Google1 - The Relay - 2k10

Team Photo

2010-05-03T18:30:00.000-07:00

That's a funny joke, Nathan. What he means is that we got to the start with time to spare before the gun went off.

I'll add a slideshow from our team's new Picasa alias in just a sec.

Results and roster

2010-05-03T09:39:00.000-07:00

We should have probably taken the time at the beginning of the race to take a team photo, and share it along with a roster of who was running. Given that we made it to the starting line with about 1 minute to spare, I think we have a reasonable excuse. Team photos were taken at the finish, so those will be shared soon, but here are some links to results and a brief roster.

We beat our 2009 time by 17 minutes, although the weather was much much better this year, and were nearly an hour in front of our nearest competitors by the finish.

2010 Results Google 1 wins: 21 hrs. 9 min. (200 miles)
2009 Results Google 1 wins: 21 hrs. 26 min. (200 miles)
2008 Results Google 1 wins: 20 hrs. 22 min. (199 miles)
2007 Results Google 1 wins: 20 hrs. 43 min. (199 miles)

As for the roster, here it is by leg assignment (there are 12 runners, and the course has 36 legs -- see The Relay 2010 course route on Google Maps -- so each runner has 3 legs, and runner #3 would run legs 3, 15, 27):

1 Scott Milagro-Fotre
2 Paul DuPuy
3 Ben Liebald
4 Jeff Czyz
5 Devin Anderson
6 Andrew Tibbits
7 Mike Brandell
8 Grant Burgess
9 Matt Kane
10 Eddie Higgins
11 Nathan Stoll
12 Chris Holstrom

Finished!

2010-05-02T13:13:00.001-07:00

We've finished and we've successfully defended the Google titles, fourth straight win!

Just got our medals -- they're for all finishers though, not anything unique for the victory.

Van 1 hanging out at the farm

2010-05-02T11:40:00.000-07:00

sent from my nexus one

Matt Kane night ninja

2010-05-02T09:49:00.003-07:00

Bringing LA to SF

2010-05-02T09:49:00.001-07:00

2010-05-02T07:48:00.001-07:00

We now have a van full of 4 relay finishers! Devin is on the road and Andrew's on deck. I hve the weirdest food cravings. After eating half a bag of beef jerky I scarfed down a bagel with peanut butter. Food of the gods.

On the road again

2010-05-02T05:03:00.000-07:00

After a few winks of sleep, we are ready to take over after van two's diligent work on the night shift. Feeling a bit sore, but ready to finish our last set of legs. No sitting pretty though. DSE is likely still within striking distance. Time to get to work.

SF Office

2010-05-02T04:21:00.000-07:00

72 minutes of sleep over! Crusing down 280 for our last leg.

More than just running

2010-05-02T03:32:00.001-07:00

Standing out on skyline blvd, helping direct runners through a series of turns in the course that at 3am are very easy to miss, I'm reminded about how much more than running these relays are about.

Many other teams runners were helped by us being in that intersection. Would they have missed the turn? Perhaps not, but if they had it would have added a very large toll on the athlete and team time, and is very demotivating. We were there to try to be there to help our athlete, for whom thinking can be a huge struggle, from exhaustion and adrenaline. Its what great teams do to increase their chance s of getting through unscathed.

My first leg was a great example -- I wasn't sure of a turn's street sign, one I was even expecting, had trouble reading it, and Kerry was there with the rest of the crew to help me correct sooner. Instead of losing a minute or two, I was back on track in seconds.

All of this is in addition to emotional support, which is even more important. There are eight mile slogs uphill in debilatating heat, when the team being there for encouragement is all that keeps the runner going.

Competing in these relays is truly a team effort.

SF office

2010-05-02T02:48:00.000-07:00

72 minutes sleep starting now.

The men from the boys

2010-05-02T02:40:00.001-07:00

Van 2 woke up at 1:39am right next to the golden gate bridge on the sf
side. Brandell will have the leg through the sleeping city, cruising
through seacliff and legion of honor then heading down the great
highway, feet from the pacific. Grant will take us from sea level up
skyline, which matt, chris, nathan and I will also traverse.

--
Sent from my mobile device

Catching up

2010-05-02T02:21:00.001-07:00

Van 1's combined kill count on our second legs: 77!

1 mouse, 2 skunks, 1 raccoon ... really want that coyote

2010-05-02T02:20:00.001-07:00

2010-05-01T23:42:00.001-07:00

It feels so much better to run at night than during today's ridiculous heat. This was my first night run ever and it was definitely an experience. Lots of time to yourself to think and admire the stars with no city lights. A few animals rustling here and there scared the crap out of me but probably for the best because it got the adrenaline going. It was great to see Van 2 if only briefly. They managed to pull ahead of DSE during their six legs. I got 8 kills during my leg and I'm looking forward to a power nap before doing it all again.

Nathan's healthy snack

2010-05-01T23:14:00.001-07:00

Van 1 driving through some sweet Marin countryside

2010-05-01T22:49:00.001-07:00

sent from my nexus one

Delayed photo log due to blackberry being craptastic.

2010-05-01T21:35:00.001-07:00

Van one headed to the van exchange two!

2010-05-01T19:19:00.000-07:00

2010-05-01T18:52:00.001-07:00

Update: Jeff is alive and well in Van 1.

First casualty of the race

2010-05-01T18:44:00.001-07:00

We just left Jeff at the sixth exchange while heading to our set of rest legs. Turning around now to pick up our castaway of a teammate.

Heat and staples

2010-05-01T16:32:00.000-07:00

Wow. Scott here. Thanks to the beautiful weather and the Napa traffic, we made it to the race in the nick of time. Chris stapled my bib on last minute and once the gun went off I ran onto the wrong side of the road. Oops! Otherwise it was a great first leg. It's hot as hell out here but there's a great breeze coming in. When I finished we were in third. Paul overtook Stanford and Ben caught us up to about a minute behind DSE (Dolphin South East) and now Jeff is on the road. Great job guys. 200miles will be here sooner than you know it.

Started!

2010-05-01T15:15:00.001-07:00

Scott had a solid warmup (alongside the van), got to the start with ample time to go (one minute), his bib on his jersey (stapled), and right on course (well, one wrong turn 2 seconds after the start). And in case anyone was concerned, we've all gotten our sandwiches (a few of us more than one). Solid.

Hey Aardvark: anyone know who the mystery Stanford team is?

2010-05-01T13:04:00.001-07:00

Headed to the start!

2010-05-01T12:34:00.000-07:00

We stocked the vans with all of the obvious necessities, like pop tarts, aspercreme, and bandages (also bananas, bagels, and beverages, but we'd get by with just the pop tarts if we really needed to). We're seeing some of the earlier teams and runners come by on the Napa highway as we head for the starting line. Hopefully we'll arrive in time to get Scott a warm-up, although he can probably just use the first mile through town, it'll be slow enough going.

Get some rest tonight fellas!

2010-04-30T15:16:00.001-07:00

Pictures from 2008

2010-04-30T00:26:00.000-07:00

We'll be updating the blog with pictures from the road, but here are some of the shots from 2008

The first post

2010-04-29T23:57:00.000-07:00

39 hours to go before the start of the Calistoga relay. The weather looks pretty good along the course; hopefully we won't face any of the drizzle from last year: