Greetings, fellow athlete-adventurers!
In this Issue:
• Quote for the Day
• Furnace Creek 508: Awesome race field
• Badwater Rosters: 1987 through 2008
• Survival at Extreme Events
• Badwater Video: ultra cool!
• The Road to Badwater: Alene Nitzky
• 508er on the Road to Washington, DC
• Those Plastic Recycling Symbols
• Uranium Mining next to our National Parks?
• This Newsletter Archived on our Blog
• And Now For Something Completely Different
QUOTE FOR THE DAY
"The four of us were once world-class wanderers, equipped with weeks to spare but little cash; now that we're all professionals, with less time and more money, we try to pack our outings into small, highly structured slots. One day I realized that we spend more days plotting our trips than taking them, and it made me think that we'd lost our adventurous edge, that we were no longer willing to do something that amounts to nothing." - Steven Rinella
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FURNACE CREEK 508: INCREDIBLE 2008 RACE FIELD
We are extremely pleased and honored by the remarkable quality, and quantity, of applicants for the 25th Anniversary Furnace Creek 508. An extremely impressive race field of 100 soloists, 37 two-person teams, and 18 four-person teams has been assembled. Currently those athletes are confirming their entry in the race. Once they do so, in about a week, we will post the entire race roster to the Furnace Creek 508 website: www.the508.com. Thank you, 508 racers, crew, and staff for your support of "the toughest 48 hours in sport!"
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BADWATER ULTRAMARATHON ROSTERS: 1987 through 2008
The online race roster for the 2008 Badwater Ultramarathon has now been expanded to include bib number, wave start time, personal website links, and charity links.
Additionally, the rosters for all previous Badwater Ultramarathon races have been posted to our online database. Soon all race results from throughout the history of the world's toughest foot race will also be online and searchable in all manner of interesting ways. Check out this growing resource here.
Note: We will be adding all Furnace Creek 508 data to this online database, too. With decades of history from both of these epic Death Valley races to sort, prepare, and add to the database, it's a time-consuming process. It's also a fantastic resource. Thanks, Cathy!
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NEW STORY AT BADWATER.COM:
BADWATER AND EXTREME EVENT SURVIVAL TIPS
By Arthur Webb
I have officially completed the 135-mile Badwater Ultramarathon nine times. The following list covers everything that has worked best for me at this race. Some points may also help other runners, crews and pacers, at Badwater or at any extreme event, spend more time focusing on race goals instead of being distracted by lots of piled-on suffering and unnecessary down time.
1. Physical training.
I run 120-miles a week for three months. Half the mileage is on the flats and half in the hills. I do daily core strengthening and stretching workouts at a fitness center and cross train with long bike rides. This stamina and confidence boosting training regimen may seem extreme, but so is Badwater or any ultra race.
Full story.
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AWESOME BADWATER VIDEO FROM 2007
Bär Shoes put together one of the nicest, most well done videos I've ever seen of the Badwater Ultramarathon, featuring the two German athletes who wore Bär shoes in the 2007 race, Achim Heukemes and Dagmar Grossheim. It has great music, too, plus has subtitles to translate the German. If you are interested in the Badwater Ultramarathon or just love Death Valley, take a few minutes to enjoy the show at this link.
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THE ROAD TO BADWATER: ALENE NITZKY
Local ultramarathoner pushing the limits
By Miles Blumhardt/The Coloradoan
The curious stares Alene Nitzky draws while jogging along the Spring Creek Trail are warranted. After all, dressed in the all-white training suit she looks like a cross between the Flying Nun and someone responding to a hazmat incident.
But then the 44-year-old nurse isn't your normal runner. Full story.
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508 VETERAN RUNNING FOR U.S. CONGRESS
Ron "Sparrow" Shepston of Silverado, CA (in Orange County) has been a fixture at our Death Valley cycling events for more than 15 years, recently riding our Death Valley Century with several family members. It's a good thing he has spent all those years honing his stamina and reflexes, because he's currently running for Congress in California District 42, a diverse community stretching from Mission Viejo in the south to Chino in the north and west to La Habra. Approximately two thirds of the district is in Orange County with Los Angeles and San Bernardino Counties contributing evenly to the final third.
Here's the scoop on Ron and here.
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THOSE PLASTIC RECYCLING SYMBOLS
If America were going to be characterized by any one material, it would have to be plastic. It's in our food packaging, our clothing, our cars, our toys, our waterways, our streets, and, yes, it’s even in our bodies.
By way of the food chain, and also drinking water and using plastic items in our everyday life, we are ingesting plastics every day, in the form of the following chemicals:
* Cancer-causing PFOAs
* PBDEs, which cause reproductive problems
* Phthalates, another group of reproductive toxins
* BPA, which disrupts your endocrine system by mimicking the female hormone estrogen
Do You Know What Plastic Recycling Symbols Mean?
The Daily Green offers this handy guide on the various types of plastic. Be sure to check it out; it turns out that many of those plastic products with the little triangle-with-number symbols are not actually recyclable.
Full story, including more of Dr. Mercola's comments quoted above.
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URANIUM CLAIMS SPRING UP ALONG GRAND CANYON RIM
By Judy Pasternak, Los Angeles Times, May 4, 2008
GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK, ARIZ. -- Thanks to renewed interest in nuclear power, the United States is on the verge of a uranium mining boom, and nowhere is the hurry to stake claims more pronounced than in the districts flanking the Grand Canyon's storied sandstone cliffs.
On public lands within five miles of Grand Canyon National Park, there are now more than 1,100 uranium claims, compared with just 10 in January 2003, according to data from the Department of the Interior.
Full story.
Thanks for your support and participation, everyone! We look forward to seeing you out there soon!
Yours in sport,
Chris Kostman
Chief Adventure Officer and Race Director
Copyright 2008 AdventureCORPS, Inc. Copies of this Internet posting may be made and distributed in whole without further permission. Please forward to a friend by clicking the little envelope icon below.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
AdventureCORPS News, May 8, 2008
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Carpooling and Ride-Sharing to and from Death Valley
We encourage carpooling to and from our Spring and Fall Death Valley Century and Double Century events, as well as to and from all our other events, such as the Badwater Ultramarathon and Furnace Creek 508. For Spring and Fall Death Valley, with some 300 riders coming from 20 or more states (and a few foreign countries), there must be somebody who lives near you, or along the route you'll be driving, or perhaps someone just needs a ride to and from the airport in Vegas or LA if they are flying to the event. Share the ride! Save gas! Save money! Save the earth!
Monday, April 21, 2008
AdventureCORPS News, April 21, 2008
Greetings, fellow athlete-adventurers!
In this Issue:
• Quote for the Day
• Car-Free Day Tomorrow
• Furnace Creek 508: Last Call!
