Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Sunsweet Energizes Ultra Running Team Athletes

The sport of Ultra Running takes fitness to new heights with competitive races longer than marathon length and typically on rough terrain. This blend of hiking and running requires an incredible amount of physical and mental endurance. When Alan Abbs of Red Bluff, CA approached Sunsweet about sponsoring a team, it seemed like the perfect fit for a company that markets high-energy dried fruit products.

In 2007, for the third year in a row, Sunsweet will sponsor the Sunsweet Ultra Running Team and key running events on the West Coast, including the Western States 100 Mile Endurance Run on June 22nd, 2007 and the National USA Masters 100K Trail Championship on August 18th, 2007.

The Western States 100 starts in the California Sierra Nevadas’ Squaw Valley and finishes in Auburn, California. The track follows rugged, remote trails from the gold rush era, climbing 18,090 feet and and then descending 22,970 feet before reaching Auburn. Participation is by invitation only, and this year six of the Sunsweet Ultra Runners will compete.

The 2007 National USA Masters 100K Trail Championship will take place in the Oregon Cascades, hosted by the “Where’s Waldo 100K”, a trail race organized by Sunsweet Team member Craig Thornley. Sunsweet will sponsor a prize category for top placing 40+ year old runners.

The Sunsweet Ultra Running Team roster includes Alan Abbs, Bev Anderson-Abbs, Meghan Arbogast, Jeff Riley, Matt Sims, Lewis Taylor, and Craig Thornley.

Each team member boasts impressive honors:

• Alan Abbs finished 16th for men in the 2006 Western States 100 and is a top runner at ultra races across the US as well as eco-adventure races, such as the 2007 Coastal Challenge in Costa Rica, a six-day, 200km event, where he placed in the top ten.
• Bev Anderson-Abbs was named 2006 Ultra Runner of the Year for the Pacific Assoc of USA Track and Field. In the 2007 Coastal Challenge in Costa Rica, she placed fifth overall and topped the women’s category, finishing more than three hours ahead of the pack with a time of 22 hours, 5 minutes and 44 seconds.
• Meghan Arbogast has qualified twice for Olympic Marathon Trials (2000 and 2004) and is attempting to qualify for 2008. She is also the coach for the Mac Forest Mud Runners in Corvallis, Oregon.
• Jeff Riley competes in several long-distance events throughout the year. Highlights include first place at the 2005 Javelina Jundred, 2005 Oregon Trail Series champion, second place at the 2005 Where's Waldo 100K, fifth at the 2006 Angeles Crest 100 miles, and tenth at the 2006 Miwok 100K.
• Matt Simms, a Navy Reserve Commander, recently returned to Whidbey Island, WA from a one-year mobilization in Baghdad. While in Iraq he won 15 road and trail races including the Iraq Boston Marathon and the Baghdad Marathon.
• Lewis Taylor, a newspaper reporter for the Eugene Register-Guard in Oregon, is a relative newcomer to the sport of ultra-running. He finished second overall at the 2006 Where's Waldo 100k. He will be running his first 100 miler in September at the Angeles Crest 100 mile endurance run in Southern California.
• Craig Thornley will be running in the Western States 100 for the fifth time this June, in which he has finished in the men’s top ten twice.

According to Abbs, participating in the ultra running events as a team provides motivation and a better training network. The team enjoys Sunsweet dried fruit as a sweet, healthy snack that gives them a sustaining energy boost. Sunsweet will host aid stations with dried fruit for all runners at the Western 100 Mile and the USA Masters 100K Trail Championship.

###

Headquartered in Yuba City, CA, Sunsweet Growers, Inc. is one of the world's largest handlers of dried fruits including dried plums, apricots, cranberries and raisins. A grower-owned marketing cooperative, Sunsweet provides one-third of the world’s dried plums. The Sunsweet brand is widely recognized as representing products that promote a healthy lifestyle for today’s consumer.

Go back to all News Articles