Google1 completed the race in 19 hours, 40 minutes and 42 seconds (meaning each individual runner averaged a blistering 5:59 per mile). That's a 4-minute improvement from last year's race, itself a 7-minute improvement on 2007's time. Our 19:40:42 time put us 2nd in the corporate division and 8th overall.
Hats off to all of the teams that competed.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Done and Done
Rocking race, guys and girls! Awesome running with you all, and meeting some of you for the first time (you're my boy, Rune). A special thanks to Kerry and Esther who drove us through it all, and provided such encouraging motivation.
Tom, leg #20 was dedicated to you. Thanks for having the faith I could make it up that hill. 22 kills and I'm sure you'll see the time on the spreadsheet.
I look forward to the next one, whenever that may be.
Tom, leg #20 was dedicated to you. Thanks for having the faith I could make it up that hill. 22 kills and I'm sure you'll see the time on the spreadsheet.
I look forward to the next one, whenever that may be.
Let's keep the fun going
Soooooo, the air travel on the back side of the race did not go so
hot. There was a horrible accident on hwy 26, medivac helicopter and
all. Hope everyone's ok. A few traffic jams in portland later and we
missed our flight to sfo. Grabbed dinner in downtown portland after
saying goodbye to rune and will, the latter of whom was headed to a
ufc fight. We're at the airport now waiting for our flight to board.
hot. There was a horrible accident on hwy 26, medivac helicopter and
all. Hope everyone's ok. A few traffic jams in portland later and we
missed our flight to sfo. Grabbed dinner in downtown portland after
saying goodbye to rune and will, the latter of whom was headed to a
ufc fight. We're at the airport now waiting for our flight to board.
Thanks again to everybody on the team, especially our new runners rune
and ryan, courtney (our returning runner) and the rest of the guys.
Finally, a huge thank-you to kerry and esther for driving and for
putting up with 12 gross, smelly guys with little to no sleep for 20
hours.
--
Sent from my mobile device
Saturday, August 29, 2009
The big finish
Van 2 is about 10 minutes from being finished. The kill count is in
the hundreds and we're about 19 minutes ahead of the spreadsheet--tom
would be proud. We'll see where we stand overall but early estimates
suggest we'll break our time from last year. The lack of posts through
the early morning is because we lost all cell reception and then lost
the will to come up with witty comments about our progress. The finish
is gonna feel good.
the hundreds and we're about 19 minutes ahead of the spreadsheet--tom
would be proud. We'll see where we stand overall but early estimates
suggest we'll break our time from last year. The lack of posts through
the early morning is because we lost all cell reception and then lost
the will to come up with witty comments about our progress. The finish
is gonna feel good.
--
Sent from my mobile device
Car Wash
washed the paint off our van for a donation to their team. Now this is
what I call a win-win!
2:2? AM
My favorite line by a random runner just finishing: "I puked! [Looks
around.] Where's my team?! [Wanders off.]"
van 2 steamrollin
Ryan led off with a strong start and and grant is already knockin em down like bowling pins
Eddie's done with one
It is a gorgeous night for a run. I just finished 6.43 miles in 36:03
and am feeling great. More importantly, the kill count is up to 22
already.
and am feeling great. More importantly, the kill count is up to 22
already.
--
Sent from my mobile device
Friday, August 28, 2009
Exeunt van 1, enter van 2
Crosby's Law: no one in van 2 gets passed. It's more than a postulate.
--
Sent from my mobile device
Underway
Ryan vocolla started off a few minutes ago. He'll decend 2000 vertical
feet over 5.6 miles. It was raining a bit, but has cleared up.
Beautiful sunset over the cascades.
feet over 5.6 miles. It was raining a bit, but has cleared up.
Beautiful sunset over the cascades.
--
Sent from my mobile device
Groceries aboard, we're off to Mt. Hood
Another great shopping trip-we get smarter every time with what we
need, what we want and what we think we want but don't actually want.
An example of the latter category: all-natural peanut butter.
need, what we want and what we think we want but don't actually want.
An example of the latter category: all-natural peanut butter.
--
Sent from my mobile device
In the van en route
We picked up our vans (and courtney) and are now looking for a spot
for some food. And, check out the maps to the right-our blog is now
powered by google latitude. So long as we have reception you can
follow us through the brilliance of google's mobile engineers. We will
lose reception in the latter legs.
for some food. And, check out the maps to the right-our blog is now
powered by google latitude. So long as we have reception you can
follow us through the brilliance of google's mobile engineers. We will
lose reception in the latter legs.