• Death Valley Century Video Blog
• Badwater Crewing Video
• Lots of Great New Logos
• Forty Days and Forty Nights
• Order your 2008 AdventureCORPS gear
• And Now For Something Completely Different
QUOTE FOR THE DAY
"Don’t you dare waste a minute!" - Sandy Sanders, in reference to life (pictured at left)
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CAR-FREE EARTH DAY IN LA AND BEYOND
Wherever you live and work, why not leave the car at home tomorrow and ride a bike to work, or use public transit, or at the very least carpool? It's going to be Earth Day: let's celebrate!
In Los Angeles, where car has historically been king but bicycles are gaining ground, tomorrow will be a car-free day and even part of the legendary freeway, I mean street, known as Wilshire Blvd will be closed to cars!
Tuesday, April 22nd,10am-5pm
Wilshire Center Earth Day/Car Free Day
Wilshire Boulevard will be closed between Western and Harvard. The LA County Bicycle Coalition will be providing free and convenient Bike Valet service between Harvard and Hobart. More info:
http://www.wilshirecenter.com/earthday
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FURNACE CREEK 508 2008: LAST CALL FOR APPLICATIONS!
The 25th Anniversary Furnace Creek 508 will be held October 4-6, 2008. The application will go off-line tomorrow, so if you hope to compete in The 508 this year, PLEASE apply TODAY! (And to those of you who have sent in a RECORD NUMBER of applications, thank you!) Info:
http://www.the508.com/entry/index.html
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VIDEO BLOGGER PRESENTS HIS FINAL 105 MILE VIDEO BLOG
Paul Fahey spent 105 days chronicling his efforts to prepare for, and ride, the 105-mile Spring Death Valley Century and Double Century. His final video blog, featuring the event itself, is online now:
http://105daysto105miles.wordpress.com/
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BADWATER CREWING VIDEO
Jaqueline Florine will be a rookie entrant in the 2008 Badwater Ultramarathon in July, but she's been learning the ropes on support crews at The World's Toughest Foot Race the past few years. Here's a short, but relly excellent, video with some of her super secret squirrel tips on how be a world-class crew member:
http://leteton.blogspot.com/2008/04/crewing-badwater-runner.html
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FORTY DAYS AND FORTY NIGHTS
By Audrey Adler
It was the winter of 1998. Los Angeles.
I had just completed my first series of triathlons the previous summer and eagerly anticipated an off season filled with outdoor training opportunities, sowing the seeds of fitness for the spring season's new and improved personal best. Winter in LA, you must visualize, meant that a light wind jacket and arm warmers may be necessary for the first hour of an early morning ride! To every outdoor athlete's chagrin (by the way, in Los Angeles, anyone with two legs and a pair of Air Max is an "athlete") predictions of the terroristic storm El NINO' promised to keep all at bay out of the thrashing angry open waters, off the flooded and avalanched coastal stretches of breathtaking infinite Highway 1, out of the sinuous bowels of the Santa Monica Mountains' single track. Reduced to pumping iron in the acrid arena we call a gym, and lounging around the fireplace darning those not-yet-ready-to-trash cycling socks, I relented to the omnipotent forces of Mother Nature. Full story:
http://www.xo-1.org
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GREAT NEW ARTWORK FOR DEATH VALLEY CUP, CORPScamp, AND MORE
We want to thank Bill Oetinger, a super cyclist and great guy who is also a superb graphic artist, for his efforts in creating new artwork for several of our events and programs. In the past year, Bill has created new logos for the following:
CORPScamp Death Valley
http://www.adventurecorps.com/corpscamp/index.html
DEATH VALLEY CUP
http://www.badwater.com/dvcup.html
BADWATER WORLD CUP
http://www.badwater.com/bad135/index.html
3-SPEED ADVENTURE SOCIETY
http://www.3sa.com
ROUGH RIDERS
http://www.xo-1.org
If you’d like to see more of Bill's work, or contact him for fulfillment of your artistic needs, click here:
http://www.adventurevelo.com/portfolio.html
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NEW 2008 ADVENTURECORPS GEAR
Check out our new Death Valley jersey, Rough Riders jersey, Furnace Creek 508 jersey, Furnace Creek 508 vest, and AdventureCORPS arm warmers here:
http://www.adventurecorps.com/store/2008/index.html
Order form:
http://www.adventurecorps.com/store/2008/2008GearForm.pdf
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AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT
Training for either Badwater Ultramarathon, Furnace Creek 508, or both requires the ability to make death-defying leaps of faith, to tiptoe through danger zones with the dexterity of a ballerina, and to demonstrate that you're, well, not like other people. Some people go to great lengths to prepare this type of samurai-like focus. Here's one of them, in a video diary entry:
http://www.brightcove.tv/title.jsp?title=1438490562
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Thanks for your support and participation, everyone! We look forward to seeing you out there soon!
Yours in sport,
Chris Kostman
Chief Adventure Officer and Race Director
Copyright 2008 AdventureCORPS, Inc. Copies of this Internet posting may be made and distributed in whole without further permission. Please forward to a friend by clicking the little envelope icon below.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
AdventureCORPS News, April 17, 2008
Greetings, fellow athlete-adventurers!
In this Issue:
• Quote for the Day
• Bär Shoes: NEW Badwater Sponsor
• Newsletter Archives on our Blog
• Death Valley is Photo of the Week
• Rough Riding in Moab and Canyonlands
• More Risks for National Parks
• Furnace Creek Field Filling Fast!
• Check out the new 2008 AdventureCORPS gear
• 508 Veterans, Order a 508 Jersey and Vest now
QUOTE FOR THE DAY
"If you think you're going nowhere and you stop, then you're not going nowhere anymore." - Harrison Ford
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BAER SHOES: NEW BADWATER ULTRAMARATHON SPONSOR
We are pleased to announce a new partnership with an extraordinary Germany shoe company, BAER Shoes. They have a proven track record at the Badwater Ultramarathon which will expand greatly this year. This year, ALL Badwater runners will receive a complimentary pair of the Baer HighPerformance 2.5 shoe! Please visit the BAER website.
Here is the official press release:
BAER HighPerformance 2.5 - "The Official Shoe of the Badwater Ultramarathon 2008 – The World´s Toughest Footrace!"
In 2003, BAER (high quality shoe manufacturer from Germany) was faced with a pretty big challenge in terms of material and functionality in the TransEurope footrace (3150 miles from Lisbon to Moscow). The know-how gained from this experience was channelled into a new generation of running shoes which was put to one of the hardest tests in the world in 2004: the Badwater Ultramarathon (135 miles non-stop through Death Valley in the hottest month of the year). Otherwise you will only find leading automobile manufacturers testing their new developments here under these conditions. BAER decided to test its new developments under precisely these conditions (50C air temperature, 80C ground temperature, 135 miles’ non-stop tarmac, two mountain ranges and a total of 13,000' of cumulative vertical ascent and 4,700' of cumulative descent).
