Texas Independence Relay Info

The Texas Independence Relay is composed of 40 relay legs of various lengths, totaling over 200 miles. The course starts in Gonzales, TX, where the Texas Revolution began, and it finishes at the San Jacinto Monument, where Texas Independence was won!

The relay will run from March 7th - 8th.

8 original Waiting for Runs Relay members will be returning (we will miss abelisle, the Foos, & Mystery runner)

This time, we will up the challenge and have 9 runners in a luxurious 15 passenger van. This means no resting time for the 2nd van.

Keep an eye out here for updated info and up to the minute updates.

2009 Texas Independence Relay Runners

  • 1) 1Miletogo
  • 2) Monk_Monkey
  • 3) noels71
  • 4) texasbuckeye
  • 5) mawz76
  • 6) wondermom24
  • 7) slowashell
  • 8) James
  • 9) SusieQ

Texas Independence Relay Map

Texas Independence Relay Map
Click the Map for individual Leg Maps

Friday, April 18, 2008

Dinner with Dean?

We made our way up the very winding road to the Calistoga Inn. We passed the peruvian horse stables and thoughts of PMag's version of Apoc from Nike+ Tales. Later we arrived at the Inn and we were seated in the beer garden section, the section that was scheduled to be near Dean. Other teams soon filed in, some teams had a runner-isc feeling to them, others like the biker gang, well we are not sure about them.

Soon there was an announcement that Dean was still on his plane and would not be joining us for Dinner, which was a major bummer. Many of us had bought his book to get it signed. Gary the Gnike Gnome took it the hardest and started hitting the bottle pretty hard, he soon finished off a couple bottles and a basket or two of bread to drown his sorrows. I'm sure that photographic evidence will surface soon.

Even without the guest speaker, we enjoyed each others company and talked throughout the evening as more bread and dinner and desert arrived. We all enjoyed the meal of either beef, salmon, or chicken. The mango pineapple chicken was rather tasty.

Soon, it grew dark and a slight chill formed. Some members of the team huddled around a warming device that also acted as a bug erradicator. Then it was time to hit the road and return to the room. We had to make preparations for the start of the relay tomorrow and get some sleep. We scooped up Gary and we headed back down the windy road. Soon, it will be time to get the party started. Hopefully the Gnome will be recovered by then.

in Santa rosa

Its hard to say that I had any expectations going on, but its safe to say it is different seeing nplus users as real life ppl and not just names and posts on a screen. We made the trip to Santa Rosa from SF without incident and it has been fun getting to know the other runners in my van. Check out my photo feed for some early pics. I hope to get time to speak to the runners in the others van at dinner, I fear leaving this trip not having had the chance to get to know everyone here. Everyone has been great so far, more updates to come.

On the road as a team

So, we have met at GGPRunner's house, and she very graciously provided us a meeting place and provided a very tasty lunch that really hit the spot and gave us some carbs. Thank you Kerry for everything! You have made the first part of the trip go very smoothly!

The computer was passed around and everyone posted to the blog. The GNIKE GNOME got a makeover and got a very nice pair of GNIKE's. I handed out the team shirts and the very special limited edition version of WeezieWipes.



Everyone has now split up into the two vans and we are making the trek to the hotel to check in. We will then head to the dinner with Dean. I am scribbing this from the back seat of wondermom's van and we just passed over the golden gate bridge, spectacular views all around.

More to come after tonight's dinner with pics :)

flyin foo's land in San Fran....

Well, we got in from Boston a couple hours ago and met up with everyone !!!! YEAH finally here...Mrs. Foo's back was a challenge on the long flight (sitting is no fun). Taking advil and hoping to be able to walk as fast as possible.....and try not to be embarrassed that I can't run....(sob)...but happy to be among such a nice group of people who love to run and excited for the adventure....also met "gnike gnome" what a handsome little guy!!!!!!!!! He is just slightly taller than Foo.....

Getting to Gnow Everyone

It's been a very confusing few days for me, and I don't think life is going to calm down anytime soon. "Deep breath," I keep telling myself, "deep breath."

When I was a young gnome, my mother said that when I grew up I'd live in a garden somewhere, and I've always prepared for that fate as I sat among the other gnomes in the store.

But it appears that I'm headed for a different fate. Last week, a man bought me and took me home. Rather than putting me in the garden, he dressed me up in funny clothes. Then, he wrapped me up in plastic, stuffed me in a bag, stuffed that bag in another bag, and handed that bag off to an official-looking stranger with a stern manner. The bag containing the bag that contained me was thrown into a dark, cold place full of strange smells. The air seemed thin. I struggled to breathe.

