Congrats Mel on winning XTERRA Canada National Championships in Whistler, BC!
Congrats Mel on winning XTERRA Canada National Championships in Whistler, BC!
Hey Gang!
There was some great racing to be had at today’s XTERRA Southeast Championship race in Pelham, Alabama.
Here’s a quick run-down on the results, but don’t you worry, some great race reports coming right up!
In the Pro field, Melanie McQuaid finished 2nd overall and Emma Garrard took 5th. Outstanding job, ladies!
In the amateur ranks:
Jo Markham – 1st place, Women 20-24
Meiling Yee – 2nd place, Women 45-49
Marcus Barton – 4th place, Men 40-44
Rob Jackson – 10th place, Men 35-39 (three flats)
The hot new colors of MelRad Racing by Pactimo. See ya in Vegas, baby!!
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MelRad Racing Announces the 2010 Pro-Am Raditude Roster
MelRad Racing, also known as Mel’s Rad Racing Team, has announced the roster of athletes chosen to race as part of the professional and amateur squad in 2010.
The team is led by reigning 3x USA Overall XTERRA Series Champion and 3x XTERRA World Champion Melanie McQuaid. Melanie returns in 2010 planning to race events on the XTERRA and Ironman 70.3 calendar while dabbling in mountain bike events. While focused on making an effort to win a fourth world title, Melanie will be personal coach or mentor for all members of the MelRad Racing team and will help all to have the raddest season ever. For information on Melanie please visit http://www.racergirl.com.
The team concept was embraced by team sponsors. “Melanie has been the face of off-road triathlon for years and AVIA is fully supportive of her effort to give back to the sport through the development of the MelRad Racing Team. The MelRad athletes are not only fast, but are terrific ambassadors for the sport and their communities.” - Shawn Frack, Sports Marketing Manager, AVIA.
An invitation was extended to professional athletes Sara Tarkington and Emma Garrard to MelRad Racing for the 2010 season after they displayed raditude in 2009. With a goal of finding and developing the next generation of top professional athletes, Melanie chose two rad female competitors with potential for top podium positions at the Maui World Championships. Sara Tarkington, aka “Tark”, is based in Boulder, Colorado where she came to triathlon from a running background. After much success improving her mountain bike racing, she was 9th at the 2009 XTERRA World Championships. Sara is a social worker when not an athlete superstar and is known for consistent performances and a love of cupcakes. Emma Garrard was the 2007 amateur USA Champion, switching to the pro ranks in 2008. Originally from Anchorage and now in Park City, Utah, Emma divides her time between XTERRA and Winter Triathlon where she was second at the US Championships earning her a spot on the US World Championships team. This former NCAA Div1 cross country skier and distance runner is best known as a freelance photographer, cross country ski coach and plans to match her winter tri success with top spots across the US and at the World Championships this summer in XTERRA racing. For more information on pro and amateur athletes on the MelRad Racing squad please visit http://www.melrad.com.
The MelRad Racing team will benefit from every advantage offered to Melanie by a rad list of sponsors. The team is going to run in shoes from Avia, ride Specialized ERA women’s and Epic men’s mountain bikes, utilize hydration packs and multisport essentials like velocity laces and transition belts from Nathan Human Propulsion, wear custom race gear by Pactimo, wear Nirvana helmets from Lazer, drink GU Brew and eat GU energy products, wear eyewear by Sundog Eyewear, use Powertap power measuring devices and Powerbeam load generating trainers, wear goggles and swim gear from TYR, wear wetsuits and training clothing by Profile Design, wear gloves from Bellwether, use Genuine Innovations Big Air canisters, use ESI Grips on the handlebars and Powercordz for shifting, Squirt their lube, fuel up on Justin’s Nut Butte, Saltstick tablets and USANA supplements and use SciCon bags. This lineup of sponsors would be the dream team for any professional athlete and was offered to an exceptional group of professional and amateur competitors in 2010.
2010 Rad Roster
Pro Athletes:
Melanie McQuaid - Victoria, BC
Sara Tarkington - Boulder, CO
Emma Garrard - Park City, UT
Amateur Squad:
Alexia Droz (Team Captain; 35-39 AG) - Northwest Region
Becky Batizy (30-34 AG) - Mountain Region
Greg Seaman (50-54 AG) - Midwest Region
Heather McNamara (45-49 AG) - Midwest Region
Brian Corff (30-34) - Mountain Region
Tim Holland (25-29) - Northwest Region
Rob Jackson (35-39) - Northwest Region
Meiling Yee (45-49) - Southwest Region
Marcus Barton (40-45) - Southeast Region
Fred Smith (30-34 AG) - Southeast Region
Kristin Jo Markham (20-24 AG)- Southeast Region
MelRad Racing is proud to support athletic, goal-oriented, passionate, dedicated and exemplary people in the pursuit of their personal goals as amateur triathletes. The team motto is to display raditude: “race hard and have fun!” The team’s success, in turn, will inspire future generations, friends, co-workers and spectators to achieve their biggest dreams and goals in life and be generally rad people.
