Update with Video: Paddling the Pacific

We recently told you about adventure paddler and Suunto user Margo Pellegrino and her journey paddling her outrigger down the Pacific Coast to raise awareness about ocean conservation. She has been doing great and we wanted to bring you an update on her progress. Accompanied by her Suunto Lumi, Margo has been paddling from Seattle to San Diego making occasional stops to speak out about her cause, a project of the Blue Frontier Campaign. She took a day out of her busy paddling schedule to make a promotional pit stop in Portland, OR where she did an interview with KATU news.

To watch the interview, click here.

She has successfully made her way down the Washington Coast and about halfway down the Oregon Coast and well on her way to making her goal of making it to San Diego.

To follow Margo on her journey and find out more about her mission, go to her website here or to learn more about the Blue Frontier Campaign click here.

Endurance Runner Matt Hart Blasts the Colorado Trail

Our good friend and big Suunto fan, Adventure Racer Matt Hart just finished running the historic Colorado Trail. He regularly trains with his Suunto t6d and we were excited to hear how his ambitious journey went.

Matt says, "Hey gang! Well two days ago I finished an epic journey… an attempt at the Colorado Trail speed record. Although I did not break the record, which is insanely tight. I did run the 3^rd fastest time for the 484 miles with 75,000 feet of elevation gain. I wore my Suunto t6d and foot pod each and every day. The foot pod was awesome and gave me a very close approximation of my pace and how close to being done with each section I was. The altimeter as always was spot on, and with the massive amounts of vert each day it was great to see it tick off as I climbed, and climbed and climbed. There were extended sections above 13,000 feet!! I was also on the trail for 15-24 hours at a time, and we all know the 7 hour battery life of a forerunner just wouldn’t have cut it out there. So with all that said – THANK YOU."

Also from Matt’s website –

484 miles and 75,000 ft of vertical gain later.. and somehow life really is that much sweeter. I finished the Colorado Trail on July 23^rd at 12:18pm. I ran the 484 miles as fast as I could, which was 9 days, 7 hours, 48 minutes. I believe this is the 3^rd fastest time anyone has ever covered this beautiful and awe inspiring piece of trail. I knew from speaking iwht very fast ultrarunners who do this sort of thing that the record was super tight. I found that out. After 3days I had run 180 miles and was 10 miles ahead of the record pace. But I paid for it the following day where I only logged 38 miles and couldn’t stay awake. And so it goes, I made a lot of mistakes, didn’t plan well enough for some sections, was stranded a few times and hypothermic once. None of that matters or tarnishes the experience because that is the experience. All of these things are expected when the goal is something this huge ~ the crap that happens becomes the deepest burned memories. It’s how you respond to that crap that really matters. All things considered the adventure went amazingly well on 3 days of planning.

Way to go Matt--that is an awesome accomplishment!

To see video segments of the run visit Matt’s website here.

Rebecca Rusch is on Movescount and Loving It

Suunto’s Rebecca Rusch has recently joined Movescount.com and couldn’t be happier. The Three-time 24hr Solo World Mountain Bike Champion and Leadville 100 Trail Women's Champion says--

“I LOVE Movescount. I’m encouraged to use it more often [than Training Manager] because it’s so easy. I am also sharing it with my coach and he loves it too.”

If you aren’t familiar with Movescount, read from the press release below.

“Movescount.com is Suunto’s next step in the consumer’s training journey,” says Suunto President Mikko Moilanen. “We wanted to create a unique place that was open to everyone, whether you’re a Suunto fan or just someone who enjoys sports. It’s all about sharing, exploring and enjoying our everyday sport experiences.”

Incorporating social networking, Movescount.com offers a place for like-minded active individuals to share their stories. Members can swap experiences, join groups, post tips and share training routes. With a click, members can share their Moves through other social networking sites such as Digg, Facebook and Twitter. They can enhance their personal profiles by posting routes using Google Maps, adding images of their adventures from their own Flickr account and scenic or exciting videos from YouTube. Movescount.com members can follow the progress of their friends, running partners and favorite athletes.

A simple online Sports Diary allows users to chart their Moves each day – managing runs, swims, and bike rides. Movescount.com will generate an overview of each month’s activities to measure where adjustments in exercise should be made. Never before has an online sports community given the user such detailed analysis of every Move through easy-to-understand graphs and charts. Members can clearly see how many calories they’ve burned in the last workout, week or month; what their maximum heart-rate was on that challenging run; their EPOC (excess post-exercise oxygen consumption), speed and distance.

Compatible with both Mac and PCs, Movescount.com is available to members with and without Suunto devices. Compatible Suunto devices include the t3, t4, t6, memory belt and X10. There is also an option to transfer old training data from Training Manager and Training Manager Lite. The website will be compatible with the new Suunto M-Series M4 and M5.

