Elagen

Green Man Ultra Win!

Allie — Wed, 09 May 2012 12:18:18 +0000

Carter won his first main race of the year on 3 March 2012 despite feeling a bit run-down the week before.

He went on to say how the previous week before the race ” I spent most of race week resting and taking my Elagen supplements, and fortunately by Thursday I felt a lot better and ready to race.”

He completed the 47mile race in 7hr8min, which was 11min quicker than the old record!

Well Done Darryl!

link to Darryl’s race report http://darrylcartertri.wordpress.com/

Elagen Ultra Team Report

Allie — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 18:02:48 +0000

Elagen Ultra Team Report

Brecon Beacons Ultra 45 Miles

19 November 2012

By Darryl Carter

On Saturday 19 November around 150 runners lined up at the base of the Brecon Beacons in Wales for what was to be a punishing test of physical and mental endurance, running a total of 45 miles over unforgiving terrain. There were a number of quality athletes in the field including various world record holders, world champions and race winners in their own right, all looking for a good performance to cap the racing season. This was also a team event, with three members per team providing an aggregate time at the end of the race.

Eladon were good enough to sponsor four teams for the event, providing Elagen Sport and Beta Alanine pills. The original teams comprised mainly of triathletes, most of which had limited experience of ultra running, and unfortunately a few injuries before the day meant a reshuffling of teams. But we were still confident that we could do well. We all took the Elagen Sport pills in the two months before the race, and the Beta Alanine lactic-acid buffer pills leading up to the race. Thanks to Elagen Sport we had all experienced a much better rate of recovery in training, and were keen to see the affects of Beta-Alanine during the race itself.

Team Elagen Ultra

Elagen Endurance : Shaw Pye, Peter Cusick, Darryl Carter

Elagen Extreme : Jo Kilkenny, James Ogilvie, Karl Zeiner

Elagen Explorer : Paul Thompson, Tim Robinson, Ian Hall

Elagen Extreme : Scott Garrett, Alexia Melling, David Pye

The race itself was fast and furious from the off. Several members of Team Elagen went straight to the front and dictated a very quick pace. This is often considered a mistake in ultra running with most athletes adopting a more sustained and relaxed pace, but as it turned out a number of the team managed to hold their positions throughout the race. Elagen Endurance came 1stteam with an aggregate time of 20hr30mins including a 2ndand 3rd individual position for myself and Shaw Pye. Elagen Extreme had a solid overall performance too coming home 3rd team (an aggregate time that would have given them the win last year), with Elagen Explorer 6th team.

The day unfortunately wasn’t complete without the odd injury and blisters, but overall it was an amazing performance from Team Elagen against some some high quality opposition. A resounding success and testament to the value of the Elagen Sport and Bata-Alanine products in endurance training.

A short video of the event can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-S2h93LYbNU&feature=youtu.be

Race website : http://www.beaconsultra.com/

A few comments from Team Elagen Ultra:

“I crossed the line in a time of 6hr33mins, this genuinely shocked me and was pleased to find out I was 4mins behind Darryl who finished in 6hr29mins. My aims for the race was to achieve podium position and sub 7 hour, both of those boxes got ticked.”

Shaw Pye

“It was an awesome day out – a very no frills event run by lovely people which I would highly recommend to anybody who fancies a big challenge. I was massively relieved to finish in 8th out of 144 starters in 7:17. Elagen Sport and Beta Alanine were provided for the duration of our training and for the event, both products aimed at endurance athletes. I was in my best form of the year and had been illness free throughout training for the race.”

James Ogilvie

Karl Zeiner’s Race Report : http://www.dzfitness.co.uk/race-report-beacons-ultra-marathon-45-miles-nov-19-2011/

Brecon Ultra – Team Elagen Power ahead

Allie — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 13:10:37 +0000

A team of runners racing under the banner “Team Elagen” stormed to first and third in the team placings at the Brecon Ultra a 46 mile mountain race!!

It was a fantastic first outing for the team put together by coach and ultra althlete Darryl Carter. The team were fuelled by Elagen Sport and Eladon’s Beta Alanine. A full race report from Darryl is to follow.

Well done everyone!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-S2h93LYbNU

Mark Whittle tells all about his European Championship success!

Allie — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 08:15:47 +0000

Mark Whittle, an Elagen Sport and Beta Alanine user, qualified for the European Long Distance Triathlon Championships earlier in the year, this was to be a 4km swim, followed by a 120km bike and finished off with a 30km run.

