Jake, Jacob, Jakey, Chickenhawk…
as told by Chad
List of Accomplishments: there is way too many things to list so I’ll name a few.
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Trophy husband and father to his beautiful wife who supports his crazy lifestyle and his cheerful loving daughter who is his number 1 fan.
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Jake is one of the humblest people you’ll ever meet and prefers to stay out of the spotlight. But he has a very impressive race resume, recently finishing a 200 miler and completed more then 10 - 100-mile running races. Jake has done everything from triathlon, snowshoe racing, and mountain biking. No matter what the sport is, Jake is encouraging and always makes new friends anywhere he goes.
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When the race bib is not attached to him you can often find him volunteering or crewing for someone to help them reach their goals.
History / connection with Wausau: Raised in Central Wisconsin and resides only a few miles from Sylvan. Jake owns and operates his business here and is very well known for his creativity and high standard work ethic.
Founder of WausaUltra: One day running on the Sylvan Hill trails, he produced an idea for a last runner standing event. He wanted to create something that would invite people to push their limits while providing them their best racing experience ever. Jake wears so many hats when it comes to keeping WausaUltra in motion. Designing and making the awards, working with the city and parks departments, researching the awesome swag everyone loves, continually working on the course and trails. Even building and fixing the bridges on the course. As most of you know, Jake has an amazing ability to connect with people and build relations. His idea to create this event has brought endless opportunities, friendships and memories to everyone.
Funny story: Jake and I were crewing for Rob at Ultraman Florida. Every year this race has a crew contest. This year we had to submit pictures of hand hearts to the race director. Being we know the race director very well and she has a great sense of humor we decided to step it up a notch. For everyone that knows Jake, he’s not shy by any means. With nobody else in site, he changed into his birthday suit he climbed on top of a fence post doing the karate kid pose while doing a hand heart. What we didn’t know is the race photographer was just over the hill and happen to have a zoom lens taking photos of the athletes!
Anne, Ellenoire(Ellen)
as told by Jake
List of accomplishments: Let’s start with what brought her here from Pennsylvania. Ellen earned her Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies from UW-Wisconsin. (I feel dumb already). She had opportunities to accept her new career in many places throughout the US, but Wausau spoke to her.
Ellen was born to explore the ultra world of athletics. Having 4 brothers that all have a laundry list of accomplishments, she has resilience in her genes. She’s completed and excelled at a number of races you can look up, but I truly believe her greatest accomplishments she does quietly. She is truly one of the most modest people I’ve ever met. Ellen chooses feats to fulfill herself and not to add to a resume.
History of connection to Wausau: After planting roots in Wausau for her job, Ellen quickly found some good common peeps in the YMCA master swim group. This woman is part mermaid, not kidding. Through this group, the pipeline of endurance people connected.
Her job is demanding, and she is committed. But when she has free time, she embraces everything the state has(I’m including the U.P. when I speak of Wisconsin). Her and her 2 pups have explored places I never knew existed. Not only places, but also groups. Did you know there are people that do open water swims in the middle of winter? Of course not, but she does and is one of them.
Background in running and involvement with WausaUltra: Truly spoken, WausaUltra is constructed of members that offer specific talents and strongpoints. It takes a team. Ellen glues all of us together. Organization is absolutely one of her strong suits which allows the rest of us to focus and do our specific things. Along with that, her ability to connect with people, no matter where they are at, is admirable. She is everything we hope to portray as a team. I truly am proud of where we are at.
Funny Story: Oh boy, one story, huh? Let me just ramble. She had pet chickens and one of them was named Oprah. This might have been the same chicken that knew how to swim. For all I know, Ellen was the swim instructor.
The best stories have come from her being a home owner. This woman will literally take on any task before asking for help. Let me note, it is rare when she needs outside assistance.
Chad 'Hollywood' Esker
as told by Rob
List of accomplishments: Chad's list of racing and endurance events is the stuff of legend. From countless Ironman distance triathlons, including 5 in 5 days on 5 Hawaiian Islands during Epic5. 7 in 7 days at a home brewed event called Northern Soles, culminating in doing day 7 at Ironman Wisconsin as an Angel with My Team Triumph. Then even longer tris, like Ultraman Florida, twice! On the trails, he's been just as impressive, with so many ultra marathons, he's running them now just for fun while crewing. But Chad's most impressive accomplishments come from inspiring and supporting all of those brave souls attempting to push themselves past their limits, crewing throughout the country at all sorts of amazing events.
Connection with Wausau: Born and raised in Wausau, Chad seems to know everyone in town, and they know him. Being a positive light in many people's lives, working selflessly for many great causes, chief of which is the My Team Triumph local region. Chad has made the community a brighter place with his support and enthusiasm.
Involvement with WausaUltra: Within WausaUltra, he is the master of inspiration, our insurance and legal expert and tireless worker on any random task that needs doing. Between course maintenance, cutting his own trees down for awards, race day setup and teardown, volunteering at other races on WausaUltra's behalf and oh so many other things. Chad wears many hats, but I think his favorite is getting to interact with all of the runners come race day, showing support on the course, and watching as you all continue to push yourselves past what was previously thought possible.
Funny Story: One of my favorite things about working with this group is the interactions we all have together. Just witnessing Chad and Jake's banter, as they continually heap praise on one another in more and more creative and original ways, all with the goal of making the other feel awkward. While there's not a single instance that truly stands out, getting to witness these two always brings me so much joy.
Roberto
as told by Ellen
List of accomplishments:
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Athletic extraordinaire: seriously- this guy can do it all. Pose a challenge and he’ll find a way!
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Was a near professional volleyball player, multiple ironman triathlon finishes, ultra triathlon finishes, 100 mile runs, long a$$ swims
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Tech creative superhero
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Wordsmith
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Exhibit A: robhoehn.com
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Bourbon connoisseur
History of connection to Wausau: Rob has been gracing Wausau with his presence his whole beautiful life and we’ve been lucky to have him. Rob truly embraces Wausau as a community and it is incredible to see how he creates fellowship and positivity wherever he is. Rob is kind, giving, and unique. He approaches athletic and professional challenges with determination and incredible work ethic. Rob has (somewhat) recently started to be a coach for some local athletes and it has been an amazing thing to watch his wisdom and guidance help others. Rob can do impressive things with data yet turn around and create beautiful videos/photos and present them in a way in which you’ll never want to stop watching.
Background in running and involvement with WausaUltra: It is my firm belief that Rob can do whatever he sets his mind to- he’s created our beautiful website, created a timing app, helped with graphics, and can make even the least tech savvy of us excited about data he has collected and organized. Most importantly? He's an incredibly kind person who supports others in pursuing their goals and has the experience to share with others to help them grow and achieve.
Funny Story: Honestly, I have a hard time choosing one funny story- to know Rob is to smile and laugh. With his adventurous spirit, you’re sure to find yourself in some pretty fun situations including doing loops in some snowy woods, random spots in the UP eating chicken sandwiches, meandering trails and rural roads on foot and bike.