MBlog

100 Miles of Fun!

One of the funnest things about my job is getting spoon fed some of the coolest activities.  Being a runner I'm always interested in the events in which others partake . . . events that would never register on my radar out of fear or time constraints or laziness. 

Starting at 5:00 AM on 23 June 2007, hundreds of runners set out on one of the oldest and most challenging ultra marathons, the Western States 100.  One of our courageous members graciously said "sure, go ahead and do an MBlog post using my activity!"  Squirrel traversed the 100 mile endurance test in 26:34:33.  Check out the remote trail, and Squirrel's activity, below:

There are about 365 days until the 2008 event . . . start your training!

kk

IMAX Crew Tracks Mount Everest

Every year, we have the pleasure of meeting inspiring adventures at the Outdoor Retailer Show. In 2005 we met backcountry ski pioneer Andrew Mclean (a.k.a. Paw Prince), who uses a GPSMAP 60CSx to track his winter ski pursuits and a Geko 301 for his unicycling rides challenges. This past year, we met Michael Brown, a pioneer of adventure filmmaking. His company, Serac Adventure Films, has been awarded with over thirty international film festival and industry awards, including three national Emmys from five nominations.

Michael approached us with an interesting project, he wanted to track an upcoming Mount Everest Expedition. As a filmmaker, Michael’s objective isn’t the summit, he’s been there bagged that, for him it’s about capturing the experience. Beyond just film, he wanted to capture every step with the latest technology.

The project reunited the original “Everest” stars Jamling Norgay and Araceli Segarra, in the “Return to Everest 3D.” That’s right, an IMAX film in 3D. It’s set to premier in March 2009.

In every IMAX film I’ve ever seen, they always labor over the size and weight of IMAX cameras, much less 3D IMAX. So, Michael wanted the smallest, lightest Garmin device. The Forerunner 305 was the obvious choice, but what about battery life? Fortunately, Michael has friends in the right places, like Stuart Cody's Automated Media Systems. After some fancy work under the hood, Michael’s Forerunner was official pimped and ready for Everest.

Here's a look at Michael's four-day journey up Mount Everest. As the man behind the lens, Micheal's route takes some interesting turns. Who else would go up, down, and back-up again on an Everest summit day. All 34 plus hours in the "Death Zone" (above 26,000) while maintaining an average heart rate of 53%. Clearly, he's climbed a few mountains. Check out Michael's MotionBased Digest to see Mount Kenya and Kilimanjaro.

Everest Day 1 Everest Day 2 Everest Day 3 Everest Day 4 (summit day)

Summit Day Elevation

Tim Don at Hy-Vee

After securing his fourth Triathlon National Championship of Great Britain, Tim Don is coming State side for the ITU Hy-Vee World Cup Triathlon.  The Olympic distance course (1.5k swim, 40k bike, 10k run) sets stage in Des Moines, Iowa this Sunday.  For those of you not familiar with the area, it’s pronounced Dee Moyn and the heat-index gets as cranky as the locals if you pronounce it wrong.  The average race day high is only 82 degrees Fahrenheit, but combine that with the 95% humidity and the heat-index hits the red zone.

With a purse of $700,000 at stake, The Don is focused on the podium.  So much so that he’s been simulating race conditions training indoors in a hot and humid environment.  Good for training, not so good for his MotionBased Digest or his mental health.  The Don looks forward to returning to outdoor training after Hy-Vee.

Check back next week to see his results and race on MotionBased.

Giro d'Iltalia 2007 Finishes with a Little More Success for Petacchi

Eventhough the 2007 Giro d'Italia ended on June 3rd, this final report has to be made.  On the final day of the Giro, Team-Milram speedster Alessandro Petacchi added yet another Stage Win.  Stage 21 was his easiest, as the final Stage of any tour is generally a celebration.  We were again treated to the course by Petacchi himself, as the activity uploaded to MotionBased was the one HE ROAD!  At the end of this Giro, Petacchi came out with 5 STAGE WINS!

Congratulations on a fantastic Giro, Team-Milram!