Team Midwest Mountaineering

Bio: Chris Mehus

2009-12-24T12:22:00.003-06:00

Location: South Saint Paul, MN

Year Born: 1985

Height/Weight: 5’9”/150

AR Strength: Cycling

Pay the Bills: Grad Student in Marriage and Family Therapy (i.e. I don’t, my wife does.)

Goals for 2010: Increase running distances and navigation skills, complete a multi-day race, and get one of my hallucinations to beat one of Will’s hallucinations in a fight.

Why AR?: Adventure Racing allows an individual to push his or her body to its limits and can result in a good deal of post-race, accomplishment pain.

Bio: Paula Meyers

2009-12-21T10:04:00.002-06:00

Location: Chaska, MN

Year Born: December 6

Height/Weight: 5'4''/125

AR Strength: Beginner’s luck Paddling, tenacity, speed dumps, able to be cheerful when lost in a nettle patch “I’m not the fastest, tallest, or strongest one of the bunch, but I ain’t scared”

Pay the Bills: Chemical Engineer/self-defense instructor

Hobbies: I like dragging my dogs running, crashing my bike into trees (mt bike riding), paddling , gardening, fighting, singing in the choir, teaching Sunday school, making beer, cooking, pretty much anything except bowling. I guess I could try bowling given the right circumstances.

Thoughts on AR: I can’t believe these guys let me hang out with them and have so much fun. AR is a lot like fighting, you don’t have to have the best punch or kick or be the biggest, “baddest” girl in the cage, but if you race smart, have a strategy, make good decisions, you can still come out on top.

Bio: Paula Waite

2009-04-22T22:03:00.008-05:00

Paula Waite, a seasoned racer joined TMMAR in 2009. Paula has been racing since 2000 with nearly 30 races and always finishing towards the top. In addition Paula has a number of triathlons plus array of other adventure related events.

Paula Waite
Born: 1972
Height: 5'-6"
AR Strength: Paddling and team dynamics
Pay the Bills: Software Engineer
Hobbies: Ice hockey, golf, orienteering, snowboarding, mountain and road biking, paddling (flat and whitewater), running, cross country skiing. Little known fact: I’m currently building a wood strip canoe in my “spare” time.

Bio: David Gandrud

2008-04-21T13:30:00.001-05:00

David Gandrud is an outdoor enthusiast with a passion for adventure and fun. His alter-ego spends the day helping businesses better understand, attract, motivate and retain customers.......aka, a Marketing Professional since 1991.

Gandrud started in Adventure Racing in 2007 but is no stranger to the outdoor multi-discipline events. Gandrud, a decathlete in college has moved his passions to just about anything that has to deal with grass, dirt, snow, rock and/or water. A gear-junkie at heart, Dave realized he had problem when is wife pointed out he had 'way more shoes' than she had.....(last count was fourteen not including casual or dress shoes).

In 2008 Gandrud joined the Eden Prairie Fire Department as a volunteer. He is stationed out of Station 4 and is the only Probie (yellow helmet, probationary, first year, rookie) in his fire station.

Location: Eden Prairie, MN
Year Born: 1968
Height/Weight: 6’ 2” /190-5 lbs
AR Strength: Mountain Biking/Kayaking
Pay the Bills: Marketing Professional
Hobbies: Family, Hunting, BWCA, Skiing, Kiting, Camping
Motto: Work Hard. Play Hard. Live Harder

Bio: Peter Wentzel

2008-04-21T13:29:00.020-05:00

Pete Wentzel found Adventure racing in 2007 and was hooked from his first race. A 36 year history of soccer has given him the lungs and legs for AR, 8.5 years of US Army experience imbedded map and organizational skills. Pete enjoys the combined physical and mental challenges that AR provides. Pete has competed in over 30 events ranging from 6 to 30 hours. His goal for 2010 is to complete an expedition length event, a marathon, and have fun during all training sessions.

Pete is the current captain of the Midwest Mountaineering team. Captain in this sport is misleading, as "TEAM" is the core concept of Adventure Racing. Taking the title of Captain mainly entails paying the entry fee and hoping to be repaid by his teammates.

Location: Minneapolis, MN
Born: 1967
Height/Weight: 5'-9"/ 180
AR Strength: Navigation, Motivation, Organization
Pay the Bills: Civil Engineer
Hobbies: Soccer, Cycling, Orienteering, Travel, Remodeling, Collecting Gear

Bio: Clark Flowers

2008-04-21T13:29:00.017-05:00

Location: Bloomington, MN

Year Born: 1970

Height/Weight: 6’ 0” / 175 lbs

AR Strength: Mountain Biking/Running/Pack Mule

Pay the Bills: IT Geek

Hobbies: Family, Mountain Biking, Camping, Traveling

Bio: Jessica Moe

2008-04-21T13:27:00.000-05:00

Location: Minneapolis, MN
Year Born: 1974
Height/Weight: 5'8''
AR Strength: Mountain Biking; Token Chick :-)
Pay the Bills: Nurse
Hobbies: Playing guitar, practice yoga, Mountain Biking, Camping and Hiking.

Bio - William Eddy

2008-04-19T15:28:00.001-05:00

Location: St. Paul, MN

Year Born: 1980

Height/Weight: 5'10''/172

AR Strength: Endurance, Biking [turning the pedals in anger], comic relief, hallucinating during long races, fast transitions. I've actually enjoyed running lately.

Pay the Bills: Grad Student in Kickass [Ecology]

Hobbies: Backpacking, Mountaineering, Photography, Cycling [mountain and road], wearing spandex, science, beer, film and music, cooking, SCUBA, travel.

Thought on AR: Adventure racing fits my penchant for challenges, the outdoors, getting dirty, and being part of a team. I'll probably never be the fastest in any one discipline -- but AR allows a team to make up for a lack of speed with good decisions, good route finding, quick transitions, and team work. Ultimately, adventure racing to me is about racing hard, cracking jokes, and sharing a well earned beer with friends after the race.