Water is the essential element for peak training, racing and performance. Ultimate Direction’s team of designers and athletes know this first hand. That’s why they craft the best hydration packs and handhelds to keep you on the move.
Chrissie Wellington won her first race of 2011 finishing Ironman South Africa in another world record time (and came 8th overall including the men)! Wearing her GREEPER laces she ran the marathon leg in 2:52:54, faster than any other athlete in the field.
When it comes to lactic acid, few activities compete with rowing. On March 30 in Vancouver, fuelled by ELOAD, a team of 8 broke the world indoor 100km rowing record as part of fundraising to offset the costs required to train for and compete at the 2012 Olympic Games in London.
The team clocked in at 4hrs 30mins 7.2 secs – that’s an average speed of over 22km/h
“We’ve never attempted a 100 km team row, so we’re not sure how bad it is going to feel,” Mike Lewis said before the race. “We imagine that it is going to be pretty easy at the beginning and incredibly tough through the middle to end.”
Before the race, Lewis said each person will sprint about 15 seconds and then take a two-minute break.
“There is lots of rest, but the kicker comes in when you’re four hours in and still doing sprints,” said Lewis. “We’re trying not to impact our normal training too much so we’ve only practiced a few times over much shorter distances, but so far it’s going well.”
The group of Canadian lightweight male rowers were attempting to break the old published record for a 100 km relay of 4:39:01.0, set in 2007 by a British crew, on a Concept 2 rowing machine.
“We took 14,044 strokes,” said Tim Myers of Penticton, B.C. “We are happy to have beaten the record by almost 10 minutes. Hopefully, nobody will break our new world record anytime soon because it will be a while before any of us want to attempt that again!”
Normally, Lewis and other Olympic-level rowers race at a distance of two kilometres, which he said takes about six minutes to row.
“We do the Olympic race without breaks though, so it’s a lot different than our world record attempt, which is going to take around four and half hours to complete,” Lewis said. “It is important to offset costs to help reduce our competitive disadvantage, as well as reduce our financial stress and the financial stress on the people that support us.”
“For example our coach would like us to do an altitude camp just before the World Championships this summer, and many of the top rowing nations do altitude training,” Lewis said. “But we’ve been told we do not have the money. If we raise enough maybe we can make that altitude camp happen. Amateur athletics is not lucrative and nor do we expect it to be. It would be nice to focus a little bit more on doing things that are good for our training and less on affordability, and we are hoping that the money raised will help us do that.
Qualifying for the Olympics at this year’s World Championship event in Bled, Slovenia, at the end of August, and Lewis said his team must finish in the Top 11 in the world to qualify.
“It was a great accomplishment for the team and our dedication to working together,” said Rares Crisan of Mississagua, Ont., a 2010 World bronze medalist in the lightweight men’s pair (his rowing partner was fellow participant Matt Jensen of Innerkip, ON). “There was a good crowd of supporters cheering us on (at the Bentall Centre Athletic Club in Vancouver), which really made the experience all the better.”
The rowers, including 2008 Olympic bronze medalist Lewis of Victoria, are all part of the National Team training centre. Also taking part was Morgan Jarvis of Winnipeg, McKall of Edmonton, John Sasi of North Delta, B.C., and Simon Gowdy of Westmount, Que. The lightweights organized the event to raise awareness of their journey to the World and Olympic podium and raise money.
Posted in Blog, ELOAD, Home
“Not getting dehydrated should be a primary goal of every participant. This article helps you understand how to better manage hydration. Have a hydration plan, don’t just plan to drink when you feel thirsty.” More →
Fueled by ELOAD and EMEND, Rachel is an accomplished endurance athlete with a reputation for tackling some of the toughest races on the circuit. She is well known throughout the Adventure Racing, Rogaining and Mountain Biking communities, and has recently joined the University of Queensland Cycling Club to gain her CA Road Racing license. She actively mentors local riders into the solo racing circuit and is sought out for advice on all aspects of racing. She also keeps a personal blog of race reports, which receives 100’s of visits a month and she contributes to the online communities of Mtbr, MTBDirt and Rotorburn.
What Rachel has to say about ELOAD:
“Like most athletes I had ‘the shelf’. You know, the one that is filled with expensive tubs of stuff that tasted terrible, made you sick at that race, gave you cramps at the other race. Then I happened upon an invite to a lecture by Dr. Doug Stoddard. I now no longer have ‘the shelf’. Doug has used the latest research to build drinks and gels that provide only what you can use during exercise and selected ingredients based specifically on their low irritation of the GI tract. That’s the science. And in my experience it works. 24 hour solo racing pushes you to the limit, and finding something I could tolerate for that time had been impossible. Eload works for me, I can drink the electrolyte and use the gels for 24 hours, it tastes good and I don’t bonk! It is the one thing I will not race without.”
While Rachel is currently focused on the 24 hour solo mountain biking calendar all the way through to international competition, she also competes within the local Adventure Racing scene. Over the last few years she’s competed in GeoQuest Full and Half, Teva Series, Hells Bells, Kathmandu Max Adventure races, and local Rogaining/MTBO like Upside Down, the Rogue, and the Pony Express.
Rachel achieved a podium result at the 2010 world solo champs, took medals with her team at the Tour de Timor and is currently ranked 12th in the world for 24 hour solo riding. She has also successfully completed XPD, the benchmark in expedition length AR racing. Long term, Rachel would like to Ride the Divide. Rachel currently rides for Koiled (www.koiled.com.au).
2011
* 2nd Solo LunarC 8hr
2010
* 2nd AG World 24 Solo Champs, 12th Overall
* 3rd Womens Team Tour de Timor
* 2nd Solo Woman Merida 24 hr
* 1st Solo Noosa 000 12 hr
* 1st Solo LunarC
2009
* 2nd AG World 24 Solo Champs, 12th Overall
* 3rd Solo Inferno 6hr
* 2nd Mixed Pairs Dusk 2 Dawn
* 2nd AG at BMC 100
* 1st Solo Merida 24 Hr
* 1st Solo Pitchblack 12 Hr
Fueled by ELOAD and EMEND, Rachel is an accomplished endurance athlete with a reputation for tackling some of the toughest races on the circuit. More →
