Help fight Cystic Fibrosis - Donate with EST

Click here to make a donation: www.fundraiseonline.co.nz/kenglah




www.fundraiseonline.co.nz/kenglah

I am reaching out to my family, friends, business associates and those I have been involved with through sports over the years to ask for everyone's support in helping me raise desperately needed funds for the Cystic Fibrosis Association of New Zealand, . I am competing in Ironman New Zealand on the 3rd of March in Taupo. New Zealand has been one of my favorite race destinations for years and was where I lost in a lean at the tape in 1990 in the closest Ironman finish in history and was also where I won my first two Ironman races in 92 and 93. I have done the race more than 15 times and want to give back to the wonderful people of New Zealand.

I have had a great relationship with the staff from the CFANZ for years and they are a very dedicated group. In 2011, just a week after some of their families lost their homes and even some friends in the earthquake in Christchurch they still travelled to Taupo to help in this most critical of fund raising events for those living with CF. My nephew, Paul had CF and was one of the strongest and most positive people I have known. He received a double lung transplant and built himself up to the point of being able to run a mile during the Atlanta Olympic Touch Relay in 1996 before his body tragically rejected his new lungs. I am doing this fund raiser as a tribute to Paul, a thank you to all the New Zealanders that have cheered for me since 1990, and of course most of all, to give those with CF a chance to exercise their lungs through grants made possible by the funds raised by Breath 4 CF

Please help me help those in New Zealand with Cystic Fibrosis by joining me in raising funds by going to my fundraising page, to make a contribution and by forwarding this email to your friends so they too can help this great cause. CFANZ continues to assist in CF research endeavors that search for better treatments, medications, and the cure helping CF patients worldwide. CF is no longer considered exclusively a childhood disease, the median predicted age of survival for a person with CF is in the mid-30's. Unfortunately, donations are far below previous years and it is my goal to help raise the funding level so every child/young adult with CF can receive assistance in their challenge to keep their lungs as active and healthy as possible. All of the money raised goes to CFANZ and none of it is used to offset travel expenses for athletes doing this fundraiser. I am reaching out to thousands of people so even a donation of 5 or 10 dollars will make a difference.

www.fundraiseonline.co.nz/kenglah

Thanks for your support,
Ken
[read more]

Introducing Jennifer Lentzke - Professional Triathlete

Endurance Sports Travel welcomes its first-ever female sponsored athlete. We plan to follow Jennifer as her 2013 professional campaign is underway. We will provide race day coverage, results, interviews, photos, videos and more insights into her up-and-coming pro season! Get to know Jennifer as we ask her some basics.

Jennifer, tell us about yourself and how you got into triathlon.

'I was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and spent my childhood living in Canada, Mexico and the United States. I spent my teen years dancing with a professional ballet company, which I would credit for helping me learn discipline, develop endurance, and create a work ethic that has shaped me into the athlete I am today. Once away at university, I decided to focus on becoming a registered dietitian and gave up dancing. I quickly turned my athletic pursuits to distance running and walked on the Baylor women's cross country team. After a great learning experience on the team, I took up marathon running my senior year of university and quickly realized that I had a propensity for 'going long.' As my marathon times dropped, I began to truly realize my potential as a long distance athlete.

During my first year of graduate school at the University of Florida, I met my husband, Jason Lentzke, and was introduced to triathlon. The swim/bike/run lifestyle came naturally for me. After the rigors of gradate school ended and I was better able to focus on training, I began to complete triathlons 'just for fun.' On a whim, I signed up for IRONMAM Cozumel and, with very unstructured training, I completed the event in 11 hours and 9 minutes. Upon the urging of my husband and closest friends, I decided to see how good I could become with some formal training. I began to work with professional triathlete and coach, Hillary Biscay for the 2012 season. Within months I found myself winning my age group at long course events and had qualified for the 70.3 World Championship and the IRONMAN World Championship. Over the course of the 2012 triathlon season I began to realize that I wanted to pursue a second career as a professional triathlete.'

