Posted on 06/16/08 10:35 AM| by team-admin
True Grit is a team based in the Bay Area.
Its members are (from right to left):
Roger Pruett, Orinda CA: Roger is the captain and driving force of the team.
Martin Kunz, Berkeley CA: Martin grew up in Switzerland, in the canton of Appenzell, to be precise. His primary sport used to be Orienteering and long-distance running in general. His greatest sports achievements back in his tender youth were a win of the International Karrimor 2-day mountain Raid and a marathon PR of 2:31. Not unlike David Beckham, he made a desperate attempt to extend his sports career with a move to California in 2003. Unlike David Beckham, it didn’t pay off financially and he kept his day-job. However he managed to win the legendary Bay Area Golden Goat long distance Orienteering race 5 times in a row. This made him the proud owner of 2 coffee mugs and 3 T-shirts. (I bet Beckham has that too…). Martin is the only PQ greenhorn in the team. In fact, this is only his 4th adventure race and he is still not quite sure how big the chances of survival are. It’s generally agreed on, that he has the nicest colored bike, tightly followed by Andy’s firetruck bike.
Stacy Moller, Golden CO: I may be naive and inexperienced, but she is pretty much the strongest female athlete I ever competed with. No matter how deep the mud or how hot the sun: She is smiling.
Andy Tubbs, San Francisco CA: Physically the strongest of us all, helps out whenever one of the normal mortals in the team has a crisis. And he does it with a smile. Also: The only American citizen known to me who manages not only to survive, but to thrive without a drivers license.
Support Crew:
Besides the four racers, there are four support members, who are - with no doubt - the heart, soul and brain of the endeavour. These are:
Jay Gould, Hayward CA:
No, this is not the late Harvard paleontologist and Ken Burns featured Red Sox fan Jay Gould; this is the REAL Jay Gould. Cook, RV captain, good spirit and warmhearted backbone of the team. He has supported True Grit on numerous occasions with various crew members. His positive attitude makes him the reliable and safe crew captain any AR team looks forward to be received by at the transition points.
Jonathan Owens, Oakland CA:
Jonathan raced mountain bikes until 2003 when a friend invited him to try an adventure race for the first time; they finished 7th at a snowy and cold AR National Championships. Jonathan is often the team navigator, and uses his strength at mountain biking (former NORBA cross-county National Champion in the 30-34 age group) to tow teammates on the bike. He stays in shape for paddling (and meets his weekly adrenaline quota) by kayak surfing S.F. Bay Area waves. Past and future AR teams that Jonathan has raced with are Baarbd, Snot Rockets, and the Missing Link. Other geographical stops on Jonathan’s comet tail are Narragansett, RI, Hanover, NH, and Craftsbury Common, VT. An injury keeps him from competing himself in this years PQ, which makes PQ-2008 almost like Wimbledon without Roger Federer. His analytical and well organized mind helps the team preparing stages and keep all technical issues in prime shape.
Rosannah Shepherd, Tulsa OK: 
Stacy’s mom and according to reliable sources a world-class cook. Rosannah loves to hike and somehow passed the outdoors gene on to Stacy. She supported Stacy during the 2006 Costal Challenge in Costa Rica and the 2007 18 hour Fruita CO mountain bike race. Both of these races were individual races. She enjoys the adventure of being on a support crew, not only because it is important to her to support Stacy in her passions, but also because with each race she learns more about her daughter. Stacy’s ability to push herself - mind, body and spirit - are impressive and inspiring (not only) for Rosannah. By the way: Insiders are still hotly debating whether Rosannah is really Stacy’s mom or rather her older (or younger??) sister.
Josiah Moller, Denver CO:
Stacy’s son and our all sunshine waiting at the transition points. His mom’s passion for ultra events hasn’t quite infected Josiah yet. Some claim, he is simply too smart and knows that life can be fun without pain. He is an avid boy scout, though, which puts him right on track to become an excellent navigator. His other interest - namely playing the drums - makes him an ideal support crew member: Let’s hope he doesn’t set us out on too fast a pace.
