Race Reports, Kudos and Encouragement for August 11th, 12th Racers!

[Mouse Skywalker]

Congratulations to all the racers this past weekend. I'm really enjoying reading the reports and seeing the pictures. I think I missed out on quite the time, and I'm wanting to run this race next year now.

Pat- I'm really impressed with the letter you wrote to JBR, and especially the quick/prompt reply you got from them. It reminded me of how Disney had similar problems this past year. People diverted off of Main Street, running out of cups and water at the water stops, etc., and their response was not near as quick as JBR's was. Kudos for them for owning up to making a mistake, and for making amends for the mistake. That's nice to see.

 

[Sir Bouncealot]

Caution: Long Post Ahead!

Since we live only 3 hrs away from Chicago, my DW Darcey and I thought we would make a weekend of it. We got reserved two rooms at the Clubhouse Inn in Westmont, IL, @ 20 miles or so from Grant Park (the starting line for the CDC). Along with us was my mom who was there to kidsit for our DD who is 12, but has special needs and is wheelchair bound as well as keep an eye on our boys while we do the race.
Friday:
We drive into Chicago and go straight to the Museum of Science and Industry. Both my DW and I have done this before years ago for school trips, but it has been quite awhile. They had the CSI Experience interactive exhibit set up and my oldest DS, Tyler, and I paid the extra $$ to do it. We had a real good time finding the clues, following our leads, and cracking the case. I only wish I could have been there to bust the guy and say "Book him Danno".
We toured the rest of the Museum until our stomachs decided it was time to eat. Rather than fight the crowds at the Food Court, we decided to go ahead and head out to our hotel and find someplace around there. Down the road from our hotel (Keep wanting to call it a resort) was a restaurant called Papadeaux, a cajun type place that was brick and iron, like a New Orleans type of atmosphere. The theming was really neat and we sat outside on the patio, which was really enjoyable. The food was overpriced for what it was, tasted pretty much like Long John Silvers, but cost more like Le Cellier's. Back at the hotel we spent some time in the pool before going to bed.
Saturday:
We overslept. The night before Darcey asked me if I wanted to set an alarm, but I told I didn't, that we would just wake up anyway around 6am, which we are used to. We didn't wake up until after 8am. Our original goal was to be at the Expo in the Hilton by the time it opened (9am). No chance of that. We got to the Expo closer to 10. Picked up our packets and John Bingham himself was doing chip verifications. Saw where I was from, shook my hand and welcomed me to the race. I thought that was pretty cool that he was there working the Expo. Darcey bought a tank there that said "Will Run for Chocolate". Met up with the gang and we eventually headed out for Gino's East. Oh. My. Gosh. That pizza was to die for. 'Nuff said. Walking back to our parking garage, we went past, and then though Millenium Park. Really neat park, and there was live music from rock to african drums and hip-hop going on. I liked the sculptures they had and that "Bean" was super cool. I will post my other pics I have soon, maybe on the Photography board as to not hijack any WISH threads. Back at the hotel my Mom and Tiffani (DD) were at the pool hanging out. We all got changed and went to the Woodfield Mall in Schaumburg to eat and celebrate our DS's Bdays at the RFC there. Also we stopped at Disney's Doorway to Dreams, a DVC store that has a full scale model of a 2 bedroom villa at the new DVC at AKL. WE LOVED IT!! The decor is soooo neat. AND the one bedrooms will accomodate 5 people officially and has a second bathroom. SWEET! I didn't get pics as I wasn't sure if they would have allowed pictures. LOVED IT!
Sunday:
Race Day. When we woke up, the sound of distant thunder caused us to turn on the weather to see if we would be battling rain as well as those 13.1 pesky miles. No rain as it runs out, it was passing over, or had passed over and moved on. We went into downtown and met the WISH team at the Hilton to walk together over to Grant Park for the start. We realy regret not bring our camera as the sun coming up over Lake Michegan set a beautiful scene on the downtown buildings. The course brought us through many parts of downtown we haven't seen before, and along Lake Michegan which I thought was really neat. I also echo many of the problems other WISHers have brought up, and a BIG Thank You to Pat for addressing them with JBR! Darcey didn't feel very well the last half of the race and decided that this was her last Half she was going to do. She feels more comfortable with 5 and 10k's. As long as she does not quit altogether, this is something I can back her on. We ended around 3hr 20 min and John caled out our names as we came up on the finish line. We didn't realize there were towels earlier until I read the other posts. Bummer, but we did get our medals! Yay! Got plenty of Team pics taken and looking forward to seeing them as they are posted. Went back to the hotel and Darcey took a 2 1/2 hr nap while I read and hung out with the kids in the other room.
Monday:
My mom left yesterday to be home and go back to work (evil word of the day) today. We packed up and headed out, but went to the Brookfield Zoo before going back home. Walked around the Zoo and saw all there was to see. Shockingly a 20oz bottle of Coke was $3.75....I mean COME ON...it's only $2.00 at WDW. Food was more here than at WDW, for even less serving size. The Zoo was fun and we had a good time overall, but were more than ready to head back home. Steve and Krista, I don't know how Hines reacted upon your return, but our fuzzy girls were just estatic. Belle, our golden always has to have something in her mouth when we come in to greet us with. Usually it is a sock or something. This time she grabbed my pillow from off of the bed.

