Check it out!
The Gnike Genome Gnome Project slideshow is a go go!
~Monk
Texas Independence Relay Map
Click the Map for individual Leg Maps
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Gnomish memories
Hello my fellow relay teammates. I am now back in Colorado and am happy to see the sun is still here. I enjoyed my travel time with the team and seeing sunny California. The whole team was great, the sites, the sounds, the wisdom that was bestowed upon me. I will forever remember those days on the run.I saw so many sites, some memorable like the Golden Gate at night, some less memorable like a certain team member losing his pants.
Anyway, the whole team was so hospitable and welcoming to a gnome like me. Don't believe any stories that you hear about me at the Pre-race dinner, I think that Mark is working on photoshopping some pictures to make it look like I was a drunken gnome. Gnome's can hold their liqueur, it is the little trolls and tree elves that are little hellions.
The energy was tremendous, I watched as the team worked like a well oiled machine. I saw primal screams - not sure if my primal scream was recorded or not. I saw passion, I saw drive, I saw the wackiness of the vans. Everyone finished their run and passed on to the next runner.
At first I was apprehensive about the whole deal of being stuck in a van with these sweaty, stinky runners. My thoughts wandered on how I would be treated and if I would be forgotten somewhere on the long and winding road. Would I be a burden to the team. In the end all of my fears were squashed and the fun began. I saw places that I would never have dreamed of. I visited the beaches, wooded areas, far off cities, and even Inns that my cousin hadn't heard of. I saw all sorts of people, and I gained a new found love of running as I watched my team at work and play.
I tried these things called red bull - WOW good stuff, I had food that I never heard of, at least they told me it was food. The way the snickered when I ate it, makes me wonder now what they did to it... I saw so many teams enjoying themselves, it made me question why people talked about running as boring. The other gnomes would not believe if it wasn't for the pictures.
Then I told them about seeing Dean, and that even I, a little gnome from the mountains became a celebrity. Oh yes, People flocked to me and requested pictures with me and I had my little cheeks pinched and the looks. Oh, the looks were fabulous, they really loved the gnome. Oh, I got so much attention from other runners. I think that some even missed seeing Dean at an exchange because they were enthralled with me.
I spent hours talking with Alex and bestowing gnomish wisdom upon him, I told him to seek the hills and to conquer the inclines. I told him to complete the VH legs and that he could do it. Noel & Dan gave me pointers to smoke 1mile in the straight-aways and helped me with my running form. I was in awe with the maps that mawz put together and how everything was laid out. The Foos told me stories of Foo and how Foo was fast for a Foo, did that make sense? I posed for Mark in all sorts of interesting locations (again, beware of any photoshopping) & Robyn gave me pointers on running endurance races. wondermom made me fell at home and safe in van 2 while I was with them. Susie listened to all of my gnomish tales and stories with intrigue, her attention to detail must be gleaned from partaking in LOST.
There was one member in particular, that really took great care of me. She fixed my shirt, she geared me up in Nike goods and was my traveling companion for alot of time that I spent with the team. I lower my hat and give thanks to the kindness of Mystery Runner. May our paths meet again.
I also learned the art of using the Porta Potty.
I saw so many colorful vans and runners, and I heard about these roadkills that were sought after. I'm still looking into that one. So, being back in the highlands, I think that I will start training, maybe I can run the next relay alongside my mates. Maybe I can run with 1mile somewhere, or even scale a mountain. I hear that the view from the top is gorgeous.
Until next time, this is Gary the Gnike Gnome
Anyway, the whole team was so hospitable and welcoming to a gnome like me. Don't believe any stories that you hear about me at the Pre-race dinner, I think that Mark is working on photoshopping some pictures to make it look like I was a drunken gnome. Gnome's can hold their liqueur, it is the little trolls and tree elves that are little hellions.
The energy was tremendous, I watched as the team worked like a well oiled machine. I saw primal screams - not sure if my primal scream was recorded or not. I saw passion, I saw drive, I saw the wackiness of the vans. Everyone finished their run and passed on to the next runner.
