Two Weeks From Right Now...

Reach the Beach is my Christmas.  I look forward to it with the same flavor of giddy anticipation that December 25th used to have when I was a kid.  If all goes well, this will be my fifth Reach The Beach-New Hampshire---making me a member of the 1000 Mile Club.  In all four previous runnings I have been a proud member of the Rosie Ruiz Fan Club.  Many runners know who Rosie Ruiz is and they get a kick out of our team name.  If you do not know Ms. Ruiz, click here to find out more.

This year Team Rosie has eleven veterans and one virgin.  (See partial team photo below) We have assured the virgin that it might really hurt the first time, but that there is no possible way he will get pregnant.  I had a good run today straight up the 500-foot hill I have started working into my usual run and I am ready!  Two weeks from RIGHT NOW Van Two will be getting ready for its first legs and I will be practically crawling out of my skin with excitement.  I cannot wait...

Look for our vans decked out in the "T" logo of the MBTA Subway system.  And remember, why run when you can ride?

Make Room in Van 1...

... For Rosie's cousin Rob, who recently came in "third" in the Kielder Marathon.

Way to go, Rob! We will be contacting you with info about your legs in the 2012 Reach the Beach.

(Thanks to Rodrigo for spotting our newest Club member in the news.)

Hampton Beach, a great place to meet the rest of your "relay family" members

The end of a relay is like the end of a love story you so enjoy...or the end of your favorite childhood fairy tale... sad, sweet, but also... so ready for the next chapter...

Is anybody here finding it hard to explain to family and friends that we had a life changing adventure with people we don't even know, but yet we now keep them in the inner most part of our heart's "memory lane"? I sure am!

I must admit, I am honored to have been part of the Rosie Ruiz Fan Club relay team. I am so proud of my "relay family"

Don't we all look so happy after two days of sleepless nights and hard racing?

Here is our team members posing by the years they have been running as the RRFC relay team!

First, the veterans, then the virgins!

Here is our beloved team captain Erica and her cheerleader and the BEST co-captain ever, Chris :)...and where is the doggie?

and what will we do without the handsome speedy dudes in the team!!!

And the lovely couple celebrating their second year as team members!!!

and the newly inducted family members!!!

One must admit that the one sad part of being a member of a relay team is that you meet your team members from Vans 1 and 2 just briefly, then by destiny you are separated from your relay family until the end of the relay, except for a few short minutes here and there.

Like any family reunion, our team meeting up is always fun!

As a new team member I learned that I must take advantage of the precious "meeting" moments to have fun with the "other van"

Hope to see you all next time around!

Pre-race warm up ... Shake it baby, shake it

I did say fun, fun, fun is the name of the game with the RRFC earlier". Well for any doubters out there, this is how Nancy and I loosened up our legs before we conquered the hills of NH ... lots of laughing, some boozing and yes, dancing to cheesy live music. Bet the other teams can't beat this beginning of a race.

The Organge Line Reaches the Beach!

After handing off the baton to the Green Line in true Rosie fashion it was time to drive to the finish line!  Off we went in search of lunch/dinner while we waited for our teammates to arrive.

Once at Hampton Beach we had one last task to complete before chowing down:  Pictures with our Road Kill Counter Board!  Yes, following tradition you get a sticker whether you pass somebody or get passed!  The only difference is the type.  If you do the passing you get a happy little sticker with something cute on it like a puppy dog, a butterfly or some such.  If you get passed you get a Halloween sticker.  To be honest, the Halloween ones look was cooler!

Here then are Bruce and Lisa:

Followed by Bruce, Nancy and me.

Last but not least of the pictures I have is the annual poster closeup.

After ceremoniously laying the road kill counter to rest (meaning tossing it in a nearby garbage can) it was off to lunch.  The race provides lunch at the finish area.  If you ever do this relay I can tell what it will be since it never varies:  New England clam chowder, oyster crackers, roast chicken, roast new potatoes, and a butter soaked vegetable medley.  Vegetarians can substitute what looks like a linguini Alfredo for the chicken.  After eating almost nothing other than granola bars for two days even this stuff takes good!

Once the Green line showed up we collected our finisher medals and lined up for a few last pictures.  First here is the Orange line

 
and our whole team:

Alas, that ends this year's adventures.  As always this race is a blast and in no small part to Captain Erica and the wonderful people she always recruits!  That is my version of our story until the next van or public transportation ride billed as a "race."  I hope to see everybody again in 2013!

The Last Orange Line Leg

The final lap to the beach came all too quickly! Two and a half hours of sleep then rise and, er, shine? Not really all that shiny to be honest. At least we had a GPS system to guide us. Better yet we had Lisa driving us to the VTA and Cara navigating. Why better yet? Well they had way more confidence in the GPS getting us to where we had to go than I did. Bottom line: They got us to the VTA without any irrelevant detours that yours truly the skeptic would have imposed on us. So thank you ladies!

The VTA is located in beautiful wooded area within a state park. Captain Erica was not the only one to get an early morning shot of the little lake at what was just a magnificent area to start our final leg.

While Captain Erica arranged for us to sleep at a nearby hotel others chose to ruff it in the VTA camping area.  Actually, quite a few!

While waiting around the crew, sans Nancy and your author posed for a few pre-leg pictures.

You have to be impressed at how happy they look given they are in some sort of sleep deprived zombie state!  Once on the road it appears some people really need to learn some patience.  Here I am waiting for Bruce to come by with the baton for me to head off with.

After I got going it seems my mood brightened considerably, at least if you believe this picture.

Actually, what is going on is me laughing because I thought (it would seem incorrectly) that Nancy, the photographer here, had missed getting me coming by despite what appeared to be numerous attempts to get a shot.  Shows what I know!


Back in the van I took over the camera again and got this shot of Cara on the run during what was a bright and warm (at last!) morning.

Next up for his photo shot of the morning was Taylor.

Then at long last a really good shot of Lisa on the run.

After Lisa it was off to the final VTA.  There we handed off the baton for the final time and then headed by van to the beach for lunch/dinner and guess what?  More pictures!  But those will have to wait for the next post.

of courage and toilet costume and catching up

Yeah...Van1 was ready for the dark night run after a great pasta meal and a few arguments what we should eat and where we should eat.

Here is our Van1 captain ready for his night leg. Unfortunately the blinking lights of his brand new vest did not work...yes! a nightmare we all feared, which cost Nancy two orders of beer at the end of the race :(/

While Van2 was running their leg, we drove into the sunset and got ready for our next leg...our night time run, yeah!!! bring the darkness in!!! we are ready!!!
Van1 one miraculously met up with Van2. Here is the gang chatting along, trying to catch up with the "relay happenings"

Here is our cute and faithful mascot and Chris cheering on our next runner...our OWN team captain, Erica (who did not know she had to put up with a toilet warm up routine)

While the toilet warm up was happening our vibrant captain was trying to warm up for her next leg. Ohhh the horrific things a team captain has to put up with.

Someone mentioned about the things you must put up with while running a relay, one of them being a poorly choreographed toilet warm up routine. I must admit I found this act a top notch performance considering where we were...in the boonies.. and the courageous teenager who volunteered to be the clown of the afternoon as his welcoming act to his community.