Here’s his race report:

We arrived in Finland nice and early (we, being the 4 Royal Air Force guys who had made the team) and had lots of time to recce the swim, bike and run courses. The swim looked very long, the bike looked pretty flat (and boring) whilst the run looked like the only interesting part of the race, sweeping around the beautiful lake through a slightly wooded area with gravel trails.

Race morning soon arrived and we had a quick breakfast in the hotel before heading off to the transition area. The race location was very good, with an athletics stadium being used for T1/T2 which was only 5 minutes walk from our hotel, with the lake being adjacent to the stadium. After putting all our nutrition onto our bikes we headed down to the start area. The elite men and women went off first, with the age group men going next (us) and the age group women to follow.

We all jumped into the water and after a minute or two, the horn went and we were off. With less than 200 men in our wave start, there wasn’t the usual biff you get at the start of an Ironman race, I quickly found some open space and headed the 300m or so to the first turn buoy. After this turn, we essentially had to swim in a big rectangle finishing down a canal next to the stadium. The out leg seemed to take forever! I managed to find some feet to sit on for a while and settled in to a pace that I thought I could hold for 4k. We eventually got to the far turn buoy (maybe 1.8k into the swim leg), turned, swam another 200-300m and turned again for the return and final leg. We were now swimming into a bit of current and the sun was rising in front of us which made navigation a little difficult.

I was starting to feel a little tired now. The current was sapping my energy and the navigation meant sighting was harder, fortunately someone swam up to me, so I jumped on his feet and trusted he was sighting correctly. It seemed his sighting was spot on as we arrived at the mouth of the canal in fairly quick time, I knew it was another 300m or so to go, so decided to stay with my new friend and let him direct me into the exit point. It got a bit congested here and I got a smack round the head for my troubles, but all in all it was an uneventful swim – just what I was hoping for. I stood up, checked my watch and saw 1:06. I was particularly pleased with this as I was expecting to see 1:10 – 1:15. Good start!

Quickly into transition the wetsuit was off and I was ready to exit T2. Out on the bike I went and settled into the aero position and started pushing on, knowing that the slower swimmers would be chasing me hard! Once I settled down I started thinking about my nutrition and started taking on some of my energy drink and energy gels on every lap.

The bike was 6 laps of 20k and it was a little boring. We biked out of town, onto some fast roads, then onto a motorway for a mile or so, then climbed up a long shallow climb, back down the motorway and into town again. Coupled with that a few dead-turns (which really slowed you down!) and quite a bit of wind, it was not the most exciting of routes.

The laps ticked away and apart from some Spanish pro’s and some Finnish age groupers drafting, it was a very clean bike race. I came towards T2 quite glad the bike leg was over, I checked my watch and saw a bike split of about 3:26, I was ok with that. It wasn’t great, but it was ok, and I had my strongest leg (the run) to come!

The run was 4 laps of 7.5k, so it would be easy to gauge your pace and spot other age groupers and see where they were in the race compared to you on each lap. I set out on the first lap with the intention of going easy. As I was approaching the first turn point (at 3.75k) I was very surprised that I hadn’t caught anyone! This wasn’t normal. Was everyone else really running that fast? Was I running slow? Too slow? I put this to the back of my mind, thought about keeping pace, taking my nutrition and continued on.

As it turned out I shouldn’t have worried as I caught 9 people in the next 3.75k. The pace felt easy and I completed the first lap in about 33 minutes. Now it got a little confusing, as there were quite a lot of people on the run course, you didn’t know if they were on their first lap or third lap. It didn’t really matter though, as I continued to run at my own pace, I felt good and people were coming back to me fairly quickly. The laps ticked away and I continued to sip from my energy gel flask whilst taking water and coke from the aid stations, everything was going to plan.

I was now coming towards the end of the third lap and I could feel myself slowing down. It wasn’t quite the Ironman-shuffle, but I was definitely slowing. I finished my Bikefood energy gel flask and started the fourth and final lap knowing that if I ran the last 7.5k in 40 minutes I would break 7 hours for the race. This was now my motivation. I didn’t care who I was passing (I stopping counting after passing 25 people), I just wanted to keep pushing on to break the 7 hour barrier. I got the final turn point and worked out I had 20 minutes to do the last leg in, this would be a tough ask. I was now very tired. I had walked the last 2 aid stations, taking on lots of water and coke, so to get back to the stadium and do a lap of the athletics track and finish in 7 hours was going to be hard, hard work.