To follow Rebecca on Movescount click here.

Matriarchs Reloaded take on Ragnar Relay Northwest Passage

Another big Ragnar Relay weekend coming up! This time the popular 24-hour race is in the Pacific Northwest for the Ragnar Relay Northwest Passage. The trail goes from Blaine to Langley, WA totaling 187 miles. Suunto is the proud timing sponsor of all Ragnar Relays around the country and also awarded a very deserving team all Suunto t3d watches. The winning "My Story" team is called "Matriarchs Reloaded" and is a local senior master women's team, running for their third consecutive title at Ragnar Relay. Each Ragnar Relay offers an opportunity for teams to tell their unique story and have a chance to win Suunto watches.

The "Matriarchs Reloaded" will all be sporting tiaras and are all more than 50 years of age. This group of dedicated women have a goal of winning their age division for the third year in a row. They all share a passion for running, friendship and competitive adventure.

"We are 12 ordinary and extraordinary women who love this race for many reasons. It is a challenge, located in our beautiful backyard and is a great opportunity to bring together an awesome group of women," says Joanie Whitener, team captain. "What will you find 12 women, ages 50 to 67 doing on a weekend this July? Not knitting or have a tea party that's for sure!"

Congratulations ladies and good luck!

Full Throttle Endurance Racing Team Wins Big in NYC

According to a press release below by Full Throttle Endurance, the team finished on top, despite the heat, at the Nautica New York City Triathlon. The Chelsea-Piers-based team members all wear Suunto t6d training watches and train together with the Suunto Fitness Solution as a group.

Full Throttle Endurance Racing dominated the Nautica New York City Triathlon for the third consecutive year. On the hottest day in the race’s ten-year history, FTE handily won the team competition, finishing 17 points ahead of the second-place team on the strength of eight podium finishes spanning a wide range of categories.

In the elite division, Allison Lind finished second among women; Doug Clark and Bill Kelly took fourth and ninth, respectively, among the men.

Melanie Wolff (F30-34) and Stacy Creamer (F50-54) both won their divisions; Creamer’s time was the fastest among all female age-group competitors and Wolff’s was the second-fastest.

“It’s always a thrill to race on home turf,” said Creamer, “especially when the course includes the Hudson River, the West Side Highway, and Central Park. And I love racing for a team. I compete better when more than just my own results are at stake.”

Mark Guay took second in the highly competitive M25-29 division.

“It was definitely not an easy race with the heat and humidity and, at times, I wanted to quit,” says Mark Guay. “How could I though? With my team cheering me on, I dug deep and persevered, and even set a new PR.”

Greg Usry (M45-49) and Full Throttle coaches Toni Weeks (F30-39) and Dan Ownes (over-40 Clydesdale) all finished third. Jess Mullin won the Athena division by more than 14 minutes.

Other FTE athletes contributing to the team win were Charlie Howe (fourth, under-39 Clydesdale) and Tom Slon (fifth, M50-54).

FTE team members Creamer and Bobby Kennedy also scored for second-place Yale in the Bloomsburg Businessweek Ivy League Championship, and Melanie Wolff and her husband, Bryan Wolff, scored for third-place Princeton.

We want to congratulate these awesome Suunto Athletes on a stellar job!

For more on Full Throttle Endurance visit there website here.

Apa Sherpa Challenge at Outdoor Retailer Summer Market

To summit Mount Everest is no small feat. Those who do accomplish this deserve respect and adoration from their peers. However, when you summit Mount Everest a record 20 times, you deserve something a little more. That’s why in honor of legendary mountaineer and Suunto Ambassador Aba Serpa’s world record 20th climb of Mount Everest, we are launching the Limited Edition Suunto Core Extreme Edition Everest watch.

“We’re happy to honor Apa with this limited edition Core,” says Suunto Vice President and Business Director Nora Stowell. “Apa Sherpa embodies the spirit of Suunto and we’re happy to commemorate his historic world record with this amazing watch.”

An addition to the award winning Suunto Core collection, the Core Extreme Edition Everest is an essential partner and tool for outdoor enthusiasts. Complete with Altimeter, Barometer and Compass functions, the Core helps users navigate through the wilder parts of the world.

As a limited edition, Suunto is producing only 8,848 models of the Extreme Edition Everest, in correlation with Mount Everest’s elevation of 8,848 meters. Suunto is also donating $2 of every watch sold to the Apa Sherpa Foundation.

In conjunction to the launch of the Core Extreme Edition Everst at OR there will be two events held at the Suunto booth #20015.

The Apa Sherpa Challenge: Aug. 3,4, and 5 at 4 pm. And Aug 6 at 1 pm.

