Gramicci Announces Team Members Expedition Idaho©

For Immediate Release


Announcing the Gramicci Team Members for the Expedition Idaho© 2011 Adventure Race, Silver Mountain Resort ID, August 14th-20th 2011

Race finish kicks of the Blues and Brews Fest at the base of the Mountain.

AGOURA HILLS, Calif., July 25th, 2011 — Gramicci, the legendary climbing and outdoor apparel Company, is the title sponsor for the Expedition Idaho© 2011 Adventure Race this summer. Today Gramicci announces top line team as the official event sponsor: Dave Adlard, Jeni Mc Neal, Andy Tucker,and Tom Abrose. Gramicci will dress Team Gramicci, event staff and all participant teams in its new Gramicci NPT – Natural Performance Technology â„¢ knits, and it’s ROCKIT Dryâ„¢ quick drying nylon shorts.

The finish will be at Silver Mountain Resort at the start of The Blues and Brews Fest. Expedition Idaho© 2011 Adventure race will have teams from all over the world to compete on this world class course; the kind of course adventure racers covet in their career. www.expeditionidahorace.com

Gramicci will be at the finish line and will have a tent at the Blues and Brew Fest: music, art and beer festival. The Gramicci feature and sell the latest in their active organic hemp/cotton performance clothing for men and women, this includes the Camura DT – double traverse endurance knit for men, and the Corawood performance knit tee for women.

Gramicci is fortunate to both sponsor the event and offer a top ranking members to the field. Below are their biographies:

Dave Adlard
Dave is the founder and captain of Team Gramicci, and the Race Director for Expedi-tion Idaho. Dave began Adventure racing in 2007, and has also completed several marathons and Ironman Coeur d Alene. He is an experienced mountaineer, saber fencer and chef. As he is organizing the race, he will be on the sidelines watching his team, though he may get less sleep than they do.


Jeni McNeal
Jeni is a full professor in exercise and sport science at Eastern Washington University where she has taught kinesiology, biomechanics, training planning and periodization, and research methods for the past 11 years. Jeni has completed over 15 races in the past 4 years, including multi-day expedition and stage races. She especially enjoys the strategic aspects of adventure racing and training, along with the team camaraderie. She enjoys world travel, and is known for performing handstands at the finish line of every race. Jeni will be the acting captain of Team Gramicci.



Andy Tucker
Andy lives in Farmington Hills, Michigan with his wife Lisa and two children, Lauren, 20 and Aus-tin, 16. He’s a 47 year old Business Operations Director for Microsoft and has spent 28 years in the computer business. He started Adventure Racing 4 years ago and has competed in 13 AR’s and one Ultra Marathon, including two USARA National Championships. Andy finds the two most important aspects about racing are pushing/finding his limits and friendship.


Tom Ambrose
Tom is a 48 year old professional pilot who believes in living life to its fullest and sharing that experience to educate others of what is possible. “I can’t,” is not in his vocabulary. Tom loves the outdoors – exploring and adventure seeking, and, when not flying, is al-ways been on a bike. He started mountain biking in the early 90’s, and added running to his regimen before moving into adventure racing. His favorite race experience was competing in and completing the Primal Quest 2009, a 10-day, 600-mile expedition length race.


The Gramicci Team will be testing the Gramicci Rock-it Dry collection in pants shorts and shirts, as well as the Double Traverse (DT) hemp blend shirts.

The race is approximately 670 Kilometers in six days. It will begin near Kellogg Idaho and finish at Silver Mountain Ski Resort. Thirty teams are expected with 4 members on each team. Racers will use map, compass and their own wits and skills to navigate their way over an unmarked route by mountain biking, rafting, paddling, trekking, orienteering, trail running, using fixed ropes, and all through the wild panhandle of northern Idaho. The exact course and specifics of each leg are not given to the teams until the night before the race. Prior to the event each team is told what equipment they will need to complete the race. Race directors may make course changes during the event for safety reasons and to attempt to control the finish so that teams will finish in a 4 to 5 hour window.

“Gramicci is excited to be a part of such a great event. We have always admired and designed clothing for this caliber of athlete. For 30 years we have been dressing climbers and adventurers all over the world. International sales at Gramicci represent nearly 30% of the business so it seemed natural to be a part of an international event like this one,” said Marty Weening, President and CCO of Gramicci.

This is an expedition where the journey is at least as important as the race, and where all who commit to the challenge emerge as champions from one of the most beautiful, epic and challenging terrain on Earth.

About Gramicci
Gramicci is often called the ‘soul brand’ of the outdoor industry, known in the climbing community as the originator of the iconic G-series climbing pant and short. Thirty years later Gramicci is still setting the standard for performance climbing and outdoor apparel with its introduction of NPT- Natural Performance Technology â„¢, a pesticide-free, certified organic and hemp blend that naturally produces higher levels of moisture management, breathability and body temperature regulation than synthetics or the new performance cottons that are treated with environmentally harmful chemicals. Gramicci is deeply committed to greener manufacturing. It is developing and adopting new standards of manufacturing that substantially reduce its impact on the environment by using less water and energy. Its organic products have received certification from GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard), OE Blended (Organic Exchange for blended fabrics) and OE 100 (Organic Exchange for all organic fabrics). Gramicci is also a fair labor manufacturer assuring fair wages, clean work environments and zero-tolerance child labor policies. For more information visit www.gramicci.com

Media Contacts: Beth Cochran, What’s Up PR (406) 579-7909, cochran@whatsuppr.com