We had the pleasure to sit down with one of our sponsored athletes, Meredith Kessler over the weekend following her latest record-setting, 3-peat WIN at Ironman New Zealand. Meredith has completed 52 Ironman competitions in her career, is the current reigning US Pro 70.3 Champion, and is generally a badass in every shape, size, and form. She chats candidly with us about some of her favorite "kit stuffs" below, as well as about an incredible charity, the Challenged Athletes Foundation, for whom she has helped raise well over $100k these past few years. MBK is a true professional, and generally, one of our favorite humans...
1. Saucony has been a huge supporter and sponsor of yours for several years now. What do you like best about Saucony race wear and Saucony shoes? We often see you in super fashionable matching outfits; how has their product line changed since you've been a part of the Saucony family?
It was such a luxury to have the opportunity to start working with Saucony after my first year as a professional triathlete. I had always worn Nike gear throughout high school, college and my age group career. However, after studying the Saucony apparel line and physically wearing the Kinvara Saucony racing shoes, I knew it was a perfect match!
The race wear is extraordinary in the comfort and design along with being extremely fashionable = a win-win situation! The shoes are light yet sturdy for those twenty-six mile jaunts and long training sessions. Because of these factors and more, Saucony has become a leader in triathlon fashion and effectiveness on the race course.
As a shoe and apparel company, it is important to keep up with the trends or your product line will become obsolete. As evidence by Saucony’s success, they have been able to adjust their clothing and shoes to keep up with the ever changing fickle public which is not an easy task. The line has grown to include styles for men, women and children that have tremendous ‘pop’ – vivid colors that stand out in this day and age of companies trying to separate them from the rest.
2. ROKA is a very cool company founded by a couple of Stanford grads. As land athletes, we don't know much about wetsuits - what makes ROKA suits so darned fast? What should a new triathlete look for in a wetsuit?
As a struggling age grouper having grown up swimming, I never gave wetsuits much of a thought. I usually went to a race, put on my wetsuit that I purchased at the local sports store, and swam the event, not caring about the piece of clothing that protected me from the cold water.
When I was a third year pro, my contract with my wetsuit sponsor was up which gave us the opportunity to explore other innovative wetsuit companies in that process. I learned about Roka from a friend and reached out to touch base. We had an hour long conversation with CEOs/Founders Rob Canales and Kurt Spenser and my wetsuit world was turned upside down. They were former Stanford swimmers who were perplexed at the design of the wetsuits on the market. After competing in a triathlon and not enjoying their wetsuit experience, they set out to redesign the grandfathered, outdated wetsuit design.
Roka designed the wetsuit to give buoyancy, flexibility and stretch where your body needs it most. We highlight wetsuits in our manuals coming out in the near future, Life of a Triathlete (www.lifeoftriathlete.com) and how new triathletes should not overlook the advantages of a quality wetsuit. Everyone is different in their swimming motion and body makeup thus some wetsuits may artificially create more drag than others on your particular style and technique which adds precious seconds and minutes to your time. This also can overwork the muscles. Individuals spend so much time researching their bike and running shoes, they should put in the same work and thought on their wetsuit.
3. Let's talk about training partners for a minute. We love using Every Man Jack Shave gel so we already know that EMJ has some amazing personal care products. But, they also have the top men's amateur triathlon team in the country. How has training with Ritch Viola (president of EMJ and top male amateur 2013) and the EMJ "boys" changed/enhanced your weekly training?
As a pro triathlete, you always have to be improving all three of your disciplines; the pro women are only getting faster as evident by Mirinda Carfrae’s 2:50 marathon at the Kona World Championships in 2013, the third best time between women AND men on the day = amazing! One pivotal way to try to get better is to train with individuals who are faster than you!
I am fortunate to swim with Ritch three times per week; he is a former collegiate swimmer and extremely fast in (and out of) the water. When I was an age grouper, I toiled away in the pool like a hamster on a wheel. Keeping up with Ritch has immensely helped to lower my swim times and I do owe a lot to this type of training and to Ritch - a wonderful friend, training partner and also called my "work husband!" Biking with Ritch and his EMJ team is rewarding, fun, intense and productive all in one! Typically, I am sprinting gang busters to hang onto their wheels. You teach your muscles to move faster out of desperation to keep up with these strong riders; this translates into faster times on race day! The same goes on our runs together - always helping one another out to stay fluid, strong and on the mark! These guys are like brothers and I am so grateful to get to call them both great friends and training partners too.
4. There's a big event coming out with the Challenged Athlete's Foundation on March 15th. We know you've volunteered countless hours with this amazing organization to raise well over $100,000 to date. Team KitOrder will have a team at the CAF event. Talk to us about that relationship and why the charitable side of athletics is so meaningful to you.
There are a lot of tremendous charities out there that help a surplus of individuals; it is tough to choose which ones you want to be a part of as they are all beyond captivating regardless of which one you choose. I was introduced to the Challenged Athletes Foundation by a great friend, Alan Shanken. I was moved by the passion, gumption, tenacity, determination and perseverance of these athletes who have had to overcome such obstacles to be able to do what a lot of us take for granted.
I look up to these challenged athletes; they provide me with ample inspiration in sport and in life. The foundation gives these individuals a new outlook on life and the ability to do things they might never thought they would be able to do. It is mesmerizing to watch children with artificial limbs (provided by CAF) being able to run, fall, dust themselves off and keep on going with a smile. I feel honored to have the fortuity to help and support this wonderful foundation that gives so many athletes hope!
JOIN, RIDE, or DONATE for the Challenged Athletes Event on
March 15th, 2014 at SHIFT-SF from 1pm-8pm:
www.challengedathletes.org/shift2014
The Aptos stop was key for a successful Day 2. We knew we
wanted to head to south Big Sur over the course of 101 miles but the farmlands
of Watsonville and Castroville on the initial rollout, followed by 15 miles of
bike path -- often add a little extra mental challenge. Aptos was right on the route, and since we
eliminated much of the earlier manuevering through Santa Cruz, we rolled as a
gruppo compacto for the first 40 miles.
We hit Carmel earlier than expected and then had nothing but sunshine, waves and a ripping headwind for the next 60 miles. Our ace SAG czars, Kristina and Adam, had set
up a pizza picnic for us at Point Lobos, and we prepped for the remaining miles
ahead. There’s nothing like battling a headwind with your buddies and the giddy
hallucinations that come with happily over-exerting yourself. We rolled into
Gorda in the late afternoon and – the honest truth – sat and watched whales
migrating down the coast. Yes, it really was that good!
