We finished respectably with 30:08:07 (thats right, over 30 hours… maybe next year) in 52nd place out of 103 teams.

Here are some pictures:

Marla Aistrope
Ken Antles
Jen Weiss
Eric Bohms
Julia Knippen
Lynn Roberts
Andy Kucharski
Judah Viola
Alina Viola
Pasha Sternberg
Kandace Happ

Marla did an awesome job organizing, here is an example of her awesome skills in hearding cats.. ehh, i mean runners:

WHAT WILL BE PROVIDED FOR ME?
-reflective gear for night running (Marla & Steve)

-water, Gatorade, propel, trail mix and other snacks

-LOTS of gallon sized Ziploc bags for wet and smelly clothes

-First aid kit (Marla)

-course maps that you can run with (Ken)

-driving directions (Marla)
-race handbooks (Marla)

-cooler (Marla) – we’ll get ice from the hotel in the morning

-race number and pins

-febreeze (you’ll thank Ken later for remembering that one)

WHAT SHOULD I BRING?

Clothes:

-3 sets of running clothes (don’t forget extra underwear and socks too)! And I would highly suggest bringing shorts with pockets as it is REQUIRED that you run with a cell phone at all times and you’ll also be carrying a copy of your map and directions for your leg.

-long sleeve shirt for night running

-rain jacket if the forecast predicts rain

-comfortable clothes to wear when you are not running

-a hat or hats for sun or rain

-TWO pairs of running shoes. It might rain, be muddy on the trail, or one shoe might somehow disappear from the van (it happened to me).

-flip flops/sandals

Other:

-sleep bag or blanket

-towel (for sitting on in the van when you are sweating or in case of rain)

-toothbrush & toothpaste

-contacts, solution and glasses (trust me, you’ll want to take your contacts out when we have our few hours to sleep)

-Sunscreen

-Sungrasses

-Bugspray

-Roll of toilet paper

-goo, shot blocks, clif bar or anything similar that you like to eat while running

-ipod

-2 checks that you can write out to cover your portion of the vans and hotel rooms

-Pasha – please bring a signed waiver (found on the last page of the handbook online)

WHAT DO I NEED TO DO THIS WEEK TO PREPARE?

-SLEEP!!!! Really, try your best to rest up this week. If you start this race tired, you’ll feel it. And while there is an extra bench in the van that we can take turns stretching out and napping on, everyone will need to help with the driving at some point and it’s so fun, you won’t want to spend the whole race sleeping!

-Tie up loose ends at work so that once we get to Madison your laptop can remain shut and you won’t need to take a conference call during your first leg.

-Run light. This is not the week to conquer speed training or another long run.

ANYTHING ELSE I NEED TO KNOW?

-There will be short opportunities to catch some shut-eye. I would suggest bringing a sleeping back that you can lay out on the grass. If we have rain, sleep will occur in the van and/or inside a building at one of the exchange zones.

-While the other van is running, we will find restaurants and eat so you don’t have to worry about bringing along food for meals.

-Any CD’s, Ipods (with radio connector), or satellite radio adaptors are welcome. The majority of the race will be in the middle of nowhere and radio reception is minimal.

-There may be an opportunity to take a shower in the middle of the event. In order to be prepared, you may want to bring a towel and toiletries.

-We’ll all be sharing the driving duties and the navigation. i.e. you want to sit in the front of the van, you are either driving or navigating for the driver (and also playing dj).
-Some of us might be competitive people, but this relay race is all about fun. Don’t worry about your pace!
-Speaking of pace, I’ve attached a pace calculator that MC200 provides. I don’t have the paperwork with everyone’s pace on it at home, so I had to make them up. Please don’t be insulted if I have your pace too low or feel pressured if I put your pace too fast. It’s just to approximate.
-Final words of advice: HAVE FUN, just get out there and do your best, be midful of saving up some energy for your 3rd and final leg, do your share of the driving, laugh at my jokes and living in a van together will be a pleasure!

MARATHON GUIDE

2008-02-24 - Hustle Up the Hancock [signed up]
2008-04-27 - Sunday - Ravenswood 5k [signed up]
2008-04-27 - Sunday - Bug Sur Marathon
2008-05-24 - Saturday - Soldier Feild 10 M [signed up]
2008-08-24 - Sunday - Chicago Accenture Triathlon

Here is a short video of a rhino male taking an interest in our Range Rover and trying to decide whether to charge or not. The video doesn’t give this anmial justice in terms of size and indimidation factor.

