Reid Delman – Race Director
Born and raised in Cleveland, Reid moved to Boulder, CO in 1994. He is the owner of Gemini Events and lives in Boulder with his wife, Michele, and their two daughters. When he and Michele learned they would be having twins, they decided it was a perfect time to leave his job as high school teacher and wrestling coach to be at home with the babies and start the business they’d always wanted. The result is Gemini Events, incidentally named after their twin daughters, which strives to offer challenging races in beautiful places with the best runner support around. Reid has done plenty of challenging events himself.
He wrestled for Ohio State and recently competed in Mixed Martial Arts cagefighting. He has completed multiple 100 mile running races including Leadville 100 run and bike, lots of 50s and loves to make his own adventures – which is how he finds many of the race courses currently offered.
He has also competed in adventure races, including the Eco Challenge, mountain bike races, and Ironman distance triathlons.
Karen Balog
Karen Balog grew up in the Midwest. Early on she developed a love of running – winning playground footraces, even against the boys. Her dream of being a track star was thwarted by her high school’s lack of a viable girls’ athletic program. Injured knees, college, and an unfolding career led to many years spent working in, on and under the water. Trained as a marine biologist and finding employment in the shipping industry, Karen pursued work and play around the world – including many years spent in remote Alaska. Her career at sea allowed her to meet her wonderful husband, Josh Weissman.
Karen was intrigued by the sport of ultra-running after reluctantly (at first) supporting her husband with his bizarre endeavors. Inspired by the many people she has come to know through the sport, Karen gradually took up endurance trail-running and has stretched her mileage up to and beyond the 50-miler.
Karen has worked with Gemini Adventures since their very first race; helping out with Aid-Station support, Start/Finish work, and offering Massage Therapy at many events. She has owned a private practice since 2000, specializing in Sports and Orthopedic Massage, and has many endurance athletes as regular clients. She lives in Fort Collins with her husband Josh and their two cats (who also love to run, but only short distances).
Bear Barnett
James “Bear” Barnett is the operator of Solxplore, LLC providing remote environment medical and rescue support, courses and equipment. He’s an experienced paramedic, guide, and educator. Gemini Adventures has been fortunate to work with him for over 3 years and this year he’ll start an exciting new position leading our small group running and biking tours. When Bear is not working with Gemini Adventures he can be found exploring and/or working canyons, peaks, oceans and rivers of the world.
Kyla Claudell
This will be Kyla’s second year working with Gemini Adventures. After her parents made the fantastic decision to move from Philadelphia to Colorado when she was younger she discovered the joys of spending the majority of your life outdoors. She’s a CU Boulder grad and had a career in software development and project management but decided to trade the desk for more time in the sun. Kyla is an avid trail runner and also loves mountain biking, snowboarding, rafting, and backpacking. She’s looking forward to another year of helping athletes achieve success at some of the most challenging and transforming races on the planet.
Glen Delman
Glen has lived, worked and played in Boulder, CO since 1989. He was a long time member of Rocky Mountain Rescue, having been on the search and rescue team for 19 years. He serves as the action photographer at the Gemini Events races in addition to helping out in a variety of other capacities. Having traveled to over 70 countries and all 7 continents, he’s very well-traveled and as a result has thousands of photographs from virtually every corner of the world.
He is also an experienced runner and adventurer. He has ridden his bike from Montana to Alaska (and back), ridden from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic, and ridden across Ecuador. He has completed four 100 mile running races (including Leadville), and completed 25 ultra marathons, as well as the Leadville 100 mile mountain bike race.
Kurt Egli – Racer Liaison for Desert RATS Stage Race
Kurt is a 5 time finisher of the Desert RATS Stage Race on the Kokopelli trail from Grand Junction Colorado to Moab Utah! When he’s not racing he works full time in the Natural Gas Industry in Tulsa Oklahoma and spends his free time chasing his beautiful wife, Shelli, also a 5 time finisher and accomplished ultra-runner.