At first I was apprehensive about the whole deal of being stuck in a van with these sweaty, stinky runners. My thoughts wandered on how I would be treated and if I would be forgotten somewhere on the long and winding road. Would I be a burden to the team. In the end all of my fears were squashed and the fun began. I saw places that I would never have dreamed of. I visited the beaches, wooded areas, far off cities, and even Inns that my cousin hadn't heard of. I saw all sorts of people, and I gained a new found love of running as I watched my team at work and play.
I tried these things called red bull - WOW good stuff, I had food that I never heard of, at least they told me it was food. The way the snickered when I ate it, makes me wonder now what they did to it... I saw so many teams enjoying themselves, it made me question why people talked about running as boring. The other gnomes would not believe if it wasn't for the pictures.
Then I told them about seeing Dean, and that even I, a little gnome from the mountains became a celebrity. Oh yes, People flocked to me and requested pictures with me and I had my little cheeks pinched and the looks. Oh, the looks were fabulous, they really loved the gnome. Oh, I got so much attention from other runners. I think that some even missed seeing Dean at an exchange because they were enthralled with me.
I spent hours talking with Alex and bestowing gnomish wisdom upon him, I told him to seek the hills and to conquer the inclines. I told him to complete the VH legs and that he could do it. Noel & Dan gave me pointers to smoke 1mile in the straight-aways and helped me with my running form. I was in awe with the maps that mawz put together and how everything was laid out. The Foos told me stories of Foo and how Foo was fast for a Foo, did that make sense? I posed for Mark in all sorts of interesting locations (again, beware of any photoshopping) & Robyn gave me pointers on running endurance races. wondermom made me fell at home and safe in van 2 while I was with them. Susie listened to all of my gnomish tales and stories with intrigue, her attention to detail must be gleaned from partaking in LOST.
There was one member in particular, that really took great care of me. She fixed my shirt, she geared me up in Nike goods and was my traveling companion for alot of time that I spent with the team. I lower my hat and give thanks to the kindness of Mystery Runner. May our paths meet again.
I also learned the art of using the Porta Potty.
I saw so many colorful vans and runners, and I heard about these roadkills that were sought after. I'm still looking into that one. So, being back in the highlands, I think that I will start training, maybe I can run the next relay alongside my mates. Maybe I can run with 1mile somewhere, or even scale a mountain. I hear that the view from the top is gorgeous.
Until next time, this is Gary the Gnike Gnome
The Next Team Waiting for Runs Relay?
Here is a short list of a few relays I found maybe our next one is in the list. Let me know if you have seen any others that should be added to the list.
Relay Del Sol - http://www.ragnarrelay.com/delsol/index.php - February - Arizona - 181.7
The Relay - http://www.therelay.com - May - Calistoga to Santa Cruz - 199 Miles
Green Mountain Relay - http://www.greenmountainrelay.com/ - June - Jeffersonville to Benington Vermont - 200 miles
Madison Chicago Relay - http://mc200.com/ - June - Chicago - 200
Ragnar Relay Utah - http://www.ragnarrelay.com/wasatchback/index.php - June - Logan to Park City - 178 Miles
Ragnar Relay Washington - http://www.ragnarrelay.com/northwestpassage/index.php - July - Blaine to Langley - 189 Miles
Ragnar Relay Great River - http://www.ragnarrelay.com/greatriver/index.php - August - La Crosse to Minneapolis - 198 miles
Wild West Relay - http://www.wildwestrelay.com/ - August - Ft Collins Colorado to Steamboat Springs Colorado - 199 miles
Hood to Coast - http://www.hoodtocoast.com/ - August - Oregon - 197 miles
Ragnar Relay Washington DC - http://www.ragnarrelay.com/dc/index.php - September - Cumberland to DC - 182 miles
