Fire and Ice: Orem, UT Firefighter 5k Fundraiser

So this past weekend Team Holm Racing had the opportunity to help out our local fire department raise some funds for the Timpanogos Regional Hospital.

Not only did we participate in the morning's 5k race (our fearless team captain/driver Jeremy Holm pulled off about a 24 minute run) but pusher/future team driver Brad Welch and Jeremy entertained race participants and supporters by demonstrating the ins and outs of bobsled. The team brought the flame-job painted (appropriate for the day!) two-man sled as well as a table full of bobsled equipment: helmet, shoes, uniforms, bobsled runners, medals, and gloves. They also passed out autographs, pictures, posters, business cards, and postcards.

"We had a blast," Jeremy said. "It was great to run the race with that many people, even though I'm only used to running 50-meters on ice and jumping in the sled! But to take part in such a great cause is always a good way to start the day. Plus, it is always fun to be out there sharing our sport with the general population. So hopefully we were able to ad a certain level of entertainment and excitement to the fundraiser and help the fire department and the hospital have a successful event."

If you have a fundraiser, church function, social gathering, or business event that you would like Team Holm Racing to attend, please contact us.

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words (or dollars)

As many of you know, Team Holm Bobsled had a very memorable Easter Sunday this year.

You can click here to read the full story, but the short and sweet of it is that we had the incredible opportunity of participating in a special photo shoot at the Park City bobsled track with Getty Images under the talented direction of Stephen Schauer.

And now, after waiting patiently (and some days not so patiently, we're like kids waiting for Christmas), the results are in. And to be honest, they are simply breathtaking.

After nearly eight years in the sport, to see yourself and your teammates captured in images like these, well...it is a feeling that's hard to describe. I guess you could say that it is one of those achievements that make all the sacrifices, all the hard work, all the discouragements, and all the cold nights spent on the ice worth it.

Enjoy the photos posted below and be sure to leave us some comments on what you think! And be sure to check back in a couple of days when we post some more images! We just ask that out of respect for Getty Images that you do not download these images in any form.

Most Embarrassing Moments #2

This post is a reprint of an earlier entry (originally posted 12/21/07), but I think it is totally appropriate considering we're on our "Most Embarrassing Moments" kick right now! So, courtesy of our team member Don Osmond, please enjoy!



"As Jeremy mentioned, I had my first experience bobsledding this week – what a rush! At it all began on the drive up to the Olympic Park…

I met up with Jeremy at his office in SLC with a massive grin, impossible to hide. We jumped in his truck, bobsled in back, and made our way to Park City. The ride up, I kept asking questions and Jeremy provided the advice. The night was a little cold, but I was just excited to be on my way.

After getting changed into something a little less wind resistant – spandex – it was time to get ready for the ride of my life. (I'll be honest, spandex is a little uncomfortable to be wearing in public. Good thing everyone else at the track was wearing something similar. "When in Rome…")

After getting some quick last minute pointers and watching some of the "skely's" (skeleton riders) race down the track, it was my turn. The adrenalin was already kicking in, and I was having a difficult time maintaining composure – totally excited.

I started the count off… "Back set!"

"Front set!" Jeremy responded in cadence. "Ready, GO!!!"

I began pushing that sled as hard as I could, and just started running. About five seconds down the track, I jumped in, ducked under and held on… for what was going to be an unforgettable, yet unrememberable, ride of my life.

As the bobsled started to gain speed, I could feel my body being pushed into the back of my seat. With every turn, the pressure seemed to increase. The intensity of the speed and the sharpness of each turn jarred me back and forth in the sled. Two thirds of the way down there is a minor drop in the track that causes momentary weightlessness.

Then, black out.

The next thing I remembered, Jeremy was frantically hitting me to wake me up. I had to pull the brakes. Coming to, I was disoriented and had no idea what was going on. We had passed the point where I'm supposed to brake, and we were quickly nearing the end of the track where a snow bank awaited to stop runaway sleds.

