By: Dave Ciaverella

Jason has been an athlete of mine since December of 07' and in this short time, especially in his past 6 weeks or so in Portland, I've seen him grow as an athlete in several ways.

Jason just completed Ultraman Canada last weekend as part of a relay doing 2 of the 3 events in his prep for Ultraman Hawaii this November. He Completed the 10k swim 4:48 in brutal conditions, then the double marathon, 52 miles, much of it on trail. His swim time was impressive considering the conditions and the run to say the least, well....52 miles of hills and trail. I discussed the race with Jason before leaving for ITU Worlds and specifically told him, "I'm not worried man". I truly wasn't. I knew his preparation was adequate to complete the distance and even running back to back 4:30 marathons ( 9:05 for 52 miles ) was not a big surprise to me. And....he did it on liquid calories...figure that.

This was just a small stepping stone for Jason, as he now has to prepare himself for the Ironman World Championships in Kona, then 6 wks later, Ultraman Hawaii. Of course in that race, he will be completing the entire distance. I believe no challenged athlete has ever completed the Ultraman Hawaii race, but if I am wrong, check me on that. But I am pretty certain of this. "Challenged"?? Man...that sure sounds like a funny word to describe Jason who competes at this level. But, what can you say to a man who ignores his limitation to accomplish these things. Inspiration. So, kudos Jason, good race...but now the work begins.