Colorado Outbound Relay - http://www.outwardboundrelay.com/ - September - Colorado - 170
Reach the beach relay - http://www.rtbrelay.com/race.php - September - Cannon Mountain, Franconia, NH to Hampton Beach, NH - 200 miles
Ragnar Relay Texas - http://www.ragnarrelay.com/austin/index.php - October - San Antonio to Austin - 196 miles
Ragnar Relay Florida - http://www.ragnarrelay.com/florida/index.php - November - Tampa to Daytona Beach - 191 miles
Relay Del Sol - http://www.ragnarrelay.com/delsol/index.php - February - Arizona - 181.7
The Relay - http://www.therelay.com - May - Calistoga to Santa Cruz - 199 Miles
Green Mountain Relay - http://www.greenmountainrelay.com/ - June - Jeffersonville to Benington Vermont - 200 miles
Madison Chicago Relay - http://mc200.com/ - June - Chicago - 200
Ragnar Relay Utah - http://www.ragnarrelay.com/wasatchback/index.php - June - Logan to Park City - 178 Miles
Ragnar Relay Washington - http://www.ragnarrelay.com/northwestpassage/index.php - July - Blaine to Langley - 189 Miles
Ragnar Relay Great River - http://www.ragnarrelay.com/greatriver/index.php - August - La Crosse to Minneapolis - 198 miles
Wild West Relay - http://www.wildwestrelay.com/ - August - Ft Collins Colorado to Steamboat Springs Colorado - 199 miles
Hood to Coast - http://www.hoodtocoast.com/ - August - Oregon - 197 miles
Ragnar Relay Washington DC - http://www.ragnarrelay.com/dc/index.php - September - Cumberland to DC - 182 miles
Colorado Outbound Relay - http://www.outwardboundrelay.com/ - September - Colorado - 170
Reach the beach relay - http://www.rtbrelay.com/race.php - September - Cannon Mountain, Franconia, NH to Hampton Beach, NH - 200 miles
Ragnar Relay Texas - http://www.ragnarrelay.com/austin/index.php - October - San Antonio to Austin - 196 miles
Ragnar Relay Florida - http://www.ragnarrelay.com/florida/index.php - November - Tampa to Daytona Beach - 191 miles
In Search of Dean
UPDATE 4/24: The results show that Team Dean completed 147.6 miles solo for a complete time of 28 hours 18 minutes finishing at 11:18 AM.
We all looked forward to seeing Dean at the Pre-race dinner, and we were all bummed when he had flight problems and couldn't make it in time for the 7:30 speaking engagement at the Calistoga Inn.
Van #2 got a rare treat as we were driving to the start of Leg 8. We passed Dean as he was tredding along. We stopped and turned around and snapped a few pictures and a little video as he passed. We then continued to the exchange for Leg 8. As we waited, I imagined that I might have a rare chance to run with Dean or try and catch him for mega bonus roadkill points.
Dean then came up to the exchange and entered his motor home (The mothership). He didn't come back out, but his dad continued on as I waited for my team to handoff. I didn't see Dean's dad on that run but talked to him later.
At the end of leg 9 we were waiting for wondermom to hand off to Alex and low and behold we see Dean again. People were cheering as he passed and headed to the hills of the next stage. I hadn't passed Dean's dad on 8, but somewhere on 9 Dean had passed wondermom. Soon wondermom had passed off to Alex and we went on to the next runner exchange.
We waited at the end of leg 10, and the mothership pulled up. Dean's Dad got out and he talked with Robyn, Mark, and I for about 10 minutes. He mentioned how he got off course on leg 8 and used a phone to call and tell that he was off course. He mentioned that he tried to get another lady on track (a lady that I had passed while I was on 8 myself) but she didn't believe that she was going the wrong way. Dean's Dad also mentioned that they were going to run Big Sur next week. Overall a very enjoyable conversation with his dad.
Soon Dean came into the runner exchange and continued on through the cheering and high 5's of the crowd. About 10 minutes later, Alex came into the exchange, he had survived the hardest leg of the relay. Mark took off out of the exchange into the gale force winds chasing after the great Dean.
