High Desert Dash

I never really understood the draw to running in relay events, until I ran the High Desert Dash...  I was actually just filling in for a good friend of mine that ended up not being able to run.  Yes, I was duped into doing it, but I quickly came to realize why people do these crazy events- TEAM SPIRIT!  I know I sound like a high school rally coordinator, but I'm being totally honest here.  Our group of five runners, all close friends of mine, decided to run our legs back to back which eliminated the cool down and stiffening process people undergo in the shuttle between legs.  Now I must admit, these great people that I joined for the day are also great runners.  I was definitely the weakest link and knew it and therefor chose two legs that were short.  Little did I know that the legs I chose were ALL uphill.  This is where the team spirit came into play.  As quickly as I was off, I realized I was in way over my head.  My teammates would drive up ahead and then stop and cheer.  Initially, I was quite bashful with their support.  I didn't want to let my teammates down and saw these cheering episodes as opportunities for them to see what I'm really made of, or really not made of.  Eventually, fighting back the urge to walk, vomit and cry, I was looking forward to the support of my teammates.  I often wanted to throw out an 'I love you guys'. 

Much to my dismay, it was never really about our individual abilities as runners.  It was more about our abilities to push ourselves to our own personal limit, which I know each and every one of my teammates did.  I often think about that long hill I climbed that day, and how I never really want to do it again.  But I would do it again for them.  

Pacific Crest Weekend

High praise to all of you who participated in the Pacific Crest events on this warm weekend. Despite all the heat, there were some stellar results by folks near and dear to us here at the shop. Erica Johnson and JJ Howard won the women's and men's marathons, respectively. It was a Bend sweep with Mariel Ettinger, Katie Caba and Jill Gozdowski taking the top three spots in the women's half marathon. Jill then spent the rest of her Saturday helping us out at the FootZone tent at the expo. We marvel at her energy and good nature. Cheryl Tronson, Jen Sventek, Mary Primrose, and Karla Nash placed 5th, 7th, 8th and 9th to give a spectacular showing for Central Oregon. Brian Gingerich was 3rd Male in the half marathon. Finally, Todd Riley (husband of Kristen here at the FZ) was 6th overall in the Half- Ironman Tri. Not to shabby for a full-time fire fighter, husband and father of two. He's the one in the picture and you can see Kristen in the background cheering him on. John Craft of Bend was close behind in 7th place. Congrats to all of you! We had a good time participating in the expo and special thanks to Jill and Ellen for helping us out. Cheers-Teague

Bronco Billy at Bighorn 100

Congratulations to Jeff Browning aka Bronco Billy on his 3'rd year in a row of winning this tough 100 miler. He ran it in 18hours and 56 minutes. Jeff's a long time fixture at the FZ (when his wife and kids can't find him they start here).

We give him a lot of grief, but he has more passion for running, energy and obviously toughness than most. Nice work, Jeff!

Good, dirty day

Thank you all for helping to make this such a great day for the Dirty Half. Hard to believe the perfect morning and warm sun at the finish. There were many smiles and a few bloody knees (and hands). Below is a link to the results. Special thank you to all the volunteers and Nancy P's, Taco Stand, and Deschutes Brewery for helping make the post run festive.
Cheers-Teague
http://www.time2race.com/Results/Dirty%20Half%202008.htm

6-6-08

Got a trail report from my co worker Rob DeClerk yesterday and he said the trail is in "epic" shape. With cool overnight temps scheduled the trail should maintain its condition and be really fast for Sunday.
For packet pick up which begins at NOON tomorrow please wait until noon to begin picking up your stuff. I know the packets will be there before but we do have to set things up to make it all run smooth. I know yours could be just one packet and will only take a minute but if we have to do that 20 times we won't get anything done. So don't come to the store at 11:00 and expect to get your packet.

Thank you for your consideration on this,

dave

DH 6-5-08

A word on waves. To help keep the congestion down on the trail we created a wave system last year. I think it works pretty well or at least as well as it can. We asked participants to submit a time from a half marathon in the past two years to help organize the waves. We add ten minutes to a road time since the DH has elevation and is on dirt. And if you DID NOT submit a time you are automatically put in the 3rd wave.

To give some perspective there are over 300 people with times ranging from 1:51 to 2:10 so most of wave 2 is going to be paced similarly. We had to put some who where close in wave 3 but remember there is a 10 minute gap between waves so by the time you catch them it should be fairly spread out and easier to pass. I know there will be congestion and it is unavoidable so be courteous when asking to pass.

In closing we do have a change in the forecast. Local weather guesser Bob Shaw just said we will experience a warming trend starting Saturday. Still the predicted high is only going to be 67 degrees it should be great running weather.

Thanks,
sd

SuperDave love

Check out the Bulletin article celebrating the Dirty Half, SuperDave and FootZone events in general. cheers-teague


http://www.bendbulletin.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080603/SPORTS05/806030397/1041&nav_category

DH Tuesday 6-3-08

Here is the first of the updates for this coming weekends festivities.

Registration is closed. No more transfers so it is all over until next year.
Trails continue to get bathed in rain and that is making for some great footing out there on the trail. The forecast for Sunday looks great for running a high in the mid sixties and partly cloudy skies. Of course the odds of that staying that way are probably the same as me going to the Olympics.
Here is some important tidbits for those organizing the race weekend.
Race Start 8:00am Sunday June 8th
Packet pick up 12-6 at the FootZone Saturday June 7th
Day of race Packet Pick up 7:00 am Sunday June 8th

Day of Race Shuttle
Starting at 6:30 am a shuttle service will start running from Summit High School to the race start/finish. The last shuttle will leave at 7:35am. We provide this shuttle to help reduce the amount of cars out at the trailhead which in turn allows us to have the 800 person limit on the race. The first 200 race participants to take the shuttle will receive a free pair of Smartwool running socks!

Carpool
The first 150 participants who bike or carpool with 3 or more racers in the same vehicle will receive a special prize. A secure bike corral will be available for those who pedal from town or park at Summit and spin on over.

Bring your ID
If you wish to enjoy a glass of the Deschutes Down and Dirty ale after the run don’t forget your identification!

Thanks,
dave