Kurt says his road to endurance sports has been a long line of trial and error. In his words: “I was a pretty crappy ball sport player as a kid that grew into a mediocre high school swimmer. At some point in high school I thought riding bulls might be a good idea. I spent a few years as the cowboy swimmer. After getting out of high school I joined the Navy where I swam a lot. I was still riding bulls but after a nasty wreck and a broken back I decided that it was time to hang up my spurs before I got my dumb butt killed. I started surfing a little bit since it seemed that those dudes got lots of girls. It was great fun and during a couple of deployments I started to work out with a couple guys in martial arts which I carried over to civilian life. After meeting my awesome wife I started running more and racing. It 1995 my endurance life began. I started riding my bike to rehab a bad knee. After watching the Eco-Challenge on TV I conned my wife into doing our first adventure race and we have been hooked on endurance sports since. I combined my love of swimming, riding, and running to add triathlon to the mix. After racing Ironman for 9 years we were looking for the next adventure when we found Desert RATS. The past 5 years racing RATS has become a yearly event for us. I was so happy when Reid as me to be a part of the staff and I am looking forward to being on the other side of the clipboard this year.
John Graham
John is originally from Haverhill, Massachusetts and he has the accent to prove it. He was a 1LT US Army Advisor in Vietnam from 1969-70 and was a 7th grade history teacher in Kinderhook, NY. He also worked 10 years for Governor Mario Cuomo of NY, mainly in economic development until 1993 when he headed west and become a Moab resident. He’s a former river guide and has been the owner/chef of Cook since 1996. He’s an expert at outback adventure catering and not only will he give you a 5 star meal at the end of a long day, he’ll also entertain you with stories of catering for actors like Bill Murray and Ed Harris. He still lives in Moab and spends his free time traveling in his Airstream with his wife and 2 dogs.
Dr. Jeremy Joslin
Jeremy is a board certified physician currently working in emergency medicine in upstate New York. He has worked numerous endurance events and this will be his 7th year working with Desert RATS. He also runs a fellowship program at Syracuse in wilderness expedition medicine. He trains full-fledged doctors to provide medicine in wilderness expedition settings and ultra racing has become one of the most popular parts of the program. He and his crew lead an extremely popular clinic on prevention and care of blisters during the week of Desert RATS.
Alec Muthig
More than a runner, Alec Muthig is an explorer, a mover and shaker, someone who makes things work in challenging situations. After many personally profound adventures, such as solo multi-day winter treks, a speed crossing over the rugged Wind River Range, the Coastal Challenge and Desert RATS stage races, and the Arrowhead 135, he decided to create Journeyman Adventure Enterprises (Happy Jack Endurance Races, Twin Mountain Trudge, et al). This organization coordinates experiences with a specific focus on providing an opportunity for individuals to learn and grow. With close ties to Gemini Adventures (and a close name as well!), Alec brings this personal exploration focus with him in his support of our events.
John Oliva
Director and founder of Explore Adventure Sports, John started organizing and leading trekking and cycling tours throughout the world 15 years ago. His passion for experiencing Nepal to the fullest extent is what he tries to bring to all who visit this amazing country with him. John grew up in Colorado and started to hike and bike at high altitudes at a very early age. He climbed his first 13,000 ft. mountain at the age of 8, which is also when he started to get involved with bike tours lead by his father. John has traveled extensively throughout the world since he was nine years old and strives to learn about and interact with foreign cultures. Nepal has been in John’s heart since his first trek there in 1995 and has remained dear to him during the 20 treks he has led there over the years. During these years he has learned Nepali, which helps to bridge the gap between the westerners and the local Nepalese. John also currently, directs and coordinates many of Colorado’s premier running races, triathlons and other events. John is an active athlete who has competed in several sports such as speed in-line skating, speed skiing, cycling races, and running races.
Josh Weissman
A native of New York, Josh Weissman had a celebrated career as a wrestler in high school and college. Sadly, his career was cut short by a tragic lack of training and the onset of old age. Josh began his entry into the world of ultra-running when his good friend and wrestling partner, Reid Delman, said something like: “A hundred miles? Nah . . . I don’t think you could do it.” Now a three-time finisher of the Leadville Trail 100 (including one “Double Leadville”), and numerous ultra-distance running and biking events, Josh brings experience as well as charm to the Gemini Adventures team. A previous career in the U.S. Merchant Marine Service has enabled Josh to travel the world, see amazing sights, and meet lovely, interesting people – such as his wife, Karen. A wandering vocation has carried them from Alaska, Eastern Canada, & the South Pacific, to a more settled life with two cats and a cozy home in sun-drenched Colorado. Josh currently enjoys teaching Technology Education at Poudre High School in Fort Collins, where he also helps coach the wrestling team.