It was striking that a large number of runners (all of them top international athletes who had been invited to run because of their excellent record in the past) suffered from injuries and pain, particularly in the toe area. This often led to a runner having to pull out of the race, or at least having to have breaks and change his/her shoes frequently.
BAER has continued to develop its running shoe concept over the years with the experience made in various extreme races (Achim Heukemes across Australia in record time, Dagmar Grossheim Decatriathlon World Champion) always being included in new developments. The latest stage in this development is the BAER HighPerformance 2.5 worn by both Achim Heukemes and Dagmar Grossheim at the Badwater Ultramarathon in summer 2007 where they finished as the first male and female German competitor, respectively. Neither of them evr had to change their shoes once and both came home without having suffered any problems with their toes or feet, a top performance not only by the runners, but also by the shoes!
Due to this unique test result, both in terms of the material and the functionality of the shoe, the Badwater Ultramarathon and BAER decided to embark on a partnership in 2008 to make this concept more accessible to a greater number of runners.
Contact for detailed information: Heike Steingaesser
Phone: +49 (0) 7142 - 95 66 14 Fax: +49 (0) 7142 - 95 66 33 E-Mail: heike.steingaesser "at" baer-schuhe.de
Postal address: BAER GmbH – Premium Comfort Footwear Pleidelsheimer Straße 15 74321 Bietigheim – Bissingen GERMANY
Please visit the Bär website: http://www.high-performance-running.com
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THIS NEWSLETTER NOW ON OUR ADVENTURECORPS BLOG
- YOU CAN SUBSCRIBE FOR THE BLOG EMAIL FEED, TOO
We are now archiving this email newsletter on the AdventureCORPS Blog (right here!). You can also subscribe to our blog feed here (see the top right corner of this page). Thus, to "double up" your likelihood of actually receiving the email newsletter, we suggest you register to receive the blog email feed. The blog, when it comes to you via the email feed, comes through more neatly, appearance-wise, includes some photos and such, and has more links to the blog archive. It's pretty neat.
Note, we have a second blog called "Rough Riders: Any Bike, Anywhere" which you may also enjoy and for which you can also subscribe to an email feed. The Rough Riders content is 90 to 100% different from the AdventureCORPS blog / email newsletter content, on average, by the way. Check it out, and sign up for that feed, at this link: http://www.xo-1.org
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DEATH VALLEY IS "PHOTO OF THE WEEK" AT ADVENTURE CYCLING
We are pleased to announce that a photo I took of two cyclists amidst a sea of flowers during the Spring 2005 Death Valley Century and Double Century has been chosen as the Photo of the Week by the Adventure Cycling Association. This is the same photo upon which our new Death Valley Cycling Jersey (available for pre-order now) is based. Here is the photo at the ACA website. And here is the jersey. And here is the order form. ______________________________
ROUGH RIDING IN MOAB AND CANYONLANDS NATIONAL PARK
In May, 2003 I joined an epic trip organized by Dan Dominy, the adventure video cameraman extraordinaire who shoots the Badwater Ultramarathon and Furnace Creek 508 every year. This trip was, and still is, easily one of the best and most memorable trips I've ever undertaken. It was visually breath-taking every single day. The cycling was fantastic. The hiking was peaceful and otherworldly. The campsites were spectacular. The natural curiousities were everywhere and innumerable. The pictographs were beyond words. I'd enjoy visiting this area every year. It would never get boring and there would always be new things to see and experience. Blog report. Full slideshow.
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PRIVATE LAND IN NATIONAL PARKS AT RISK FOR DEVELOPMENT
Excerpt from the article by Tami Abdollah, Los Angeles Times, April 9, 2008:
Millions of privately owned acres in National Park Service boundaries could be developed into luxury homes or commercial enterprises because the federal government has not allocated funds to buy out these lands, according to two reports issued this week.
About 4.3 million acres of privately owned land lie within the 391 National Park Service properties nationwide, according to a National Parks Conservation Assn. report released Tuesday.
Of these acres, 1.8 million are considered priorities to be acquired for recreation and habitat connectivity at a cost of $1.9 billion, according to the parks service.
The national parks were set up by Congress to acquire and protect lands within their boundaries for resources preservation and public use. But federal appropriations to the Land and Water Conservation Fund, the primary source of the National Park Service's acquisition money, has dropped by more than $100 million in the last nine years, according to the report.
As a result, in the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, the country's largest urban park and the most visited recreation area, about 1,300 acres of private land is developed each year, according to a second conservation association report. About 46% of the recreation area's roughly 153,000 acres are privately held. Some parcels are up for purchase, but the park has received no money in the last eight years from the Land and Water Conservation Fund.
"The federal government needs to provide basically an infusion of financial support to the park, and not just this park, but to all the parks and the park system," said Ron Sundergill, director of the association's Pacific regional office. "Clearly, the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area is hurting because it has not been getting the level of support that it needs."
The conservation association reports focused on the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area and on potentially developable private lands across the country that the park service would like to acquire.
In 2005, a couple from California purchased about 20 acres in the center of Zion National Park in Utah and, relying on a 40-year-old commercial use permit, developed a "mega-lodging and spiritual center," said Ron Tipton, senior vice president for programs for the conservation association. Full story.
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FURNACE CREEK 508 2008 APPLICATION AVAILABLE NOW
The 25th Anniversary FurNace Creek 508 will be held October 4-6, 2008. If you hope to compete in The 508 this year, PLEASE apply TODAY!
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NEW 2008 ADVENTURECORPS GEAR
We are very excited about the new 2008 gear we have designed and which will be produced by our new garment supplier, Hincapie Sports. All of the new AdventureCORPS gear may be ordered when registering for the Fall Death Valley Century and Double Century via Active.com on June 2, as well as when 508 applicants confirm their entry in the 2008 Furnace Creek 508 in early May. The new gear may also be ordered by anybody else with a mail-in order form. All orders must be received by June 2 to insure delivery in October. Check out our new Death Valley jersey, Rough Riders jersey, Furnace Creek 508 jersey, Furnace Creek 508 vest, and AdventureCORPS arm warmers here. Order form.
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508 VETERANS, ORDER YOUR JERSEY AND VEST NOW
If you are a veteran 508 Official Finisher from 1989 through 2007, you may order a 25th Anniversary Furnace Creek 508 jersey! (2008 Official Finishers will receive their free 2008 jersey at the finish line, so if you will be racing the 508 this year, do not order one!) Orders must be received by June 2 and jerseys will be delivered in October. If you have worn out your original 508 jersey, or just want a fresh new one to celebrate your previous Official Finish, and the 25th Anniversary of the race, this is your ONLY chance to get one. We don’t normally make the current jersey available to previous finishers, but we’re doing so this year in honor of the 25th anniversary of the race. Order one now! Click here .
