 Team member since 2014
Julian is the father of two, a workaholic, and an adventure racing junky. Originally from Alaska, he now lives with his family in Denver, CO. Julian has mastered the technical skills required for the modern adventure athlete: rock and ice climbing, map and compass navigation, canyoneering, class V kayaking, paddle raft guiding, and tandem paragliding. Since recovering from a spinal fracture in 2000 resulting from a paragliding accident, Julian has run 100 mile ultra-marathons, won an adventure race across Wyoming, surfed in the Gulf of Alaska, paddled the Grand Canyon (also knocked out a rim to rim to river run!), as well as skied the grueling Elk Mountain Grand Traverse and Power of Four ski-mountaineering races. Along the way he found the courage to get back on the horse, flying paragliders. He has since retired from paragliding to focus on ultra-endurance events with Journey Racing. Julian is a professional business jet pilot by trade.  Team member since 2014 As former captain and navigator of Team Torti, Fletcher brings leadership, experience and strategy to the team. Designer by day and adventure seeker at all other hours, he is constantly balancing family, work and his passion for AR. He has been racing in multi-sport events since 2003, earning podiums and top ten finishes in several local/regional adventure races. More recently, Fletcher has been honored for his navigation skills by competing on Team USA at the World Mountain Bike Orienteering Championships as well as several of the Adventure Race World Series events since 2011 including Raid the North Extreme and the Gold Rush Mother Lode. 2nd Place at the NAARS Championship was a highlight of his 2014 season. You can learn more about Fletcher here. Team member since 2014 I was born without a fully developed spine. At age 11, those underdevelopments began showing and I had to undergo serious back surgery. During surgery to fix the one diagnosed problem (Spondylolisthesis), the doctor accidentally cut into my spinal cord not knowing it wasn't covered by bone as it should have been (Spina Bifida). He patched me up and we waited to see how I recovered and whether I would be permanently damaged or not. While a couple nerves were damaged in the process, following some serious prayers, a few unexplained things performed by my God, and a long healing process, I re-learned to walk, then run, then run for hours. I don’t want to take those gifts for granted again. I LOVE sport and the outdoors; and with the knowledge of what it was like to not have it. Knowing I likely won't have the ability forever, I have resolved to experience as much of life as I can. I'm addicted to seeing the next horizon and experiencing as much of nature's wonders as I can. Adventure racing feeds that desire and the desire to compete and see how far I can push myself. I am a full-time prosthetist/orthotist, and my husband and I really want to figure out a way to use this AR stuff to help the world out in some way or another. Currently, we’re trying to set the stage in our attempts at developing the AR community in Colorado and putting on races. Chelsea's detailed racing resume can be viewed here.  Team member since 2015 Katie is the mother of 2 young girls, physical therapist and clinic owner, and endurance sports-aholic. Katie has been adventure racing since 2007 and has competed in expedition races such as Untamed New England, Florida Coast to Coast, and Goldrush Motherload. She has 50+ races under her belt and has experience lead navigating various terrains from Florida to California. Katie also is a marathon runner and triathlete to include Ironman in May, 2015.
From orienteering new terrain every race to the ever-changing dynamics of the team, Katie continually finds herself interested, challenged, and excited about adventure racing. Her profession as a physical therapist has allowed her to share her belief in the importance of physical health and its benefit on emotional and mental health with others.  Team member since 2015
Ian Hoag grew up sailing, skiing, swimming, and running track and cross-country. He started adventure racing in the summer of 2004 with his wife joining him to complete their first adventure race ever. Ian was hooked. Since then, he has competed in multiple adventure races every year, including Primal Quest, the Patagonian Expedition Race, Gold Rush Mother Lode, a World ROGAINE Championship, and many smaller races. Ian loves navigating and is the president of the Utah Orienteering Club. With a no-fear attitude, he finds great joy in exploring all the amazing places that adventure races take us to.  Team member since 2015
Hi, my name is Ryan Ognibene. I am new to Team Journey but have been racing for over a decade. I grew up in sunny southern California but instead of spending my time at the beach I could be found in the mountains exploring and obtaining ample amounts of poison oak rashes. Currently, I live in Boulder, CO where I am a full time engineer at a software company. My true passion is the outdoors. I typically get out for 20+hrs of training a week or what I like to call it having fun. I am an avid mountain biker, kayaker and runner. My house looks more like an REI then a place where people actually live. This year I hope to bring some additional experience to an already experienced and well decorated team. If you are ever in Boulder shoot me an email and we can get out for an adventure  Team member since 2014 Danelle is an an incredible athlete with and even more incredible life story. The world champion racer has competed all over the globe in places like Fiji, New Zealand, Malasia and many more places. She's one of the best in her sport and loves the brutal races. We're super excited to have Danelle on the Journey Team.
