Eastern Mountain Sports Adventure Race Team Opens Season With Wins

PETERBOROUGH, N.H. (April 4, 2007) – Coming off of a 2006 National Championship title, the 2007 Eastern Mountain Sports Adventure Race Team achieved a season-opening first place finish at the Smartwool Swamp Stomp in Bushnell, Fla., Feb. 17-18, and a second place finish at the Checkpoint Zero Adventure Race in Helen, Ga., March 23-25.

Enduring below freezing temperatures in Florida during the Swamp Stomp, the Eastern Mountain Sports Team posted the best course completion time of 26 hours and 12 minutes. In the season’s second race, the Checkpoint Zero Adventure Race, the team’s final time was shy of first place by just 16 minutes and ahead of third place by two hours and 18 minutes. Only four teams out of 65 finished the course in less than the allotted 30 hours. This second place achievement secured the Eastern Mountain Sports Team’s lead in the CheckPointTracker national point series.

“We are fortunate to have such committed team members who realize the importance of teamwork,” said Eastern Mountain Sports Team Captain Jennifer Shultis. “It’s energizing to post two successful, back-to-back finishes at the beginning of this year’s competitions.”

Adventure racing consists of a combination of two or more disciplines, including orienteering and navigation, trail running, mountain biking, paddling, climbing and related rope skills. The eight-person Eastern Mountain Sports’ Adventure Race Team will compete in an additional 19 to 22 races through November. Team members include: Eric Bowker, Williston, Vt.; Joe Brautigam, Bethel, Ct.; Chad Denning, Hanover, N.H.; Dmitry Drozdov, Waltham, Mass.; John Hartley, Montclair, N.J.; Will Hawkins, Rochester, N.Y.; Dave Lamb, Kingston, N.H. and Jennifer Shultis, Lexington, Mass. All competitive results and team information are posted and can be viewed on the team’s blog: http://teameasternmountainsports.blogspot.com/.

ABOUT TEAM EASTERN MOUNTAIN SPORTS
Team Eastern Mountain Sports is a world-class adventure race team based out of the Northeastern region of the United States. The team is sponsored by Eastern Mountain Sports, which was founded in 1967 by two New England rock climbers and is based in Peterborough, N.H. Eastern Mountain Sports is one of the nation’s leading outfitters of outdoor gear, clothing, footwear and accessories with 67 retail stores in 12 states. Eastern Mountain Sports designs and sells products for outdoor adventurers who participate in a variety of sports, such as mountaineering, backpacking, camping, hiking, adventure racing, climbing, kayaking, mountain biking and snow sports. Eastern Mountain Sports product and technology is tested by its product development and quality assurance teams in conjunction with the Eastern Mountain Sports Climbing, Kayaking and Ski Schools. More information is available at www.ems.com.

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