Team Bend Racing / Team Yoga Slackers
Adventure Racers
Alexandre Provost
How do you train for adventure racing?
Commuting to work, evening rides, paddle on my trainer in my garage listening to Star Trek, weekend mountain hike. Orienteering. Yoga. The beauty of AR (Adventure Racing) is that anything you can think of is probably good training.
Do you participate in any other sports/active hobbies outside of adventure racing?
Absolutely. I love to hike and take time to appreciate views and have a picnic. These days I'm also into gravel road group rides where we stop for a beer half way :) I also cook a lot, and I'm often on my MTB trying new trails!
What are you favorite JTree products?
Cycling salve.
It really helps with skin recovery to sustain a high level of activities day after day. I even use it on sore feet sometimes.
What advice would you give to someone who is just starting out in adventure racing?
Trust your compass.
What’s your best “party” trick?
The surprise midnight hike!
What is the coolest thing you’ve ever won?
Eatable prizes are the best, especially cookie medals
Jason Magness
How do you train for adventure racing?
Some conventional training in "Recharge Sport" facility, as well as a lot of "missions". Which are just amazing days outside, sometimes multisport, and with some race-like goals attached - speed, teamwork, virtual checkpoints to see if we can find, etc. Basically I also treat every obstacle as a training op. Car run out of gas? Lets see how motivated we can stay while we push it 1/2 mile to the station. HOA says we have can't leave our huge lumber rounds in the front of the house...we develop a cross-fit style workout to hand carry them around back....that sort of thing.
Do you participate in any other sports/active hobbies outside of adventure racing?
Lots. Primarily acrobatics and slacklining. But AR basically includes Mountain biking, kayaking, packrafting, trail running, climbing, hiking, and all sorts of just back country adventure. I also love road cycling, video editing, and hanging out with my little boy!
What are you favorite JTree products?
The salves. We get so cut and bruised up that I always look forward to that first shower post race and then applying the salve all over the scrapes. It feels good to start the self care process. The salves also keep us focused on performing in the elements. Plain and simple, the big expedition races are as much about maintaining the "human vehicle" as it is about speed. Protecting ourselves from the relentless elements is important. Skin protection, hydration and nutrition are vital. I pre-treat my feet and hands with the salve for days before a race, which keeps them resilient to cracks, blisters and hot spots. We've also used the sunscreen as bike chain lube in a pinch.
What advice would you give to someone who is just starting out in adventure racing?
Just sign up for a"sprint" race. Most of these can be finished by anyone with will power and basic outdoor skills. And there is something magical about finding your way in the wilderness with only map and compass. In a world run by mindless GPS devices that never let us get really lost, but also never let us learn to truly find our way - this skill of navigating is a tangible experience that has made my life so much richer. I encourage everyone to do it.
What’s your best “party” trick?
I have a few. But my favorite from college is spitting grapes up into the air and catching them again in my mouth. I once mouth juggled 2 grapes for nearly a minute.
What is the coolest thing you’ve ever won?
When Chelsey agree to marry me - it felt like I'd won life. I still feel that way, even when things are difficult.
Chelsey Magness
How do you train for adventure racing?
We mostly do High Intensity workout these days, with a day of "Skill building" every week and a big mission/training day either every week or every two weeks. The big mission days are my favorite, it's where we pick a point that we want to get to and see how long it takes us to get there!
Do you participate in any other sports/active hobbies outside of adventure racing?
Yes, I do acrobatics, Slackline and play with my 7 month old!
What are you favorite JTree products?
My favorite products are the
cycle salve and the
face sticks - I never leave on a ride with either of them! Joshua Tree Skin Care helps me perform by letting my focus on training and racing instead of worrying about my skin. With J-Tree, I know my skin is well taken care of! We even use the chalk in our acrobatic practices - it keeps our hands and my feet dry and easy to grip!
What advice would you give to someone who is just starting out in adventure racing?
Don't take yourself to seriously in the beginning - have fun, get lost, and get dirty!!! Then, come to our adventure race camp!
What’s your best “party” trick?
I have a small gap called a diastasis Recti between my left and right abs - I can open and close it on purpose.
What is the coolest thing you’ve ever won?