Subconsciously, I grabbed the brakes and pulled as hard as I could. At the same time, Jeremy steered the sled into the wall so as to help slow us down. We stopped just as we entered the snow bank.

Within seconds, Jeremy jumped out of the bobsled and began asking me questions and telling me to get out. I don't recall much, because I was still trying to acclimatize myself to my surroundings. (You can ask Jeremy more about the specifics, because I know I was not being very responsive.)

From there, we got the sled out of the track and I finally regained my composure.

In short, aside from having an absurd rush of adrenalin, pulling a couple G's, blacking out and nearly wrecking Jeremy's bobsled; I had a blast!!

I just hope Jeremy will trust me again sometime to do it again!"

Most Embarrassing Moments #1

Ok, we got some good feedback from our "Crazy Bobsledding Exercises" post so we decided to move forward with Team Holm Bobsled's most embarrassing moments stories. And since it was my idea, I guess I'll go first! Me and my big mouth....

So, this happened back in the 1997-1998 season (before we looked as good as we do now). Back then, the Park City track did their passenger ride program with regular four-man bobsleds, not the modified ones that they are using now. These sleds needed a driver and a brakeman, which was part of my job description. I should mention that I was working for the USBSF (our national governing body) at the time and they ran the passenger program so I divided my time between playing brakeman for the sleds and helping passengers load into the sleds and prepare to go.

Well one night I was just assigned the task of helping customers get the right sized helmets and then load into the sled properly. The great part about this is that I got to socialize with the clients and help get them excited for the ride. And then, once they were properly loaded into the sled, we would pull out the pushbars and give them a full push down the start ramp.

There's only one, minor catch to this whole situation: stopping. No, not the sled. I mean us, the pushers!

Have you ever tried to stop on ice while sprinting down a 50-meter ramp at full speed? And at the time I didn't even have my fancy bobsledding shoes with their 300+ spikes on each foot. No, back then all I had were my trusty (yet almost useless) sprinter track spikes with 8 spikes on each foot. Man, when you let go of that sled, you were doing everything you could to just stay on the spikes and not your heel, because once those spikes left the ice, you would would go down hard! Some of the pushers actually got to the point to where they would just fall down on purpose and slide to a stop down in Turn 1.

But not me, and definitely not this night that I'm talking about. There was a rather large group of passengers gathered at the top of the track and they were cheering us on, telling us to push faster and faster! Being ever-so-willing to oblige, we started pushing full-speed (which as you can imagine only made stopping that much more difficult).

And to make matters worse, there were a couple of cute girls in the crowd, so being teenage guys, we decided we'd try to show off. Ah, it just reminds me of that saying, "Pride cometh before the fall."

So on one of the pushes, we really ran it deep. I'm talking way past the point that I would have jumped into the sled as a driver. We just dug deep and then gave it one last shove before letting it go. We could even hear the crowd cheering us from the start area, congratulating us for our efforts.

Well, the euphoric feeling lasted about two steps. On the third one, my spikes slipped on the ice and my heel came down (remember, no spikes there) and the next thing I knew, my feet went up into the air almost higher than my head and my arms went out to my sides in an effort to catch myself. But alas, it was no good.

I came crashing down on my back so hard it knocked the breath out of me! My arms came crashing down onto the ice and I hit my watch so hard that it broke! In that wonderful spread-eagle position I continued my downward motion and slide down into the middle of Turn 1.

With a groan, I pulled myself to my feet, gathered up the pieces of my watch, and began the "Walk of Shame" back up to the start area amidst the applause of my coworkers and the crowd. I don't think I looked up once during that whole walk back up the start ramp. When I got there, my coach just smiled, slapped me on the back, and told me "I think you actually bounced on that one."

Ah, memories.... Thank goodness YouTube didn't exist back then!

Stay tuned for more postings about our most embarrassing bobsled moments where we'll further embarrass ourselves for your reading pleasure!

Obscure Exercises

So after 8 years in the sport and having worked with numerous trainers (a.k.a. Drill Sergeants in disguise), I thought it would be a bit entertaining to list some of the more....creative exercises that some of my trainers, coaches, and fellow athletes have made me do.