Halfway through the course we waited for Mark to supply some water for him. Along comes Deans Dad, it seems that there was a substitution somewhere along leg 11. We waved and cheered him on as he started to climb a small hill. We continued on to leg 12 to prep Susie for the last set of legs before the van exchange.
As we sat at the exchange, low and behold here comes Dean again, he is being paced by a few female runners as he came through the exchange. He got the usual high 5's and cheers as he continued on down the road. We made our runner hand off and headed to the van exchange.
It was starting to get dark at the van exchange and soon, Dean came trotting down the road. ne of the volunteers was wondering why he wasn't handing off to another runner and someone shouted, that's Dean, he is running the whole thing by himself, he isn't handing off. This caused a bunch of people to come down to the exchange area and cheer Dean on as he ran down the road. That was the last time anyone from van 2 saw Dean during the 2008 Relay.
His blog at http://dean.runnersworld.com/2008/04/the-relay.html has some info leading up to the relay. His finish time is not on the 2008 results, so I am unsure if he finished or not.
We all looked forward to seeing Dean at the Pre-race dinner, and we were all bummed when he had flight problems and couldn't make it in time for the 7:30 speaking engagement at the Calistoga Inn.
Van #2 got a rare treat as we were driving to the start of Leg 8. We passed Dean as he was tredding along. We stopped and turned around and snapped a few pictures and a little video as he passed. We then continued to the exchange for Leg 8. As we waited, I imagined that I might have a rare chance to run with Dean or try and catch him for mega bonus roadkill points.
Dean then came up to the exchange and entered his motor home (The mothership). He didn't come back out, but his dad continued on as I waited for my team to handoff. I didn't see Dean's dad on that run but talked to him later.
At the end of leg 9 we were waiting for wondermom to hand off to Alex and low and behold we see Dean again. People were cheering as he passed and headed to the hills of the next stage. I hadn't passed Dean's dad on 8, but somewhere on 9 Dean had passed wondermom. Soon wondermom had passed off to Alex and we went on to the next runner exchange.
We waited at the end of leg 10, and the mothership pulled up. Dean's Dad got out and he talked with Robyn, Mark, and I for about 10 minutes. He mentioned how he got off course on leg 8 and used a phone to call and tell that he was off course. He mentioned that he tried to get another lady on track (a lady that I had passed while I was on 8 myself) but she didn't believe that she was going the wrong way. Dean's Dad also mentioned that they were going to run Big Sur next week. Overall a very enjoyable conversation with his dad.
Soon Dean came into the runner exchange and continued on through the cheering and high 5's of the crowd. About 10 minutes later, Alex came into the exchange, he had survived the hardest leg of the relay. Mark took off out of the exchange into the gale force winds chasing after the great Dean.
Halfway through the course we waited for Mark to supply some water for him. Along comes Deans Dad, it seems that there was a substitution somewhere along leg 11. We waved and cheered him on as he started to climb a small hill. We continued on to leg 12 to prep Susie for the last set of legs before the van exchange.
As we sat at the exchange, low and behold here comes Dean again, he is being paced by a few female runners as he came through the exchange. He got the usual high 5's and cheers as he continued on down the road. We made our runner hand off and headed to the van exchange.
It was starting to get dark at the van exchange and soon, Dean came trotting down the road. ne of the volunteers was wondering why he wasn't handing off to another runner and someone shouted, that's Dean, he is running the whole thing by himself, he isn't handing off. This caused a bunch of people to come down to the exchange area and cheer Dean on as he ran down the road. That was the last time anyone from van 2 saw Dean during the 2008 Relay.
His blog at http://dean.runnersworld.com/2008/04/the-relay.html has some info leading up to the relay. His finish time is not on the 2008 results, so I am unsure if he finished or not.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Monk's Nike+ Relay Runs
Overall the Nike+ was very close! My Garmin seemed to report that the legs were not exactly dead on, either, because the course was not exactly set in stone.
