The ElliptiGO Project Announces Launch and Initial Project Members

San Diego, CA (March 22, 2012) – The ElliptiGO Project, a new group of elite runners focused on using innovative training tools and techniques to improve performance, today announced the official launch of the Project with seven of the top runners in the country.The initial Project members are 50K American Record holder Josh Cox, 2011 US Outdoor 5K National Champion Julie Culley, 2006 and 2010 US 5K National Champion Lauren Fleshman, 3-time World Masters Mountain Running Champion Simon Gutierrez, Badwater winner and elite ultramarathoner Dean Karnazes, 2012 US Olympic Marathon Trials qualifier Craig Leon, and 2011 USATF Runner of the Year for Men 55-59, Brian Pilcher. Leveraging the expertise of the Project’s integration advisor, Bob Augello, these athletes will incorporate the ElliptiGO and other innovative techniques and tools into their training in order to improve their running performance and achieve their goals.

“It’s exciting to be a part of this new team where we’ll be able to share our training experiences with each other,” remarked Josh Cox. “The concept of cross-training and doing something besides just running isn’t new, but there are lots of innovative ways to go about it. The ElliptiGO has been an effective and fun addition to my training and it will be intriguing to hear how others use it. Together we hope to identify the most effective ways to train, avoid injury, and run faster, for everyone’s benefit.”

To join the Project, athletes are required to have an inspiring running-related goal that they want to accomplish in the next two years and want to authentically integrate new training tools and techniques in order to help them achieve their goal.In addition, athletes must be willing to share their training and results with the public and other members of the team. Each athlete will use tools like the ElliptiGO in a slightly different way, so a major benefit to the team members is being able to communicate with each other and learn new ways to incorporate these devices into their own workout regimens.

“For me, cross-training has always been an essential component of my training,” stated ultramarathoner Dean Karnazes. “The ElliptiGO is the best cross-training device I have seen, because it allows me to train hard multiple days in a row without experiencing the joint pounding and muscle damage of running workouts alone.”

For 15-time All-American and two-time national 5K champion Lauren Fleshman, the ElliptiGO first helped her recover from injury, and now has a place in her regular training schedule. “After college I broke my left foot four times during training. I realized that I had to get smart and do something different or I would never compete again. The ElliptiGO makes cross-training so much fun that it’s easy to embrace it. Now I run enough to get the job done and use cross-training to make up the extra volume. This balance got me to the highest finish ever by an American in the 5K at the 2011 World Championships, so I’ll never do it any other way again.”

Another way The ElliptiGO Project will help the runners incorporate the ElliptiGO and other innovative tools into their training regimens is by leveraging the expertise of Integration Advisor Bob Augello.Augello has been working with endurance athletes at all levels for more than 20 years with a particular emphasis on using innovation to improve performance.His presence will provide the team members with the opportunity to get insight into how they can best use all the different tools and techniques identified by the Project.

“As I see it, injuries are the single greatest enemy one faces when striving to obtain optimal performance capability, whether during a season or over the course of an entire career,” remarked Augello. “I see integration of the ElliptiGO into training as a means of evading that enemy. It’s the closest thing available to running – it generates a heart rate within 5 beats of what it would be if you were running – but it’s non-impact.”

The Project is currently recruiting elite runners with ambitious goals who are interested in exploring innovative new ways of getting faster and staying healthy.It is constantly on the lookout for innovative tools and techniques that can contribute to its mission of making runners faster.“I’m really looking forward to seeing how these athletes use the ElliptiGO and other innovative training tools to achieve their goals,” stated Augello. “The ElliptiGO Project will be a lengthy experiment, and we will continue to test our new approaches to training through competition and report our findings for everyone’s benefit.”

For more information about The ElliptiGO Project, visit the website at www.theelliptigoproject.com.

About The ElliptiGO Project

The ElliptiGO Project exists to make runners faster through innovation. It is currently comprised of a group of elite runners, a new running tool, and an integration advisor.Over time, the group plans to increase the number of Project members, add new innovative running tools, and affiliate with other organizations that share the same goal of improving athletes’ performance through innovation.The Project will test these new training techniques through competition, both on the track and on the road, and report its findings with candor. www.theelliptigoproject.com

# # #

Media Contact:

Erika Nelson

erika (at) elliptigo (dot) com

858.876.8677