1. Run up the K-120 Nordic Jumping Hill - Yes, you're vision is quite blurry once you reach the top!



2. Push a car across the parking lot - Hey, with gas prices the way they are nowadays, maybe it isn't such a bad idea?



3. Football Fumble - Basically the trainer drops the football, you let it bounce once, and then chase after it. Perfect for entertaining everyone else but the victim.



4. Tennis Court Net Jump - Gives us some fresh air (and we get to watch the girls playing tennis).



5. Reverse Hamstring Curls - I don't even know how to explain this one! I'll try to get a picture of it up here soon. But basically you take the calve-raise machine and load it up with weight. Then you get in front of the machine and hook your feet into the cushions and lean forward until your legs give out. Your partner pushes you back up and you start again. Hurts? Oh ya. Effective? Incredibly.

6. Running Down the Bobsled Track - I think it was meant to be some sort of twisted speed drill (and knee killer). That's 8/10ths of a mile while dropping 400 feet!



7. Stair Jumping (with 45-pound weights) - Oh, it is easy. Just hold a 45-pound weight straight-armed in front of you, then frog jump up six flights of stairs without letting the weight drop. Three times.



Don't worry, we'll keep adding some more crazy exercises throughout the summer! And some better pics! But stay tuned because next time we'll be adding some of our most embarrassing bobsled moments!

Team Holm Heads to BYU

Just a quick announcement for all you Utah-Valley dwellers:

Team Holm Racing will be on the BYU campus Saturday May 17th, 2008 from 7am until, well...we're not sure WHAT time we'll be done on Saturday! But we'll be out there at the UHSAA US Bank State Track Championships 2008 with two bobsleds and a few skeleton athletes doing some athlete recruiting for next season's developmental programs!

So if you're in the area, come stop by and say hi! Just come look for us outside the track and field complex on the north-west corner of the BYU campus!

See you there!

Race for the Cure

Last Saturday (May 10th) I had the incredible opportunity to participate in the Susan G. Komen "Race for the Cure" held in downtown Salt Lake City, Utah. Oh sure, it was only a 5k (3.1 miles) race, but the whole experience was unforgettable.

After staying up until about midnight Friday night to load some new tunes onto my iPod, I got up at 6am to get ready and get downtown to the Gateway Mall and find parking. Turned out to be easier than I thought, so I just sat in my car for about 40 minutes until it was time to meet my coworkers in Gateway itself. After waiting for the last stragglers to arrive, we headed towards the starting line to join the masses.

The crowd was huge! An estimated 17,000 survivors and supporters took part in the morning run. As I stepped up towards the huge balloon arch that represented the starting line, I couldn't help but look around at all the enthusiastic faces. Though some looked more somber than others, usually the ones with a "I'm racing in memory of..." tag on their back, the general feeling of the crowd was one of support, encouragement, and purpose.

During the race itself, it was both thrilling, and heart-wrenching, to glance at the tag's fastened to the back of the runner's ahead of me. I quickly noticed that there were two versions: one that was "in memory of" and the other said "racing in celebration of." Perhaps the most exciting part of it all was to see how many pink-shirted survivors there were mixed in with the crowd. Although I found myself focusing on the music from my iPod and trying hard not to crash into someone for the first mile until the crowd began to thin out, I also couldn't help but let my eyes wander from tag to tag. You almost wanted to reach out to each person and say "I'm sorry for your loss" or "Tell your aunt that I wish her the best with her treatments."

I've watched my little sister, Linnea, race in several marathons and I can know better understand why she loves it so much! Not that I think I'll ever be crazy enough to run 26.2 miles (hey, remember in bobsledding we only have to run 50-meters and then jump in the sled!), but I am looking towards doing some more 5ks over the summer.

Overall, the experience was amazing and I am so glad that I took part. And I guess, when it really comes down to it, that is what makes life so incredible, that we all have the power to do something with our lives, to take part in great causes, big or small. So now that you've read my post about Saturday's race, here's my question for you: what are you going to do today to make a difference in the life (or lives) of someone else?

