Jay Henry

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Nike-Beaver Creek Finishes in Second

Posted by sarianderson on September 23, 2009
Posted in: Race Coverage, Race Results. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

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
Posted in: Race Coverage, Race Results. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

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.

State Champions Jersey and Marathon Run

Posted by sarianderson on August 10, 2009
Posted in: Race Coverage, Training. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment
Ian leading up the first climb.

Ian leading up the first climb.

We had a weekend of racing and training.  In the typical Anderson style, we packed as many miles and fun in as possible.  Ian was able to race in the Mountain States Cup at Snowmass on Saturday.  Having not raced much this season, Ian had to race in Cat 2 since he did not have a US Cycling license.  I had lots of confidence that Ian could win his age group as he has been very strong this year.

As I predicted, Ian won his category and received a Colorado State Champions jersey but the big news of the day was Lance Armstrong.  Lance has been in town often this summer training for both the Tour de France and the Leadville 100.  This was one last hard effort before racing Leadville next weekend.

Juniper and I had fun snapping photos of Lance while passing 3rd place finisher Len Zanni Honey Stinger gels in his attempt to close the gap.  Although Len didn’t catch Jay Henry (2nd) or Lance, he had an amazing race and represented the valley very well.

Len Zani leading Lance Armstrong & Jay Henry up the first climb.

Len Zani leading Lance Armstrong & Jay Henry up the first climb.

The crowd surrounding Lance was impressive and it was amazing to watch the people follow and hound him.  Ian was lucky enough to warm up with him for a few minutes so we moved on so I could get out on the trail.  I ran the Golden Leaf half-marathon course along the Government Trail for some great training for the TransRockies.

Jay Henry, Lance Armstrong & Len Zanni

Jay Henry, Lance Armstrong & Len Zanni

This morning I ran a great 25 or 26 mile loop out of Carbondale below Mt. Sopris.  It was surprisingly quiet and peaceful for the first half as most people must have been still relaxing.  Ian and Juniper met me towards the end of the run with some fresh water.  Very sweet of them!  Not sure if all the miles I’ve put in have worked or if I just had a good day, but I finished a lot faster than I thought I would in 3 hour 15 minutes.

I have a few more days to put in some big miles and then it’s already time to taper.  I hope I have a few days in the TransRockies where I feel as good as I did today.

Elk Mountain Grand Traverse

Posted by sarianderson on March 30, 2009
Posted in: Race Coverage, Race Results. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . 2 Comments

Mike and Jay did it again!  In some very gnarly conditions, Mike Kloser and Jay Henry pulled off another victory at the 12th Annual Elk Mountain Grand Traverse.  This was a record fifth win for Kloser and the second victory in as many years for Henry.

Although the area had received a bunch of new snow all week, the snowpack stayed stable enough for the racers to make the complete trip from Crested Butte to Aspen.  Despite the weather appearing perfect at our house, the conditions out on the course were apparently less than ideal.  Kloser reported that it was frigid cold with near whiteout conditions causing the teams out front to break trail and route find the entire race.

The nasty weather also caused many teams to make the tough decision of whether to continue and freeze or turn around to keep all fingers and toes intact.  Every year the Grand Traverse throws everything its got at the racers whether it is knee deep creek crossings, hypothermia, frostbite, or high winds.  This year was no different.

My teammate from last year, Billy Mattison, raced with retired adventure racer and all around tough guy, Andre Boesel.  Arriving in Aspen with a time of 10hrs 28min 30sec, Billy and Andre place second in the 46+ division.  Nice job you guys!  Arriving not too far behind Billy and Andre was my rival and buddy, Brian Edmiston.  Brian and his teammate Mark have raced together at least three or 4 years and have decided this was their last despite having finished every time.

The tough conditions unfortunately turned many teams around and prevented others from making it to the finish line.  Two of Ian’s co-workers raced in their first EMGT this year and didn’t finish quite where they had hoped to.  JLD (sometimes known as John DiCuollo) and Steve Lavelle trained hard every weekend and most days during the week only to get turned back to Crested Butte to prevent frostbite and hypothermia.  Jessica Smith and Ashley Carruth made it all the way to the Friends Hut completely dehydrated due to frozen water.  Jess had to make one of the hardest decisions she has made in long time and opt for a snowmobile ride out for the last seven miles.  Ashley was able to complete the course as an unranked racer and meet her teammate in Aspen.

The Elk Mountain Grand Traverse is an amazing race and one of the most difficult races I have ever participated in.  Mike and Jay make it look easy but the rest of us know how much suffering is really involved.  Congrats to everyone that even attempted this race – you should all be very proud.

Check out the results here.

More friends that raced:

Ethan Passant & Travis Scheefer – 2nd Place

Bryan Wickenhauser & Eric Sullivan – 4th Place

Dave Wiens & Jason Stubbe – 5th Place

Jon Brown & Brian Smith – 7th Place

Max Taam & Mark Falender – 9th Place

Brad LaRochelle & Teague Holmes – 10th Place

Elliott Larson & Brian Johnson – 11th Place

CONGRATS EVERYONE!

Abu Dhabi Do!

Posted by supportcrew on December 9, 2008
Posted in: Race Updates. Tagged: , , , , . 1 Comment
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2007 Abu Dhabi Adventure Challenge

Sari and her NIKE teammates Mike Kloser, Micheal Tobin and Chris Forne are en route to the United Arab Emirates for the Abu Dhabi Adventure Challenge. Actually, since Abu Dhabi is 12 hours ahead of our time, they’re probably already there as I write this.

While Sari is gone, I’ve called in my own support crew (my Mom) to help me with Juniper for the next ten days. I’m going to blog as often as I can with race updates, when I can find them.blank

No official word yet whether they'll be a camel stage again this year.

No official word yet whether they'll be a camel stage again this year.

Here are race basics:

  • 6-day stage race starting on Friday, Dec 12
  • 37 teams competing, representing 21 different countries
  • $250K total prize purse, $40k for first place

The race breaks out in the following days:

  1. multi-sport prologue through the streets of Abu Dhabi city (run, mtn bike and kayak)
  2. 52km of mtn biking on Sir Bani Yas Island, the ‘Arabian Ark’
  3. 33km of sea kayaking ending in a desert island bivoac
  4. 82km of sea kayaking
  5. 107km of desert orienteering (with possible camel trekking)
  6. 12km of mtn biking, 19 km of ropes and mountaineering, 27km bike/run sprint to the finish line

Team NIKE will be up against the best teams in the world at this race including:

  • Team Desert Islands – Sari’s former Kiwi teammate Richard Ussher and his wife Elina have teamed up with our friend and local pro mtn biker, Jay Henry and a renowned Kiwi paddler, Jarad Kohlar. Richard and Elina’s team won this race last year.
  • Team SOLE – our good friends Paul Romero and Karen Lundgren from Big Bear, Calif (whose 12-yr old son Jordan has already climbed 5 of the 7 summits) along with our Gunnison buddy Eric ‘Sully’ Sullivan
  • OrionHealth.com – just won the Adventure Racing World Championships in Brazil
  • Wilsa Helly Hansen – placed third last year

I’ll start the race updates on Thursday – stay tuned and post a comment with any questions.

Cheers,

Ian