Great Year for Pictures!

This year's team wins a gold star for sharing photos! Each year we create a photo drop box to make it easy for everyone to swap pictures. Most years we get a few people to add their pictures and end up with a really nice collection. This year though was off the charts! 

Below are pictures from Dan,

Barbara, 

Bruce, 

Nancy and 

Ragnar's own photographer!

The Morning Run

After a good night's sleep . . . all right that is a total lie. After a brief nap the vans are up and running again! Around 7am the Orange Line pulled into the Van Transition Area located at Bear Brook State Park. Bruce came running around the corner

handed off the wrist baton and stopped for pictures!

This is one of the more picturesque transition areas with a small lake near where the runners perform the exchange.

Kind of cold but Bruce braved the icy waters anyway! Through the whole relay the weather was spectacular. Here Deirdre and Kirsten hang out in the sun while waiting for our runner to appear.

This is a particularly good picture of Nancy and Paul where you can see just how beautiful the day was.

Running by Moonlight

One of the most memorable parts of the relay is running at night. You run down a road with your headlamp, blinking tail light and reflective vest. Ahead and behind you can see a stream of other similarly decked out runners. Occasionally, one is wearing a tutu. Yes, a tutu. It is difficult for teams to identify their runners at night and use things like tutus to help. We used little blinking dots. Chris had the brilliant idea, pun intended! :), to put them on her sneakers. That apparently made it easy to spot her from far away. Expect this to become a regular part of the Rosie Ruiz Fan Club's night running outfit!

Here you can "see" Barbara coming down the road. The bright dots lower down on her vest are little blinking party lights we used to identify people in the dark.

I am not sure how Bruce got this shot at the transition area but he did! Dora is waiting for Nancy to come into the Vehicle Transition Area (VTA) where the Orange Line will take over from the Green Line.

Bruce even managed to get a shot of the transition!

Last picture for today is of Nancy and Deirdre walking back to the van from the VTA.

While not easy you can sometimes even catch a nap at night in the van as Kirsten demonstrates in this picture.

Day 1: Time to Go!

For this year's relay we have stunning weather! Not a cloud in the sky. Temperatures starting in the 40s and working their way up to the high 60s as the day progresses. Kristen started us off with a run up Bretton Woods. Yes up! Way up. To the very top. Then down again. A tough 2.5 mile leg.

We are team 43 and you can see her in blue on the photo's left. Since 2015 the course route allows the two vans to see off the first three runners. So, while Kristen was mountain climbing we had time for a picture of Nancy, Cathy and me.

Team support is very important. Who has the best team support? Why the Rosie Ruiz Fan Club!

Nancy had the van's last run and here she hands off to Dora.

Then it was finally time for the Green Line to stop for lunch.

Day 0: A Fun Filled Dinner

Day 0: We drove up to the Attitash Mountain Resort for the night. Arrived around dinner time and decided to eat at their restaurant, which turned out to be pretty good! Best of all was the company.

Next it was time for some van decorating. With an 8am start we figured there would not be enough time in the morning. Boy were we right! More on that later.

Un-official Rosie Ruiz Fan Club theme song – The Rosie Ruiz Marathon Blues

(Think Blues, 1-4-5 chord progression)

See Rosie was a runner, couldn’t run very far,

She ran just a little, but usually took a car,

Rosie entered the Boston marathon, to impress her boss at work,

But she never thought she’d end up such a marathon jerk,

 

Then she got the Blues……..,

The Rosie Ruiz marathon Blues……..,

And soon everyone heard,  the Rosie Ruiz  marathon news…..

 

Well Rosie had a scheme, to run Boston very fast,

But didn’t quite figure out, how long the run should last,

She jumped on the subway, after running just a while,

And then got off the train with a mischievous little smile,

 

Then she got the Blues……..,

The Rosie Ruiz marathon Blues……..,

And soon everyone heard,  the Rosie Ruiz  marathon news…..

