George Christison

All posts tagged George Christison

Nike 2nd at AR Worlds

Posted by sarianderson on November 15, 2009
Posted in: Race Coverage, Race Results, Race Updates. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment
ARWC 2009 Finish

Chris Forne at the finish of the 2009 Adventure Race World Championships

After a long tough race, Nike Beaver Creek finished in a very respectable second place at the 2009 Adventure Race World Championships.  I have not spoken to anyone from the team so haven’t gotten the story from the source, but it sounds like the final outcome had to do with some confusion on cutoffs.  The latest post on SleepMonsters has a quote from Chris stating that they thought they had to be through a bike leg by 2 o’clock when in reality they just had to start by then.  Due to this, they missed three checkpoints in the trekking leg causing them to no longer have the most received checkpoints.

This race had a difficult format to follow (and race and support) throughout and I’m unsure how I personally feel about optional checkpoints and sections.  From the results, it appears that some teams skipped entire sections of the race while still finishing ahead of other teams that completed all portions.  Maybe I just needed to be there to understand better, but this doesn’t seem right especially for a world championships.

No matter what happened, the new world champions, Helly Hansen Prunesco of England, raced extremely well and strong to win in such a strong field.  Helly Hansen Prunesco received the most checkpoints and came on very strong towards the end proving they have what it takes.  Congrats to HHP!  Lundhags Adventure, Orion Health (last year’s world champs) and Navigator RaidLight rounded out the podium.

Congrats to Mike Kloser, Monique Merrill, Chris Forne and George Christison and everyone that competed in the race as it sounded grueling.  As much as I enjoy being the Monday morning quarterback, I miss being out there to experience it myself.

Nike-Beaver Creek Finishes in Second

Posted by sarianderson on September 23, 2009
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It appears that Nike-Beaver Creek finished strong on the last day of racing to move into second place behind WinterXtrem5.com of France.  Unfortunately Mike Kloser still seemed to be battling with stomach issues as well as Richard Ussher of Toread Adventure Sport.  Despite the ailing racers, both teams finished strong and were able to finish the race thanks to help from their teammates.  Check out the race report on Sleepmonsters for more of the story.

Congratulations to Mike, Gretchen, Jay and George!  Way to stay strong and pull through!

Team Nike-Beaver Creek Racing Strong in China

Posted by sarianderson on September 23, 2009
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2009day2en001I haven’t decided if I’m bummed not be racing in China right now for the Wulong Mountain Quest.  It is a super fast stage race with great competition and amazing scenery but the illness I picked up there last year has lingered with me for almost a full year.  Due to me being sick and not performing very well last year, we finished pretty poorly which makes the return trip a bit more expensive.  Nike-Beaver Creek had an awesome race last year even after Dan Weiland severly sprained his ankle in the prologue and finished in third place.  My teammate Mike Kloser returned with Nike-Beaver Creek this year racing alongside Gretchen Reeves, Jay Henry and George Christison of New Zealand.  After the sprint prologue and two days of racing, the leaders jersey has changed every day which can only mean that the competition is fierce.  Team names have changed from other races but most of the racers are the same including Salomon Crested Butte, Richard and Elina Ussher, Myriam Guillot, Jacky Boisset, Ian Edmond, Marcel Hagner and many more.

From a quick note from Mike Kloser it sounds like the prologue was ridiculously fast just like last year and Day 1 involved lots of muddy mountain biking causing mechanical issues for many of the teams.  Nike-Beaver Creek had a good day despite Mike feeling ill and only one flat on the bike to finish the day in the leaders jersey.  Day 2 proved a little more difficult for the team with a mechanical setting them back from the beginning and Mike continuing to be sick.  It sounds like he cannot keep any food down but is at least able to stay hydrated.  Thankfully it sounds like he has recovered very well from a big crash earlier this summer and that the rest of the team is feeling well and racing strong as usual.  That is one of the great things about adventure racing – everyone goes through bad spots and the rest of the team is there to help that person out and get them through it.  And since I know how strong Mike is, I’m sure he’s not slowing the team down one bit.

With the time change to China, the racers should be back up at the hotel and resting for Day 3.  I hope Mike does not have what I had last year as I can’t imagine racing again while feeling like that.  Hopefully after some rest and hydration, Nike-Beaver Creek will be able to have a great day again tomorrow and move back into the lead.  Visit the Wulong Mountain Quest site for more reports and overall standings.