12 hours of Granogue

First and foremost thanks to all the volunteers,  and all the racers that came out and made this weekend such a success. It was a pretty amazing. We are a community race, and it takes a community to make this event happen.  Thanks. so here are a few of my thoughts:

Kurtee making it all happen.

Friday:
get to the venue at 12. Meet Tom, Charlie and Benny shortly there after ... the adventure, and years of planning is finally coming to fruition.... Potter had a vet appointment and makes it to the venue with me... Let me say this, he may have had the greatest day ever...

Potter had a great day Friday!

Monkey wanted to know how Carlos made the toughest climb look like a downhill in this shot.

Night Time Trial... one of my favorite races ever... 30+ riders, great racing... I teamed wtih Jeffy ... he was crushing and had to wait for me on the hills, and after all the single track sections too. Crap, I think I held him up a lot. We had the 4th fastest time over all barely edging out Buddy the leg breaker and Dennis.com bike in the duo division. It was rad...

I'm about to take a 20 minute ass beating...

Clearly one of the highlights of the weekend for me is the TT. I like riding as a team, and I like rolling with Jeffy. This year, I was lucky enough to get a second run. My second run was with Emily White. Much like my partnership with Jeff,  she needed to wait for me on the hills, and then she waited for me on the single track. Frankly, I think I held her up.

Had a rad video, but it wouldn't up load, so here's Em crushing it!

Climbing up around the field climb, I looked over Emily's shoulder and saw a set of eyes starring at us coming down the trail. "Look out for the cat up on the trail." Emily calmly replies, "that's not a Cat, it's a raccoon!" I instantly scream like Jamey Lee Curtis.  Emily was cool and calm...  We rolled into the finish, and frankly if the night ended there it would have been a success...

the calm before the storm Saturday morning...

This kid came over asked if he could have a  cup of coffee, and after assuring us he's allowed, he made himself a cup sat down read his book. He finished his cup, set it on the table, thanked us and walked away.

Dennis and Buddy head out for their smokin' TT run.

11:00 came, and we called it a night...


Saturday:
300 runners greeted us and headed out on our running course. They are freakin' nuts...
the bike race started with the awesome le mans style start... It was very cool. I gotta be honest once the race got going things were a blur for me. I loved working the transition area for both the first 3 hours and the final hours.

The Night Time Trial results: class winner highlighted

Blake and Anne clearly up to no good...

 The day was a blur, people racing hard, kids races, even getting out for a lap. Our team really shined I thought. The weather was beautiful, and what we had dreamed about for years unfolded before our eyes. It was pretty amazing. I've have had the privilege to promote races on the Granogue Estate for just about 20 years now. This was without a doubt, my favorite. 

Kids race Chaos

10:30 we had awards, and surprised the racers and support crew with pizza and recovery drink.

I think the surprise went over well.

To the ARMY of volunteers, marshaling, setting up, tearing down, helping people- thanks none of this would happen without your help. A community is only as strong as the people who are willing to do something for the community... good on you all... thanks...

Props to Buddy for a great vision of the course, and to his team of section leaders that made it happen. Thanks to Tom for running logistics, and his masterful view of the venue. Thanks to Charlie for making the run happen, and all his efforts on multiple fronts, the least of which is having the gator on sight and talking me off of at lease 6 cliffs. Blake saves the day, and takes the term liaison to another level.  Finally,  Lauri is frankly is the queen of all of it. I'm pretty convinced that without her none of this would happen. She is the bond that holds us all together. She gets me excited to do these things...

Ryan Sears crashed out...

Tom made sure all the racers were cooled off after their laps...

Monk and I working the transition area for the final shift. Lights mounted at 7:00!

I'm still pretty cracked, I'm guessing this blog isn't going to get any better, so I'll wrap it up

Looking for something to do next Saturday? Check the Poker Run to Benefit Todd Forrest. You can find more info here: day of reg too!

thanks for reading.

respect
fatmarc