A jar full of Susan B Anthony coins
Daniel Staudigel
How do you train for adventure racing?
We try to figure out the most important skills for a given race, and we spend time working those things. Sometimes this goes really well, and other times we spend months training paddling only to find out in the pre-race meeting that this is the first year in a decade that won't feature a giant paddling leg!
Do you participate in any other sports/active hobbies outside of adventure racing?
I love backcountry skiing and I love to cook.
What are you favorite JTree products?
I love the
face sticks - so much so that I wind up fighting over them with Jason! Adventure Racing is very much about body maintenance. The more you can stay (somewhat) comfortable, the more energy you have to go fast. Letting yourself get sunburnt, chapped, etc takes your focus away from what matters. We use the paddler's salve on our feet as a lubricant and skin conditioner.
What advice would you give to someone who is just starting out in adventure racing?
Never give up. Find a way through, even when it seems impossible. Out of probably a hundred races, I've dropped out of 4 - and every one stings. Triumph over adversity is what humans were made for - don't let yourself build up a habit of giving up when things get tough.
What’s your best “party” trick?
What's a party?
What is the coolest thing you’ve ever won?
Coolest race I've won: the Everglades Challenge - about 300 miles in Florida in a tandem kayak with Jason.
Coolest race prize: We got these dinky shoe dryers from USARA that everybody made fun of. I think I'm the only adventure racer in America that actually uses them - they're great! Warm shoes all winter long.
Stephen Thompson
How do you train for adventure racing?
I think you can do a lot with will power and focus. Get to know yourself and your teammates in ways that make you uncomfortable sometimes. Train as hard as you can, rest as hard as you can. Know when to get serious and when to have fun and always try to find the balance.
Do you participate in any other sports/active hobbies outside of adventure racing?
Yes. Next question. Just kidding.
I am a firm believer that anything can be good training for anything else. The more versed of an athlete you are in many different sports, the more versatility and resourcefulness you can bring to any particular one of them. I live in Bend, Oregon because it's the most practical place I've found that I can Mountain bike, backcountry ski, rock climb, trail run, paddle board, paddle whitewater, highline, take a yoga class, and eat great food and drink great beer all in one afternoon. In addition to enjoying the outdoors my wife and I run a Movement Center in Bend that offers instruction in dance, yoga, acrobatics, aerial yoga, slacklining, and various other movement modalities. Finding the parallels between Adventure Racing and aerial yoga can be difficult at first, but they're there.
What are your favorite J tree products?
Exposure can break you down quickly as an adventure racer, having a long lasting sunscreen that doesn't rely on toxic chemicals that would otherwise build up after 7 days of reapplying every 80 minutes is a godsend. JTree
Sunscreen and
Cycling Salve are my saving grace.
With Adventure Racing being as gear intensive as it is chaffing and friction between you body and your swag is inevitable. My J tree cycling salve starts on my chamois and ends up almost everywhere. Nipples, armpits, under backpack straps, blisters on your feet you name it. It has natural antiseptics and smells good too.
What advice would you give to someone who is just starting out in adventure racing?
Imagination is a powerful tool. Sometimes transforming an unpleasant experience into an amazing one can be as simple as shifting your perspective. And don't forget to have fun. When you're having fun you're always winning.
What's your best party trick?
Opening a beer can with my teeth faster than you.
What's the coolest thing you've ever won?
Money. Duhhh.
Melissa Coombes
How do you train for adventure racing?
I try to get my heart rate up 6 days a week for at least an hour. I choose the discipline based on time and how I feel on a particular day. I recently had a baby, so the bike often wins out, as I can ride on a trainer in the basement while she naps.
Do you participate in any other sports/active hobbies outside of adventure racing?
Hiking, camping, and all of the disciplines associated with AR.
What are you favorite JTree products?
The
salve and
lip balm. I'll even use the lip balm as bum cream. Prevents chapping down below!
What advice would you give to someone who is just starting out in adventure racing?
I believe that Winston Churchill said it best with "Never, never, never give up!"
What’s your best “party” trick?
Kegstands/Handstands
What is the coolest thing you’ve ever won?
A trip to Machu Picchu (in an urban adventure race in Chicago), though I was never able to take the trip due to military obligations.