I pushed on, I was now hurting. I wasn’t out of breath at all, just tired and my muscles didn’t want to respond to my brain telling them to move – faster! I could now see the stadium and hear the crowds. I guessed I had about another 5 or 6 minutes of pain to endure. Surely I could do that? Could I?

I was pushing again, pain filled my legs and lungs but it’s amazing how the crowds drive you on. I entered the stadium and saw 2 Finnish athletes in front of me. I had about 350m to go and there was no way I was going to let them beat me! I pushed again, passed the first guy, reached the second guy, he tried to react but he was spent, I was past him and started driving on to the finish line. I looked at my watch with about 50m to go, I knew I was under 7 hours, it was instant relief! With the Finns behind me and 7 hours in the bag, I could coast to the finish line savouring the atmosphere.

I came 11th in my age group and went sub 7 hours, I was very happy about that! Many thanks to my family, friends, coach and sponsors for all your support, I know it’s a cliché, but without all your help I would never have made it to Finland to represent my country. That means a lot to me, so I thank you all.

Helen Russell reports back on Alp d’Huez race.

Allie — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 11:23:24 +0000

Helen sporting the bright colours of Elagen Sport at Alp d'Huez.

Alp d’Huez Triathlon

The Alp d’Huez Triathlon is becoming a must event for triathletes from all over the world. There are actually a number of events over five days, including a duathlon and children’s race but the main races are the two triathlons. The long race comprises a 2.2km swim, a 115km cycle, and a 22km run, whilst the short race covers a 1.2km swim, a 30km cycle and a 7km run.

The course starts in Vaujany at 700m above sea level and finishes in Alp d’Huez at 2000m so competitors not only have to cope with the gruelling terrain but also have to deal with the difference in attitude.

This year just under 1000 people took part in the long course, whilst 1200 people took the “easier” option of the shorter route, myself included.

I had travelled with the official travel partner, Sports Tours International, which meant that I had the ground support from representatives and was able to stay at a hotel very close to the race venue.

The long course took place on the Wednesday in terrible conditions. The athletes had to battle the elements as well as the course as it rained for most of the day and was extremely cold at the top of the Alp d’Huez. It was a great day for British women with Scotswoman Catriona Morrisson taking the victory at 06:25:00 whilst former age grouper, now turned pro triathlete, Tamsin Lewis finished third.

The course

I was delighted that the weather had changed completely for my race with glorious sunshine at the start. The course was the most beautiful I have ever seen. The swim took place in the clear waters of the Lac du Verney, with the Alp d’Huez in the background reminding us of what was to come! There was only one race wave meaning that 1,200 athletes all started the swim at once, which was a little intimidating. I decided to be brave and start at the front but at the side so that I could move out if I was being hit or if people were swimming over me! I made a good choice as I had a fairly clear line until the first turnaround point, which was rather alarmingly a small sailing boat. Usually the turnaround points are soft inflatables but the boat was obviously hard with sharp edges. I had no choice but to grasp the edge of the boat and pull myself around as quickly as I could without getting hit by either the boat or the other swimmers!

Once out of the lake we entered the packed transition area before setting off towards the Alp. There was a short steep climb out of the transition area before a flat stretch of about 15km through the village of Bourg d’Oisans to the base of the mountain. The severity of the climb hit me immediately with a gradient of 11%. Luckily I had been warned that the first few switch-backs are the worse so I just changed down to my lowest gear and kept a steady rhythm. I had hired a bike from Sports Tours International, which ensured that I had a bike with appropriate gearing. The ride up the mountain was without doubt the highlight of the course. The Tour de France had gone up the mountain just a few days before and the names of the pro riders were still painted on the road all the way up. I tried to take inspiration from the names of the riders I knew and appreciated the support from the spectators, which seemed to line the majority of the route.

