My name is Jay Riley and I live in Marysville , Ohio ( USA ). I have been an endurance athlete all of my life. I have completed twelve marathons, half-ironman, and several trail ultra marathons. I am the Assistant Fire Chief in Marysville, a suburb of Columbus , Ohio. I live on a small farm with my wife (Susan) and two kids (Cole 13, Kara 10).
By chance, Dave and I met online in last year and crewed for him in the 2010 Badwater Ultramarathon. We have become great friends, and am very excited to see the fruition of his fund raising for the National Burn Centre. I’m the only returning crew from 2010 to help out this year. I must be either a slow learner or really love running in Death Valley that much. Either way, I can’t wait to see my friend and enjoy the seemingly endless isolation of Death Valley.
My name is Nick Longworth, I'm from Pickerington, Ohio. I've been an active outdoorsman all my life and always seem to be drawn to adventure. I'm a trail runner at heart but love adventure of any sort.
I've been running long distances since 2005 and hooked on Ultrarunning since 2007 when I ran my first Ultramarathon; The Haliburton 50k in Canada. Soon, I found myself becoming more distant from shorter races in favor of much longer trail races. It is here that I found my passion for trail running and training outdoors year around. I've ran ultra distances from 50k to 100k but mostly enjoy a day out on the trail just running 20-30 miles at a time.
I'm a person with a great desire to see how far I can push myself mentally and physically. I'm currently an active member at Crossfit Reynoldsburg. It is here that they forge everyday people into hardcore athletes.
I'm very honored to be crewing for Dave Walker at Badwater. I know for certain this experience will forever change my life and place an emphasis on the importance of generosity and friendship. I am also quite certain it will be a humbling experience, one I'll never soon forget.
Please visit my
Facebook page for further insight into the kind of person I am.
I also have a Blog entitled:
A Second Wind that I will update more and more with my daily adventures.
Update: Unfortunately Nick has had an accident while out running the trails and has broken his leg so won't be able to join Dave at Badwater this year. He's still very much part of the team though and we all wish him a speedy recovery.
Gianluca (Luca for short) Blengio, I'm 45. Born and raised in a happy little Italian town called Faenza, 101.5km from Florence, city center to city center. That's for sure, because there is an ultra from Florence to my town "100km del Passatore". I've seen finishers every year for most of my life and thought they were all crazy. I guess ultras were an event waiting to happen.
Hated running for most of my life, met a lovely lady, got married, moved to the US and became a Firefighter, the most American job in America. Funny, I still have a thick German (yes, that's what people think) accent.
My lovely wife required me to stop smoking (like any italian man I did, both, smoke and "wear the pants in the family") hence I gained weight. Therefore the conclusion that "jogging" was the best (and cheapest) way to lose the weight I gained. Completed my first marathon 13 months later, in 2008. Had no clue that some crazy people run trails until my FD assistant Chief, Mr. Jay Riley (who by the way is the one who threw me under the bus for the first marathon, e-mailing it to everyone at work) tricked me in running a 50k (technically an ultra, that's my standpoint) trail race in '09, although "running" is not the most correct word. That's also where I met Mr Longworth. That was followed by two more marathons in '09, another 50k in '10 and a trail marathon. I am scheduled for the 3rd 50k this April and my first 50 miler in May.
2010 is also the year who saw me (thanks to Jay, again) in Badwater to crew a British runner. Awesome experience. We came back from Death Valley with the mind set of "Oh, c'mon. It's ONLY a marathon". Yeah right.
My team and Dave's have been close for the entire race, so we all got to share the fun. Amazing what kind of spirit you find among runners out there.
Ironically, three years ago I did not even know there was such a crazy thing as an ultramarathon in Death Valley in July; I was also one of those asking "how long is this marathon?".
That very first mile on the treadmill turned my life onto an unexpected path, trail if you will! met great people, found a new (and for most people "sick") meaning of Fun, like an easy 20 miler; now I'm vegan and dabbling in Zen stuff... You told me any of this a couple years ago and I would have laughed at you.
I am glad to be on Dave's team this year, I'm grateful to Man on Fire Team for the opportunity to repeat the Badwater experience, this time with people I already know and call friends. Can't wait to start the car from Furnace Creek early on July 11th. Gentlemen, start your trainers! (or something like that).
Quite long of a bio, but I'm a tall guy!!!! =)
My name is Joselyn Crosthwaite and I live in Richwood, Ohio (USA). I have been a licensed massage therapist for over 3 years, and I love helping people heal their bodies and manage their pain using noninvasive measures and bodywork. I was introduced to Dave through mutual friends and admire his desire and determination to serve others through his fundraising efforts for the National Burn Centre. I have volunteered my massaging hands (and elbows) for the 2010 Pelotonia bicycle event to raise funds for cancer research and found that athletes working towards a goal to help others are some of the happiest people around. My motivation in joining the crew to help Dave is to gain a broader experience in maintaining the muscles of the human body during the most extreme conditions and events. In my opinion, athletes are some of the best candidates for massage because they have the willingness to do whatever it takes to make their bodies perform up to their high standards.
Although somewhat convinced and coerced into joining the team at first, I am extremely excited about the Badwater event this summer and being introduced to athletes of this caliber. On a final note, I have to admit… I’m going along for the entertainment. I mean, who are we kidding? Two days in the desert with this crew?! I wouldn’t miss it!
Lindsey Brokaw: What does a chance volunteer opportunity at a race at a local state park get you? An introduction into the underground society of ultra-running! Within a year of my first volunteer experience I ran the Umstead 100. Go big or go home, right? I am a bit of an adrenaline junky and love to do things most people wouldn't dream of attempting. When the opportunity to crew for Dave at Badwater materialized it was like a dream come true! What better combination in life than running and helping people regain their lives?
I am an exercise physiologist living in Fredericktown, Ohio. I started running seriously in 2009 as a way to maintain my fitness and be able to spend time with my little girl outside. Man, have we put a lot of miles on that jogging stroller. I live 20 minutes from Mohican State Park in Loudonville, Ohio and it is one of my favorite places on earth. My life is lived outside and I would not have it any other way. I am so honored to be a part of this epic adventure that will push the human spirit to the brink of failure, only to be brought back by the camaraderie and love of the ultra-community.
I'm Gary Nicholson (Gazza) and I'll be Dave's support back in NZ keeping all of his followers updated on his progress through the live tracking and web site updates etc. I'm also the web master for the ManOnFire site and earlier this year was Dave's crew for the Cape2Cape Challenge.
I've provided tracking and results system for the Oxfam Trailwalker for the last three years and also tracking services for the Auckland Marathon. Watching people like Dave and the Trailwalkers got me inspired enough to start running last year and so far I have completed 4 half marathons, a couple of 30k trail runs, the 60k Tarawera Ultra and The NorthFace 100 in the Blue Mountains.