The PEAK $10,000.00 Man of the Year 
 
PITTSFIELD, VT, Nov. 13 - For beating out his brains - and body - in six
uber-competitive events in Vermont this year, Reeder Fahnestock, who
goes by
Ri, has pocketed $10,000 as The Peak $10,000 Man of the Year. 
 
An artist by training who runs a woodshop for the University of New
Hampshire (Dover) art department, Fahnestock was the only contender
willing
to finish all six of the 2008 Peak Races .Over the course of an entire
year
he kept his body in top physical condition in an effort to finish what
race
organizers thought to be impossible.
 
He endured freezing and torrential rains in a March snowshoe marathon, a
distance many only try on pavement and in sneakers. He completed one of
the
toughest 50 mile races in the country in scaling high mountain peaks,
running through forests of nettle and smashing his quads into oblivion.
He
finished the nation's only can't-be-finished "Death Race," completing
tasks
many could on shake their head at. He rode his mountain bike for six
hours
on a six-mile loop up and around Vermont's "terrible" mountains known as
Joe's and Fusters. He returned to the same mountains in November to run
100
miles and claim his prize, the coveted and long-awaited $10,000 Peaks
Purse.
 
Fahnestock, who averaged two events monthly for a total of 26 in 2008,
says
he's impressed with Peak Races offerings. 
 
"They have the best series in the Northeast, bar none. Between the
variety
of races they do and the way they put them on, all six races have been,
with
exception of a couple of others, my favorite races of the year. They're
going to get better and better. The energy the directors bring to the
race
directing is great. They're all racers themselves and their passion
shows
through," he says.
 
"I was incredibly lucky to find out about the Peak Races series. In 2009
I
want to concentrate more on making podium finishes and doing well at a
few
select races. It will be even more dynamic if you have two races
competing
for the money this year." 
 
He plans to use some of the $10,000 for new telemark skis and racing
snowshoes. When not pursuing individual competitions he races for the
Acidotic Racing Team managed by Chris Dunn. The team is involved in
events
along the East Coast.
 
2009 PEAK RACES CALENDAR
The Vermont events are organized by Joe Desena and his team under the
banner
of Peak Races of Pittsfield, VT. Its 2009 seasonal race calendar
includes
endurance events on snowshoes, mountain bikes and on foot over trails
running through miles of both private and Green Mountain National Forest
lands. For details please see www.peakraces.com. On the calendar are 
 
*	March 7, 2009 - 3rd Annual Pittsfield Peaks Snowshoe Marathon
and
Half Marathon. This is an event covering 26, 13 or six miles on an
extensive
trail network near Amee Farm and Riverside Farm in Pittsfield. This year
event organizers anticipate upwards of 150 competitors.
 
*	June 6, 2009 - 3rd Annual Pittsfield Peaks Ultra Challenge and
Solo
Relay Race.  Participants run 52 miles on hilly terrain.
 
*	June 13, 2009 -- 3rd Annual Pittsfield Peaks Death Division
Race.
Designed to be the toughest race in the world, this was won by Chris
Mitchell of Boston in 2008. This is a 24-hour obstacle course run that
can
include, among other tasks, splitting wood, hiking through a river,
chiseling marble and even mucking out nearby sheep stalls. Described as
very
challenging mentally and physically, race organizers say it's the mental
part that gets competitors to the finish. In 2008 out of 50, eight ran
the
whole course. Joe Desena who designed the race says it's "tougher than
the
Tour de France in the sense that there's no end in sight. You don't know
how
long it goes for; we don't give you a starting point. The goal is to get
everybody to quit."  A prize of $1,000 goes to the first five people who
finish in less than 24 hours.
 
*	July or August, date TBA -- 1st Annual Chet Warman Memorial Road
Bike Race. This is a 100-mile road bike event spanning the gaps and
peaks on
Rt 100 in memory of Chet Warman who died on a biking expedition across
the
United States in October 2008.
 
*	Aug. 22, 2009 - 34d Annual Pittsfield Peaks 666 Mountain Bike
Race
on Aug. 22, an event that requires multiple six -mile loops over a
six-hour
period.
 
*	October, date TBA -- Funeral Run Race. Competitors bike 50, 100,
150
and 200 miles around cemeteries in central Vermont. (New England 200,
30,000
plus feet of elevation gain, 72-hour time limit; New England 100, 20,000
plus feet of elevation gain, 36-hour time limit; and the New England 50)
 
ABOUT PEAK RACES
Headquartered at Riverside and Amee farms, Peak Races is New England's
premier provider of adventure sport, travel and entertainment activities
/
experiences to business executives and adventure seekers worldwide.
 
Its mission, says Joe Desena, founder of Peak Races, is to provide
innovative, challenging and high-quality experiences that are among the
most
unique and exclusive competitive adventures available. 
  
No stranger to challenge, in September 2008 Desena, along with Chet
Warman
of Pittsfield and Chris Mitchell of Boston. cycled cross country where
Desena competed in the challenging Furnace Creek 508. Sadly Chet died
while
enroute. A commemorative race will be held in 2009.
 
Mitchell figures prominently because he was the winner of the 2008
Desena-inspired Pittsfield Peaks Death Division Race designed to be the
toughest race in the world. 
 
Desena says the Pittsfield Peaks Death Division Race is "tougher than
the
Tour de France in the sense that there's no end in sight. You don't know
how
long it goes for; we don't give you a starting point. The goal is to get
everybody to quit." 
 
Desena is committed to the greater Pittsfield region that he calls an
"endurance community" because of its hundreds of miles of trails for
running
and mountain biking, and also roads for running.
 
"There's a common belief that the high altitude West better for
training,"
says Desena. "But here in the East the roads and trails are steeper.
People
from the West who come here to race don't do as well against the East
Coat
people."
 
He also says there's the advantage of being able to run anywhere in the
woods here and not get eaten by a mountain lion or falling off a
mountain. 
 
For more details see www.peakraces.com. 

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