Meet Our Team: Jason Antin

Glad to be a part of the Goal Endurance Team…

I found out early on as a college football player during three-a-days in 100 degree heat that what I enjoyed most about the experience was the bond created with your teammates.  This 100 person community is what made the experience as we slugged it out together for the next 5 months during our 60 hours a week training regimen.  It was football. It was tough, but man was it fun!

After graduating, I found myself filling that void of challenge in the outdoors through climbing, hiking, mountaineering and eventually trail running.  Since I have immersed myself in the outdoor community, I have made some incredible friends whose bonds I am sure have only been reinforced through the fun we call suffering in the mountains.

It wasn’t until the summer of 2010 when a group of us “hikers & climbers” decided to do a well-known hiking link-up in New Hampshire call the Pemigewasset Loop.  We started out early that morning running as much as we could, bagging all 14 4,000’ peaks along the way.  None of us were “ultrarunners” at the time.  We had no real knowledge of how to fuel or pace a 38 mile run. We were completely drained, but that day I filled a gap I had been longing to fill – challenge based endurance effort with great people.

That adventure gave me a new sense of what the outdoors meant to me and I have since tried to take full advantage of the people and experiences to be found in the mountains.

About 3 seasons ago, I sought out new challenges and decided to hold myself accountable and signed up for the Leadville 100 Trail race.  I had not been much of a runner – but I knew a goal that hefty would require me to learn quickly and stay focused.  I trained hard that year, completed my first ultra, and then felt fantastic winning my age group in the Northfork 50 mile trail race. The NF50 is an incredible race that truly embodies the spirit of the mountain running community.  All the training paid off and I ended the summer of with a successful finish of the LT100. I learned a lot about ultra-races that season.  At the end of it all, it just reinforced my love of “Long Days”.

I have spent a lot of days in the mountains, whether that be an afternoon of running in the foothills of Golden, or becoming the 2^nd team ever to complete the Elks Range Traverse in one push.  Each opportunity has allowed me to challenge myself physically and emotionally with others who share those same desires.  It’s been 3 January’s since I registered for my first official endurance competition and met even more incredible people to share the journey with me.

At the start of 2014, I knew I wanted to continue to push myself as a person and as an athlete and looked for goals to set for myself this year.  Ever since my first 100 mile trail race in Leadville I have fallen in love with that tiny mining town. Based on the current summer schedule, it seemed things had aligned well for me to become a candidate for the 2014 Leadman Competition.  The Leadman is a progressive endurance series that requires the candidate to complete 6 endurance events totaling in 326.2 miles in 63 days. Successful completion of each event grants you entry into the next.  Miss a cut-off or DNF, and you’re done for the season.

I talked with one of the founders of GOal Endurance about my goals for the 2014 season, and they decided to sponsor me as an athlete – an opportunity I am incredibly grateful for.

I have a big schedule of races and adventures ahead and I couldn’t be more excited to represent GOal Endurance in this Journey and share the experiences with some incredible people, so stay tuned for updates!

To long days, lots of miles and even more smiles,

J

2014 Event Schedule:

Headless Horsetooth 50K	50K	Trailrun	Sat 2/22/2014
Double Crossing of Grand Canyon (R2R2R)	48 miles	Trailrun	Sat 4/5/2014
Battle The Bear Endurance Race	50 miles	MTB	Sat 5/3/2014
Leadville Trail Marathon	26.2+ miles	Trailrun	Sat 6/14/2014
Northfork 50 Trailrace	50K	Trailrun	Sat 6/28/2014
Leadville Silverush MTB Race	50 miles	MTB	Sat 7/12/2014
Leadville Silverrush Trail Race	50 miles	Trailrun	Sun 7/13/2014
Leadville Trail 100 MTB Race	100 miles	MTB	Sat 8/9/2014
Leadville 10K trail Race	10K	Trailrun	Sun 8/10/2014
Leadville Trail 100 Race	100 miles	Trailrun	Sat 8/16/2014
Nolan's 14	100 miles	Mountain Run	Sat 9/6/2014
AXS Adventure Race: Moab 30hr	100+ Miles	Adventure Race	Sat 10/4/2014