Posts Tagged ‘Caveman’
Caveman goes Altra Running
I’m very happy to announce a Caveman and Altra Running partnership!
After years of struggling with injury (since I cut my foot at XTERRA Richmond) and not being able to run much, I believe I found the answer to my calf injury woes. A shoe that promotes Natural Running, and also gives you many cushioning and tread options: All Altra shoes have Zero drop soles- which promotes proper foot strike (a problem I have not been able to fix by simply concentrating) – where your foot is supposed to land under your belly button and improve posture. The wide, foot shaped toe box is not only super comfortable, but also makes your big toe and Achilles work properly.
Read more on the very insightful “Learn to run” page.
Golden Harper the founder and owner of Altra ran a 2.45 marathon at age 12, looked at the science of injury prevention, and went on to remove the heel drop in shoes by baking them in a toaster and shaving the heels down. Sounds Caveman enough for me!
Why Altra is awesome:
A foot shaped shoe!
Who would have thunk?! Seems like common sense, but no one else does it. Using your big toe is crucial for stability and efficient running, and the big toe box allows your toes and forefoot to function naturally. Absorbing impact, balancing and pushing off.
Zero drop for all shoes:
#TBT The story of my first XTERRA
[This is a #TBT repost from 2007]
My first XTERRA. 2001, Richmond, Virginia. On a borrowed bike. Yes, that is a Speedo, and that is a jogging Camel Back!
My XTERRA start:
After racing professional road triathlons for 10 years, and really focusing on the Sydney Olympics in 2000, I decided to try XTERRA triathlons for fun, so in 2001 I came over to the US mainly to race road tris. I was completely unprepared for mountain biking. So for XTERRAs I traveled with my helmet, a 2nd hand pair of MTB shoes, old MTB pedals and a pair of yellow Michelin Python tires. The rest of the bike I would borrow at the race venue. Or sometimes a week before. Like this 35lbs beauty with cutting edge suspension above….
2001 Winning Chicago Mrs Ts Triathlon. Borrowed everything. I raced Olympic distance non drafting road, ITU draft legal and XTERRA till 2004.
That year I won the XTERRA USA Series and most of the XTERRAs I did. Also 6 of the 8 road triathlons. Including the legendary Mrs. Ts Chicago Tri with its record setting 8000 participants.
Back to XTERRA:
Unfortunately (actually, fortunately) Ned Overend was my biggest competition that year. So great was my surprise (and pleasure) when just a week before XTERRA World Championships Ned gave me a brand new Specialized M5 dual suspension, a brand new Specialized helmet AND brand new Specialized shoes! It was like Christmas. (By then my old Sidis needed screws to keep the uppers and the lowers together) What he also gave me was a Specialized cycling jersey his wife cut the sleeves from. He shrugged and said I could wear it if I wanted. Of course I wanted! Ned is such a great person, the bike rode like an off road motor bike, I immediately fell in love with the product and the Specialized brand. I won World Champs by 10 minutes, and I went from living from hand to mouth to being able to make a good living thanks to generous sponsorship by some cool people & companies.
Like every XTERRA World Championship, the 1hr TV show was aired on CBS on Super bowl Sunday. Right before the game.
Proud 2001 World Champion posing with Legend and Hero – Ned Overend.
Ned guided me through the pitfalls of negotiating a sponsorship contract for 2002. Up till that year, I have never made money from the sport- always living from hand to mouth, sometimes selling some of my cattle my dad keeps on his farm when I had to buy expensive air tickets. I had no idea how much to ask, Ned said “ask for this and that.” That’s exactly what I got. The future was bright and rosy. I was over the moon to be part of the best bike company in the world.
Now it is 2007 and I have been with Specialized for 7 years. I have won 3 XTERRA World Championships, 5 XTERRA USA Series titles, and more than 30 individual XTERRAs. This year I won every XTERRA I did. (except 1 mechanical) I raced my Specialized road bike at the Athens Olympics, have won many big road triathlons from Japan to Chicago. Nicknames that stuck were “Caveman” and “King of XTERRA”.
At every XTERRA there is an XTERRA University where I teach “The Art of XTERRA” to amateur athletes. I get dozens of emails on my website from fans asking about tire selections, equipment and bike choices. (I’m known as the dual suspension prophet that down hills like crazy)
This year a fan admired my Carbon Epic at a race and commented about the unpainted frame. I told him “It saves 180g”. He said “Well, why didn’t they just leave the Specialized stickers off and save more weight?” I replied “Of course Specialized wants to have its name on my bike” And he said “But that’s unnecessary, EVERYONE knows Conrad Stoltz rides Specialized!”
2x Olympian
3x XTERRA Word Champion
5x XTERRA USA Series Champion
5x All African triathlon Champion
5x South African Champion
4x XTERRA South Africa winner
6 Triathlon seasons in France. Including 3 France Iron Tours. Captain of Montpellier Tri team. Countless victories.
7 Triathlon seasons in USA. Chicago Mrs Ts Triathlon winner 2001. With 8000 participants, the worlds largest triathlon.
4x Boulder Peak Triathlon winner & course record holder.
16 years as a Pro
20 years in Triathlon
26 years of bike racing
27 years of running
34 years of living
Think training is hard? Try losing.
“Think training is hard? Try losing.”
My motivation to get my workouts done right. Thanks to coaching whiz Ian Rodger we dont do “garbage miles” or workouts to fill the log book. We stick to the science and only do exactly what is right for the chosen sport & outcome we’re looking for.
#TBT Caveman catches air at XTERRA Milwaukee 2005
XTERRA Milwaukee was one of my favourite XTERRAs of all time. Right in the middle of the city build by beer loving Germans, and stunning, rough and ready bike & run courses.
This year was insanely hot and humid – you can see I’m glowing like a ripe tomato, with top rolled up to get more ventilation. To manage the heat exhausted athletes at the finish, the city parked a huge double decker city bus with Aircon running flat out to cool cooked athletes down.
The 2nd year was pouring with rain, we had a duathlon and I crashed really hard- 3 times
Cant believe how far bike design has come in 10 years! The 2005 Specialized Sworks Epic was aluminium, the new Brain shock was on the seat stay, no Brain in the fork, bars were narrow, shoes were modified XC shoes (I cut the tongues out) and Mavic was the best wheels around. (Now we have Roval wheels)
Life in the life of the Caveman- XTERRA New Zealand
This blog has been sitting in my drafts folder for a few months- so dont be confused with Liezel being pregnant again- shes not. Just catching up on blogging and telling the story…
It was tough to say goodbye to #PrincessHotstuff and baby bump for a whole 2 weeks! Especially on a trip to her 2nd home (and Netball stomping grounds) – New Zealand and Australia.
Last year, we had an absolute blast at XTERRA New Zealand.
Which is the reason I came back here. Great course, well organized, spectacular country, and paired with XTERRA Australia – which had petty good prize money.
Rotorua in New Zealand is sporting paradise. In fact, coming from dry, sun scorched Africa, its is paradise with
