Recent Athlete Domination

inov-8 Crossfit athlete Zack Height comes up big at the OC Throwdown presented by Life AsRX. Height finished in 8th place in the Men's Elite category behind some Gamers including Gabe Subry. In WoD 5 Zack took first which helped his overall ranking. Between the two days, Height battled through a total of 7 WoDs. Way to stay tough and kick some a$$.

In Houston, Peter Maksimow jumped in the Aramco Houston Half Marathon after spending some long days on his feet working the Running USA Conference and helping with the Olympic Marathon Trials.  Maksimow ran a pretty quick time of 1:09:49 (especially because of the circumstances) and finished in 15th place.  Nice work Peter!

Pro inov-8 athlete, Amber Moran, had an amazing performance at the Hot Chocolate 10k in Asheville, NC. Amber took first place in 37:19 and also set a new course record. Moran stated "it just felt nice to get the cobwebs off." I'm excited to see what she does when the gears are fully oiled.  Expect to see some big things from Amber in 2012.

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Team inov-8 2012: Joe Gray

1) Primary sport (s):

Mountain, Road, Trail, Track

2) Team member since:

2008

3) City/state of residence:

Newcastle, WA

4) Occupation:

Athlete

5) Goals for 2012:

Achieve more than I did in 2011

6) Notable achievements/memories/PR’s in your sport:

USA Mountain Runner of the Year 3 years consecutively 2008-2010

3-Time NACAC Mountain Running Champion

First African American to win the USA National Mountain Running Championships

7) Favorite inov-8 gear:

Road X-255 and Mistlite Shell 210

8) List one thing others may not know about you:

I write poetry/rap

9) Favorite energy drink/food:

Garden of Life Raw Protein. Risotto ai Quattro formaggi or Diavola Pizza

10) Your favorite race/event and why?

Bloomsday 12k. It is one of the few races that have an atmosphere reminiscent of a festival.

11) Advice to other athletes:

Live, aspire, accomplish

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Team inov-8 2012: Amber Moran

1) Primary sport (s): Mountain, Trail & Road Running

2)  Team member since: 2009

3) City/state of residence: Asheville, NC

4) Occupation: School Health Nurse

5) Goals for 2011: Make the USA Mountain Running Team, Place in Top 20 at Worlds, Place in Top 3 in USATF National Trail 10k Championship, Stay Healthy & Injury-free &  Continue to enjoy the Blessings & Beauty of Running.

6) Notable achievements/memories/PR’s in your sport:Placing 3^rd at the 2011 NACAC Mountain Running Championship in Mexico, Finishing 5^th in the 2011 USA Team Selection race at Cranmore with the last 2 slots for Team USA divided by 1 second.

PRs: mile- 4:44, 5k- 17:00, 4 mile- 21:46, 10k- 34:46 & Half Marathon:1:17:23

7) Favorite inov-8 gear: Xtalon-190, Roclite 268

8) List one thing others may not know about you: I love to sing & have been known to sing as part of a pre-race warm-up

9) Favorite energy drink/food:  Peanutbutter, Banana & Nutella on Toast along with a cup of fresh ground coffee.

10) Your favorite race/event and why? I love trying new races & trail events, especially those with single track trails. It is nice to have adventure & variety.

11) Advice to other athletes: Run because you love it! You can be competitive but never forget or lose the true joy of being able to run. Stay positive & count your blessings…good things will come.

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Team inov-8 2012: Michele Hartwig

1) Primary sport (s):Ultra running

2)  Team member since: 2010

3) City/state of residence: Lakewood, IL

4) Occupation: Accounts Payable Manager for Trucking company

5) Goals for 2012:

Work on my nutrition at the 100 mile distance. This is my achilles heal at the moment. I think I can drop my times once I get this figured out. My goal, train hard, train smart and PR every race.

