The biggest ElliptiGO gathering of the year, the 15th Annual ElliptiGO Rally and World Championships was held in Solana Beach, CA, from October 11th to 13th, 2024. The Global ElliptiGO Riders Club (GERC) and ElliptiGO HQ hosted this annual celebration of ElliptiGO — from our customers, athletes, team and products to the incredible community we’ve built together. It was another unforgettable weekend. Let’s take a look at the highlights! Check out photos from the events and explore stories from the weekend below. Special thanks to Jane Cremer for her insightful reporting!
Connection and Celebration
Throughout Rally and World Champs Weekend, attendees enjoyed numerous opportunities to connect with one another, whether it was to eat, drink or GO for a ride. We took over the front patio and played ElliptiGO BINGO at Pillbox Tavern & Grill, enjoyed several scenic group rides along the ocean, and savored lunch at everyone’s favorite Mexican restaurant, Fidel’s. All of the 75+ weekend attendees received a commemorative custom embroidered cap, thanks to GERC.
The weekend’s main attractions—the World Championships race up Palomar Mountain, the Rally rides and the Awards Dinner—were as incredible as ever, giving everyone a chance to experience the ElliptiGO joy with friends old and new!
Peak Performance on Palomar
The Elliptical Cycling and Stand-Up Cycling World Championships took place on Saturday, October 12. A determined group of 21 athletes gathered to take on the challenge of Palomar Mountain—a grueling 11.69-mile course with a 4,209-foot climb and an average 7% grade.
ElliptiGO CEO Bryan Pate says, “The biggest battle of the day was between Dante Capone, who won the Santa Rosa marathon in August, and Jeremy Hoffman, an ultramarathoner who ran track and field at Shippensburg University, where he was coached by ElliptiGO rider and Olympian Steve Spence.” The two elite runners were neck and neck until mile six, when Jeremy overtook Dante.
However, Dante was able to close the gap during mile eight. “Then Dante created some separation during mile nine to hold off Jeremy and take the cup!” says Bryan. Dante bested Jeremy by a mere 42 seconds.
“Teresa Fukumoto-Beebe capped off her most impressive ElliptiGO-riding year yet with another win at Palomar,” notes Bryan. “That makes her and Sarah Brown the only women to win back-to-back World Championships!”
Here are the podium finishers!
Men’s Elliptical Division
1st – Dante Capone 1:13:53
2nd – Jeremy Hoffman 1:14:35
3rd – Josh Sealand 1:28:43
Women’s Elliptical Division
1st – Teresa Fukumoto-Beebe 1:51:41
2nd – Anna Thatcher 2:03:27
3rd – Malinda Walker 2:30:14
Men’s Stand-Up Bike Division
1st – Jonathan Matthews 1:36:46
Men’s eBike Division
1st – Ron Critchley 49:09
Women’s eBike Division
1st – Keri Cleeremens 1:10:19
2nd – Erin Whiting 1:10:44
Here is a full list of the 2024 World Championships results.
A Night of Dining and Distinction
GERC’s Dinner and Awards Ceremony on Saturday night, with over 60 attendees, was filled with unforgettable moments. A sunset champagne toast perfectly captured the event’s theme, “Cheers to 15 Years.” Bryan’s Pug, Gidget, made a brief appearance for a toast to her official retirement as Chief Happiness Officer of ElliptiGO. She loved the attention — and even managed to stay awake!
During the dinner celebration, both ElliptiGO HQ and the Global ElliptiGO Riders Club gave out special honors and awards. Congratulations to all of the 2024 winners! Here are some of the honorees.
ElliptiGO Awards
Ron Critchley was the inaugural recipient of the John Pilkington Spirit Award and Teresa Fukumoto-Beebe was awarded the 2024 ElliptiGO Rider of the Year. Learn more about these awards and the two impressive award winners.
Global ElliptiGO Rider Club Awards
Every year, GERC honors the community members and teams who participated in the September Get Out and GO (GOGO) Challenge. This year, the Eagle Trophy was presented to the overall winning team, GOallivanting GOats! The GOallivanting GOats are: Craig Anderson, Guy Berkebile, Valerie Christoff, Stacy Dolfis, Cindy Getzinger, Rick Gonzalez, Doug Hanna, Gary Hawkins, Scott Hermes, Dayna Hogue, James Pringle, Kim Rose, Jim Stahlman, Sharon Thomas, Richard Wright and Myron Yoder. Congratulations!
Get Out and GO Challenge Top Individual Point Earner
Each year this award is given to the GOGO participant who earns the most points over the full eight-month GOGO season. At press time, Eric Korevaar was in the lead, but Teresa Fukumoto-Beebe still had a chance of passing him. Or will they end the season in a tie? Stay tuned for November 1st, when the final calculation will be completed!
GERC Rookie of the Year Award
Rookie of the Year is awarded to a new member of GERC each year. The 2024 recipient was Jim Pringle. His amazing year of riding covered more than 8,000 miles over 200+ days with more than 540,000 feet of climbing since the GOGO (Get Out and GO) season began in March. Jim also attended several GERC events, participated in multiple official rides, climbed Palomar in the World Championships, was a member of the STC overall winning team and is known for his encouraging comments and kudos to other riders in the ElliptiGO Strava group.
GO, Feast and Farewell
Sunday began with group rides along the Pacific Coast Highway, with routes ranging from 12 to 34 miles. Afterward, the group gathered for lunch on the patio at Fidel’s. (Thank you to Fidel’s for welcoming us for the past seven years!) It was our last chance over the weekend to gather, reminisce about the weekend and enjoy some good food and drinks before it was time to GO our separate ways. Until next year!
See You Next Year! There’s never been a better time to get involved with our community and put next year’s Rally and World Championship Weekend on your calendar. Here’s how you can take part:
- Get the scoop on qualifying for the World Championship climb up Palomar.
- Check out the Global ElliptiGO Riders Club for more information on the Rally and many other fun ElliptiGO events throughout the year.
- Connect with fellow riders in our customer-run Facebook group to get tips, find riding buddies and cheer each other on as we GO for our goals!
