SAN DIEGO, CA (May 30, 2014)— ElliptiGO Inc., creators of the world’s first elliptical bicycle, today announced that the 2014 Jim Ryun Festival of Miles will feature the first “ElliptiGO Mile” competition of the year. The four competitors will be two-time Olympic Gold Medalist and current American record holder for the 800 meters, Jearl Miles-Clark, three-time Olympian and current American record holder for the mile, Mary Decker Slaney, three-time NCAA Division II national champion Darcy Arreola Lange, and Footlocker cross-country national champion Julia Stamps-Mallon. The race will take place on the running track at historic Balboa Stadium in San Diego.
“With increasing numbers of professional athletes adopting the ElliptiGO as part of their training regimen, we knew it was just a matter of time before they’d want to start racing them on the track,” stated Bryan Pate, Co-Founder and Co-President of ElliptiGO. “After introducing this new style of racing last year, we are really excited to bring this event to the Jim Ryun Festival and give the crowd a thrilling four-person event to watch.”
Adding to the excitement is the opportunity to watch track and field legends like Jearl Miles-Clark and Mary Decker Slaney compete. “While all of the competitors have exceptional running accomplishments, Jearl and Mary are true legends of the sport,” stated Bryce Whiting, Chief Enthusiast at ElliptiGO. “Jearl is a five-time Olympian, two-time Olympic Gold Medalist, and holds the American record in the 800 meters. Mary is a three-time Olympian, two-time World Championships Gold Medalist, and set an astonishing 17 world records and 36 American records during her career. She still holds the American records in the 1500 meters, mile, 2000 meters, and 3000 meters. It’s going to be an epic showdown on the track.”
Miles-Clark and Decker Slaney will face stiff competition from current Masters runners Arreola Lange and Stamps Mallon. En route to her three national titles while at California State University Northridge, Arreola Lange earned twelve All American honors in track and field and cross country. After winning the Footlocker high school cross country national championships, Stamps-Mallon competed for Stanford University and garnered six All-American honors of her own. All four women will be chasing the current ElliptiGO Mile record of 2:54 set in 2013 by NCAA Division II Track and Field Athlete of the Year, Betsy Graney.
Since its introduction in 2010, the ElliptiGO has become the cross-training tool of choice for more than 100 elite athletes as well as dozens of university and professional teams around the world. The ElliptiGO Mile at the Jim Ryun Festival of Miles is one of five ElliptiGO-only events taking place in 2014. Others include the ElliptiGO Winter Classic in Arizona, the New England ElliptiGO Summer Classic in Massachusetts, and the World Championships of Elliptical Cycling in California.
The Jim Ryun Festival of Miles will take place on Thursday, June 5th at Balboa Stadium in San Diego, California in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the first high school sub-4 minute mile by legend Jim Ryun who ran 3:59.0 at the Compton Relays on June 5, 1964.
