But Honza the race starts tomorrow....

is that the Dachstein in the back? and what time is it?

Dachstein Practice Top Landing 6pm the DAY BEFORE THE RACE

Deep Snow in July and close to 104F (40C) in the valley!

Sunday I had a two hour run with a 40 pound (18kg) pack at sunrise. Then Martin and I drove up to the Sierras to escape the 103F (39.5C) temperatures. We went hiking trough deep snow and back country snowboarding for seven hours. Monday was a holiday and I got some flying and hiking in at my local site.

Davis Enterprise Article

Honza made some local headlines!

http://www.davisenterprise.com/sports/davis-man-competes-in-worlds-highest-endurance-race/

20 day pre race report

Reported by supporter Dave Hanning via cell phone msg...

Honza & the family are headed to Lassen to go backpacking & hiking. Training will focus on carrying a 70 pound pack that includes his son Martin in it. What kind of millage he will make is something for the follow up report.

This prior weeks training included his fastest time up hill 330 m in 16mins 31sec. carrying 37pounds (17kilos).
&
Honza reports he flew a technical 50 miler, but kindly left out the details.

I have been flying everyday at the POM in Utah working as a tandem pilot. And training by hiking the local hills for some early late flying & spending lots of time at LifeTime Fitness lifting, swimming and getting fit. If we can't be in the Alps early to fly around and preview the route options then we will train as best as we can so when we arrive we have our game faces on and we are all in for Monaco.

We will be more active reporting as we close in on our departure time. Thank you for all your support!

DH & HR

Pre-Race Prep

Reported by team supported, Dave Hanning

Honza and I have both been busy prepping for the race which is quickly coming up on us. Each of us has our own training schedule fit in around our working and regular life styles. Honza deeply involved and committed to the University has less time to be focused on training then he would like but regularly he calls me to tell me of his days training & chat about what we need to be doing before we go. In our last chat Honza admitted to occasionally hiking over to the coastal range which is about 35k away and flying back to his house taking a total of 6.5 hours. Truth is he has less time for this type of training then he would like so regularly he goes hiking and running for 2hrs or more caring a 40lb pack or his son Martin. Besides training for the physical brutality of the pavement pounding and hiking required by this race Honza is also practicing waking up early. Becoming an early riser will pay off huge during the race as well as having the body conditioned to get up and go go go.

Myself, I have been busy teaching and doing tandems when the weather lets me, which has not been so often this spring, for Cloud 9 in Utah. In the 90 days that I will have been in the USA this year I have focused myself on hiking and flying speed wings and paragliders and participated in specific weight training & swimming schedules at Lifetime Fitness.

Recently Honza was tied up with a film crew from Red Bull chasing him around during one weekend of training. The goal is to produce a 7 minute clip of 10 out of the 30 athletes that will be used to highlight the individual and their story. Look for Honza's to appear on the site soon and watch as he takes his film team from the golden gate and Cali beaches up to the high mountains on a tour of his home sites and training zones.

Honza claims his most recent project of shoveling dirt & landscaping to install an in-ground trampoline for his son martin & himself is fun and a zen like way to train. Truly he is wishing for more flying and better weather to hit the USA. Most of his time is spent at school building weather stations to be placed in fields of rice, grapes, almond, walnut,... to be used for measuring water consumption. He is Working against a deadline to get them into the field before he departs for Salzburg and the start of the race. Honza wishes to say big kudos to his boss @ UC Davis - The research on evapotranspiration is Honza's latest job beyond being a dad, a scientist, an athlete...

Lastly We would like to send out a special thank you to our friend and competitor in the Red Bull X-Alps, Christian Mauer for making a donation to Team USA. One of the reasons that this race is so special is the people who participate in it. We look forward to sharing time with everyone involved and wish an excellent race to all.

Go far, go fast.
See you all in Monaco! DH

Saturday @ Chirco's 10:30am presentation by Honza Rejmanek

Hey you all come on down to see Honza and his presentation about the 2009 X-Alps. Q&A after the show on 2011 X-Alps.

Details:
Tiger Mountain at Marc Cherico's "Chalk Talk" at 10:30-Noon on Saturday, May 28th.
Afterwards if the weather is good we will hike and fly.

The location is:
Seattle Paragliding
11206 Iss-Hobart Rd SE
Issaquah, WA 98027
tel 1 206 287 3477

http://tiny.cc/5k83l

Offer Support and Donate to Team USA!
www.honzair.com

Facebook event link
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=211672132198251

Big Mountain Flying With a Final Glide to the Beach!

Earlier this month we took a family trip to Pacific Valley on the Big Sur coastline of California. I had a chance to hike and fly. I hiked up to Wild Cattle launch in 1h17min and flew up to and over Cone Peak! It took a lot of patience and persistence but the reward was a scenic 25 minute glide from an altitude of 1835m down to Sand Dollar Beach to meet my family.

May 28th Seattle Show @ Chirico's

Tiger Mountain at Marc Cherico's "Chalk Talk" at 10:30-Noon on Saturday, May 28th. Afterwards if the weather is good we will hike and fly.

The location is:

Seattle Paragliding
11206 Iss-Hobart Rd SE
Issaquah, WA 98027
tel 1 206 287 3477

Training With an Interactive Load

My son Martin is now over two years old and he has been a great training partner! He weighs as much as the obligatory X-Alps kit and he is only getting heavier as the race approaches! I either hike with him in a special backpack or run with him on my shoulders!
It makes training very interactive and fun!

Up to 2450m at my local site

From: Honza Rejmanek
Subject: Up to 2450m at my local site on Saturday, Photos
Date: April 11, 2011 12:06:21 PM MDT

Hello all, Here are some self portraits with the Go Pro cam. Enjoy, Honza

2009 short video from Team USA

USA. team video .RedBull Xalps 2009 from USA Team - RedBull Xalps on Vimeo.

Honza and Dave on Tour! Monday April 18th at the Super Fly Headquarters Event time: 7:00- 7:30

US Red Bull X-Alps Team presents:

A Tough Battle for the podium.

On Monday April 18th at the Super Fly Headquarters, Honza Rejmanek & Dave Hanning, the 2011 US Red Bull X-Alps Team, will be present the story of their hard fought battle for a place on the podium in the 2009 Red Bull X-Alps.
In 2007 they placed 9th and in 2009 they put a US team on the podium for the first time with a third place finish. They will discuss what it is like to compete in the world’s most incredible 500+ mile hike and paraglide race and why they keep coming back for more.
The presentation will include slides and video with plenty of opportunity for the members of the audience to have their questions answered. The talk is free but the event is a fundraiser designed to help send the team back to Europe this July. There will be some door prizes from Honza and Super Fly.


Event time: 7:00PM

2009 Xalps slideshow

Good Memories

I'm back in the US now. The 2009 X-Alps was a tough battle but as the painful memories fade the good ones shine bright. Here are two photos: the first is of the launch for my longest flight in the X-Alps and the other is from an ascent on day nine. I want to sincerely thank all who joined our 2009 X-Alps team!