hurt, in a good way J". Yeah, I suppose we all self-diagnose by showing up at one of these events as being, how do you say, a little 'off', but the challenge we set out to overcome is unique to each individual. For myself, the Ultimate XC 20-Mile trail race was a motivator, a mechanism for keeping my mind hungry and my body ready for a new challenge. Coming toward the end of a racing season, it is all too easy to hunker down and wait out the cold and snow, but for James and I and about 248 others, we looked to the Ultimate XC Moab as a spring board to help us catapult our physical shape through the winter and into an even greater 2009.
As I eluded, Dan is never one to disappoint, and this race certainly lived up to the promise it had advertised. 20 miles through canyons and high points of the slickrock, monolith-covered back trails of Moab, Dan and race director Danielle Ballange set a course that any trail runner should look forward to running. The start was up what I believe was Pritcher Canyon, which was a rocky, loose, rutted and boulder-filled 4x4 trail that snakes its way south and then west, heading away from the Colorado River and the town of Moab. Coming out of the canyon, you steadily gain altitude as you sneak your way to the top roof of the canyon before dropping down into a rutted out hole in teh rocks, finally hitting a service road. A stunning run up a riverbed, through and under arches and large rocks carved out by thousands of years of flowing torrents left the area with many soft edged rocks and evidence that nature's power had been at work in these parts for many years. Coming out of this river bed after grabbing a checkpoint punch, I looked to my GPS which read 3 miles further than the maps said we would have traveled up to this point. Hmmm, might my watch be broken?
Flashback 2 years to the Jay Challenge on day 3 while competing in the 65-mile mountain bike leg of the race (day 1 was a 27-mile flatwater paddle and day 2 was a 36-mile trail run which if I tried to describe now would cause me to lose focus, but let me just say it was HARD) and coming to find that after riding for 71 miles I was still a mile from the finish line. The story behind the over-delivering on mileage is one I recall Dan telling before the run leg of the Jay Challenge that year (which I believe was supposed to be 31 miles). He said something to the effect of, "last year some of youz guyz (use your best French-Canadian accent here) GPS-d my course and complained I was 5 miles short on the run. This year, you won't be disappointed, believe me". That must have scarred Dan because in all teh races I've done of his, he always 'over-delivers' and that came to be true in the 10-miler (actually 12.5), 20-miler (actually 23.5) and the 50k (actually pretty close to right on but probably a mile extra).
The version of the ending of the race I most prefer ends with me telling James (who by the way WON the Men's open category finishing 1hr 15min ahead of me...wow) that I was right on his heals, just around the corner, close enough the entire race where I could see him but he could not see me. Then about a half-mile from the finish I just sat down. Yup, one the dirt, sat there and waited. Here I am waiting...waiting...waiting. 30 minutes, then 45, then 1hr, then 1hr 10min. I decide now I can get up to finish, allowing him a solid cushion to secure his dominance over a field of uber-fast athletes and also me.
Put this race on the calendar for 2009. The race was an amazing experience and one I look forward to repeating. Rumor is there might be a mountain biking race next year on day 2. Think about it.
Boyd
USARA National Championships
November 7, 2008
Friday morning arose with darkness and fog settled in across the valleys of the Blue Ridge Mountains of Northern Georgia. Over 70 teams gathered at the town gazebo, ready for instructions to begin the Adventure Racing National Championships of 2008. This was the first time we as a Team had stepped foot in this area, notorious for difficult navigation, unmarked trails, and unreliable maps. With a grand start, we all boarded the scenic byways train in downtown Blue Ridge, travelling to a destination unknown.
Looking back at the week before the race, we really would like to recognize Charlie Merrill and Alta Physical Therapy for the help they gave Tiffanie. Just days before leaving for Georgia, Tiffanie sustained a grade II ankle sprain. Charlie worked with Tiffanie over the weekend to help her achieve the quickest healing time possible, and his coaching and advice enabled Tiffanie to get to Georgia and get on that train Friday morning.
We received "prologue" points while on the train. Already armed with the majority of the race points from the map pick-up the previous night, we would begin the day with a fresh set of checkpoints to get us from the train to the canoes. The "prologue" consisted of 4 checkpoints by foot; a quick segment to see who could get to the boats first. With this quick beginning in the "prologue", we were in the canoes before we knew it. Sunshine was finally beginning to drench the river, and we headed downstream.
The canoes only had 2 seats, which meant Tiffanie had to brace herself on the floor of the boat. James and Brooks continually leapt from the canoe to carry it across shallow waters and portages. With such a low water level this time of year, the canoe portion had quite a bit of running involved (and plenty of getting wet in the process). After about 17 miles on the river, we finally made it to the shore and our first official checkpoint on map. From there, we carried the canoe another mile to the drop-off, which I can tell you is no easy feat. As we dropped the canoe, the rain began to fall. We ran 10 miles along the river to our bikes, dropped off the night before at the only "transition" of the race. Not allowed to have any extra gear or food at that transition, we simply picked up the bikes and were on our way. The rain continued to fall, and as night
descended, we finally made it to the first run section. Donning our favorite Ay-Up Headlamps, we set out with lights ablaze for an adventure on foot. And as usual, we have the best lights out there -- we even discovered that the burn times of the 3-hour batteries can actually sometimes last you through 5 hours -- awesome.