I had thought that once you were at the top of the mountain you couldn’t go any higher. I was wrong – most of the run was off-road and uphill. At an altitude of 2000m this was totally draining. I refused to stop and walk though and tried to run fast enough to prevent any women from passing me. In comparison to the cycle, the run route was very barren and lonely with only a few marshals to offer support. I was relieved to enter the final 1km, which was downhill back to the transition area and gave a final push to cross the finishing line in 2.40.16. This meant that I was the second British woman finisher, 4^th in my age category and 24^th woman overall. The winning woman was former European Triathlon Champion Nicola Spirig from Switzerland in a phenomenal time of 1.59.24. First male was British triathlete, and former World Champion Tim Don in a time of 1.49.40.

The Elagen Sport came in very useful both prior to and post race, helping me to arrive fit and healthy and improving my recovery time after a very hard event, ready to start my training for my next event!

Helen Russell,

Elagen Sport sponsored athlete.

Mark White at Ironman Roth!

Allie — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 10:58:39 +0000

A taster of the excruciating ‘Challenge Roth’. Hats off to all of our participating athletes! http://triathlete-europe.competitor.com/2011/07/14/why-is-challenge-roth-such-a-fast-race/

Featured Athlete – Mark White

Allie — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 13:16:08 +0000

Every month, we will be featuring one of our sponsored athletes and updating you on their achievements for the year.

October’s Featured Athlete was ‘Wonderwoman’ Kat Grimmett. November belongs to Ironman Mark White. To see his profile, click below:

http://www.elagen.com/sport/sponsored-athletes/mark-white/

‘All downhill from here’ isn’t so bad for Pete

Allie — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 13:10:34 +0000

HI-TEXT World Downhill Mountainboard Championships

1^st place Pete Tatham UK, Cheltenham

2^nd place Jonathan Charles UK

3^rd place Tom Kirkman UK

The World Downhill Championships 2010 was set in the former Olympic (Torino) games village of Bardonecchia, Italy on the 4^th July.

The competition was set on a 2.5km course in the Italian Alps. The terrain varied from open rocky pieste to very tight single-track former mountain bike routes. Riders from 8 countries competed for the tittle.

The riders were given 4 runs, timed with the same equipment used for the downhill skiing in the winter. The top 2 times were counted to decide the winner.

The UK riders dominated the event taking all three podium positions. Pete Tatham, aged 35, and Jonathan Charles, aged 20, are both from Team noSno based in Cheltenham Gloucestershire. It was Pete’s 4^th World Downhill title despite having suffered M.E. from when he was younger. He narrowly beat his team mate Jonathan Charles to retain the title. Jonathan Charles went on to win the European Downhill Series which finished in France the following weekend.

The Cheltenham based company noSno were the first to start mountainboarding back in 1992 and is run by brothers Dave and Pete Tatham. Since their origins they have specialised in downhill and freeride boards and are renowned for their first descents of some of the highest peaks in Europe. All their equipment is designed and made in Gloucestershire, UK.

Pete Tatham; “It’s been a great season despite some injuries earlier in the year. Winning the World Downhill again is fantastic. I now looking forward to planning and training for some new freeride descents for next year as well as going back to the World Downhill Championships.”

Pete Tatham regarding Elagen; “The Elagen High Potency Eleutheroccus Senticocus capsules have again been invaluable this season. They greatly improved my body’s ability to deal with M.E. for over 10 years and the stresses of training to compete in a physically demanding sport. I would highly recommend them to anyone who puts their body under stress.”

Luke rides for GB at World Cup

admin — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 22:47:03 +0000

Luke Gray at London League

In keeping with our newest attempt to keep you all informed of goings on here at Eladon, I must let you know about one of our younger Elagen Sport users. Luke Gray has been using Elagen Sport for a couple of years now and we are enjoying watching the youngster progress through the ranks. This latest news comes from Luke’s father Robert following Luke’s recent race for the GB team.

“Luke raced at the first round of the XCO World Cup, the international series for XC MTB at the weekend having been selected for the GB team.

It all took place at Dalby Forest, North Yorkshire, the first time the UK has hosted a Cross Country World Cup in over 10 years. The special built course proved a hit with both riders and spectators alike, with its excellent viewing areas.

Luke put in a good ride finishing 19th Junior on this brilliant course with its dual descender rock steps, a steep rock drop off section called Worry Gill, and Medusa’s Drop which was a switch back decent with big drops over the root infested hill side. This was just some of the features of the course that also included a lap of a Free ride park at the end of each lap.

There were hoards of spectators cheering the 4 Junior’s Brit riders which also added to the fantastic atmosphere to make this a real world class event, which included riders from as far as Australia..”