 

Back in the race she went, but too far in the lead,

And ended up in first, then got caught for her evil deed,

So the story of Rosie goes, in good old bean town,

And Rosie will never be able to live this day down,

 

She got the Blues……..,

The Rosie Ruiz marathon Blues……..,

From then on and forever, she never wanted to see another pair of running shoes.

The 2016 Team T-Shirt!

This year's team t-shirts on the drying rack getting ready for their big race. Go Rosie Ruiz Fan Club Go! This Friday we start our adventure at 8am. Follow the action here or on our Facebook page.

Van Tags - What are They?

What is this you may wonder? It is an official Rosie Ruiz Fan Club magnetic van tag! What is that? Many years ago, our then Captain Erica came up with the idea of tagging vans with a little symbol of our team. Since then many teams have adopted this practice and by the end of the race our vans can end up with over a dozen tags each.

With just over a week to go the team's supplies are nearly all in! These van tags arrived recently. Next in line to show up are some lights that will (I hope) let us figure out which runner on the road at night is ours. So far none of the 8 tricks we have tried have worked. The first year we had no idea how difficult it would be to distinguish runners at night! Since then we have been on a never ending quest to find a solution.

We Are 100% Signed Up with Ragnar!

I am happy to report that the team is now 100% registered with Ragnar. Why does that matter? As you get closer to the race Ragnar starts to charge change fees. If people register late we need to pay the fee since we are adding someone to the team. Regular teams can have anywhere from 7 to 12 people on them (4 to 6 makes you an ultra team). If your team has 10 registered members Ragnar has no way of knowing if that is all you plan to have or if you looking for two more people.

To celebrate getting 100% registered I thought I would post this picture from the 2011 team.

From left to right: Bruce, Nance and yours truly Matt. I am happy to report that all three of us are back for this year's 10th anniversary team!

I am sad to report that we have lost Denise from the team this year due to sciatica. We all wish her a speedy recovery. She has been a wonderful member of the team. Here is a picture of her (in the green shirt) during last year's race.

While I am sad to see Denise go, I am happy to Welcome Paul to this year's team! Yes, we still have a full team with 12 runners! Paul is a great runner and a wonderful guy. He is going to be a terrific addition to the team. I would post a picture of Paul but, this will be his first year with the Rosie Ruiz Fan Club so you all will have to wait until September before I have one.

Race Preparations Continue Right Along

A relay team needs a place to crash the night before the start and vans for the start. I am happy to report we now have both! This year we are staying at the same condo complex as last year and the picture shows the building we stayed at in 2015. 

As to the van here is a before 

and after - all lit up for the nighttime legs!

A BIG Welcome the 10th Anniversary Team!

This year the Rosie Ruiz Fan Club's Reach the Beach Relay team turns 10! Yes, big news. I realize you have all been on pins and needles wondering who will be in this year's lineup. Well fret no more. The fan club reached its 12 runner limit in record time this year. Before March ended we had two complete vans. Yeah! Who is on the team you ask? Well I am here to answer!

We have new first year members: Barb, Chris and Kristen.

Returning for their second run/ride:  Bruce, Cathy, Dan, Deirdre, Dora

For the third time! Denise, Paula and Nancy.

Plus old timer and current team captain/Metro Pass holder: Matt.

I am also happy to announce Jay's honorary return. Even though he cannot make this year's race he has offered to let us use his house as a pick up, drop off and clean up point. A very gracious offer and we want to thank him for it.

Like last year, this year's race starts at Bretton Woods and heads down to Hampton Beach. We will depart for the starting line on Thursday September 15.

In addition to racing there are some surprise swag bag accoutrements coming this year! Stay tuned for hints. One, of course is a whole new t-shirt design celebrating the team's 10th year. In the meantime, here is a picture showing off the front of last year's shirt

and the back

.

The stunning couple in the top photo is Matt and Jen. Alas, we have lost both of them this year to a group from their neighborhood kids' school. If you have to lose some wonderful comrades it is good to lose them to a team they will make a great contribution to.