Two challenge contestants' names will be drawn to compete in the Apa Sherpa Challenge treadmill endurance contest for the the chance to win a new Suunto Core Extreme Edition Everest.

Autograph Signing: Aug. 3, 4, and 5 at 4pm

Apa Sherpa will be at the Suunto booth to sign autographs and meet fans.

Launching to the outdoor industry in the United States at the Outdoor Retailer Summer Market the Extreme Edition Everest will be available to the public in Fall 2010 at select retailers.

Greg Hill: The Two Million Mark Man

Adventure skier Greg Hill is on a mission to tour and ski two million feet within a calendar year. He is accompanied by his trusty Suunto X6HRM to calculate his total ascent. He has so far hit his halfway mark and well on his way to his goal of two million. You can follow his exploits as he documents his journey from mountain peaks all around the world through his website.

Jenny Fletcher Snags Two Magazine Covers!

Congratulations to Pro Triathlete, Suunto's Jenny Fletcher for landing not one but two coveted magazine covers for the July issue of Competitor Magazine and the August issue of Triathlete Magazine. She is sporting the Suunto t6d Black Fusion on the cover of Competitor and a Suunto t3d Sporty Red for Triathlete.

Run to your nearest news stand and pick one (or two) up today!

Awesome, Jenny!

Suunto Fitness Solution Kicks Some Serious Butt

The Suunto Fitness Solution has made waves in the traditional fitness clubs, and now with the rise in popularity of MMA, Cross-Fit and BLT gyms around the country, it’s no wonder the Suunto Fitness Solution would also follow suit.

Former MMA champion and top contender BJ Penn uses it in his gym in Hilo, Hawaii.

Penn says, “We are currently in training camp for the rematch with Frankie Edgar, which will be in Boston on August 28^th. We’ve also been using the Team Pod every day! It’s a huge part of our training.”

It’s so important for top MMA athletes like BJ Penn to be exactly in tune with their training effect and performance, and the Suunto Fitness Solution is the perfect way to monitor that.

The Suunto Fitness Solution; not just for spin classes, folks.

Matty Reed likes Doubleheaders

Matty Reed continues to kill it out there on the tri road. First, Matty traveled to the Midwest to compete and defend his title in the Life Time Fitness Triathlon in Minneapolis, MN. He prevailed over fellow U.S. National Team member, Matt Chrabot, by eight seconds, finishing with a time of 1:48:34. Winning this event helped Matty's cause in route to the Life Time Fitness Triathlon Series Race to the Toyota Cup which connects the six prominent International distance races in the US.

Matty then traveled back to his hometown of Boulder, CO to compete in the Boulder Peak Triathlon. He won this event in 2008, but came in 3rd this time around, finishing with a time of 1:58:12. This 19th annual Boulder Peak Triathlon was sold-out and is the second of three races which comprise the Boulder Triathlon Series.

Good job Matty--a big doubleheader weekend!

Paddling the Pacific

Margo Pellegrino is an adventure paddler and Suunto user who is trying to bring attention to the importance of healthy oceans. And with the current Gulf disaster, her message is more important than ever. This month she’ll be embarking on an incredible journey from Seattle to San Diego via outrigger canoe, down the Pacific Coast. She will be wearing a Suunto Lumi outdoor watch. With its easy-to-use compass and weather functions like storm alarm and trend indicator, it’s a perfect partner for her journey.

Margo describes herself as a stay-at-home mom who doesn’t do a very good job at staying home. In each of the past three years, she has undertaken similar paddling voyages in her outrigger canoe, having journeyed nearly the entire eastern seaboard and Gulf coast west to New Orleans.

She states, “This coastal paddling journey is my way to call attention to the need for healthy oceans. An effective public education campaign is critical for advancing strong ocean policy. We need to ensure that healthy oceans policy is buoyed from what legislators hear form their constituents. As a project of the Blue Frontier Campaign, what I am planning to accomplish is speaking out for the oceans.

My brand of paddling advocacy started as a simple desire to bring attention to the critical problems facing our oceans. And while this journey is part of what I am physically capable of doing in order to help heal our ocean, it could never be categorized as a singular effort. From the very beginning, it has always been a group effort every step of the way and is equally symbolic of what is required to keep our ocean resources healthy.

While not every thing we do, every decision we make or action we take carries the weight of the world upon it, it does carry a lot more that most people think it does. Every one of us is also a living example for every one else around us – and none more so than the children around us.”

What a wonderful message and cause. You can follow Margo’s progress of her journey down the Pacific coast on her website. To find out more about the Blue Frontier Campaign and their efforts to support a healthy ocean click here. Good luck Margo!