Finally, I wanted to give this wonderful Big Game park accommodation a shout out. It was very well run, wonderful old colonial style and beatifull. The dutch prince who had a hand in starting the World Wildlife Fund used to stay here often and the palce I am sure saw its share of the Rhino Wars. Check out the amazing history and maybe some pictures on the site of Reilly’s Rock.

Thanks to Mark and Marla for their endorsement of the place for without them we wouldnt have had the pleasure of the experience, see below:

Our travels took us to Cape Town, Durban, Sodwana Bay, Swaziland, Kruger, Franchhoek wine country and somewhere in between.

Of course we took way too many pictures. I have tried to condense it to this slide show - Enjoy!

If anyone is interested or has a lot of time on their hands, here are the source pictures that did not make the cut:

South Africa Cape Town
South Africa Table Mountain
South Africa Sodwana Bay
South Africa Kruger
South Africa Swaziland

Hope all goes well and check for photo updates on my Picassa site.

I found a quick pictorial slide presentation I put together last time I was there in 2003 with my good buddy Martin Spit. (Unfortunately this was put together with a lovely Microsoft product which only allows you to view this in ie)

Finally, since this post is going in the travel section, i wanted to give a good shout out to a great hotel in Bucaramanga, Colombia. - the HOTEL DANN CARLTON BUCARAMANGA. The folks there were super friendly, very attentive and gave everyone a five star service. Much better than most experiences i have had anywhere else. (There is also an awesome gym across the street… but maybe thats for another post).

and although we are a bit late with this one, happy Chanukah

of course if you have time to follow Monkey’s life… go for it here!

Hour::Destination::Mode of Transportation
0:00::Boat::Davao, Phillipines
1:00::Bus::Airport
4:00::Cepbu Pacific::Manila
6:00::Jeepny (yes, I took it all by myself!)::Airport Hotel and back
12:00::Phillipines Airlines::Bejing
23:00::United::Washington DC
35:00::United::Washinton DC - Chicago
37:00::Cab home!

Glad to be home. It’s a good thing I didn’t get too settled in PH

Well, not anymore - I am a RUNNER! Whats brought this change about was my completion of my first ultra marathon, the JFK 50 miler. My buddy TJ talked me into it. At first I didn’t think this would put me in the category of a runner, I mean with a 50 mile race and a cut of time of 12 hours (now realizing that’s on the short side for this type of distance), you cant call it running if you can take a 15 minute mile once in a while.

But actually completing the RUN - and yes, despite the slow average this was very much a RUN, deserving all three caps. My official result: 10:44:09 - yup, thats almost eleven hours. I am limited in describing it to a non-runner, but for any marathoners our there, here is what running a 50 mile ultra feels like:

- go for a slow pace run of 18 miles
- after completing, immediately turn around and do another 18 mile pace run
- after running for more than a marathon now, there is only one thing left to do
- turn around and run a half marathon

The JFK was a great challenge and a great experience. I have seen clarity and asked clarity why I like setting goals and not letting go. It was painfull and rewarding. I don’t think I would ever do it again (don’t ask about the bout with fever)… But keep reading.

Special thanks go to the Reston Runners, Dennis Kelleher the super-duper reston supporter who was assigned to crew for me. Thank You!!

For some testimonial on what the race experience was like for other folks, check out the Reston Runners Experience Articles.

Nobody forced anyone to run
Chicago Tribune, Oct 9th, 2007

Hey, don’t blame the city of Chicago if you were too tired and too hot Sunday while running a marathon.

And don’t blame sponsor LaSalle Bank if you were weak from thirst and couldn’t get enough to drink.

You’ve got nobody to blame but yourselves.

“They ought to move it to a later date,” one runner whined on TV.

Yeah, how about November next time? Then you could run it in a blizzard and blame Chicago for your case of frostbite.

Sympathy for the fallen is fine, but the sponsors weren’t responsible for making them run.

No one stages a 26.2-mile race for 45,000 people and guarantees, “Oh, by the way, you’ll all be fine.”

Marathons are not for the faint of heart. You run in one, you take your chances.

If the water supply runs short, here’s a helpful hint: Stop running. It’s just a race. Don’t die for it.

Congratulations to the winners. You signed up to be in a long, hard run? You got one