Iron Horse 100, Florida 2012-  Set a new 100 mile PR

Pony Express 100, Utah 2012- PR again

6) Notable achievements/memories/PR’s in your sport:

Winona Lake 50 miler-1^st overall Female (and a trail 50 mile PR)

Kettle 100k-1^st Master Female

North Country 50 miler- 1^st age group-(another trail PR)

Pumpkin Holler 100- 4^th overall female-3 hour PR at the 100 mile distance

This was my most rewarding race. I cruised through most of the day feeling like nothing could stop me. Hit a really bad low around mile 75, stopped for an hour. After dreams of a big PR- I thought my new goal was just to finish. With help from volunteers and crew I was able to get some food down, pull myself together and get myself to the finish line with a huge PR!

7) Favorite inov-8 gear:

Roclite 268 is my favorite trail racer/trainer. I love cruising through single track in these light shoes! I wear them on technical trail or rocky roads. They hold my feet in place and give me plenty of underfoot protection. I call them my long distance racing flats. The Roclite 268’s were my 2011 lucky shoes-I PR’d three times last year in them!

Roclite 275 Gore-Tex- My favorite winter shoe. My feet used to freeze in the winter. I thought that was just winter running. Then I tried the Roclite 275’s, now feet are always dry and warm. This has made my winter training much more enjoyable. I run a ton of miles. I’ve worn the same pair for two winters and they are still in great shape. I wear them on roads or trails.

Road-X 238 is my favorite road shoe- I have always been most comfortable in my trail shoes. Thank goodness Inov-8 came out with these. Finally I have a road shoe I like. They fit and work like my Inov-8 trail shoes but are made for roads.  I PR’d 2 half marathons in 2011 wearing the Road-X 238’s.

8) List one thing others may not know about you:

I once told a friend, “I am not a runner, never will be, there is NO WAY I would ever want to run a  marathon!” I remember saying this with conviction, completely sure that I meant it…then I turned 40…. and decided to do one crazy thing... Finish Chicago Marathon. I was hooked and I haven’t stopped challenging myself since. It’s the best thing I ever did for myself.

9) Favorite energy drink/food:

Honey Stinger chews- Cherry blossom flavor

Hammer Perpetuem-café latte flavor

10) Your favorite race/event and why?

I love 100 mile races! I can say this now with absolute certainty because I’m NOT on mile 70 of a race. Crossing the finish line at a 100 mile race makes me feel good about everything that went into getting there. I immediately forget what was tough about it and smile at my accomplishment.

11) Advice to other athletes:

2011 was a big PR year for me because I had a solid training plan. A smart training plan will get you your personal best results. I think the thing that helped me the most in 2011 was running my easy runs truly easy. This helped keep me injury free so I was able to get my mileage consistent and high. As the year went on, and my mileage went up, my easy pace got faster and faster. This is very important when you race long distance.

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Team inov-8 2012: Jim Johnson

1) Primary sport (s):

Snowshoe, Mountain, Trail, Road, Ultra, Cross Country, Track (I don’t discriminate)

2)  Team member since:

2010

3) City/state of residence:

East Wakefield, Live Free or Die, NH

4) Occupation:

Technical Account Manager

5) Goals for 2011:

PR at Mount Washington (sub 1:07)

PR in the Marathon (sub 2:27)

USATF-New England Mountain Series

USATF-New England Road Grand Prix

A couple of trail ultras

Continued domination of the New England road racing circuit.

6) Notable achievements/memories/PR’s in your sport:

3^rd place finish at the US 50K Championships in 2011

3 x Granite State Snowshoe Series Champion

10^th at the 2011 US Mountain Running Championship

Team Gold at the 2009, 2010, 2011 US National Mountain Running Championships

Winning the USATF-NE Mountain Series in 2011

7^th at New England Championship Marathon in 2010 – 2:27:33

7) Favorite inov-8 gear: 
F-Lite 230s, X-Talon 212, Road X-Lite 155, Oroc 340

8) List one thing others may not know about you:

Kevin Tilton is my biggest fan.