Jennifer currently splits her time between racing as a professional triathlete and working with athletes in her own private consulting company, Toro Performance Nutrition, LLC. She is a registered and licensed dietitian and a Board Certified Specialist in Sports Dietetics. She attended Baylor University where she obtained her Bachelor's degree in Nutrition Sciences. She then went on to obtain her Master's degree in Dietetics with a minor in Applied Physiology and Kinesiology at the University of Florida.

Jennifer lives with her husband, Jason Lentzke, and weimeraner, George, in Austin, Texas. She enjoys cooking, traveling, blogging, drinking coffee and has an extreme infatuation with peanut butter.

When did you turn Pro and what was that 'shining' moment that you decided to go from Age-Grouper to Pro?

Deciding to go pro was a culmination of many different and amazing moments in my 2012 season. The first time I began to realize that I even had the desire was after Ironman Canada when I placed high amongst the women's field and the 70.3 World Championships where I realized I had what it took to begin the work towards racing some of the best young women in the sport. Winning an iron distance race last December sealed the deal for me. Now don't get me rong. There are many amazing young women out there who are perhaps more prepared and more developed as triathletes in terms of being fit to race professionally. So I'm definitely not taking this opportunity for granted and I realize I'm starting at the bottom of the totem pole. The good news is, there's only way to go from here...up!

2013 Race Schedule?

IRONMAN San Juan 70.3 - March 17th
IRONMAN South Africa - April 14
IRONMAN Texas - May 18th
IRONMAN Buffalo Springs 70.3 - June 30th
IRONMAN Calgary 70.3 - July 28th
IRONMAN Canada - August 25th
IRONMAN Lake Tahoe - September 22nd

What, in your opinion, is the most inspiring thing about IRONMAN?

What I find so inspiring about the IRONMAN is how it can push you to new levels mentally and physically. IRONMAN is so empowering in that it takes everyday people and turns them into athletes. Once you realize how special this event truly is, you look around and think 'even if you're a 14 hour ironman or the IRONMAN world champion, it takes guts, grit and determination to get to that finish line.' And this truth is what creates such a great community amongst triathletes.

How do you think IRONMAN has transformed you as a person?

It's funny because not only has IRONMAN shaped me as a triathlete in terms of my physical strength, but it has created this fire, this passion and drive within me that compels me to continue to see just how much more I can ask of my body. In my head, in my mind, it's this amazing world of possibility, risk, opportunity and adventure that I am starting to live out. It's turning into quite the journey!

Thus far in your young career, if you had to pick one of your "IRONMAN moments" as your favorite or most powerful memory, what would it be and why?

You know it's funny because I have so many powerful memories from IRONMAN, from the time I first crossed an IRONMAN finish line to the last few seconds of my race in Kona running down Ali'i Drive. But there is one memory that sticks out in my mind. It was mile 18 of Ironman Canada and I was in what I like to call the 'hurt box.' I was digging deep into the depths of my soul to keep running the pace I needed to run to secure my spot to Kona. And wouldn't you know that Ken (Glah, owner of Endurance Sports Travel) had found a way to get out to that point on the run course to cheer on his clients. As I approached him with practically no runners around me, he called out my name, 'Jennifer!' And the most I could do with what strength I had left was to look him straight in the eyes and nod my head in acknowledgement. The look he gave back to me said it all. It said 'I've been there, Jennifer. I know what that feels like. Push on. Be strong and push on.' It was just so awesome to have that unspoken connection with an amazing athlete who was winning races well before my time. This is the spirit of IRONMAN.[read more]

Introducing Greg Close - Professional Triathlete

Endurance Sports Travel welcomes its first-ever male sponsored athlete. We plan to follow Greg as his 2013 professional campaign is underway. We will provide race day coverage, results, interviews, photos, videos and more insights into his up-and-coming pro season! Get to know Greg as we ask him some basics.