My first leg was around 2 pm on roads along side the vineyards. Beautiful and a bit breezy! This is the run where I had to kick at the end to beat the guy running with me! Very fun. I handed off to 1Mile and he took off on a dirt trail into the vineyards. There were a couple of hills and you can see that in the graph!
This was my leg at 2 a.m.-ish. I got the hand off from texas after he crossed the Golden Gate Bridge. I was wearing my head lamp, reflective vest, flasher light and I added a glow stick to my water bottle. I ran through a bit of suburbia and could see the city sprawled out below on my left. The course was uphill the first part and then peaked at a cliff-side view of the ocean. The moon shining on the waves was beautiful and I thanked the big guy above for the view as I ran down the big hill to the flat 3 mile stretch alongside the waterfront. I slowed down a lot here and sort of lost all sense of time. But I finally made it to the exchange and handed off to 1Mile again.
My last leg was entirely downhill. After texas ran up and handed off the replacement baton to me, he let out a might primal scream that inspired me to enjoy my last run. Now you'd think this would be my fastest leg but it isn't. My left knee started to scream bloody murder about 3 miles into it and I had to take it easy. You can also see in the graph a big dip when I lost my hat and had to turn around and run back uphill about .25 mile to find it. It was a beautiful run but I was happy to be done and see 1Mile for my last baton pass (which had to be a wonder twins knuckle punch because somewhere along that mighty hill I had lost the replacement baton, sorry guys!
I am so proud of this team! I cannot WAIT to run with you all again.
~Monk
My first leg was around 2 pm on roads along side the vineyards. Beautiful and a bit breezy! This is the run where I had to kick at the end to beat the guy running with me! Very fun. I handed off to 1Mile and he took off on a dirt trail into the vineyards. There were a couple of hills and you can see that in the graph!
This was my leg at 2 a.m.-ish. I got the hand off from texas after he crossed the Golden Gate Bridge. I was wearing my head lamp, reflective vest, flasher light and I added a glow stick to my water bottle. I ran through a bit of suburbia and could see the city sprawled out below on my left. The course was uphill the first part and then peaked at a cliff-side view of the ocean. The moon shining on the waves was beautiful and I thanked the big guy above for the view as I ran down the big hill to the flat 3 mile stretch alongside the waterfront. I slowed down a lot here and sort of lost all sense of time. But I finally made it to the exchange and handed off to 1Mile again.
My last leg was entirely downhill. After texas ran up and handed off the replacement baton to me, he let out a might primal scream that inspired me to enjoy my last run. Now you'd think this would be my fastest leg but it isn't. My left knee started to scream bloody murder about 3 miles into it and I had to take it easy. You can also see in the graph a big dip when I lost my hat and had to turn around and run back uphill about .25 mile to find it. It was a beautiful run but I was happy to be done and see 1Mile for my last baton pass (which had to be a wonder twins knuckle punch because somewhere along that mighty hill I had lost the replacement baton, sorry guys!
I am so proud of this team! I cannot WAIT to run with you all again.
~Monk
memories of a van exchange
the biggest challenge seemed to be how to make the best use of time when your van was off. well, i can't say we made the best use of our time, but we certainly filled it. after getting a bite to eat at a local cafe (not nearly as good as mr. pickle's) we made it to a restaurant called mr. cheese's at the top of mountain in the middle of nowhere that had no cell reception, so we were forced to amuse ourselves. which we did by observing the other runners and making "social commentary". after a rousing game of name that tune from texasbuckeye's iphone we saw the following events, in no particular order...
