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Team Earthlink
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Team Profile
By David Thomsen, Quokka Sports |
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Take a married couple from Malibu, Calif., with little adventure racing experience and pair them with two seasoned Eco-Challenge competitors and you've got the basic ingredients for Team Earthlink. An interesting mix, to be sure, but don't be mistaken. This team is serious about the Eco-Challenge.
Jason Middleton and Michael Trisler, Team Earthlink's experienced half, finished eleventh in the 1997 Eco-Challenge after leading part of the race. This year, they're hoping to finish higher.
"I'd love to win," said Middleton, Team Earthlink's enthusiastic captain and a four-time Eco-Challenge competitor. "That would be unbelievable. Mike and I would take two people who've never done an Eco-Challenge before and go and win Eco-Challenge. What kind of story would that be?"
The members of Team Earthlink have spent the better part of a year trying to make that story a reality. They've trained together and raced together. They put their jobs on hold to focus full-time on race preparations.
Part of those preparations included a move to Hawaii, where the team worked out for a month in conditions similar to those in Borneo. "We're out here specifically to train for the Eco-Challenge in Borneo," said Middleton, talking on a cell phone en route to a paddling session in the Pacific Ocean. "The climate is very similar, the water temperature is similar, the humidity, everything."
The team's rigorous schedule of fitness and strength training included daily soft-sand runs, ocean swims, pushups, situps, pullups, four-hour canoe paddles, hikes and mountain bike rides.
But, even with its dedicated training regimen, the 27-year-old Middleton hesitates when asked if Team Earthlink is ready for the Eco-Challenge. "We have some technical stuff we're still working on," he said cautiously.
Middleton became the youngest person ever to compete in an Ironman at age 14. A veteran of more than 150 triathlons and one-time pro, he admits that he is worried about the inexperience of teammates Dianette and Brian Strange. "I'd be lying if I said no, I'm not concerned," he said. "But we've done everything we possibly can this year to get them ready."
Brian Strange, who lives with his wife, Dianette, and their three children five minutes from Middleton in Malibu, is a successful class-action attorney and an avid outdoorsman. The couple climbed 22,829-foot Aconcagua together in 1999, getting involved in adventure racing the same year.
Mike Trisler, the fourth member of Team Earthlink, is a three-time Eco-Challenge competitor and the team's primary navigator. He works as a stunt man and lifeguard on Hawaii's treacherous North Shore. "He's probably one of the best watermen in Hawaii," said Middleton. "He was Ben Affleck's stunt double in this 'Pearl Harbor' movie."
"They listen and they do exactly what Mike and I say. Because we have so much more experience. It really helps to not have two of your teammates questioning you all the time, you know?"
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Trisler is also a frequent stunt man for David Hasselhoff and other cast-members of Baywatch. "He does it all, jumps out of helicopters, jumps out of moving boats," said Middleton, who is president of a fledgling technology company when not training or racing.
The two race veterans will be making the decisions in Borneo. "One thing that makes me semi-confident in our racing ability is that Brian and Dianette are followers," explained Middleton. "They listen and they do exactly what Mike and I say. Because we have so much more experience. It really helps to not have two of your teammates questioning you all the time, you know?"
Though worried about inexperience, Middleton is pleased with Team Earthlink's physical abilities. "Fitness-wise, we're really good," he said. "Our team is really strong paddlers. That's going to be our ace in the hole."
"We're definitely not going to blow up," Middleton continued. "If we stick to our race strategy and if we race smart like we have before, then we will do well."
That strategy, according to Middleton, involves maintaining the same pace for the entire race. "My race strategy is to start out slow and just cruise," he said. "If we just stick to our game plan and structure our race strategy around our ability, then we'll do great."
But Middleton knows that this year's race will pose challenges never before seen at an Eco-Challenge. "I am concerned about the jungle navigation," he said. "If you get lost in there, you're screwed for the race. I'm not worried at all about the paddle leg. I am worried about getting lost in the jungle leg."
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