ElliptiGO Project Athletes Deliver a Victory and Two Top-Five Finishes at USA Half Marathon Championships
Houston, TX (PRWEB) January 23, 2014 -- The ElliptiGO Project, a group of elite athletes focused on using innovative training tools and techniques to improve performance, today announced that ElliptiGO Project member, Meb Keflezighi, won the USA Half Marathon Championships in Houston on January 19th in a time of 1:01:23. Keflezighi’s victory was complemented by strong performances from the seven other Project members racing in Houston, including a fourth-place finish by Wendy Thomas and a fifth-place finish by Matt Llano.
Finishing just 23 seconds off his half-marathon PR, the 38-year old was elated to claim his 22nd national championship with such a strong performance. The next stop for the Olympic Silver Medalist and 2009 New York City Marathon champion is the Boston Marathon in April. “I’m very happy to be healthy again and racing against such a strong field of competitors,” stated Keflezighi. “I had considered retiring at the end of last year, so to come back and win another championship really confirms that I can continue to achieve my remaining goals within the sport of running. I’m going to work hard at staying fit and healthy so I can line up at Boston with an opportunity to go for the win.”
Keflezighi started training on the ElliptiGO after relying on cross-training as part of his formula in winning the 2012 U.S. Olympic Marathon Team Trials and finishing 4th at the 2012 Olympic Games. “My experience in Houston in 2012 really solidified my belief in the power and necessity of cross-training for runners,” recalls Keflezighi. “Once I tried the ElliptiGO, the advantages became obvious. Most significant for me is that it’s very similar to running, so I can really get my heart rate up during training.”
Thomas and Llano are both also looking to build on their success in Houston as they head into the 2014 racing season. “I hope to make the World Half Marathon team and break the 2:30 marathon barrier this year,” stated Thomas. “If I can stay healthy and have a long, uninterrupted training segment, then I think I can achieve that. Meb just won the Half Championships at 38, and at 35 I still feel like I have room to grow. I hope to run faster times this year than ever before and using the ElliptiGO will help me to get there.”
Llano is also hoping to use the ElliptiGO to stay healthy and achieve his own goals in 2014. “Incorporating the ElliptiGO into my routine is a fun way to gain extra fitness without the musculoskeletal impact, which will keep me healthy and fit as I tackle my upcoming races.”
Several other ElliptiGO Project members had strong performances at the Half Marathon Championships, including Stephanie Dinius (8th in 1:13:28), Sara Hall (11th in 1:13:38), Meghan Peyton (12th in 1:13:56), Renee Baillie (20th in 1:14:55), and Craig Leon (27th in 1:04:34).
“We were thrilled with how well our ElliptiGO Project members did this past weekend in Houston,” stated Bryan Pate, Co-Founder of ElliptiGO. “Seeing Meb come back from the injury that hampered him at the New York City Marathon to capture a victory in Houston at the age of 38 was nothing short of amazing. From top to bottom, we are very proud of the eight ElliptiGO Project members who competed this weekend and we couldn’t be happier about the start to the 2014 racing season for our athletes.”
To join The ElliptiGO Project, elite athletes are required to have an inspiring running-related goal that they want to accomplish in the next two years and the desire to authentically integrate new training tools and techniques into their training in order to help them achieve their goal. All Project members must also be willing to share their training and results with other members of the Project. Each athlete uses new tools like the ElliptiGO in a slightly different way, so a major benefit to the team members is being able to communicate with each other and learn new ways to incorporate these devices into their own workout regimens.
The Project is currently recruiting elite athletes with ambitious goals who are interested in exploring innovative new ways of getting faster and staying healthy. For more information about The ElliptiGO Project, visit the website at http://www.theelliptigoproject.com.
About The ElliptiGO Project
The ElliptiGO Project exists to make runners faster through innovation. It is currently growing membership, adding new innovative running tools, and affiliating with other organizations that share the same goal of improving athletes’ performance through innovation. The Project tests new training techniques through competition, both on the track and on the road, and reports its findings with candor. http://www.theelliptigoproject.com
Erika Dessert, ElliptiGO Inc., http://www.elliptigo.com, +1 (858) 876-8677, [email protected]
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