As I mentioned before, the maps of the area aren't always inclusive of all trails, and even some trails on the map no longer exist. We climbed and crawled our way up the steep slopes, trekked along unmarked horse trails, and ran whenever we could find a reasonable surface. Rain kept pouring down as we unearthed ourselves from the dense brush and remounted our bikes. Our Rocky Mountain Bikes continued to handle the tough terrain of rocks, roots, and sludge, and our Maxxis Tires held descending steep slopes slippery with wet leaves and roots. We were drenched to the bone, without a single piece of dry gear to wear. We ran out of water, and as a result had to forage for streams to treat our water. Thank goodness for Nuun tablets, which helped mask the taste of chlorine dioxide and kept us wanting to stay hydrated! Arriving at the next run section, we were colder than we couldn've ever imagined we could be.
The night continued, and with 13 hours of darkness, we plowed through the cold and wet. When the morning rose, we welcomed it with open arms. The rains finally began to lift, and so did our body temperatures. We finished the race in good spirits and good health, crossing the finish line after being on the course for almost 28 hours.
Although we finished mid-pack in 37th place (out of 70+ teams), we learned a lot in this race, and continued our growth as a Team. We had hoped for a better finish, but we're proud of our showing at Nationals, and are even more proud to represent the companies who support us. It was amazing to pull our Tifosi sunglasses out of our packs after a night of wet and dirt, to see them intact and perfectly ready for the sunshine of the morning dawn. Our Smartwool socks kept our feet protected throughout the whole race, and not one of us suffered a blister, even though we trudged through wet and sludge for hours on end. As far as we've seen, we're the only Team to get to Nationals completely carbon neutral, and we only hope that more will follow suit next year (and we'll be recommending other teams to have Native Energy do that for them!). And big thanks to GoLite, for helping us to get to Georgia, providing us with the best packs and clothing for racing, and for believing in us all season long. We've really enjoyed all the adventures we've had this season, and look forward to many more to come!
Friday morning arose with darkness and fog settled in across the valleys of the Blue Ridge Mountains of Northern Georgia. Over 70 teams gathered at the town gazebo, ready for instructions to begin the Adventure Racing National Championships of 2008. This was the first time we as a Team had stepped foot in this area, notorious for difficult navigation, unmarked trails, and unreliable maps. With a grand start, we all boarded the scenic byways train in downtown Blue Ridge, travelling to a destination unknown.
Looking back at the week before the race, we really would like to recognize Charlie Merrill and Alta Physical Therapy for the help they gave Tiffanie. Just days before leaving for Georgia, Tiffanie sustained a grade II ankle sprain. Charlie worked with Tiffanie over the weekend to help her achieve the quickest healing time possible, and his coaching and advice enabled Tiffanie to get to Georgia and get on that train Friday morning.
We received "prologue" points while on the train. Already armed with the majority of the race points from the map pick-up the previous night, we would begin the day with a fresh set of checkpoints to get us from the train to the canoes. The "prologue" consisted of 4 checkpoints by foot; a quick segment to see who could get to the boats first. With this quick beginning in the "prologue", we were in the canoes before we knew it. Sunshine was finally beginning to drench the river, and we headed downstream.The canoes only had 2 seats, which meant Tiffanie had to brace herself on the floor of the boat. James and Brooks continually leapt from the canoe to carry it across shallow waters and portages. With such a low water level this time of year, the canoe portion had quite a bit of running involved (and plenty of getting wet in the process). After about 17 miles on the river, we finally made it to the shore and our first official checkpoint on map. From there, we carried the canoe another mile to the drop-off, which I can tell you is no easy feat. As we dropped the canoe, the rain began to fall. We ran 10 miles along the river to our bikes, dropped off the night before at the only "transition" of the race. Not allowed to have any extra gear or food at that transition, we simply picked up the bikes and were on our way. The rain continued to fall, and as night
descended, we finally made it to the first run section. Donning our favorite Ay-Up Headlamps, we set out with lights ablaze for an adventure on foot. And as usual, we have the best lights out there -- we even discovered that the burn times of the 3-hour batteries can actually sometimes last you through 5 hours -- awesome.As I mentioned before, the maps of the area aren't always inclusive of all trails, and even some trails on the map no longer exist. We climbed and crawled our way up the steep slopes, trekked along unmarked horse trails, and ran whenever we could find a reasonable surface. Rain kept pouring down as we unearthed ourselves from the dense brush and remounted our bikes. Our Rocky Mountain Bikes continued to handle the tough terrain of rocks, roots, and sludge, and our Maxxis Tires held descending steep slopes slippery with wet leaves and roots. We were drenched to the bone, without a single piece of dry gear to wear. We ran out of water, and as a result had to forage for streams to treat our water. Thank goodness for Nuun tablets, which helped mask the taste of chlorine dioxide and kept us wanting to stay hydrated! Arriving at the next run section, we were colder than we couldn've ever imagined we could be.
The night continued, and with 13 hours of darkness, we plowed through the cold and wet. When the morning rose, we welcomed it with open arms. The rains finally began to lift, and so did our body temperatures. We finished the race in good spirits and good health, crossing the finish line after being on the course for almost 28 hours.
Although we finished mid-pack in 37th place (out of 70+ teams), we learned a lot in this race, and continued our growth as a Team. We had hoped for a better finish, but we're proud of our showing at Nationals, and are even more proud to represent the companies who support us. It was amazing to pull our Tifosi sunglasses out of our packs after a night of wet and dirt, to see them intact and perfectly ready for the sunshine of the morning dawn. Our Smartwool socks kept our feet protected throughout the whole race, and not one of us suffered a blister, even though we trudged through wet and sludge for hours on end. As far as we've seen, we're the only Team to get to Nationals completely carbon neutral, and we only hope that more will follow suit next year (and we'll be recommending other teams to have Native Energy do that for them!). And big thanks to GoLite, for helping us to get to Georgia, providing us with the best packs and clothing for racing, and for believing in us all season long. We've really enjoyed all the adventures we've had this season, and look forward to many more to come!
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