Greg, tell us about yourself and how you got into triathlon.

I'm a 29 year old triathlete, living and training in Brooklyn, New York. My wonderful wife Robin and I (just married in August!) are parents to three adorable cats that dominate our Facebook pages. I graduated from Rutgers University in 2005 with a BA in Political Science and History, and finished my MA at Lehigh in 2007. From high school through grad school I was a rower which served as the athletic foundation for my triathlon career.

In addition to racing and training, I own a multisport coaching company, TriBy3 Performance Coaching, which I started in 2010. I coach a number of athletes spanning a wide range of disciplines and abilities, and I love having the opportunity to share my passion with such a great group of individuals. Basically, I have the greatest job in the world- I get to ride bikes, run, and splash around, and when I get tired I get to tell other people to do the same!

Training 30+ hours a week and coaching doesn't leave a lot of time for other hobbies, but I am an avid baseball fan and never pass up a chance to watch the Phillies win or the Mets lose.

I rowed for 7 years and absolutely loved the sport, but one of the things I personally found in big boat rowing (I rowed in an 8-person boat) was that personal responsibility is somewhat lacking. When you have 8 people all trying to do the same thing, it's really easy to pretend you're the best and blame everyone else when things don't go well. I was a champ at this. So when I finished up at Rutgers and was reflecting on my time as a rower, I didn't really like the athlete I saw. I went to Lehigh where I was coaching rowing and doing my graduate studies thing, and I wanted to stay fit but do it on my own terms. I had a bike, I had been running for a while, and figured swimming couldn't be all that hard, so I jumped in to a triathlon. It was the "Give it the 'Ol Philly Tri" sprint triathlon, and I loved every second of it. I won an age group medal and was instantly hooked.

When did you turn Pro and what was that 'shining' moment that you decided to go from Age-Grouper to Pro?

I earned my pro card at Ironman Lake Placid in 2011, and officially took my license at the end of that season. I was 3rd amateur at Placid but wasn't entirely sure whether to transition from age-grouper or not. Kona 2011 was the "shining moment" that convinced me to make the move- I was in the top 75 overall, did a 9:11, had a strong run, and felt that I had earned a spot in the pro ranks

2013 Race Schedule?

Its a little tentative at this point as I had some pretty serious sinus surgery in January, but the plan is-
March 17th - Ironman San Juan 70.3
April 14th - Ironman South Africa
May 5th - Bassman triathlon
June 23rd - Rev3 Williamsburg/Ironman Mont Tremblant 70.3
August 17th - Ironman Sweden

The schedule will fill out more but those are the big races so far.

What, in your opinion, is the most inspiring thing about IRONMAN?

The most inspiring thing about Ironman, and the thing I love about coaching and racing, is that we all share the same course. From the 8 hour winner to the 17 hour finisher, we all toe the same line, complete the same 140.6 mile course, and experience the same highs and lows. There's no other sport where you can say that.

How do you think IRONMAN has transformed you as a person?

Ironman has made me take ownership of everything I do. When you win in Ironman, you share those victories with the people around you (your coach, your loved ones, your support crew). But when you lose, it's on you- you swim, you ride, you run, and if you aren't where you want to be at the end of the day, you get back to work and do better the next time. It's a good life lesson- share your wins and own your losses- and something that Ironman helps me appreciate every day.

Thus far in your young career, if you had to pick one of your "IRONMAN moments" as your favorite or most powerful memory, what would it be and why?

My favorite moment in my racing career so far has to be the last mile of Ironman Lake Placid in 2011. I went in to the race looking to earn my pro card, but 25 miles in to the marathon I was sitting in 5th. Some hard uphill strides and a big sprint bumped me up two places and earned me that license with less than a minute to spare. I was really proud of that race because I went in with a plan, faced some adversity, executed, and came out with the result I wanted.[read more]