Thanks for your support and participation, everyone! We look forward to seeing you out there soon!
Yours in sport,
Chris Kostman Chief Adventure Officer and Race Director
Copyright 2008 AdventureCORPS, Inc. Copies of this Internet posting may be made and distributed in whole without further permission. Please forward to a friend with the little envelope icon below.
Friday, April 11, 2008
AdventureCORPS News, April 8, 2008
Greetings, fellow athlete-adventurers!
In this Issue:
• Quote for the Day
• In Search of Epic
• Save our CA State Parks
• Badwater Bloggers
• Major Taylor Statue Dedication on May 21
• Furnace Creek 508 Application Available Now
• Check out the new 2008 AdventureCORPS gear
• 508 Veterans, Order a 508 Jersey and Vest now
QUOTE FOR THE DAY
"If you can't annoy somebody, there's little point in writing." - Kingsley Amis
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IN SEARCH OF EPIC
A Rough Rider is a cyclist in search of an epic experience.
"Epic" is defined as "heroic; majestic; impressively great" and "of unusually great size or extent."
What does it mean for a ride to be epic? Here are some thoughts on the subject:
First and foremost, an epic ride is one that is a memorable adventure, literally. It may result from one or more of the following factors:
Click here for the full story, on the www.xo-1.org blog.
CA STATE PARKS FACE DANGER OF BEING TERMINATED
Governor's budget proposal would close 48 of 278 parks, including scenic Topanga spot.
Excerpt from the article by Pete Thomas in the LA Times on April 4, 2008:
I'm not 10 minutes into an afternoon stroll through Topanga State Park when I spot two deer browsing in a meadow.
They turn my way and freeze for several seconds, as if to gauge the threat, then resume foraging as though I'm invisible.
Moments later, on a shaded portion of trail, a gray squirrel perched on a ledge chirps raucously and causes me to jump.
I've invaded its privacy. It lifts and shakes its bushy tail, like a fly-swatter, threatening to wallop me with it.
So I venture forth, into the sunlight, where I encounter a park resident smiling through her many freckles.
Lori Callahan, whose home borders the park and who considers it her backyard, explains that anyone who appreciates the park's green splendor is worth meeting.
"I encounter people from all over the world," she says. "Last week I met people from Australia, and the week before Austria. I've met people from France and, recently, New England."
I'm hesitant to spoil her mood, but ask anyway:
"So how do you feel about Arnold Schwarzenegger's proposal to close this great park, and 47 others?"
She pounces on the question as a cougar would a rabbit.
Full story:
http://www.latimes.com/news/custom/scimedemail/la-sp-outdoors4apr04,0,4709782.column
Want to help SAVE OUR STATE PARKS? Click here:
http://www.savestateparks.org/
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BADWATER BLOGGERS
Many of the entrants in the 2008 Badwater Ultramarathon have blogs or websites about their plans, training, thoughts, and more. Here are just a few of them:
Alene Nitzky:
http://alenegonebad.blogspot.com/
Jen Segger-Gigg:
http://challenge-by-choice.blogspot.com/
And here is Jen in the news:
http://www.piquenewsmagazine.com/pique/index.php?cat=C_Sport&content=sbajaadventurerace1514
Scott Weber:
http://www.coachweber.com/
Jamie Donaldson:
http://altitudeultrarunner.blogspot.com/
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CHAMPIONS TO DEDICATE MAJOR TAYLOR STATUEGreg LeMond, Edwin Moses will be featured speakers at May 21 unveiling
WORCESTER, Mass. -- Three-time Tour de France winner Greg LeMond and three-time Olympic medalist Edwin Moses will be featured speakers at the public unveiling of the Major Taylor memorial from noon to 1 p.m. on Wednesday, May 21, at the Worcester Public Library.
LeMond, who won a world championship in cycling 90 years after Major Taylor did, and Moses, who dominated the 400-meter hurdles in track and field for a decade, were each named "Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year" at the height of their athletic careers in the 1980s. The statue of the "Worcester Whirlwind" created by sculptor Antonio Tobias Mendez is Worcester's first monument to an African-American. The dedication ceremony will be followed by a reception with refreshments in the library's Banx Room.
Preceding the noontime ceremony, the Seven Hills Wheelmen and the Charles River Wheelmen's Wednesday Wheelers will lead a 30-mile bicycle ride starting and ending at the library.
At 7 p.m. at the library, the Clark University History Department and Higgins School of Humanities will present a panel discussion on "Race, Sports, and Major Taylor's Legacy." Boston Globe columnist Derrick Z. Jackson will be moderator for these scholars, historians and authors exploring diversity in sports and society, then and now.
For more information about the events of May 21, click here:
http://www.majortaylorassociation.org
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FURNACE CREEK 508 2008 APPLICATION AVAILABLE NOWThe 25th Anniversary FurNace Creek 508 will be held October 4-6, 2008. All the info about the application process is now on the website, including the actual application.
Although the application is a little more detailed, and we are using a selection process to determine the race field, this probably won't change things too much for most applicants. The vast majority of applicants will get in.
We are NOT requiring people to "qualify" to enter, nor do we want to turn away, or turn off, any legitimate, enthusiastic would-be 508 racers. If you hope to compete in The 508 this year, PLEASE apply!
http://www.the508.com/entry/index.html
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NEW 2008 ADVENTURECORPS GEAR
We are very excited about the new 2008 gear we've designed and which will be produced by our new garment supplier, Hincapie Sports. All of the new AdventureCORPS gear may be ordered when registering for the Fall Death Valley Century and Double Century via Active.com on June 2, as well as when 508 applicants confirm their entry in the 2008 Furnace Creek 508 in early May.
The new gear may also be ordered by anybody else with a mail-in order form. All orders must be received by June 2 to insure delivery in October.
Check out our new Death Valley jersey, Rough Riders jersey, Furnace Creek 508 jersey, Furnace Creek 508 vest, and AdventureCORPS arm warmers here:
http://www.adventurecorps.com/store/2008/index.html
Order form:
http://www.adventurecorps.com/store/2008/2008GearForm.pdf
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508 VETERANS, ORDER YOUR JERSEY AND VEST NOWIf you are a veteran 508 Official Finisher from 1989 through 2007, you may order a 25th Anniversary Furnace Creek 508 jersey! (2008 Official Finishers will receive their free 2008 jersey at the finish line, so if you will be racing the 508 this year, do not order one!) Orders must be received by June 2 and jerseys will be delivered in October. If you've worn out your original 508 jersey, or just want a fresh new one to celebrate your previous Official Finish, and the 25th Anniversary of the race, this is your ONLY chance to get one. We don't normally make the current jersey available to previous finishers, but we're doing so this year in honor of the 25th anniversary of the race. Order one now! Click here: http://www.adventurecorps.com/store/2008/2008GearForm.pdf
Thanks for your support and participation, everyone! We look forward to seeing you out there soon!
