Masters runner Rusty Snow sets new record to defend his title and pro runner Deb Maier beats the women’s record by four minutes
SAN DIEGO, CA (October 01, 2014)— ElliptiGO Inc., creators of the world’s first elliptical cycle, today announced the winners of the 2014 World Championships of Elliptical Cycling. In last Saturday’s grueling 11.69-mile ascent up Palomar Mountain, elite Masters runner Rusty Snow captured the men’s title for the third year in a row while Brooks Beasts’ Track Club runner Deb Maier secured her first elliptical cycling win in the women’s race. On Sunday, the competitors were back for an eight-mile time trial event at Fiesta Island, which saw a record-setting performance by elite cyclist Rick Bienias and a new PR for the women’s winner, three-time Olympian and running legend, Mary Decker Slaney.
“It’s exciting to see how far we’ve come since the first World Championships event back in 2010,” said Bryan Pate, Co-Founder and Co-President of ElliptiGO. “With competitors like Mary Decker Slaney, Deb Maier, Elliott Heath, and Dave Dunham showing up to race, it’s apparent that the ElliptiGO has really started to gain traction as a competitive sport. In fact, the top 11 finishers this year would have beaten the winning time from 2010, which shows how much we’ve achieved in the short five years since we launched the product. We’re all very excited to see how this event will develop and expand in the future.”
The 2014 event drew competitors from across the US, Canada, the UK and Switzerland. The men’s hill climb event was a real battle within a pack of four riders setting a fast pace from the start. It wasn’t until the second half of the race that Snow and Bienias were able to drop Heath and Darren Brown from their wheels. After attempting to drop Snow and pull away, Bienias wasn’t able to hold his pace and Snow turned on the pressure, passing him with less than two miles to go and creating a 30-second gap by the time he crossed the finish line.
“Palomar is a tough climb,” stated Bienias at the finish. “In the end, I think I just went too soon and that allowed Rusty to pass me at the end for the win. Next year, I’ll know better!” For his part, Snow was happy to have defended his title. “I knew that it would be a real battle today between Rick, Heath, Darren and me, and I couldn’t be more pleased to retain my title for the third year in a row,” said Snow. “It’s always painful at the end, but I think my continuous training throughout the year and experience with racing ElliptiGOs on Palomar is what gave me the edge in the end.”
In the women’s race, it was professional distance runner and first-time racer, Deb Maier, who would not only ride to the win, but become the first woman to break 1 hour and 30 minutes by posting a new women’s record of 1:28:25. Less than a minute behind her, runner Drea McLarty, who trains with Rusty Snow, also broke the 1:30 barrier with a 1:29:19. In third place, three-time Olympian and running legend, Mary Decker Slaney, bettered her previous year’s time by 10 minutes and clocked a 1:31:22, a time which would have been good enough to win every previous World Championships race.
The next day, most of the competitors came out for the second act of the weekend’s competition, a flat, 8.33-mile time trial event on Fiesta Island. Sunday proved ideal with very little wind, and it was Bienias and Decker Slaney whose speed finally led them to victory. Bienias also broke the ElliptiGO course record by finishing in 21:22 and becoming the first competitor to average over 23 mph throughout the race.
“It was one of our closest and most exciting races yet,” said Brent Teal, ElliptiGO Co-President and Co-Founder. “We’d like to congratulate Rusty and Deb on their inspiring efforts and new records up Palomar, as well as Rick and Mary for their wins at the time trial the next day. The caliber of athletes increases every year and we’re excited to continue the development of this sport.”
About ElliptiGO
ElliptiGO Inc. is the San Diego-based company that created the world’s first elliptical bicycle. Combining the best of running, cycling and the elliptical trainer, the ElliptiGO® elliptical bike provides a comfortable, fun and effective way to exercise outdoors. It delivers a high-performance workout experience that closely mimics running outdoors while eliminating the impact. Elliptical cycling is an effective way to build cardiovascular fitness without aggravating injuries and is great for everyone from the weekend warrior to the elite athlete. The full line of ElliptiGO elliptical bikes can be purchased at retailers nationwide and through the company’s website . Follow ElliptiGO on Twitter and Facebook