9) Favorite energy drink/food:

Chocolate GU / NUUN tablets / Northern NH well water.

10) Your favorite race/event and why?

Mount Washington Road Race because of course there is only one hill…

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Team inov-8 2012: Amy Lane

1) Primary sport(s): Ultrarunning, trail running, snowshoe running

2)  Team member since: 2010

3) City/state of residence: S. Deerfield, MA

4) Occupation: Engineer (and part-time running coach)

5) Goals for 2012:  To continue to push myself and find new challenges.  Of course, a few PRs along the way would also be nice! 

6) Notable achievements/memories/PR’s in your sport: I have so many achievements to be proud of – including winning everything from road 5k races to 50 mile trail races over the past several years…and am excited to have collected 6 more course records this past year.  However, my most notable memories in running have been the miles shared with friends, during races and in training.  They make the long runs shorter, the cold days more bearable…and push me to have a passion for running.

7) Favorite inov-8 gear:  Currently it’s a tie between the Roclite 268s, which are versatile and light yet have super grippy soles great for New England running, and the Terrafly 287s, which are perfect for the slightly less technical trails especially in the wet seasons.

8) List one thing others may not know about you:  I’m currently engaged to fellow trail and ultra runner Brian Rusiecki – we’ll be getting married this summer.  (Ok, some folks know this already, but I’m pretty excited.)

9) Favorite energy drink/food: It is constantly changing…except that I do always find a way to have a sip of beer during an ultra – it gives me strength!  J  I do enjoy the Honey Stingers (chews and gels), CarboPro, HEED, and GuBrew.  But, watermelon during a hot summer ultra is also amazing!

10) Your favorite race/event and why?  After this summer, I think competing in the TransRockies Run is likely topping the list.  It was an incredible event, the course put us through amazingly beautiful trails, and the comradare experienced throughout the event was awesome.  I got to put my complete trust in a stranger-turned-great friend, and the two of us learned a lot together.  But, I also love challenges such as that, where there is so much room for improvement as things are figured out.

11) Advice to other athletes:  Always respect the volunteers at races, and help out when you can!  It takes an incredible amount of time and effort to put on a race – whether a small 3 mile snowshoe race or large ultra race.  Make it a habit to thank the volunteers at the aid stations and along the course, volunteer to help out at a local race that you aren’t running at, or get involved in a race committee.  Without selfless volunteers, our trail running community would not be what it is now.  J  Thank you to all of you who work hard and volunteer, which allows me the opportunity to enjoy the races I love!

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Team inov-8 2012: Sabrina Moran

1) Primary sport(s): Ultramarathons, trail racing.

2)  Team member since: 2011.

3) City/state of residence: New Haven, Connecticut.

4) Occupation: Graduate student of Philosophical Theology/Philosophy of Religion at Yale University.

5) Goals for 2011: Set new Personal Records in the 100-mile and the 24-hour events. Laugh a lot. Make new friends. Race more boldly. Take [calculated] pacing risks to stetch myself as an athlete.

6) Notable achievements/memories/PR’s in your sport: 137.82 miles in the 24-hour. 15 hours, 30 minutes for 100-mile split. 4 hours, 8 minutes mountain 50K.

Memory: I used to run home from school a lot in high school, and my principal would always pretend he was going to strike me with his car. That’s pretty nostalgic.

7) Favorite inov-8 gear: F-Lite 311s, Road X-233s.

8) List one thing others may not know about you: I race people to class a lot and win because they don’t know we’re racing . . .

9) Favorite energy drink/food:

Hands down, my least favorite aspect of ultramarathoning is the eating part because you lose the propriety of it all. No silverwear or such things. Nobody says grace. I enjoy dried fruit and wheat-free fig newtons while I’m racing.

10) Your favorite race/event and why? Grindstone 100. It is very difficult.

11) Advice to other athletes: There is no dignity in running through an injury. It’s okay to back off and to set aside rest days.

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