Yours in sport,
Chris Kostman
Chief Adventure Officer and Race Director
Copyright 2008 AdventureCORPS, Inc. Copies of this Internet posting may be made and distributed in whole without further permission. Please forward to a friend with the little envelope icon below!
AdventureCORPS News, April 3, 2008
Greetings, fellow athlete-adventurers!
In this Issue:
• Quote for the Day
• Get the new 2008 AdventureCORPS gear!
• Celebrating 25 years of The 508
• New Classic Bike Division at The 508
• Furnace Creek 508 Application Available Next Week
• Are you a Rough Rider?
• Forum kaput; use the new blog to find crew and uch
• A Badwater Poem
• New 24 Hour Relay Ultrarunning Race in Philly
• The Best Lights and Reflective Gear
QUOTE FOR THE DAY
"Progress is born of agitation. It is agitation or stagnation." - Eugene V. Debs
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GET THE NEW 2008 ADVENTURECORPS GEAR
We are very excited about the new 2008 gear we've designed and which will be produced by our new garment supplier, Hincapie Sports. All of the new AdventureCORPS gear may be ordered when registering for the Fall Death Valley Century and Double Century via Active.com on June 2, as well as when 508 applicants confirm their entry in the 2008 Furnace Creek 508 in early May. The gear may also be ordered by anybody else with an order form which is available on the website. All orders must be received by June 2 to insure delivery in October.
Check out, and order, our new Death Valley jersey, Rough Riders jersey, Furnace Creek 508 jersey, Furnace Creek 508 vest, and AdventureCORPS arm warmers here:
http://www.adventurecorps.com/store/2008/index.html
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25TH ANNIVERSARY FURNACE CREEK 508 PLANS
2008 marks the 25th anniversary of the event and we plan to do a lot to celebrate that, including:
- Having the race founder, John Marino, along with Michael Shermer, on hand.
- Having the original winners, Michael Secrest and Kitty Goursolle, on hand (maybe even competing if I can convince them to do so).
- Encourage former champions, from 1983 through 2007, to compete.
- Classic Rendezvous Division: See below.
- Publish a book about the history of the race instead of a Race Magazine.
- Scholarships for solo entrants 20 years old or younger: Riders 20 or younger will pay just $100 to enter, perhaps even receiving even more support if we can round up the sponsors.
- Extra special jersey, medal, and other commemoratives.
- More sponsors to support the race, the athletes, and the goodie bag (Do you own or work at a company which might benefit from involvement with The 508? Please get in touch!)
- Post-Race Event: We hope and plan to have a really nice event at the conclusion of the race on Monday morning which many, it not most, of the racers and crews will attend. If you have any ideas, or contacts in the 29 Palms area, let me know! More about The 508:
http://www.the508.com
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NEW 508 DIVISION FOR CLASSIC, or CLASSIC STYLE, BIKES!
New for 2008 and beyond, The 508 will feature the Classic Rendezvous Division. The requirements to enter this division - which will be a sub-category of ANY 508 division, whether solo, tandem, or 2x / 4x relay, will be to race on technology from 1983 or older. Specifically, this means:
- The frame and fork must be lugged steel (but built in ANY year, including brand new).
- No more than six cogs on the rear wheel.
- 32 or more spokes per wheel.
- Friction shifting on the down-tube (or bar-cons).
- Toe clips and straps.
Just to be clear, the frame and parts don't have to actually be 25 or more years old - just the technology has to be 1983 or older. Of course "style points" will be awarded to those whose entire bike, other than the obvious - tyres, cables, chain, brake pads, etc - are from 1983 or older!
This new division is supported and endorsed by Classic Rendezvous, a website and email group dedicated to celebrating classic bicycles and history. More info here:
http://www.classicrendezvous.com/
Photo above: 1983 FC508 (AKA John Marino Open) champions Michael Secrest and Kitty Goursolle.
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FURNACE CREEK 508 2008 ENTRY PLANS
The 25th Anniversary Furnace Creek 508 will be held the first weekend of October: October 4-6, 2008. All the info about how applications will be handled is now on the website.
Although the application is a little more detailed, and we are using a selection process to determine the race field, this probably won't change things too much for most applicants. In 2008 the vast majority of applicants will get in.
Unfortunately, in 2007 we also had about 30 soloists and a few teams withdraw from the field in the few weeks before the race. That was very disappointing and frustrating. ("Waiting lists" don't work for this race - anyone who got in via a waiting list wouldn't be able to get hotel rooms at the start or finish and probably wouldn't really be ready in terms of training or crew organization.)
We want people who get in the race to take it seriously and therefore train, prepare, and organize their crew with a high level of dedication. The bottom line is that we really want as many as 100 soloists and 40 teams, more or less, on the starting line of the race, but we also want that field to be comprised of people who are likely to safely and fairly finish the race.
We are NOT requiring people to "qualify" to enter, nor do we want to turn away, or turn off, any legitimate, enthusiastic would-be 508 racers. If you hope to compete in The 508 this year, PLEASE apply! Info here:
http://www.the508.com/entry/index.html
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ARE YOU A ROUGH RIDER?Are you a Rough Rider? If you ride your bike in search of an epic experience, no matter how you define "epic," then you are a Rough Rider! And certainly ever AdventureCORPS cycling event veteran is a Rough Rider by definition! The new Rough Riders blog is still a work in progress, but is starting to take shape. Be sure to let us know about your Rough Riding experiences and insights. And if you've got a blog about your own epic Rough Riding lifestyle, send us the link! More info:
http://www.xo-1.org/
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BULLETIN BOARD IS GONE: USE THE NEW BLOG INSTEAD
We apologize for the inconvenience, but the previous AdventureCORPS Forum / Bulletin Board is now history and has been replaced by a blog to serve the same purpose. (You're here on it now!) We apologize to those who had posts on the Forum - you will have to place your posts on the new blog instead.
If you would like to work on a support crew at Badwater or The 508, or are looking for teammates for a 508 relay team, please use our new blog and post your comments in the relevant section. In the near future we will add other comment categories to the blog, such as to find carpools or roommates for our events, to discuss training and equipment, and such. Here's the link:
http://adventurecorpsblog.blogspot.com/
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A BADWATER POEM
Courtesy of Bill Andrews, 56, of Reno, NV, a 2008 Badwater Ultramarathon entrant:
This Thing Called Badwater
As I look over yonder,
And, my mind starts to wander,
It's hard not to ponder,
This thing called Badwater.
The desert foreboder,
A fruitless endeavor?
My heart beats of thunder,
Will I cry for my mother?
This thing called Badwater,
Might just do me under,
But, may I always remember,
The breadth of its wonder.