a) a few ppl attempting to hacky sack, but the after the girl tried to stall the hack on her chest and the guy she was playing with tried WAY too hard, nearly splitting his pants we decided to focus our attention elsewhere
b) we was all manner of running gear like flannel shirts with knee socks
c) the van next to us locked themselves out of their van and had to call the fire department
d) smllbtmty claimed to see "the fattest man she ever saw walk" get out of a tiny blue sports car
e) the Foos lost everything they brought with them, but luckily found most of it
f) noel found the shirt he was looking for in mawz's running bag
g) a different van next to us walked in on a half dressed team mate and accused them (loudly) of taking a "Puerto Rican Shower" [note: the entire team loves Puerto Rico and do not endorse such ethnocentric comments]
h) the most animated story teller ever tells a tale of woe with a dr. pepper can as his main prop while wearing orange crocs
i) 3 ppl completely wiped out while trying to run on the gravel parking lot
j) we found out what happens when you honk your horn at a vans that have specific promises to the person who honks at them
k) we were serenaded by a runner who is a fan of the band Kansas
l) ate junk food
m) realized we were all about to run in the cold, windy, dark of a place we were not familiar with and tried to mentally prepare
n) saw dean run by, hung out with van 2 and had an all around good time bonding :)
good times.
a) a few ppl attempting to hacky sack, but the after the girl tried to stall the hack on her chest and the guy she was playing with tried WAY too hard, nearly splitting his pants we decided to focus our attention elsewhere
b) we was all manner of running gear like flannel shirts with knee socks
c) the van next to us locked themselves out of their van and had to call the fire department
d) smllbtmty claimed to see "the fattest man she ever saw walk" get out of a tiny blue sports car
e) the Foos lost everything they brought with them, but luckily found most of it
f) noel found the shirt he was looking for in mawz's running bag
g) a different van next to us walked in on a half dressed team mate and accused them (loudly) of taking a "Puerto Rican Shower" [note: the entire team loves Puerto Rico and do not endorse such ethnocentric comments]
h) the most animated story teller ever tells a tale of woe with a dr. pepper can as his main prop while wearing orange crocs
i) 3 ppl completely wiped out while trying to run on the gravel parking lot
j) we found out what happens when you honk your horn at a vans that have specific promises to the person who honks at them
k) we were serenaded by a runner who is a fan of the band Kansas
l) ate junk food
m) realized we were all about to run in the cold, windy, dark of a place we were not familiar with and tried to mentally prepare
n) saw dean run by, hung out with van 2 and had an all around good time bonding :)
good times.
Other teams experiences
I stumbled across a few blogs from other teams. I haven't fully checked them all out yet. One has a few videos that I will need to check out soon. Here is a list, if you find any more I can add them to the list here.
Whine & Cheese - http://365ultra.blogspot.com/2008/04/video-is-even-better.html & http://jessicafewless.blogspot.com/
Team 911 - http://www.weruncodethree.com/
Sweetcheeks 2 - http://www.jmoe.com/ & http://littlesnoopy.blogspot.com/
Fat Kids Always Go For Seconds! - http://no-wimps.blogspot.com/ &
http://tntmarathon.blogspot.com/2008/04/relay-2008.html
Runaway Jury - http://flickr.com/photos/runawayjury08/
travel here and beyond - http://here-beyond.blogspot.com/
Yo… Taxi - http://arunner.wordpress.com/2008/04/23/199-mile-relay/
International Used Parts Dept -
http://runonearth.com/uncategorized/international-used-parts-department-relay-team/
Whine & Cheese - http://365ultra.blogspot.com/2008/04/video-is-even-better.html & http://jessicafewless.blogspot.com/
Team 911 - http://www.weruncodethree.com/
Sweetcheeks 2 - http://www.jmoe.com/ & http://littlesnoopy.blogspot.com/
Fat Kids Always Go For Seconds! - http://no-wimps.blogspot.com/ &
http://tntmarathon.blogspot.com/2008/04/relay-2008.html
Runaway Jury - http://flickr.com/photos/runawayjury08/
travel here and beyond - http://here-beyond.blogspot.com/
Yo… Taxi - http://arunner.wordpress.com/2008/04/23/199-mile-relay/
International Used Parts Dept -
http://runonearth.com/uncategorized/international-used-parts-department-relay-team/
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Relay Medal