Team Darfur Needs Your Help

Photo by:Lauren Bush, Team Darfur



As many of you know, a few weeks ago I was asked to join Team Darfur, an international coalition of athletes who have bonded together to do whatever is in our power to end the suffering that exists in the Sudan.

Now, the children of Darfur need our help. On Monday, Sudanese government bombers killed seven children in their school, and six other innocent people who were shopping at the local market. The school was sponsored by Team Darfur's partner organization, Darfur Peace and Development, and we have featured children just like those killed in our Children's Stories Project.

The surviving children need protection from the bombings. I'm hoping you'll join with me in helping to spread the word that for the next week 100% of online donations to Team Darfur will go directly to Darfur Peace and Development's Darfur Schools Project. This money will help rebuild the bombed school and will enable other innocent Darfuri children get an education despite the terrible violence. Please encourage your family, friends, and coworkers to visit www.TeamDarfur.org/donate.

Thank you for helping us, your world athletes, take a stand to end the suffering and violence and bring peace to the children of the Sudan.

2008 "Race for the Cure"

Every year hundreds of thousands of people gather together for annual Susan G. Komen "Race for the Cure." It is a movement that has inspired hope in women all around the world as millions of dollars are raised to help fund breast cancer research and prevention programs.

And with good cause.

It has been estimated that nearly 10 million from around the world could die from breast cancer in the next 25 years unless a cure is found. And if that isn't startling enough, in 2008 an estimated 182,460 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer. The facts are thought-provoking.

At Team Holm Racing we do our best to use our time and affiliation in such a unique and exciting sport to do as much good as possible. From motivating kids at schools, to speaking at black-tie events, it is an honor and a thrill for us to be able to help out and "give back" to the community.

That being said, we are proud to announce our plan to run in the Salt Lake City leg of the "Race for the Cure." We are excited to take part in this incredible event alongside nearly 16,000 other race participants. The race will begin at 8:30am on Saturday, May 10th, and while it only lasts 5K (or 3.1 miles), we have a feeling that this is something that we will remember for the rest of our lives.

If you would like to help Team Hhttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifolm Racing make an even greater impact in the fight against breast cancer, please click here to make a donation. Whether it is $1 or $1,000, each of us can do what we can to help end this tragic and heart-wrenching condition. Since 1 in 8 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime, each of us most likely know someone close to us who has faced this devastating disease.

Please join Team Holm Racing in supporting the Susan G. Komen "Race for the Cure" movement as we do our part to help end the fear of breast cancer once and for all.

Freak Snowfall Leads to Track Re-Opening

Salt Lake City- In a strange turn of events, Utah's historically odd weather led to the re-opening of the bobsled track in Park City.

"I can't believe it's snowing on the first of May," said Joe Citizen as he cleaned the snow off the hood of his Dodge truck. "I just mowed the lawn on Friday and here I am getting ready to drive to work in the snow."

Fed up with the weather's irratic behavior, management at the Bear Hollow Winter Sports Park decided to re-open the bobsled, skeleton, and luge track for the duration of the summer. The colder temperatures will allow the track to run without the exuberantly high cost that normal summer temperatures would inflict.

"Can ye believe it?" said Track Chief Engineer Montgomery Scott. "Ah dinna think we'd have the power to make it happen all summer, but with the weather acting the way it tis, ah am excited we'll get tah see athletes train on the track all year this year."

Athletes from around the world have expressed their anticipation at the opportunity to train at the Park City course all summer long.

Master Chief Spartan, team captain for the Halo Bobsled Team, was found preparing his four-man bobsled, nicknamed "Cortana," for use early next week.

"We'll be fine," he said in a deep, gravely voice. "It will be an honor to race and train all summer long. Normally we just pack the sled away in the garage and work on physical training, but now we actually get to get out on the ice and take runs down the track straight through to the beginning of the next season."

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PS- Just consider this a one-month-after April's Fools posting in honor of today's snowstorm in Utah.