"We all need something to motivate us to get to, or to stay in shape," says MBS aerobics instructor Andrea Contant. "Outdoor life can really give you the fix you need."

  With the advent of Spinning and other indoor group cycling classes, came a wave of new participants in athletic training. These participants discovered their aerobic capacities had increased 10 fold. Looking for more challenges, they took to the great outdoors. Thus outdoor life networking and athletic adventure races were off and "running".

   MBS instructors, Fotis Papamichael, Brett Rabbat, Mike Coyle and a slew of members were some of the first from our club to get drawn in. They rode in the Tanqueray Ride for Aids, a grueling 275-mile three day bicycle ride from Orlando to Miami. This year the ride sponsored by Walgreen was no less grueling, just ask APTA therapist Gabriella Barta who also rode the entire distance.

  The camaraderie that developed brought on new challenges. Hi-Tec Adventure Racing surfaced and became very popular. This four hour--give or take, off-road event consisted of kayaking, running, biking and orienteering (looking for certain objects by way of maps and coded instructions). Special tasks are added such as, having to climb cargo nets, 20 ft walls, water crossings, etc… This race challenges teams of three---men, women, or coed.

  Shorter versions of Hi Tec Racing are currently hosted in State Parks. These Adventure Races can be seen at Quiet Waters in Deerfield Beach, and Oleta River State Recreation Area in North Miami Beach.

  Other outdoor events include Duathlons (run-bike-run), Sprint Triathlons (swim-bike-run) which go for 1-2 hours each.

  "We call it an addiction of love of Sport," proclaims Andrea. "But the variety of challenges that triathlons and adventure racing gives us--keeps us coming back for more."

  Andrea along with five other MBS members recently competed in the FAU triathlon at Spanish River Park. Andrea took 4^th in the "Athena" class (145+ lbs)

Very popular with running enthusiasts, are endless type of races from 5K (3.1 mile) to the granddaddy of all running events the Marathon (26.2 miles). MBS member Janet Shannon has successfully competed in marathons. Janet finished 514^th out of 10,000 runners in the recent Disney Marathon. Her time of 3 hours 32 minutes came out to an average of 8 minutes per mile!

  Personal Trainer Bob Bridgham and member Rich Mularski have also been successful for the past year and half in their respective sports and are continuing their efforts this season. Bob, in road cycling and triathlons, and Rich in off-road mountain biking, triathlons and Hi Tec adventure racing.

  Rich started competing with the Adventure races in the Clydesdale division (170+ lbs) and has trimmed down to compete in the Men’s regular division. Recently he entered the Adventurous Concepts Off-Road Adventure Triathlon at Oleta River State Recreation area. In chilly weather, Rich completed the quarter-mile swim, 10-mile mountain bike ride and 5-mile trail run and finished 1^st place overall in 1:29:19!

  Rich is a perfect example of someone who utilizes his time and the Gym’s variety of equipment to train hard for these events--learning swimming, Spinning, running, and Kayaking techniques in less than a year!

  Due to all this popularity with races and triathlons, the Triathlon Training classes came about here at MBS to help these competitors simulate the sport indoors with sport specific training. This type of training is very important to the body for strength, endurance, stability and mobility.