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NEW 24 HOUR RUNNING RELAY IN PHILLY
Those of you who have been reading this newsletter for a while will remember "Back On My Feet," an organization which we featured here in the December 26, 2007 edition. BOMF will host The 20in24 Relay Challenge, Philadelphia's first 24-hour relay race and ultra marathon, on July 19-20, 2008. The event is created for teams of five of any gender, with up to one alternate. Based upon the team registration level, each team member will run a minimum distance of 1 to 5 loops, or 8.4 miles to 33.4 miles respectively. Check out the event here:
http://www.20in24.com
And here's that video link again to the TV story which brought Back On My Feet to our attention. It's a Must-See:
http://abcnews.go.com/WN/PersonOfWeek/Story?id=4003180&page=1
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THE BEST SAFETY LIGHTING, REFLECTIVE GEAR, AND I.D. FOR CYCLING AND RUNNINGThe Firefly Supernova by RoadID.com is the brightest, smallest and most durable safety light of its kind. You'll be amazed that a light this powerful fits in a package this small. Attach the lightweight Supernova to your seat pack or bicycle frame for cycling or your waistband, jacket, shirt collar or hat for running and you'll alert motorists of your presence up to a mile away! The intensity of this safety light will blow your mind. Click this link to learn more and place your order:
http://www.roadid.com/
Get some good identification while you're at it!
Yours in sport,
Chris Kostman
Chief Adventure Officer and Race Director
Copyright 2008 AdventureCORPS, Inc. Copies of this Internet posting may be made and distributed in whole without further permission. Please forward to a friend.
AdventureCORPS News, March 25, 2008
Greetings, fellow athlete-adventurers!
In this Issue:
• Quote for the Day
• Marvin "Tortoise" Fields, 1939-2008
• Furnace Creek 508 applications due in April
• Rough Riders Blog: Any Bike, Anywhere
• Death Valley Spring article by Jim Ott
• Mad City 100km
• And Now For Something Completely Different
QUOTE FOR THE DAY
"A vacation is what you take when you can no longer take what you've been taking." - Earl Wilson
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MARVIN FIELDS, 1939-2008
Marvin Fields, AKA "the Tortoise," a three-time Furnace Creek 508 entrant and long-time, ever-smiling fixture on the California long-distance cycling scene, passed away on March 15. Those of you who have read this newsletter for a while may remember when we featured Marvin and his email about his battle with colon cancer in this newsletter on January 24, 2007, which is quoted here:
"Chris, this is a quick note to let you know the Tortoise is still 'Out There.' Last year I had a conversation with the Grim Reaper during a surgery for colon cancer. I told him that I wasn't ready to go yet, but he laughed and said that everyone says that. Then I told him that I had to stick around to help my children find their way which wasn't true since they are both well on their own way. He just snorted. Then I said that I needed to see my grandchildren through college to which he yawned. So then I said that I hadn't finished the 508 yet. His eyes lit up. He knew all about the 508. He said he watched it each year from his home on Salsberry Pass. He went on to say that anyone who's crazy enough to try the 508 gets a temporary pass. The more times you try it, the longer the pass. The details of this conversation are rather fuzzy, but I'm sure I had it.
"So now I'm getting ready for the 508 again. It will take longer this time and will be a team effort. Right now I'm clawing my way up Newhall Pass, one intersection at a time. After I take my poison every two weeks, I have a bad week and a good week so I get to ride on my good week. After April I'll be cut loose to do whatever I can. I've decided I need to do one double this year and I've targeted the Fall Death Valley. Even though the route doesn't go over Salsberry Pass, I'll drive in that way just so I can flip off the Old Bastard as I go by."
See you on the road,
Marv "The Tortoise" Fields, January 2007
Here are some photos of Marvin at The 508:
http://www.the508.com/2005web/2005shows/show01/pages/DSC01950.html
and
http://www.the508.com/2005web/2005shows/show08/pages/DSC_0120.html
We extend our deepest sympathies and condolences to all of Marvin’s families and friends. We'll miss you, Marvin.
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FURNACE CREEK 508 SELECTION PROCESS BEGINS ON APRIL 1
This year we will go to more of a selection process, rather than just first come, first served, to select the field for the 2008 Furnace Creek 508. This is in response to the large demand to compete - we just can't accommodate everyone - and because we want those who are entered in the race to train and prepare properly. Bluntly stated, last year we had an unreasonable number of withdrawals in the month or two prior to the race, plus an unreasonably large DNF rate in the solo field. It's time for a change.
We plan to accept applications during April 1-15 only, and then announce the race field on May 1. The goal of this process is to select a race field which is likely to safely and fairly complete the race, while representing as many American states, foreign countries, and diverse backgrounds as possible. More info here:
http://www.the508.com/entry/index.html
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ROUGH RIDERS BLOG
Those of you who pay close attention to the links and logos on our website may have stumbled upon our relatively new blog dedicated to cycling the roads and paths less traveled. As it says on the blog:
Our slogan is "Any Bike, Anywhere" and we believe in riding any distance, in any conditions, over any terrain, at any time of day or night. That sounds really hard-core, perhaps, but mainly we enjoy getting "out there" by riding dirt roads, trails, and paths on our "road bikes" or any bike that would be commonly considered inadequate for the job. Our perspective is that "technique beats technology any time, anywhere." Rough Riding is not defined by the type of bicycle or type of riding surface. Rough Riding is a state of mind, a riding style with limitless freedom and an all-pervasive sense of adventure. Join us:
http://www.xo-1.org
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DEATH VALLEY: STILL A LONG WAY TO GO
By Jim Ott of Pleasanton, CA for the Tri-Valley Herald:
The last rays of sunlight illuminated a craggy mountain in Death Valley as I steadily pedaled my bicycle toward the finish of a long ride this past weekend. At that moment, I’d ridden 120 miles, with 30 more to go.
I did a quick mental calculation. If I could finish 150 miles, it would be the same as leaving Pleasanton and riding my bike over the Bay Bridge to San Francisco, then to Napa, on to Santa Rosa, and finally arriving in Ukiah.
I knew my wife Pam had probably finished her ride of 105 miles, along with our friend Jerry Pentin. And somewhere ahead of me three other friends - Bryan Gillette, Gary Boal, and Barry Schwartz - were attempting to ride a full 200 miles in a single day.
Back for our second year, we’d driven nine hours to Death Valley to participate with some 300 riders in a sport we enjoy, to test our endurance, to test our resolve, to enjoy the stunning beauty of Death Valley, and, for the six of us, to raise money for the “We the People” competition civics teams of Pleasanton's two comprehensive high schools, and Amador High's Mock Trial team.
