OrthoLite Joins the Teva U.S. Mountain Running Team as the Official Insole

OrthoLite recently signed on as the official insole of the 2008 Teva U.S. Mountain Running Team. OrthoLite is the world's leading supplier of open cell foam insoles in the performance and footwear category. OrthoLite headquarters are located in Amherst, MA and their website can be accessed at www.ortholitefoam.com.

"We are thrilled to announce OrthoLite's sponsorship. Their support is integral to the continued growth of our team through marketing, advertising, and recruitment of new talent. This partnership with OrthoLite will help the team perform at their best as they chase medals at Worlds," said Nancy Hobbs, Teva U.S. Mountain Running Team manager.

"Partnering with the Teva U.S. Mountain Running Team is an exciting endeavor for us,"said Pamela Gelsomini, President of OrthoLite. "This gives us the opportunity to support these world-class athletes with technical comfort and start building a lasting relationship with them and the trail running community."

The Teva U.S. Mountain Running Team has been title sponsored by Teva, the official footwear of the team, since 2002, team uniforms are sponsored by official apparel sponsor SportHill, Windermere Real Estate/Teton Valley is the official real estate company, Fleet Feet Sports-Boulder is the official specialty running store, and Wicked Fast sports nutrition is the official dietary supplements for pre-exercise energy/endurance (Energ-Ease) and post-exercise recovery (Recover-Ease).

The team will compete in the 24th World Mountain Running Trophy in the region of Sierre Crans-Montana, Switzerland on Sunday, September 14, 2008.This year's Trophy races are uphill-only courses (as opposed to odd-numbered years when the events are run on an up/down courses) with the senior men running 12km, the senior women and junior men running 8km, and the junior women running just under 4km (course distances are approximate).

The women's team includes four athletes with the top three finishers scoring for the team.  Six athletes will represent the men's team with the top four finishers scoring. The junior men's team includes a maximum of four with top three scoring while the junior women's team is a maximum of three with the top two scoring. Team manager Nancy Hobbs, Colorado Springs, CO, team leader Richard Bolt, Portland, OR, manager of the junior team Dave Dunham, Bradford, MA, and women's team manager Ellen Miller, Vail, CO, will accompany the team to Switzerland.

At the USATF annual convention in Honolulu in December 2007, the Mountain Ultra Trail (MUT) Council chose two races from which automatic qualifiers to the U.S. team will be selected.  The USA Mountain Running Championships will be hosted by the Mt Washington Road Race slated for June 21 in Gorham, NH. The top four U.S. men and the top U.S. woman finisher at Mt. Washington will receive automatic berths on the team.  Vail, CO will host the second and final selection race with the La Sportiva Berry Picker on Sunday, July 20 and will welcome the top U.S. man, the top two U.S. women, and the top junior man to the team.

The remaining members of the squad, (one male, one female, three junior men, and two junior women), will be selected by the Mountain Ultra Trail Council with input from the team staff based on results at the selection races, past World Trophy events, national and international racing experience including mountain, road, cross country, and track.  Senior athletes MUST run a selection race in order to be considered for the team. The junior team (except for the automatic selectee from Vail) is selected based on resumes with criteria available at www.usmrt.com. To be considered for the team all team members MUST be current USATF members prior to running a selection race and in the case of juniors, USATF membership is also mandatory.

Interested athletes should submit running resumes to: Richard Bolt richard.bolt@usmrt.com and Nancy Hobbs trlrunner@aol.com. The full team will be announced by August 15, 2008.

For additional information visit the websites listed below:

USA Mountain Running Championships Berry Picker World Mountain Running Association USA Track & Field World Mountain Trophy 2008 American Trail Running Association Teva SportHill Clothing Windermere Fleet Feet Sports-Boulder Wicked Fast Sports Nutrition OrthoLite

www.mountwashingtonroadrace.com www.vailrec.com www.wmra.info www.usatf.org www.wmrt2008.org/pages/fr/ www.trailrunner.com www.teva.com www.sporthill.com www.juliebryan.mywindermere.com www.fleetfeetboulder.com www.recover-ease.com www.ortholitefoam.com

OrthoLite Company Overview:
OrthoLite, headquartered in Amherst, MA, is the world's leading supplier of open cell foam insoles found in more than 50 million shoes each year including Teva, Asics, Nike, Adidas, New Balance, Merrell and Timberland. OrthoLite combines polyurethane and recycled rubber to provide superior cushioning, comfort, breathability and durability. OrthoLite was originally founded in 1997 and is a product of O2 Partners LLC.