Pure Austin instructor and member Jason Brooks takes 2nd at Palo Duro Canyon 50k

On October 18, 2008, Pure Austin's own Jason Brooks took second place in the 50 kilometer trail race. The ultramarathon took place in Texas's largest canyon, Palo Duro Canyon. Jason came in just minutes behind the leader with a time of 4 hours, 1 minute, and 48 seconds. This broke the previous course record! That ROCKS! nice job Jason.

Pure Austin Members Rockin' the Rocky Hill 24 Hour Race

Going the distance…
Pure Cycling Instructor Joshua Crixell, who teaches an endurance-focused cycling class on Tuesdays 12:00 – 12:45pm at Quarry Lake, put together a team to compete in the “24 Hours of Dirt” at Rocky Hill Ranch in Smithville, TX on October 18th & 19th.

“Rapido y Facile” consisted of Joshua, Pure Austin members Dave Campbell and James Bryan, and Brandon Barber, a UT graduate student. They entered in the 4-Person Senior Sport category and won first place! Yah!! They logged 23 laps on the course in 24hrs 31min 32sec.

Way to go guys!!

Competitor TX features Kathy Redden and her client Ryan Battle

This month, Competitor Texas magazine featured Kathy Redden and her client, Ryan Battle. The two won the Muddy Buddy co-ed Division last May - and even more importantly, Ryan won the "battle of the bulge". Article excerpts below. An inspiring story.

"The moment of truth arrived on a Saturday night. Getting dressed to take his wife out for a date, Ryan Battle bent over to tie his shoes. All that excess around his waist compressed against his chest, and as he recalls, "I found myself having difficulty breathing." His wife, Kim, had been gently nagging him to beat the Battle of the Bulge, even tugging at his sensitivities as a husband and father of two daughters. "If you're not caring for yourself, do you care about us?" she asked.....

For Battle, a 41-year old software engineer who lives in Austin - a guy who played college soccer at 165 lbs, but had since ballooned to 240 - that epiphany arrived when he mentally slapped himself in the face after tying his shoes. "Internally," says Battle, who is six feet tall, "I said enough's enough" The shoe moment arrived in August 2006. Six months later Battle was down to 190 lbs, where his weight has settled; though in the heat of the baking Texas summer he dropped to as low as 186. "

The article details his lifestyle changes, workouts, and how meeting Kathy Redden, Fitness Specialist as Pure Austin, helped him turn his health around. In his own words, "I just need someone to kick my ass", and Kathy did just that. Battle says, "She's the person most responsible for my weight loss." Kathy and Ryan meet three times a week, with weight resistance and core exercises. She also changes his routine almost daily.

More about Kathy and Ryan (and their Muddy Buddy victory) in this month's Competitor Texas, available for free throughout town and also at Pure Austin.

Small businesses explore the (cost) benefits of Fitness

From the New York Times, a group of small business owners in an economically-depressed area of Michigan are finding that it pays to invest in their the employee's health via fitness and wellness programs and benefits. Interesting, because this informal consortium of small business owners find it worth their time to get together personally and brainstorm ways to help their employees.

Interesting also - the article notes that several states (Maryland, New Hampshire, Rhode Island) have recently required health insurance companies to offer wellness benefits to small business employees.

In a competitive job climate, with nimble small and medium-sized businesses looking to keep their employees healthy, committed, and happy, providing health and wellness benefits on top of "insurance" is the way to go. Personally, I make sure I schedule myself so that I get a good workout in - I am so much more productive and happier that way.

Jack LaLanne says...

What does Jack LaLanne know about fitness? At 94, he has accumulated quite a bit of knowledge that he can back up. He looks great, and also is still "with it". In some snippets from his interviews in Outside Magazine and on Shareguide, he gives some of his philosophy for a long, healthy happy life. Among his suggestions --uh, exercise! Every day! Read more of Jack LaLanne interview here.