Well, I hope your not all asleep and drooling on your keyboards at this point.

 

[aladdinsgirl]

If you want to see our picture's, my bib # is 10111 and Stephen's is 10113. Check out how our legs are in perfect synch in every picture, it's pretty funny!

Now I have to go back and read Andrew's report.

 

[Maherae]

Can you stand one more race report?

Chicago is a fascinating place..the architecture,

the city landscaping,

the food

...just WISH we had more time to explore it all! Doing an event with WISH support is the absolute BEST way to go. For those of you yet to experience it..PLEASE come to a meet, or come up to a WISH shirt and introduce yourself if you don't have a WISH shirt..We scream for lime green!

DH and I were able to do this event through the generosity of Pat and her DH, Jim, who invited us to room with them. Lily took their offer, also. We had a wonderful time! Jim is a GREAT cook..YUMMM!!

We arrived at the expo early. Went to get our chips verified..and there was John Bingham, himself, checking chips!!

WISHers started arriving and it was old home week! It's just so GREAT to see familiar WISHers and to meet up with new faces! We got our shirts and goodie bags. In the goodie bag: a sample of Gatorade Endurance formula, Bear Naked granola, a sample of the individual Propel powder and a $1.00 off coupon for Quaker Oats Breakfast Cookies.

The expo itself was a good size..not too large or small. I was surprised that the WALKING magazine that is published in Chicago did not have a booth. Did see a booth for the Philadelphia Distance. Here I learned about the Heavy Medal series.. http://www.eliteracing.com/home.html. Do two of their events in one year and get a special medal!! Some free stuff: playing cards, Wheaties, and a Saturn backpack. Several WISHers won free dinners at a Mexican restaurant. John Bingham Race team had a booth, which was the first time I had seen one of those. They had his books, shirts, hats, and a water bottle with a penguin on it that says, "I'm slow..I know..GET OVER IT!" So, of course, I HAD to buy one!

We left the expo and headed to Gino's for lunch. We had missed Maggie, so left a message on her phone telling her of our plans. She was able to catch up with the walking group! Because of the heel spur issue, I was taking no extra steps, if possible; so we grabbed a cab with Karen (kareneast) and John (Space Ranger). Gino's was a pleasant surprise. We didn't think that we would be able to seat 24 people together..but they made it happen!!

After lunch, the group split up. With a stop at Garret's popcorn, Lily, Karen, John, my DH, and I decided we would take a FREE trolley to see Sears tower and then hop over to do the architectural boat tour, if there was time. On the trolley, we got to see where the new "Batman" is being filmed. That's a Gotham City SWAT team!

The Sears Tower was an experience.

We waited for the elevator to take us down to buy tickets (25 minutes), waited in line to go through security to buy tickets (20 minutes), waited in line to buy tickets (15 minutes), and waited for the elevator to take you up to the skydeck (20 minutes). It was a great view. We had purchased the audio tour and that gave us some interesting bits of information.

Needless to say, there would be no architectural boat tour for us!

We met back up with Pat and Jim and headed for home. We had preparations to make!

 

[Maherae]

Race morning..Chicago!
5 a.m.

We met up with everyone..

Then headed for our pacer groups. I had no idea how my foot was going to do. Could I last the whole way? DH and I started out with the 3:30 group. I didn't expect DH to stay with me as he usually does intervals. He walked the WHOLE way with me!! We met a woman who was just blown away with our WISH group. Teresa, are you reading? She couldn't get over that we were a FREE training group and loved Disney!! We all just really encouraged her to come check us out.

