2001 #942 Team Edgerunner 30:14:20 915 of 978 9'19s 2002 #188 Team Edgerunner 29:10:05 703 of 982 8'50s 2003 #710 Team Edgerunner 28:13:35 639 of 987 8'34s 2004 #642 Team Edgerunner 26:13:44 266 of 1042 8'00s

van#1	bryan senner runner 1	brian gefroh runner 2	kenji sevy runner 3	steven redman runner 4	robert mcfarlane runner 5	david sound runner 6
van#2	keith rinne runner 7	rob mcmillin runner 8	chris hale runner 9	robert butler runner 10	lewis barr runner 11	stew jones runner 12

 
-----Original Message-----
From: Jones, Stew Newlin
Sent: Monday, August 30, 2004 10:02 AM
To: Redman, Steve; Rinne, Keith; Barr, Lewis; HoodtoCoast
Cc: Snow, Darrin; Senatore, Jeanne; Parrish, Thomas; Aikin, Maria;Grace, Catherine; Ryan, Tom; Moffat, Dan
Subject: RE: Hood to Coast 2004 Team #642 AUG 27-28, 9,312 asses kicked, Further, Faster, Smarter

i can do better.  not only will i commit to the additional 37
seconds, i'll commit to 3 x 37 seconds - a full 2 minute
improvement in my time for next year, just to give us
some cushion.

there was so much drama in this event, i can't resist sharing this with the team.  hope you won't mind. 
i killed 25 "bogies" (as my father would have said) during the first segment, 19 during the second,
and 27 during the last; no one ever passed me (and got away with it).

but there was this one guy. he pulled a move during the final mile, of the final leg, coming 
down the promenade to the finish line. this final stretch is just shy of 1 mile in distance. 

i though to myself, you chump;  you've been watching me, trailing me
the entire 5 miles, waiting for this and now, on the final mile, of the =
final leg,
you pull this...? i was instantly angry. i thought, how dare you. 
i deserve this, this is my leg, my moment.  it belongs to me, NOT you.  

he was the same height and build, had a longer stride than mine,
and, according to Rinne and Hale, had been watching me earlier at the final
exchange point (#36) while i was warming up, and as we were waiting for 
Lewis to bring in the baton.   i promptly forgot about him, my mind on the hilly first 2
miles of the leg. 

we were predicting that Lewis would arrive between 3:05 and 3:10 pm. he'd been feeling good but 
seemed a bit unsure how he might fare on his own final segment.  i had just finished warming up and had 
stepped into the exchange chute next to the tape.  i looked at my watch,
it was 3:03.  i looked down the trail and there was Lewis.  Butler was 
with me and we looked at each other, surpised; here was Lewis, charging at us, determined,
in a very fast pace, a picture of focus, the fastest i'd ever seem him and way ahead of schedule. 

i started to run, held out my right arm, and Lewis slapped the orange band around my arm.  off i went. 

although i am 6'1" with long legs, i favor a shorter stride with faster turnover because
in the long run (ha ha) there is an improvement in pace, which reduces
the overall time.  and because i always try to do what my awesome coach 
(who herself has been to the Olympic trials) tells me to do. "over 
striding" can and does melt many a talented runner earlier than it 
otherwise would during a race. 

but in order to prevent being over taken, on the final mile, of the 
final leg, having not been passed once during any of my 3 legs, i had no 
choice but to open up the stride.  if it's going to happen, this is the 
time and place for it.  (not at the beginning, where the inexperienced 
become over-excited and pay for it, dearly, later on.)

like the sign on Team Deming's cubicle wall says, life all comes down
to a few moments, and this is one of them. 

i synchronized my stride with his, tucked in 2 inches off his right shoulder,
and stayed there, wanting to be a menace to him (these are the mental
games runners get themselves into).....his right elbow accidentally 
hitting me on my left arm occasionally.....no talking, just 
breathing.....more unintentional elbowing and
shouldering.....until about the last 100 meters.

it was crowded on this final length, the crowd thick and deep, people up 
in the balconies and as we ran by i could hear people saying "watch 
these two guys," and "great finish!"

i came up alongside him, hovered for a moment to see if
he would respond.  in that moment, everything was
quiet and the scene of two runners coming to the finish line
side by side was...sort of Zen-like, as if I was for a brief moment,
not one of the runners but instead one of the spectators in the crowd
watching us go by. 

i came up alongside him, hovered for a moment to see if he would 
respond.....
he did nothing......so i dropped the hammer, and took off.  this is
the point where physically you feel as if you are on fire.  everything 
is hot and burning:  your eyes, your skin, your legs. even your heart is burning, alive. 

i crossed the mat into the sand, and felt calm, not really all that tired, just peaceful. 

i saw him from a distance afterward.  he saw me.  he didn't seem very happy. 

later, after the medals and the line and the water, i ran into him
on the beach.  i said "good race" and he said "you too."  i told him i
thought that he was going to pass me, again.  he said,
"i didn't have anything left."

but i did.....on the final mile, of the final leg.

-----Original Message-----
From: Redman, Steve=20
Sent: Sunday, August 29, 2004 9:32 PM
To: Rinne, Keith; Jones, Stew Newlin; Barr, Lewis; HoodtoCoast
Cc: Snow, Darrin; Senatore, Jeanne; Parrish, Thomas; Aikin, Maria; Grace, Catherine; Ryan, Tom; Moffat, Dan
Subject: RE: Hood to Coast 2004 Team #642 AUG 27-28, 9,312 asses kicked, Further, Faster, Smarter

Faster:  Initial analysis is 'we kick ass!'.  OK, not everyones' ass but 
nine-thousand three hundred and twelve asses were kicked*.  That is, 
Team Edgerunner gained another 373 positions this year rising to 
finishing team 266 of 1042 (we were 639/1000 last year).  And that's a 
lot of roadkill.  We are literally getting towards the top of the pack.  
Only 37 seconds to go top 100.  I can commit to 37 seconds- Who is with 
me? (can Stew go any faster?- his average this year was 6:26!- a 10 
second improvement from last year which is about 1 roadkill team per second).

266. Team Edgerunner               642  26:13:44   39 /130   266 /1042   8:00