Headlining the West region is Alexia Droz. Alexia returns to the team as “The Captain”, racing in the 35-39 age group category. Alexia is a personal trainer focused on racing, having qualified for the XTERRA World Championships for the first time in 2006. Alexia embodies the XTERRA Spirit of “Living More” and is the ultimate leader for this group. Also returning as alumni is Becky Batizy who is racing in the 30-34 years category in the mountain region. A mother of two balancing a full time job, a husband and two little boys, Becky is best known as second woman overall out of the water at the 2009 USA Championships. “Pez”, or fish in Spanish, will put her swimming prowess to the test in her bid for a Maui Worlds spot in 2010 while navigating rough waters of the financial market in global wealth management.
Fred Smith IV is another team alumni from Knoxville, Tennessee and will return to the team race in the 30-34 years category in the South Central Region. “Fast Freddy” is a blisteringly fast runner known to destroy any XTERRA Trail Run he chooses and is best known for his culinary prowess and chronic punctuality. A commercial insurance broker by workday, Fred earned the fourth American male amateur spot in Maui in 2009 and has his eye on the top step of the podium. Our team within the team comes from Michigan where Heather McNamara and Greg Seaman call home. Heather and Greg will both be racing XTERRA in the North Central Region in the 45-49 and 50-54 category respectively. Heather was voted Ms Congeniality in 2009 and “least likely to tell you how fast she is” after winning her region in 2009. Greg, aka “The Pencil”, earned three top 10 finishes in 2009 and attributes a lot of success to going to bed early (then getting up early!).
New team members include Kristin Jo Markham from Banner Elk, North Carolina. “Jo” is already a veteran of the USA Cycling Development team racing in Europe and now races road, track, cyclocross and mountain bike on a cycling scholarship. She plans to put her cycling strength to good use destroying the 20-29 age group category in XTERRA this year while finishing a Communications Arts degree at Lees McRae College. Marcus Barton also hails from North Carolina although he was originally born in Alabama. After 8 years of active duty in the US Air Force, Marcus has focused a lot of his energy on inspiring new XTERRA competitors through organized group runs, rides and clinics. Now in his fourth year of XTERRA racing, “Boogie” will be competing in the 40-44 age group category this season in the Southern Region.
Tim Holland came to XTERRA from road racing and is based in the Northwest region. After tying for third place at the National Championships in 2009, Tim is focused on top podium spot in the 25-29 age group category in 2010. Meiling Yee brings her big fat 2007 XTERRA World Champion title to the squad and will race in the Southwest region 45-49 age group category. “Queenie” always has a big smile and quiet confidence that gives her raditude away as soon as you see her. Brian Corff races in the mountain region in the men’s 30-34 age category. Best known for meeting his fiancée riding his mountain bike to base camp in Nepal, Brian finished 8th at Nationals in his first crack at an XTERRA race season. Finally, Rob Jackson rounds out the amateur squad for MelRad Racing 2010. Many of the XTERRA crowd know Rob as the man behind XTERRA Portland in 2009. MelRad Racing is proud to bring Rob onto the team to race in the 35-39 age group category and defend his 2009 overall regional championship title wearing red and black.
The MelRad Racing Team will be attending all events on the XTERRA US Series, select Ironman 70.3 events and US Cup mountain bike events. The first team event will be the XTERRA West Championships in Lake Las Vegas, NV. MelRad Racing is supported by Avia, Specialized, Nathan, GU, Pactimo, Lazer helmets, Sundog Eyewear, TYR, Powercordz, ESI Grips, Genuine Innovations, Profile Design, Bellwether, Titec, Saris Cycling, Squirt lube and Saltstick.
* rad⋅i⋅tude [rad-i-tood, -tyood]
–noun
1. manner, disposition, feeling, position, etc., with regard to complete awesomeness, a tendency or orientation towards being totally rad, esp. of the mind: a positive raditude
2. the extreme desire to race hard and have fun
Contact:
Melanie McQuaid
melanie AT racergirl DOT com
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