We didn't hear the National anthem nor the start gun..just started moving forward. Had to take a picture of Maggie crossing her first start mat!

It was such a difference from the Disney crowds! We had space to maneuver! My foot dictated the pace..and it let me know that it didn't care for inclines! I had to walk sideways up any of those! After about mile one, I watched the 3:30 group pull further and further away...

Coming from Florida, I didn't find the humidity or the temperature to be too much of a problem. Course, that could have been because I was doing a 17:30 pace!!

We crossed the river 4 times...and at least two of them had this kind of steel grating we had to walk on..

Miles 1-5 were downtown:
overpasses with landscaping..

under the el..

past NBC, ABC, and the Sears tower, the Chicago theater...

Down Michigan avenue (right pass the Hilton where many were staying!) and some weird art..(it's half bodies walking... )

Long incline up Roosevelt and onto Lake Shore Drive. Three long miles before the turn around. It was at mile 7 that we were diverted onto the bike path.

 

[chimera]

Great job WISH team! We are becoming famous with our lime green shirts and totally cool hats/visors. The Alaskan cruise would be such an incredible experience. I saw all the pictures from the last one, and it looked like so much fun. I just love John Bingham. He is such an inspiration. I'm with Cam, we need to find a race in 2008 with beautiful scenery and cool weather (and a huge honking medal of course). I look forward to more race reports and photos. By the way, I think the official race photos have now been posted. Everyone please provide your bib numbers so that we can find you.

We might seriously consider the Alaska cruise. I'm looking for a big trip next year and Alaska was one of the possibilities. If Grandma's on board with watching the WT, this could be doable for us! It would be so cool if other WISHers could come too!

 

[WDWFAN9]

We might seriously consider the Alaska cruise. I'm looking for a big trip next year and Alaska was one of the possibilities. If Grandma's on board with watching the WT, this could be doable for us! It would be so cool if other WISHers could come too!

Hijacking this thread to say that I'd seriously consider the Alaskan cruise too if other WISHers were going along! Possible downer - it is just a month and a half after the WDW Princess?? half marathon. Just not enough time, not enough money!! But a whole lot of potential fun!

 

[Maherae]

From mile seven until mile 13..no mile markers..

I didn't mind the bike path as I got to see WISHers I wouldn't have seen up close. However, when we had to climb back up to the street to cross the mat at mile 8, ...not so good on the foot. (How did I know it was mile 8? I memorized the course!! )

Mel and Jenn

Darcey and Andrew

Cam

Lily

Karen and John

Pat

Maggie

The next five miles were all along the lake front. I didn't have anything to compare it with..so I thought it was GORGEOUS!

We saw Canadian geese,

the Firemen's memorial,

the backside of Soldier's Field, and

the marina.

Then it was through the tunnel where the last aide station was,

up the incline and to the planetarium, around the aquarium

and to the last mile!

Finally, the last corner to turn.. and there was Carrie's DH, Scott!! He was so great..telling us there was still food and water and WISHers waiting!! Thanks, Scott!!

At last...

That's John Bingham himself on the right, ushering people in...I really considered waiting to be the very last one.. but I only had one speed. There were 13 other people after me!!! We did it!!

Because Matt asked so nicely (glad to have you back!!)
L-R Anne's DH-Bob, maherae-Anne, wtpclc-Carrie, Tiger Lily 03-Lily, Carrie's DH-Scott, kareneast-Karen, her DH Space Ranger-John, DJBounce-Darcey, her DH Sir Bouncealot-Andrew, behind him is Pat's DH jims2cool-Jim, WDWFAN9-Pat, in front of her is magslite-Maggie and her two adorable boys (I got to meet Matt only), keenercam-Cam and her DH KeenHo-Howard. Thanks to Maggie's DH for taking the picture! Missing is Jenn, Mel, Stephen and Krista. Jenn and Mel have pictures elsewhere in my report. Stephen and Krista are in Pat's Gino's picture. They are in the center-Stephen has on the red and white striped shirt, Krista is in yellow next to him.

 

[keenercam]

Andrew - Great trip report! I am so glad your whole family had such a great time! I really enjoyed talking with Ty and Zach (did I get that right?) on the way to Gino's. I have some great pix of your family and of you and Darcey. I will email them to you this weekend if you PM me your email address.

Anne -- what an awesome trip report! I LOVE all the pix! I'll PM you to beg for copies.

