Gore Announces "Team Gore-Tex" Adventure Racing Team, 2009-2010 Season

W.L. Gore and Associates, inventor of durably waterproof, breathable GORE-TEX® apparel and footwear technologies, announces the Team GORE-TEX® Adventure Racing Team for 2009-2010 (www.nextepicadventure.com). The team is comprised of four working professionals from Portland, Ore., and the Salt Lake City, Utah, areas: Peter Courogen, Mike Dawson, Ken Meyer and team captain Julie Leasure. In addition to sharing a passion for competitive adventure racing, all four team members are full-time product development/marketing specialists and engineers. Wearing the latest products with GORE-TEX® and WINDSTOPPER® fabric, the team of uniquely qualified endurance athletes will not only evaluate performance benefits and areas for improvement but will also offer specific recommendations for finished product enhancement.

“GORE-TEX® and WINDSTOPPER® products improve our experience and performance during a race, enabling our team to push themselves – as well as each other – to the ultimate limits,” said Courogen. “Gore treats us like family. We have a direct line of contact to product developers and marketers; they genuinely want to listen to and consider our feedback. Our team’s development and engineering background is a great resource for product feedback.”

Peter Courogen and Julie Leasure recently won the Lewis and Clark Ultra, wearing Gore Bike Wear and also competed alongside one another in The North Face Endurance Challenge presented by GORE-TEXâ„¢, each placing within the top four overall. The team is scheduled to compete in the upcoming GORE-TEXâ„¢ TransRockies Run (www.transrockies.com) and the AXS MOAB, as well as individual trail running events.

“Maintaining an ongoing and interactive dialogue with this team will go a long way in furthering our development of products that meet consumer demands,” said Matt Schreiner, Gore global footwear product specialist. “Field testing, in combination with our extensive laboratory analysis, enables us to more effectively address the needs of outdoor athletes while they are training and competing in varying conditions.”

ABOUT W. L. GORE & ASSOCIATES: Perhaps best known for its consumer products like GORE-TEX fabric and ELIXIR guitar strings, Gore is a leading manufacturer of thousands of advanced technology products for the electronics, industrial, fabrics and medical markets. The company is headquartered in Newark, Delaware, and employs approximately 8000 associates in 45 facilities throughout the world. For more information about W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc. and GORE products, call 1-800-431-GORE or visit www.gore-tex.com.

GORE, GORE-TEX, and designs are trademarks of W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc. ©2008 W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc., 295 Blue Ball Rd., Elkton, Maryland, 800-431-GORE, gore-tex.com.