Full story:
http://www.onlywordscansay.blogspot.com/
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HIT THE ROAD AT THE MAD CITY 100K IN MADISON, WI
Now in its second year, the Mad City 100K is a great opportunity to get in some good road training for the 2008 Badwater Ultramarathon! This award-winning event will host the USA Track and Field National Championship 100-Kilometer Road Race on April 12, 2008 in Madison, WI. The course consists of ten laps of Madison's most popular 10K race course, which takes runners along the shore of Lake Wingra, into the scenic Vilas neighborhood, and through the University of Wisconsin Arboretum. This event, brought to you by Kettle Moraine 100 race co-director Tim Yanacheck, will also feature a citizen 2-10 person relay. For more info:
http://www.madcity100k.com
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AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT
American ingenuity can be absolutely amazing sometimes. From Ben Franklin to Alexander Graham Bell to the Wright Brothers to the creators of the Apple, there is a long history of creating, reinventing, embellishing, and masterminding some amazing products in this country. Sometimes you just have to sit back in awe. And sometimes, well, you just have to wonder, why didn’t I think of that first???
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D99NHb6B03s
Yours in sport,
Chris Kostman
Chief Adventure Officer and Race Director
http://www.adventurecorps.com
http://www.the508.com
http://www.badwater.com
Copyright 2008 AdventureCORPS, Inc. Copies of this Internet posting may be made and distributed in whole without further permission. Please forward to a friend.
AdventureCORPS News, March 12, 2008
Greetings, fellow athlete-adventurers!
In this Issue:
• Quote for the Day
• Cyclists Killed in Bay Area
• RAAM Threatens Deaf-Mute Cycling Blogger with Lawsuit
• Get Well Soon, Mike Berry
• LA Area Cyclists: Take this Survey!
• Death Valley Lost and Found
• Thoughts on Weight Gain and Hyponatremia
• The Road to Badwater: David Goggins
• The Road to Badwater: Vito Bialla
QUOTE FOR THE DAY
"Almost always, the creative dedicated minority has made the world better." - Martin Luther King, Jr.
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MATT PETERSON, 1978-2008
Matt Peterson of San Francisco participated in the 2005 Death Valley Double Century. He and fellow cyclist Kristy Gough of the Roaring Mouse Cycles and Third Pillar Racing Team were both killed when a sheriff's deputy swerved his patrol car into them while cycling last weekend.
Here is a blog with information and comments:
http://rememberingmatt.blogspot.com/
Here is an article about the accident:
http://www.ktvu.com/news/15548177/detail.html
And another article:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/03/09/MN6QVH1LD.DTL
We extend our deepest sympathies and condolences to all of Matt and Kristy's families, friends, and teammates.
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THIS IS NOT A JOKE:
RAAM ORGANIZERS THREATEN DEAF-MUTE CYCLING BLOGGER WITH A LAWSUIT IN AN ATTEMPT TO SILENCE HER AND ALL THE UMCARAAM CRITICS
Mavis Irwin is a Furnace Creek 508 veteran, a 27-year-old, female graduate student, and a passionate cyclist and cycling advocate. Mavis can not speak, nor hear, but she has compiled a very thorough blog which documents the numerous and troubling questions and issues involving the purchase of the Race Across AMerica (RAAM) by the UMCA, the so-called governing body of the sport of ultracycling, as well as other related issues.
On February 23rd, she received a letter from RAAM's attorney, essentially telling her to take her entire blog off-line. This kind of threat is known as SLAPP suit. That was followed up with a nasty, threatening, and extremely condescending email from the RAAM CEO. We find these actions despicable and we wonder how the long the Board of Directors of the UMCA will allow this sport-destroying nonsense to continue. You can read the relevant, disgusting documents here:
http://ultracycling-us.blogspot.com/2007/11/raam-llc-threatening-to-sue-umca.html
Here is the SAVE THE UMCA blog's front page:
http://ultracycling-us.blogspot.com
Here is Mavis' time splits and bio page on The 508 website:
http://dbase.adventurecorps.com/individualTd.php?e=121
Here is Mavis and her support crew at the finish of the 2007 508:
http://www.the508.com/2007web/shows/show20/pages/DSC03089.html
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GET WELL SOON, MIKE BERRY
Mike Berry is a San Diego cyclist who was struck by an inattentive motorist on Friday. He suffered five broken ribs and a dislocated knee. Mike runs the San Diego Randonneurs, a cycling club which organizes brevets and other types of long distance rides and events throughout San Diego County. He's also a veteran of the Death Valley Century and was on the race staff at the 2007 Furnace Creek 508. He’s a heck of a good guy and, like me, spends far more time organizing cycling events and supporting riders than he does actually cycling. So it's a real shame that yet another inattentive motorist has knocked him off his bike, literally, for a few months. Here's the website for Mike’s club, which has the headline which describes Mike perfectly: "Dedicated to the Adventure and Camaraderie of Long Distance Cycling":
http://www.sandiegorandonneurs.com/
Here is Mike in better days:
http://www.adventurecorps.com/deathvalley/2006/2006dvfallshow2/pages/DSC00908.html
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BICYCLE MASTER PLAN SURVEY FOR LOS ANGELES
Public participation is essential to helping develop the best possible Bicycle Master Plan for the City of Los Angeles. Here are five easy ways that you can participate:
http://www.altaplanning.com/labikeplan/English/Public_Involvement.html
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THOUGHTS ON WEIGHT GAIN AND HYPONATREMIA IN ULTRAUNNING
Keeping your electolytes and fluids balanced is one of the trickiest and most important parts of ultra-running. Carey Smith has posted comments on her blog "Going the Distance!" by Dr. Lisa Bliss about the causes of weight gain, hyponatremia and how to keep your bodies in balance during ultramarathons. Lisa was the women's champion of the 2007 Badwater Ultramarathon and has also been the medical director for some of the world's toughest ultras.
http://carey-goingthedistance.blogspot.com/2008/03/weight-gain-and-hyponatremia-thoughts.html
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THE ROAD TO BADWATER: DAVID GOGGINS
A Navy SEAL shows you how he lost 100 pounds while maintaining his core strength for long-distance running
Excerpt from Strong to the Core: My Workout
By David Goggins, Best Life Magazine, March 2008
"I've been a Navy SEAL for seven years, and I was a fitness fanatic long before that, but the first time I heard about Badwater - a 135-mile footrace through the Mojave Desert in July, in 120-degree heat - I remember thinking, That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard of. Then, in 2005, several SEALs I knew died in Afghanistan, leaving their wives and children behind. I wanted to raise money so that their kids could someday attend college, and finding people to sponsor me to run Badwater popped into my head. The only problem was that I weighed 280 pounds from years of power lifting. I somehow managed to run 100 miles in a qualifying race the next week, but I gave myself stress fractures and shin splints, and I broke all the small bones in my feet. My legs and feet simply weren’t prepared to deal with that much pressure. If I was going to keep running, I needed to slim down."