 

[WDWFAN9]

Can I just say that not only are WISHers great athletes, they write great trip reports and take wonderful pictures!! We truly are a very talented group!!

 

[thndrmatt]

Anne great report, and great pic at the very end! Now since I have dubbed you the "Master of Meeting People" I challenge you to edit your post and list all the names left to right for those of us who haven't met them all. Go go go!

 

[Mouse Skywalker]

I just have to say I'm loving all of these race reports. You all are making me feel as though I was there. Thanks so much for posting, and for the pictures. I noticed a few pair of WISH socks on those feet out there. Since I personally packed and shipped all those socks, you had a little part of me out there with you.

 

[jims2cool]

Hey DH, what do you think if I have some internet buddies stay at our house??? WHAT ???? Are you Nuts ??? Oh, let me go back to the beginning.... My wife is WDWFAN9, and I am her DH (hey, I think I'm already into this whole Dis Board thing). I know she has been meeting up with W.I.S.H.ers at Disney for a while now, and she even talk me into doing the half at Disneyland last year. When we arrived at Disneyland (there must be a "code" for this), she let me know we would be meeting some of her "friends" there. Well little did I know how much fun I would have with the group. They all acted like I was one of the guys . And they were very fun the day of the half. Well, fast forward to this year, the DW wanted to do the Chicago Classic half again this year (last year was my first half). So I said sure, I would walk with you again (can't think of a better way to spend a day then with your hunny ). Well then things got weird, as the DW mentions something about some people staying at our house for the half (I must work on listening to what she says more often ). Well anyway, I was game. Anne and Robert arrived first, closely followed by Lilly. Man, are these great people !!! I am not a social butterfly, as I am very shy....haha... anyway, I had a blast !!!! I enjoyed meeting EVERYONE on Saturday and Sunday !!! And to think I used to kid the wife about her 'internet" friends... ok..ok.. I'm a little slow sometimes. But I'm with the program now..... where was I going with this??? Oh yea, to all of the W.I.S.H.ers I met this past weekend, and the ones I saw again after Ca. (kam, howard, robert, anne.. .hope I'm not forgetting anyone..) THANKS for a great time !!!! And I hope to see many of you at WDW in Jan (I will be doing the half... HELP, I need some walking buddys , as the wife oops... DW, will be doing the full). I have signed up to work a water station for the full. OK, I am out of words for now.

 

[keenercam]

Anne great report, and great pic at the very end! Now since I have dubbed you the "Master of Meeting People" I challenge you to edit your post and list all the names left to right for those of us who haven't met them all. Go go go!

Matt-- since Anne seems not to be on-scene at the moment, let me volunteer to help:
back row: Robert (Anne's DH), Carrie (wtpclc), Scott (Carrie's DH), John (SpaceRanger John, I think. Also known as Karen's DH), Andrew (SirBouncealot), Jim (jims2cool, also known as Pat's DH), Pat (WDWFan09)
front row: Anne (MaherAE), Lily (Tiger Lily 03), Karen (kareneast), Darcey (DJBounce), Maggie's DS4 (J?), Maggie (magslite), Maggie's DS3.5 (M), Cam (keenercam), Howard (keenho, also known as Cam's DH )

I hope I got that all right.

Hey DH, what do you think if I have some internet buddies stay at our house??? WHAT ???? Are you Nuts ??? Oh, let me go back to the beginning.... My wife is WDWFAN9, and I am her DH (hey, I think I'm already into this whole Dis Board thing). I know she has been meeting up with W.I.S.H.ers at Disney for a while now, and she even talk me into doing the half at Disneyland last year. When we arrived at Disneyland (there must be a "code" for this), she let me know we would be meeting some of her "friends" there. Well little did I know how much fun I would have with the group. They all acted like I was one of the guys . And they were very fun the day of the half. Well, fast forward to this year, the DW wanted to do the Chicago Classic half again this year (last year was my first half). So I said sure, I would walk with you again (can't think of a better way to spend a day then with your hunny ). Well then things got weird, as the DW mentions something about some people staying at our house for the half (I must work on listening to what she says more often ). Well anyway, I was game. Anne and Robert arrived first, closely followed by Lilly. Man, are these great people !!! I am not a social butterfly, as I am very shy....haha... anyway, I had a blast !!!! I enjoyed meeting EVERYONE on Saturday and Sunday !!! And to think I used to kid the wife about her 'internet" friends... ok..ok.. I'm a little slow sometimes. But I'm with the program now..... where was I going with this??? Oh yea, to all of the W.I.S.H.ers I met this past weekend, and the ones I saw again after Ca. (kam, howard, robert, anne.. .hope I'm not forgetting anyone..) THANKS for a great time !!!! And I hope to see many of you at WDW in Jan (I will be doing the half... HELP, I need some walking buddys , as the wife oops... DW, will be doing the full). I have signed up to work a water station for the full. OK, I am out of words for now.

