Blog

With the opening ceremonies of the Rio 2016 Olympics now less than 45 days away, excitement is rapidly rising in the track and field world. For USA Olympic hopefuls, their biggest opportunity to date begins with the Olympic Team Trials, July 1-10, in Eugene, Oregon. ElliptiGO will be in “Tracktown, USA” supporting scores of athletes who train on ElliptiGO bikes and providing opportunities for the community to experience elliptical cycling.

Take the ElliptiGO 400-meter Challenge

On Saturday, July 2 from 4:00-7:00pm, everyone is welcome to take the ElliptiGO 400-meter Challenge! We will have an elliptical bike set up on a stationary trainer outside the Wild Duck Café. Hop on and ride your heart out for 400 meters. Every participant will walk away with a prize, and the top three times of the day will win a special Grand Prize.

Join the “Fun Ride”

Sunday, July 3 at 9:00am, meet us at the Wild Duck Café for a leisurely ElliptiGO ride around the beautiful Eugene area. The ride will cover 15-20 miles. We plan to return back to Wild Duck around 11:30am, then we’ll enjoy a post-ride lunch. A limited number of loaner bikes will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. If you are interested in joining the ride, RSVP to Jeff Caron.

Jeff will also be organizing “ElliptiGO Street Team” rides every morning. Contact Jeff for more details.

Cheer on ElliptiGO Athletes

While we’re having fun, many ElliptiGO athletes will be trying to secure a slot in the Games. ElliptiGO elliptical bicycles are the cross-training tool of choice for runners and field event participants in the 2016 US Olympic Team Trials. About 70 Trials qualifiers use ElliptiGO bikes to build strength and aerobic capacity, and to reduce or recovery from injuries. In addition to individuals, top clubs, such as Brooks Beasts TC, Furman Elite and New Jersey New York TC, encourage and provide their athletes ElliptiGO bikes for training.

Below are some of the ElliptiGO athletes who are top contenders in various events. Cheer them on!

WOMEN

Alysia Montano – 800 M (final July 4)
Qualifying Time: 1:59.15      Personal Best: 1:57.34 (2010)
Twitter: @AlysiaMontano   Instagram: @alysiamontano
2012 Olympian, 6 x National Champion

Laura Roesler – 800 M (final July 4)
Qualifying Time: 2:00.15      Personal Best: 1:59.04 (2014)
Twitter: @lroesler5   Instagram: @lroesler5
4th at 2016 World Indoor Champs, 2 x NCAA Champion

Kate Grace – 800 M (final July 4) /1500 M (final July 10)
Qualifying Time: 2:00.05 / 4:05.65      Personal Best: 1:59.47 (2013) / 4:05.65 (2016)
Twitter: @fastk8   Instagram: @fastkate
2014 World Relay Silver Medalist, 4th at US Championships, having best season ever despite injuries all last season

Shannon Rowbury – 1500 M (final July 10)
Qualifying Time: 3:56.29      Personal Best: 3:56.29 (2015)
Twitter: @ShannonRowbury   Instagram: @shannonrowbury
2 x Olympian, WC Bronze Medalist, 6 x National Champion

Sarah Brown – 1500 M (final July 10)
Qualifying Time: 4:03.20      Personal Best: 4:03.20 (2015)
Twitter: @SarahMB15   Instagram: @sarahmb15
2015 WC Qualifier and ElliptiGO World Champ; Gave birth to 1st child in March

Amanda Eccleston – 1500 M (final July 10)
Qualifying Time: 4:05.56      Personal Best: 4:05.56 (2016)
Twitter: @AmandaEcc    Instagram: N/A
NCAA Relay Champion, just PR’d in 1500 by 2 sec and 5000 by 29 sec

Leah O’Connor – 3000 M Steeplechase (final July 7)
Qualifying Time: 9:18.85      Personal Best: 9:18.85 (2016)
Twitter: @LeahKayO   Instagram: @leah_oconnor
2 x NCAA Champ, 3rd Fastest Time in US History, despite stress fracture in the fall

Colleen Quigley – 3000 M Steeplechase (final July 7)
Qualifying Time: 9:24.92      Personal Best: 9:24.92 (2015)
Twitter: @steeple_squigs   Instagram: @steeple_squigs
2 x NCAA Champ, 2015 WC Qualifier