Full story:
http://www.bestlifeonline.com/cms/publish/my-workout-works/Strong_to_the_Core.shtml
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THE ROAD TO BADWATER: VITO BIALLA
Click here to read about Vito Bialla of Tiburon, CA, the Badwater Ultramarathon veteran who will compete again this July in the world's toughest foot race:
http://www.marinij.com/sports/ci_8465884
Thanks for your support, everyone, and for taking the time to care and act upon about some or all of the issues and people brought up in this newsletter.
Yours in sport,
Chris Kostman
Chief Adventure Officer and Race Director
http://www.adventurecorps.com
http://www.the508.com
http://www.badwater.com
Copyright 2008 AdventureCORPS, Inc. Copies of this Internet posting may be made and distributed in whole without further permission. Please forward to a friend.
AdventureCORPS News, March 10, 2008
Greetings, fellow athlete-adventurers!
In this Issue:
• Quote for the Day
• Spring Death Valley Century and Double Century
• FREE Ron Jones High Performance Workshop in Bakersfield this Weekend!
• Child Safe and Eco Friendly Board Games
• Whither the pristine Oceans?
• This land is (y)our land?
• Badwater Advice Blog
• Marathon & Beyond: world's best running magazine
• The Road to Badwater: Todd Baum
QUOTE FOR THE DAY
"There is only one perfect road and that road is ahead of you, always ahead of you." - Sri Chinmoy
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SPRING DEATH VALLEY CENTUYRY AND DOUBLE CENTURY
We had a truly EPIC weekend in Mother Nature's Greatest Sports Arena with the second AdventureCORPS event of 2008, the Spring Death Valley Century and Double Century on March 1.
It was a very challenging day for all the riders: Temps were in the high 80s when there was no cloud cover, not to mention a memorable headwind, often in both directions, which really kicked up as the evening continued. The NPS Rangers made a point of letting us know that gusts of up to 60mph were anticipated that evening! The wind didn't get that fast, but it was a truly brutal push from Furnace Creek to Stovepipe Wells for those double riders who even attempted it. However, there was a 20-mile tailwind for those hardy AdventureCORPS riders who completed the double century!
140 riders completed the 105-mile century, 48 completed 150 miles, 54 completed the double century, 13 are currently unknown, and just 37 DNF'd.
It was an honor to have Hugh "Mad Dogg" Murphy on hand at the ride. Hugh founded this event in 1991 and created many other great endurance cycling events in California during his ten year career as a cycling event promoter.
Of important note also was the presence of Dr. Ben Jones, the Mayor of Badwater, a three-time Badwater Ultramarathon finisher, and a 2007 inductee of the Badwater Hall of Fame. Ben and Hugh were on hand to photograph the event and lend moral support to the riders.
Attesting to the wide-ranging popularity of this ride, we had riders aged 18 to 73 from Canada, United Kingdom, France, Germany, and no less than 23 American States: AR, AL, AZ, CA, CO, DC, FL, ID, IL, MD, MI, MO, NH, NM, NV, NY, OH, OR, TN, TX, UT, WA, and WI!
Certainly everybody had an adventure and it was a pleasure to spend a long day "out there" with you! Thanks for riding and thanks for supporting this event!
Click here for the full report, results, and links to slideshows and more:
http://www.adventurecorps.com/deathvalley/2008/2008springresults.html
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FREE RON JONES HIGH PERFORMANCE HEALTH AND FITNESS WORKSHOP IN BAKERSFIELD THIS WEEKEND
We'll be attending this workshop this weekend in Bakersfield and we strongly encourage you to do the same! Here's what is involved:
Education (90 minutes) Sport Psychology, Dynamic Warm-Up, Core Training, Weight Training & the secrets of "body weight," High Intensity Interval Training with special comments on Ron's "Crossroads" workout.
Hands-On Interactive (90 + minutes) Learn interactively how to safely perform: dynamic warm - ups, core training, and the Tabata Protocol intervals Ron adapted for body weight training.
And here's a quote from Ron about this excellent opportunity:
"My training system is based on human movement and performance psychology. Many of my adult clients have dramatically improved using this method. What I have done for Bakersfield College Football to help them achieve national status is very similar to what I do with adult clients except that collegiate athletes have an extra intensity. My workshop will pull out the stops as I give all my High-Performance secrets for athletes. This would be a great opportunity for your teen athletes at home and their coaches--parents are invited too along with anyone that wants to move well athletically. I had both young men and women in my final pilot last summer at Bakersfield College. The women did better than some of the guys, so this is definitely not just for football players!"
http://www.ronjones.org/Products/Workshops/2008.1(Bakersfield)-INFO.htm
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HER GAME RULES: CHILD SAFE AND ECO-FRIENDLY
Excerpt from the Los Angeles Times article by Victoria Kim, March 6, 2008
Finding words and counting numbers in Jill Gaynor's educational games are pretty simple tasks.
Producing the games is more complicated. Gaynor, a 37-year-old educator-turned-entrepreneur, demands that her board games for ages 4 and up be printed with soy ink, on recycled paper, laminated with phthalate-free material and finished with a nontoxic, water-based varnish.
"The same chemicals that are toxic for children are also harmful for the environment. And when harmful things are released into the environment that hurts children," says Gaynor.
Gaynor's fledgling business, Beyond Learning, makes eco-friendly games designed for young children to familiarize themselves with basic words and counting while moving game pieces across a colorfully illustrated board.
Producing the games in environmentally friendly ways, Gaynor said, makes them good not only for children's education, but for their health.
It's also been good for business. A series of recalls last year revealed that a number of popular toys contained lead and other toxic materials. Since then, the use of safe materials in toys for young children has been a prominent concern for parents.
Click here for the full story:
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-toymaker6mar06,0,972713.story
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NO PRISTINE OCEANS LEFT, NEW MAP SHOWS
Excerpt from the National Geographic News article by Mason Inman, February 14, 2008
No areas of the world's oceans remain completely untouched by humanity's influence, according to a new study.
Every area of the oceans is feeling the effects of fishing, pollution, or human-caused global warming, the study says, and some regions are being affected by all of these factors and more.
Full story: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/pf/76077234.html
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RECREATION FEES RISING IN WAKE OF FIRES' COSTS
Excerpt from the New York Times article By Jim Robbins, March 7, 2008
Reeling from the high cost of fighting wildfires, federal land agencies have been imposing new fees and increasing existing ones at recreation sites across the West in an effort to raise tens of millions of dollars.
Additionally, hundreds of marginally profitable campsites and other public facilities on federal lands have been closed, and thousands more like overlooks and picnic tables are being considered for removal.
"As fire costs increase, I've got less and less money for other programs," said Dave Bull, superintendent of the Bitterroot National Forest here in Hamilton. The charge for access to Lake Como, a popular boating destination in the national forest, will be increased this year, to $5 from $2.
Last year, the Forest Service collected $60 million in fees nationwide, nearly d