WElcome aboard Jim!! It was so great to see you again! At DL, I really did worry that you thougth we were all nuts, but I was very reassured Saturday when I hugged you and you hugged back that even if you did think we were nuts, at least you didn't think we were dangerous! Seriously, it is SO nice to see you here! Oh, and hey, I heard you are a great cook! I'd bet if Krista had eaten at your house Saturday night, she wouldn't have been sick for the race, poor thing!

 

[Maherae]

jims2cool!! That didn't take long!! Now you will be like this at work..DISing.. !! Just wait til you are with the BIG group!! Anne

 

[kareneast]

Part 1

John & I arrived at the expo Saturday morning a little after 9am.

Picked up our race packets and headed over to get our race chips verified. We were really surprised to see John Bingham himself checking the chips. Chatted with him briefly and then made our way into the expo where we started meeting up with the rest of the WISH Racing Team. It was so great seeing everyone again. After lots of hugs and gathering of everyone together, it was time to start making our way over to Gino’s for some authentic Deep Dish Chicago Pizza. John wanted to save his knees as much as possible for the race, so we jumped into a cab with Anne & Bob, while everyone else walked. The pizza was different but really good and the company was even better.

After lunch the group split up. We spent a fun afternoon with Anne, Bob & Lily. We headed to Garrett’s for some famous Chicago Mix Popcorn (cheese & caramel), then the plan was to see the city. First up….the FREE Trolley to the Sears Tower.

We ended up with a free tour of the city and almost an hour later arrived at the Sears Tower.

After waiting on various lines we were finally on our way to the top. What an absolutely amazing birds eye view of the city.

I enjoyed checking out the race course from up there.

Unfortunately this would be the end of our sight seeing tour. The afternoon had quickly passed. Anne, Bob & Lily hopped in a cab to meet up with Pat & Jim, and John & I hopped into a cab to head to Navy Pier. At Navy Pier we met up with Cam, Howard, Krista, & Steve. We grabbed some dinner together before they headed off for their Boat Tour & we headed back to our hotel.

 

[kareneast]

Part 2

Sunday mornings wake up call came at 3:15am and 15 minutes or so later came the thunder, lightning, & rain. Checked the weather on tv and it looked like the storm would pass before race start…..we hoped so anyway. We still had some light rain on our way into the city, but by the time we parked the truck it had stopped. When we walked into the lobby of the Hilton we felt kind of lost in a sea of purple (TnT people), so we were very happy to see Mel & Jen on the other side. It was great walking to the start and spending pre-race with “The Team”.

We lined up at the 3:30 Pace Group along with Pat, Jim, Anne, Bob, & Maggie.

Lily, Cam, Andrew, & Darcey were with the 3:00 Pace Group

Jen & Mel were with the 2:45 Pace Group

We never heard the National Anthem or the Start, just everyone starting to move forward.

After crossing the Start Mat the course was really wide which gave plenty of room for everyone to spread out.

We quickly came up to our first bridge crossing.

Walking across it wasn’t easy….the front of my shoes kept catching. I figured for sure I was going to face plant it. It was cool seeing the props for the new Batman movie that was being filmed around mile 2. Notice the cop cars say GPD (Gotham Police Department).

Mile 5 we were out on the highway with cars whizzing by as we headed towards McCormick Place. We can see Cam & Lily up ahead.

We catch up to them and walk with them a bit until just past the turn around when my foot cramped. I had to stop and take my shoe off to try and rub the cramp out. It remained very sore. It was really nice walking along the lake. The view was amazing. Since Sean(DS) is a Volunteer Firefighter, I especially enjoyed walking through the Fallen Firefighters Memorial Park.

We then got to walk for a bit with Pat & Maggie,

until John slipped in the mud. Luckily he didn’t fall, but it was enough of a slip to make his knee hurt more then it already did. He had to slow his pace, but unfortunately when I slowed my pace my foot started cramping more, so we continued at our own paces. I kept looking back trying to make sure he was ok. I ended up catching back up to Pat & Maggie then the 3 of us caught Cam & Lily. It was so much fun with the 5 of us walking the last few miles together.