Ashley Higginson – 3000 M Steeplechase (final July 7)
Qualifying Time: 9:31.32      Personal Best: 9:27.59 (2014)
Twitter: @AshleyHigz   Instagram: @ashleyhigz
2013 WC Qualifier, 2015 NACAC Champion, 2015 PanAm Champion

Katie Mackey – 5000 M (final July 10)
Qualifying Time: 15:16.60     Personal Best: 15:04.74 (2014)
Twitter: @KatiefMackey   Instagram: @mackeykb
2015 Diamond League Winner, 2014 World Relay Silver Medalist

Lauren Paquette – 5000 M  (final July 10)
Qualifying Time: 15:14.45      Personal Best: 15:14.45 (2016)
Twitter: @HotPaquettes   Instagram: @hotpaquettes
PR’d by over 50 seconds this season

Gabriele Grunewald – 5000 M  (final July 10)
Qualifying Time: 15:19.50      Personal Best: 15:19.01 (2015)
Twitter: @gg_runs   Instagram: @gigrunewald
Late start due to injury this season, but is shaving time every week, running 2nd fastest time ever 3 weeks out

Emily Infeld – 10,000 M (final July 2)
Qualifying Time: 31:38.71      Personal Best: 31:38.71 (2015)
Twitter: @emily_infeld   Instagram: @emilyinfeld
2015 World Bronze Medalist, despite 2 sacral stress fractures

Alisha Williams – 10,000 M (final July 2)
Qualifying Time: 31:49.99      Personal Best: 31:49.99 (2015)
Twitter: @alirunnerco   Instagram: @alirunnerco
One of the most versatile athletes from track to road, ranging from a 4:35 Mile to a 2:35 Marathon

Stephanie Rothstein Bruce – 10,000 M (final July 2)
Qualifying Time: 32:14.42      Personal Best: 32:14.42 (2016)
Twitter: @Steph_Rothstein   Instagram: @stephrothstein
Coming off back to back pregnancies over two years, still ran a PB and Olympic Standard only 6 months after 2nd child

MEN

Mike Rutt – 800 M (final July 4)
Qualifying Time: 1:45.47      Personal Best: 1:45.08 (2013)
Twitter: @Mike_Rutt   Instagram: @ruttrun
2012 World Indoor Champs Qualifier. Announced that he’ll be retiring after this season; last attempt to make Olympic Team.

Kyle Merber – 1500 M (final July 10)
Qualifying Time: 3:34.54      Personal Best: 3:34.54 (2015)
Twitter: @TheRealMerb   Instagram: @kylemerber
American Collegiate Record Holder (1500), 2015 World Relays Champion, coming off sacral stress fracture this season

Travis Mahoney – 3000 M Steeplechase (final July 8)
Qualifying Time: 8:25.44      Personal Best: 8:25.44 (2016)
Twitter: @UrbanSteepler   Instagram: @urbansteepler
3 x NCAA All American

Garrett Heath – 1500 M (final July 10) / 5000 M (final July 9)
Qualifying Time: 3:34.13 / 13:16.31      Personal Best: 3:34.12 (2013) / 13:16.31 (2015)
Twitter: @_garrettheath   Instagram: @garrettheath
US Road Mile Champion, 3 x Bupa XC Champion, NCAA Relay Champion, 4th at 2015 ElliptiGO World Championships

Chris Derrick – 5000 M (final July 9)
Qualifying Time: 13:19.56      Personal Best: 13:08.04 (2013)
Twitter: @CDerrickRun   Instagram: @cderrickrun
American Collegiate Record Holder (10K), US XC Champion, NCAA Champion

Ben True – 5000 M (final July 9) / 10000 M (final July 1)
Qualifying Time: 13:05.54 / 27:43.79      Personal Best: 13:02.74 (2014) / 27:41.17 (2012)
Twitter: @bentrue   Instagram: @ben_true
6th at 2015 World Championships, 6th at 2013 World XC Championships

Trey Hardee – Decathlon (July 2-3)
Qualifying Mark: 8725      Personal Best: 8790 (2009)
Twitter: @treyhardee   Instagram: @treyhardee
2 x World Champion, Olympic Silver Medalist