Hello Fellow Racers,

I’m writing to share a story of our teammate from last summer’s urban race, Greg Huffman and his family. Greg and Nicki lost nearly everything last Saturday morning because of flooding at their home in Johnson County. Nicki’s story of the events is below if you’re interested in the details.

Greg and Nicki are youth leaders in our church and have had a great influence on my children. Greg fell in love with AR after his first race.

If any of you are interested in helping, my church is accepting donations for them. There are some specific needs in the story. These are good people; they can use your help. Call me at 317.502.7622 if you have any questions.

Thanks,

Doug Theis
Team Ragged Glory

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Bob Mueller , Nancy Gawrys and I (Doug Theis) will represent Team Ragged Glory (TRG) is our first ever Planet Adventure Sprint Race this coming Saturday, June 7 near Cloverdale Indiana. On the same day, Steve Kincade and Julie Shimer will be running a 38 mile “fun run” (gimme a break) at the Kettle Moraine 100. Looking forward to seeing all of our friends. Rumor has it that sometime TRG member Greg Arnold will be racing at the PA Sprint. Watch out.

Scott joined TRG during this year’s race. Here’s his report:

For team Lost In Transition the woes started before the race ever did…

The morning began innocently enough; up early to finish packing gear, load the vehicles, and depart early enough to drop the bikes at the bike drop and get back to the start/finish with enough time to settle in and make last minutes preparations before the start. At least that was the plan. While transiting to the bike drop, we managed to miss a turn and ended up touring the course. By the time we located the bike drop and made it back to the start/finish the rest of the field was lined up and the start gun was seconds from firing. We took it in stride and decided we would give the rest of the field a chance by giving them a 30-minute head start. Our team number was, after all, “1”.
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Once again I’m packing for the race and transferring my “mandatory gear” pack from my tub to my pack. This is a pack of materials I have now carried for five races. It consists of the waterproof poncho ($.99 at Target), waterproof matches, a five year old emergency blanket and an all-in-one whistle, knife, and compass. I give no thought to ever having to use any of this gear, I simply think of the check mark that will appear when I present it at check in. Thinking I have met all of the requirements,I happily start the race.
…17 hours in to race I am not so happy. We find ourselves on the bank of Salt Creek with three other teams, having paddled around aimlessly for a couple of hours looking for the cutthrough that will allow us to continue on. We are cold, wet, and closer to an emergency situation than I have ever been in during a race. Everyone scrounges about there packs pulling out emergency gear. I grab my “waterproof” matches to try and start a fire, only to discover that, yes, While my matches are still dry, and do somewhat light,they are not powerful enough to ignite the damp twigs that we have gathered. Another more prepared racer pulls out a powerful lighter and the fire rages. Now the emergency blankets come out. Adventureres wrap themselves up, space themselves around the fire, and enjoy the “coziness”. I open my blanket, start to unravel it and it comes apart in several pieces. How old is this blanket? I have enough of a piece to maybe create a scarf for my neck. I look with envy upon glow of the fire on the intact orange space blankets of my fellow racers. At this point, I’d like to use my emergency whistle to blow for help but I do not have enough confidence in my gear to even get it out.

Nancy and Steve ended up being the only two members of the four person team TRG planned to have race PA08. Julie got a bad case of poison wood in the Bahamas and I (Doug) broke my finger a week before the race. So Steve and Nancy forged on and stayed on the course for 23 hours before calling it. Bob and I crewed for them. Steve and Nancy also picked up Scott Gondek along the way; his original team made an early exit because of an injury.

The course was excellent and the weather was better. Thanks again to the race directors for a great job.

Steve and Ron Stevens of Rest and Relaxation remain the only two people who have raced in every Planet Adventure. Nice job guys.

A few words of thanks from Team Ragged Glory to the organizers of Planet Adventure 2008. We’ve done this race since 2001 and look forward to it every year. The race was extra special this year because it was back on PA’s “home turf” in the Hoosier National Forest.

To Jerry Lyons: Thanks for donating your time year after year in spite of all the irons you have in the fire. Your commitment to the sport and to the local racers does not go unnoticed. You’ve made the race that Greg Arnold started into an old and reliable friend.

To Dave Kauffman: Your attention and help in handling the fine details of running a race in real time has played a huge part in making the race the success that it is. Your willingness to execute tons of preparation along with the sleepless days and nights during the event is probably the most critical component of making the race come together as it does.

To Mike and Cristal Garrison: it’s a little unfair to lump you together when thanking you. But I find it amazing how you work together seamlessly and stay married and friendly with each other. Mike, your course design and leadership have added greatly to the race execution and to the racer experience. Cristal, your sincerity, your concern for the racers and your contagious smile bring both joy and comfort to the weary souls coming though checkpoints and transition areas. Many thanks to you both for taking on the mantle of this, our favorite race, and for bringing to it something more and something better.

And finally, thanks to Greg, Brandon, Monty, Susan and to all of the other volunteers that I have failed to name, we appreciate and thank you for your selfless behavior and your willingness to help us racers in our “play.” We can’t wait to see you next year.

Steve Kincade, Julie Shimer, Scott Gondek and I spend 7 hours hiking 20 miles in Morgan Monroe on Saturday February 23. The weather was pleasant, the snow was crusty, and the company was top notch. The snow’s crust made for the loudest hike I have ever done! We practically had to shout to hear each other. Rock Shelter was beautiful with six foot long icicles. Naturally we had to break a few. It was great to be out in the woods with Julie again after a couple of years without her. She’ll be racing Planet Adventure with Nancy, Steve and me. I think this version of TRG will be called Team Ragged Glory estrogen. See you on the trail.

Our timing has changed a little. TRG will be leaving from my house on the south side at around 5am, dropping cars at Yellowwood, then heading to Morgan Monroe. That should put the start around 7am. Call 317.502.7622 if you’re interested in hiking with us. We look forward to seeing you.
Doug

This year’s night hike (which will be mostly in the day) will start at 5am on Saturday, February 23 at the Morgan Monroe State Forest Office. We will once again hike the Tecumseh Trail to Yellowwood State Forest, roughly 26 miles. The route will be slightly different this year; we will skip the first leg that goes by Rock Shelter and instead head directly toward Bear Lake to shorten the hike a little. If you’re interested, write me (Doug Theis) at dtheis@msn.com or call me at 317.502.7622. We’d love have you along. Don’t forget, we’ll need to drop some vehicles at Yellowwood so we can get back to our vehicles at Morgan Monroe.

TRG is proud to announce that it will participate yet again in the Planet Adventure 24 Hour Challenge. TRG is one of only two teams that has raced in every Planet Adventure since the inaugural 2001 event. The racers this year will be Doug Theis, Steve Kincade, Nancy Gawrys, and Julie (Nor) Shimer, with Bob Mueller reprising his role as the crew. We’re all excited about what 2008 will bring. See you on the trail!