ElliptiGO continues to provide unmatched training experiences that make our products one of the most desired forms of cross-training especially among the running elite who seek the pinnacle of performance. Picture top-tier athletes exploring cutting-edge practices, and you’ll find ElliptiGO leading the way.
Through the years, we’ve collaborated with hundreds of athletic professionals gearing up for the Olympics and National Championships, along with over 400 universities and high schools striving to be the best at their respective levels. As we head into an Olympic year (Paris 2024), the stakes are higher than ever for these athletes. Therefore, training resources like ElliptiGO bikes become even more important. Athletes are empowered to push boundaries, intensify workouts, and safeguard against injuries that could derail their dreams.
In the spirit of celebration, we’re thrilled to share glimpses of some of the outstanding feats achieved by athletes in 2023.
In January, the US Cross Country Championships were held in Richmond, Virginia. ElliptiGO athlete Andrew Colley of ZAP Endurance placed 2nd in the Men’s 8K Championship race to qualify him for the World Cross Country Championships in Bathurst, Australia, where he placed 36th in the World. Andrew has been one of the most injury-prone athletes in the sport, which made this achievement particularly rewarding. With the help of ElliptiGO training integration, Andrew has put together healthy training that also led to his new Marathon PR of 2:11 at the Chicago Marathon in October. At the same race, his fiancé and ZAP Endurance teammate Tristan Van Ord also used ElliptiGO in her training and achieved a new PB of 2:25. Both Andrew’s and Tristan’s times were team records for the North Carolina-based ZAP Endurance team. Andrew and Tristan will be married in the fall of 2024!
In March, ElliptiGO user Eilish McColgan broke the British 10,000m record on the track at the Sound Running “Ten” event. Her time of 30:00.87 broke the previous area record held by Paula Radcliffe from 21 years ago. A month later, she broke the British Record in the Half Marathon with a time of 1:05:43 to win the Berlin Half Marathon. Eilish comes from a very successful family of runners, she has purchased two ElliptiGO bikes that both she and her father use frequently. She has also had quite a few injuries and is constantly working on a balance of ground running and alternative training to help keep her injury-free while still competing at the highest level.
In July, ElliptiGO athlete Elliot Giles ran a personal best (PB) of 3:30.92 in the 1500m to place 4th in the London Diamond League. Elliot has had a long history of injuries and has more recently become known for his low-mileage training after breaking Seb Coe’s 38-year-old British National Record in the 800m. He’s continued to use alternative training like ElliptiGO to increase his aerobic capacity. Lately, he has been finding even more success in the longer 1500m distance. Read more about Elliot’s story in this athlete spotlight from 2021.
In September, long-time ElliptiGO athlete Stephanie Rothstein Bruce gave birth to her third child. Stephanie has run 2:27 in the Marathon and was 6th at the 2020 US Olympic Marathon Trials. She had so much success after training on the ElliptiGO following her two previous pregnancies she knew it would be even more important this time around if she wanted to return to her highest ability in the marathon and across the sport. Stephanie, an ElliptiGO-training early adopter has regularly discussed her success publicly. Learn more about Stephanie’s story in this 2017, athlete spotlight. If you want to read more about other Moms integrating ElliptiGO into their training, pre and post-pregnancy, check out this article.
In September, we started working with World Champion and Olympic Silver Medalist Sandi Morris, who currently holds the American Record in the Pole Vault. While many people might correlate ElliptiGO integration with long-distance runners, athletes from all disciplines of track & field as well as other sports have seen success with ElliptiGO integration as part of their overall strength and conditioning. Sandi is a great example and talks about why she was so interested in this training in a recent YouTube video.
In October, many of the best Marathoners in the US lined up at the Chicago Marathon. While this World Major is always a popular choice, the timing of this race relative to the 2024 US Olympic Marathon Trials in February made it a particularly star-studded field. In a race that flirted with the World Record, American Record holder and ElliptiGO athlete Emily Sisson led the American contingent with a solid 2:22:09 finishing in 7th place overall. Not far behind, Olympic Bronze Medalist and ElliptiGO World Champion Molly Seidel ran a new PB (by over 1 ½ minutes) of 2:23:07 to take the 2nd US spot. Just behind her was Sara Vaughn in a new PB (by almost 3 minutes) at 2:23:24 to round out the US podium, made up of all ElliptiGO users.
In November, the NCAA Cross Country Championships were hosted at the University of Virginia, an ElliptiGO school program since 2016. Another ElliptiGO program was arriving in Charlottesville as the two-time defending National Champs. The NC State University Women’s team won in 2021 and 2022 and was looking to make it a three-peat. Despite some illness spreading through the team and an injury that kept their 2nd runner on the sideline, they were still able to find their way to the top, overcoming the odds and winning their 3rd straight National Team Title by only one point! The Raleigh-based NC State team has utilized ElliptiGO training integration since 2016.
Looking ahead to the 2024 Olympic Year, we’ll be rewarded with some exciting races early on as the US Olympic Marathon Trials will take place on February 3rd in Orlando, Florida. The qualifying window closed on December 4th of this year, so we already know the complete list of qualifiers. Of the 227 Men and 173 Women that have qualified, a maximum of three Men and three Women will earn a spot on Team USA to compete in August 2024 at the Paris Olympic Games. The total number of 400 qualifiers for the US Marathon Trials is way down from the 772 total qualifiers in 2020 because of the much tougher time standards. In terms of ElliptiGO athletes, we had approximately 100 users qualify for the 2020 race and have about 50 qualifiers for the 2024 race, making the percentage of total qualifiers about the same. This will be a huge highlight for our athletes, so be sure to keep an eye out for an event preview that highlights all of our athletes in the race!
The corresponding US Olympic Track & Field Trials will take place in Eugene, Oregon later in June to decide the rest of the US Olympic team that will compete at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. We’re excited to follow these individual journeys of the professional athletes we work with from all over the world as a part of our much larger ElliptiGO family.