Team Montrail

I'm really stoked to say that I'll be joining Team Montrail for 2009 (and hopefully beyond). I've been running the majority of my mileage (and almost all of my races) over the past 2 years in Montrail shoes so this is a perfect match in my mind. Montrail Team partners also include Mountain Hardwear, Nathan, Nuun, and Clif Bar... a great combination of shoes, clothing, gear, hydration, and nutrition.

Team Montrail consists of about 20 ultra runners from all over the country who, I'm learning, are treated very well in regards to free and/or reduced price gear so this deal will help A LOT with my training/racing expenses in 2009. More than this though, I think this will be a great opportunity to become more involved in ultra running and the ultra running community. Montrail sponsors dozens of races throughout the year and encourages their athletes (through financial assistance) to get out to these races as well as to get involved with clinics, coaching, camps, and any other ways in which their athletes are interacting with other runners. Racing is without a doubt still my primary focus, and likely will be for at least the next few years, but I could see myself interested in pursuing an involvement in ultra running that will go beyond however many years I have left in which I'm interested in racing as much as I am now. I think this deal with Montrail has potential to be the beginning of slowly moving toward more involvement in ultra running, beyond just the racing. And if not, it's still really sweet to know that I'll be running in my favorite shoes, free of charge, for at least the next year. Hell yeah!