We seemed to be traveling for quite some time, although it was difficult to gauge the passing of time. At last we came to a standstill, and the shrill sound faded to nothing. I heard movement, voices. The bag containing the bag containing me was lifted and tossed.

I landed on a stable surface, but it seemed to be gliding along. There was another stop, and another lift and toss, and another moving surface.

I was lifted and carried, and then I was taken for another car ride (I recognized the motion).

We stopped in a mild place where the air smelled salty and damp. The bag was carried somewhere. I heard the zipper being unzipped. Then I was removed from the plastic bag, and unwrapped. I was in a room full of strangers. They passed me around and looked at me, one by one. They laughed, but not unkindly; I sensed that they were laughing with me rather than at me.

I have a feeling I am not headed for the garden. I have a feeling that my mother hasn't adequately prepared me for what's coming next.

SlowAsHell & Monk are in da house!

Wow! After our 13 hour drive from Bellevue, WA, we hung out in San Fran all day on Thurs and saw part of the famous Golden Gate bridge (the rest was hiding behind the equally famous fog). We hooked up with texasbuckeye and The Foos at the airport on Friday and are now hanging out with the team at GGP's beautiful house!

We are so excited to be here and meet everyone in person. I hope my knee holds up, it has been giving me a little pain just walking around so..... Not a good sign! But I'm gonna run no matter what!

Mrs. Foo has a full ski mask she uses on her walks in Boston and I'm going to try and get her to wear it for some photo ops! Stay tuned!!

Signing off for now....

SlowAsHell & Monk_Monkey

Waiting to run for Team Waiting For Runs . . .

We're all gathered in GGP's lovely house in San Francisco, getting to know each other.

One thing I've always loved about groups like this is what I call "the brotherhood of the road." It's a takeoff on "the brotherhood of the rope," a term that climbers use to describe the kind of instant bond that exists among people of one's own kind. We've come from California, Idaho, Colorado, New York, Oregon, Texas, Illinois, but we speak each other's language. We belong to the same tribe.

We've attended to the big details. We have peanut butter and Red Bull and band-aids and warm clothes and cool clothes and maps and GPS units. We know who's doing which leg, and what time we need to hit the road. Now all we really have to do is hang out and get acquainted.

1Miletogo is asking if any of us have heard about Dean Karnazes' next proposed stunt: to cross the ocean in a giant floating Liberty Ball, like the ones used to let gerbils run around the house. True? Not true? Who cares? This is running geekery at its best. We actually find this entertaining. These people are my own kind.

This is going to be good.

YAY!!!

After about an hour of sleep each last night, wondermom24 and I have made it to San Fran!!! It's been awesome to meet noels71, 1Miletogo, and mystery runner. Now we await the rest of our wacky and wonderful team. Hurry up and get here!

I'm hoping to get to our hotel and take a nap before heading to Calistoga to hear Dean K speak at the pre-relay dinner. Tomorrow the adventure begins... someone help me get over that mountain!

We're here!!

Mawz and I have arrived! After a nice long drive through California, we're in GGP's beautiful across the street from Golden Gate Park. It's a beautiful city and it's a little chilly. Can't wait to start running!!

For years I've told my kids not to talk too much to the "computer" people that they meet on WOW. Who knows, they might be serial killers, I would tell them. Yet here I am with a group of Nike+ computer people, ready to cover 199 miles. So far, no serial killers here, only really cool runners! Ok, kids, you were right. :)

where are the cameras?

Why does it feel like the twelve of us are in some sort of movie where the cameras track the journey of each of the participants to the meeting place? As I sit with my bagel and coffee in a jazz cafe in Oakland, I wonder what everyone else is doing; what small adventure we are all having on our way to our big one.

What did I forget?

Well, I'm sitting here at gate A29 waiting to board. The "fun" part of flying is that feeling of "What did I forget". It ranges from, oops, I forgot to pack something, to did I unplug that or is the dog ok (and I don't even have a dog). The feeling is 2X the "fun" when you are traveling for a relay. You have twice the bags to pack.

So, I had that feeling, and low and behold, I forgot my camera synching cable. I am so use to popping the SD cards into my computer at home that I spaced the cable. My laptop doesn't have any SD card ports, so, I will need to acquire a SD card port. So, Theresa suggested to me that if I happen to forget anything, that I should just buy it when I land. SSAAAWWEEET, hmm, wonder if I forgot anything else...

The GNIKE GNOME is traveling 5th class, so he will probably be grumpy on arrival. He wanted first class, but I tried to reason with him that gnomes aren't allowed on commercial flights. Oh well, see everyone soon!

Relay Medal

Relay Medal

Team Waiting for Runs - Slideshow

1Mile's Relay Photo Stream

Texasbuckeye's pics

wondermom24's photos

abelisle's Relay Photos

mawz76's Relay Photos