Wanna learn more about Danelle? Listen to this Podcast interview.  Team member since 2014
My adult athletic career took off in college by playing rugby for Colorado State University for four years, and serving as the team captain my last two years. Later, I move to the Bay Area and continued playing for the San Francisco Men’s Rugby Club, earning the starting position as Scrum Half in my first season. During this time, I was chosen to play on the elite under-25 select sides for both the Rocky Mountain Region and the Pacific Coast Men’s Rugby Teams. While pursuing a graduate degree from University of California, Davis, I picked up rock climbing, which I would pursue with a passion for the next seven years, climbing throughout the Sierra Mountains, Idaho, Colorado, Wyoming, and West Virginia. While earning a doctorate from the University of Maryland, I was introduced to mountain biking racing and quickly started placing consistently among the top finishers. After racing in the famed Canaan 24 hours during its earliest incarnation, I was hooked on endurance racing. Since 1997, I have actively pursued this type of challenge. I have finished the Leadville 100 MTB five times, all under 9hrs, with a best time of 8:01. I have also finished in the Leadville Silver Rush 50 in the top ten consistently with my top finish being 3rd place. I have raced the Cascade Cream Puff 100 on a single speed, the Brian Head Epic 100, the 24hrs of Rio in Steamboat, and have regularly finished among the top ten and/or on the podium. Along the way, to broaden my experience and maintain year-round fitness, I participate in a variety of endurance races including trail runs, snowshoe races, and skate skiing, such as the Leadville Loppet 44km race. In 2008, I entered my first adventure race and as the saying goes, the rest is history.  Team member since 2014 I’ve been adventure racing (AR) for about 7 full seasons now. I tried a 12 hour race in the Spring and did remarkably well for a noobie and was immediately bitten by the AR bug. I’ve been doing 4 to 6 races a year, since. I’ve found that AR is pretty much a culmination of all the things I spent doing in my life up to this point. I grew up in Georgia and my family paddle pretty much every weekend. Later when I moved to California for college I became active in rock climbing and did that for nearly a decade. Toward the end of the climbing spree I picked up mountain bike racing and that got more serious after I moved to Colorado for work. Short races turned into much longer ones and I’ve done quite a few 100k to 100 mile races and events. After I started AR I quickly realized that trail running and trekking were my weak spots and I worked hard to bring them up to par. Living in Colorado makes it pretty easy to do that! My age makes it harder to recover now than it used to so I spend more time on base work and do fewer races in between the AR events. Most of my training consists of doing the same things I do in races! It makes for fun weekends. Plus, when I can do the training days with teammates we can push each other in ways that are harder to do solo...After a difficult year personally I’m ready to tackle a new season. Go Journey! Learn more about me here.  Team member since 2014 My reason for racing is to force myself into positions where I have to test myself. Put myself up against the most difficult things that civilian life has to offer. I am terrified of water after having, now three, near death experiences with water. Each and every AR forces me to overcome, or at least face, that fear. Each and every AR also allows me to be the workhorse that I know I can be, to prove to myself that I am among the elite. I can push my body to lengths few others can or will.And lastly, AR allows me to stand apart from my regular life and do one thing that people who know me might be proud of. I live a normal life, standard job, uneventful and lacking anything special. AR helps me differentiate myself in some way to earn the admiration of others, stand apart, be special. Team member since 2014
James is one of the team media guru's of Journey Racing. He started racing in 2006, merely months after marrying Chelsea. After a few experiences with low blood sugar, cramping, etc., James decided to stop holding Chelsea back, as she was obviously MUCH faster! Since then, James has continued to compete on a much smaller scale, but focuses most of his adventure racing attention on supporting the team. |
June 17-22, 2014 AR World Series Race:Untamed New England
Results:
Cameco REV3 Cowboy Tough 5 day AR Results: August 16&17, 2014 Results: October 4&5, 2014 AXS Moab Expedition Results: |