As we were making our way closer to the finish, it was great seeing Carrie & Scott, then Krista, Steve, Jen, Paul, & there DD’s. Then just before the last turn was Maggie’s DH with her DS’s. They were adorable holding their “Go Mommy” sign. Next was Howard telling us not much more to go. Then out of the curve we can see the finish ahead. I jogged into the finish, high fiving Coach Jenny as I went by.

Wisher’s are the best. “The Team” is what made it a fun race & weekend, in spite of the race issues. I did really miss the support along the course though. The Elijah Running Group Scream Team were life savers cheering everyone on. I kept thanking them for being out there.

If I lived closer I would probably do the race again, but since it was a 14 hour drive for us and there are so many other races I would like to do, I probably won’t get to do it again….but you never know.

One last thing…..I really loved the Reebok sayings along the course.

 

[Maherae]

Great job on pictures and report, Karen and John! Thanks for letting us hang with you!!

Andrew, your report and pictures were great, too. Darcey is so cute with the Indian! Anne

 

[kareneast]

SeeDisney – Congratulations to your DH
Pat, Jim, Maggie, Jen, Howard, Cam, Anne, Bob, Krista, Steve, Andrew, Darcey, Carrie, Scott, Lily, & Mel – Congratulations! I’m enjoying everyone’s race reports & photos. It was a fun weekend. We enjoyed spending it with all of you & your families.
Pat – Great letter & I was very impressed with the quick response you received. Oh….and there must be some connection between CDC & blisters. I got my very first blisters, one on each foot.
Anne, Bob & Lily – Thank you for the fun afternoon. We really enjoyed sightseeing with you.

I am bib # 3547 & John is #3548

 

[Tiger Lily 03]

Husband had a great race this morning --- a five mile run --- for a scholarship fund for a beautiful young woman killed in action in Iraq.

My kiddies couldn't do their race - one mile run - cuz we got there too late.

Next race, next saturday, the local festival 5K run.

Congrats! to DH. Sorry about the kidlets not getting their event in. Thanks for the report

Saturday, 11th
disneybelle (Darcey), Sea Isle 10 Mile
TriMom (Mary Kathryn), Running with Sissors 5K
windwalker (Dave), Franklin City 5K, Franklin, KY
*littlegreydonkey (Helen)'s race is on Sunday, Australia time..which is Saturday for us!

Sunday, 12th
magslite (Maggie), WDWFAN9 (Pat) & DH (Jim), meghan74 (Meghan), wtpclc (Carrie), Jen117 (Jen), Sir Bouncealot (Andrew), chimera (Mel) and DD (Kaley), keenercam (Cam) & DH Keenho (Howard), Tiger Lily 03 (Lily), Maherae (Anne) & DH (Robert), kareneast (Karen) & DH Space Ranger (John), alladinsgirl (Krista) and DH skfulkers (stephen), Chicago Distance Classic Half Marathon, Chicago, IL
littlegreydonkey (Helen), City to Surf run, 14km Sydney, Australia

Where'd the rest of the reports go? I see CDC, but I didn't think I missed everyone else. Maybe I need to go back and read.


CDC reporters and photographers. Great! reports. Thanks to all of you for making the event such fun. Thanks to my host/hostess Jim and Pat and house mates Robert and Anne. (Did Robert get his HW done? I'm sure he did by now--sorry if we interrupted it a bit.) It was spectacular sharing space and the ride to/from along with the great conversations. Oh, yes Jim you are a great cook!

Mel, thanks for the Mickey. Did DD enjoy the game? Cam thanks for slowing down to stay back with me. It was sure hot and I felt myself slipping.

I thank you Pat too for expressing so eloquently to JBR the good/bad. I am very impressed with the quick response, but would expect that of them too. I am certain that they are going to make sure all is much better next time.

I have not much to add, did I mention it was HOT?

If I missed something I should have please don't be sad. I really, really had a great time. Maggie, it was such fun to share your first half.

My bib # 5981 I think. I'm at lunch break so I don't have time to double check this.

I am greatful to have been part of this weekend. While I am glad I was there, probably would not drive that again. Longgg drive for me.

WISH Team is great!

I've always wanted a trip to Alaska...

I need those pics. Those that would share will you email or snail mail to me?