The Anticipation!!!

Wow! Hard to believe that this time Saturday night I'll be crammed into a van with 5 other stinky runners having the time of my life!!!

I want to reiterate 1Miletogo's words of gratitude! Thank you to everyone who has supported and encouraged us. The outpouring of support both with donations and well-wishes has at times left me in awe!

Thank you to each of the 1025 runners who joined us in the Road to The Relay Challenge. And especially the ones, who helped me put the whooping on the rest of Team Waiting For Runs, something I'm certain I could never do on the open road.

Thank you to all the runners who made the Nike+ Relay so much fun. Great job Gang Green on making it such a short challenge!

Thank you to the whole team, each of you have helped by doing something to get this thing off and running and it was no easy feat! Special thanks to our Captain, texasbuckeye for putting this whole idea out there and to 1Miletogo, you are the man for getting the shirts and banner hooked up! wondermom24, you are kick-ass for letting me ride up with you!

I can't wait to meet the team this Friday and hope that everyone travels safely and arrives healthy and well-rested. I hope everyone stays tuned to the blog to read about our 199 mile journey into the unknown. I just know that we will all come out stronger on the other end, with lifelong friendships and new tales to tell! Let's do this!!!

mawz76

p.s. thank you Nike (and I don't just mean for the great running gear)

Wonderful Wizard of Weez provides anti-stink for Vans!

The Great and all powerful MightyWeezie has provided Wizard of Oz air fresheners for the relay vans. There are 4 figures, Dorthy, Tin Man, Scarecrow, and Cowardly Lion. All of them have been loaded with odor eliminating auto vent sticks in the fresh and powerful Cucumber Melon scent. MW has also sent along the CD - A tribute to the Wizard of OZ. As we drive we can rock out to some of Weezie's favorite tunes, and remember that there is no place like home.

Thanks MightyWeezie for hooking us up with the odor fighting power of the Wizard of Weez!

THANKS!

As the time for the relay draws near, I want to take a second and thank all of the people who have supported Team Waiting For Runs. We have seen so much support from Nike, the Nike+ community, & our families and friends. In no particular order here are some of the great people who showed their support!

- Thank you Nike for supplying our relay team with Nike shoes, shirts, & shorts! We are totally outfitted now. The shirts have been printed with our team logo, check out the slideshow at the bottom to see what they look like.

- Thank you to all that donated to the Organs R Us charity in our name. To date we have raised $2020.17! Donations poured in from the generous Nike+ community and from family and friends. Check out the following link to see the donations pages: http://www.firstgiving.com/process/teamarea/default.asp?did=2205&TeamId=32869&EventId=20093.

- Thank you to our families that have supported us while we have trained for this adventure and who have helped us reach our goal. I know that Theresa has always been my support team, and I couldn't do it without her!

- Thank you to the Nike+ community for logging miles in the Road to Relay challenge and showing your support for this event that is bringing Nike+ users together to run a race.

- Thank you to mawz76 who put together the Nike+ challenges for the relay team including the virtual Road to Relay challenge which mimicked the actual relay. She also has put together all of the map books for the trip, we won't get lost now!

- Thank you to MightyWeezie for helping us reach our $1800 goal by providing WeezieWipes to those who donated in the end.

- Thank you to the mystery supplier of the items that I'm bringing for the team. You know who you are, thanks! Shhh, its a secret gift for the relay team :)

- Thank you to all of my fellow relay members, without all of you, we wouldn't have a Team Waiting for Runs!

I could go on all day with this. Thank you everyone! Keep an eye on this site for updates, pictures, & commentary from Team Waiting for Runs.

Dean Karnazes

Dean Karnazes will be running the relay solo for the 10th time this year! His previous best on the course was in 2002 at 46 hours & 17 minutes. That is quite a feat to run the 199 miles solo. Dean will also be talking at the pre-race dinner and at the finish. Our team is scheduled to attend the dinner, so I'm sure that we will hear some amazing stories. I have my copy of his book to be signed.

Dean Karnazes is an amazing endurance athlete, he has done many ultra marathons and numerous other races that would make even the hardiest runners sweat thinking about them. One of his most recent accomplishments was the 50 marathons in 50 states in 50 days where he ran throughout the US completing 26.2 miles every day in a different state.

Check out his site at http://www.ultramarathonman.com. We will be keeping an eye out for him during the run, we may come across him on one of our legs.