--
Sent from my mobile device
Portland
All runners accounted for (plus our two gracious drivers). We're on
our way to pick up our vans and then its a 2-hour drive to mt. Hood.
Plenty of time for a supply run before our 6:45 start.
our way to pick up our vans and then its a 2-hour drive to mt. Hood.
Plenty of time for a supply run before our 6:45 start.
--
Sent from my mobile device
Testing out mobile posting
Just arrived at sfo with all the team gear in tow. Sf is having a
little late summer heat wave and portland looks to have the same
gorgeous weather.
little late summer heat wave and portland looks to have the same
gorgeous weather.
--
Sent from my mobile device
The race to be run
The prep work is all completed and the groundwork laid. Hitting the hay before heading to SFO in the morning for the flight to Portland.
Monday, May 18, 2009
The results are in
Google1 finished the race in 18 hours, 5o:05, over an hour in front of #2. Strong runs from everyone involved. The official results are here and our pictures are here.
 |
| Ragnar New York 2009 |
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Dawn is breaking and van 2 is almost finished with second legs
Mike is on course right now, having received the baton (read: snap bracelet) from brian after a short but sweet 3.2 mile leg (that blurry streak is him-a testament to his speed). Matt is warming up to take us into the exchange with van 1.
The way we roll
Just crossed the town square of eastchester-the android is out of
batteries, so sorry, but no more pictures. We're approaching the
exchange right down the street from tom phillips' house. In fact, I
believe tom personally drew up this part of the route. Next post will
probably be from van cortland park.
batteries, so sorry, but no more pictures. We're approaching the
exchange right down the street from tom phillips' house. In fact, I
believe tom personally drew up this part of the route. Next post will
probably be from van cortland park.
--
Sent from my mobile device
Sunrise Over Upper Westchester
Driving through a foggy Peeksill, NY after finishing leg 2. The legs were shorter but the hills were unruly -- not unlike some of Elita's 80s playlist selections. McDevitt got a nice little gift in the form of leg .5 mi shorter than mapped out. We trimmed another 5 min off our goal bringing us 35 minutes ahead of pace. Van 1 is rolling through their final stretch. Less than six hours 'til the Bronx.
On the Road Again
After a two hour respite, Van 2 is back in action. Van 1 padded our predicted time by another 5 minutes (on the strength of Tom's speedy 6.9 mile leg), putting us 30 minutes ahead of our goal. Grant started us out big time and Eddie 'the Big Cat' Higgins is attacking the hills in Fishkill. Is there anything more tortuous than pulling up to a Dunkin Donuts for some joe, only to find it closed? Perhaps. We did have college kids in New Paltz offering us free beer in exchange for running tips.
Friday, May 15, 2009
Van 2 is turning in
The picture is holstrom on his way to constructing a delicious sandwich out of the van's trunk. We're camping and hoping to get about 2 hours of sleep. More updates to come tomorrow.
McDominant!
Exchange 10 offered up a bit of comedy under the stars.Brian McDevitt was waiting for the baton as a runner approached. :e shouted, "Chris?!" The runner responed yes twice to Brian. As the runner got closer, Brian called out,"Google Chris?"
"NO!" called out the equally confued runner. Turns out SRC had overtaken our Chris in leg 9. That cost the leaders a few seconds narrowing the lead to about 15 seconds. The lead was short lived as McDevitt regained the lead within his first mile. Clearly we've earned a break.
"NO!" called out the equally confued runner. Turns out SRC had overtaken our Chris in leg 9. That cost the leaders a few seconds narrowing the lead to about 15 seconds. The lead was short lived as McDevitt regained the lead within his first mile. Clearly we've earned a break.
Update on van 2's progress
We just handed off to mike, our #11. We're about 15 minutes ahead of schedule and running through some of the most gorgeous country-the catskill mountains in central NY. The pictures can't do this justice (but mike looks badass). If you want to get an idea of the clear skies we're seeing, check out google sky map (just released for android) or the sky function in google earth. Shameless plug.
Van 2 is on the go
After blazing fast runs by van 1 including a tough 7.4 mi leg by Chris Mah and an insanely speedy trek by Anthony DiMarco, Google1 re-took the lead over SRC. Jared Grusd passed off to Grant at exchange 6 giving us a 30 second lead. Currently 3.5 min ahead of Tom's goal pace! Desperately in need of bug spray.
And we're off
Will Nicholas led off at 5:00 pm. Google1 started with the last group
of runners (there are a total of about 75 teams on the course, some of
whom started as early as 8:00 this morning). Started with one other
team...and so it begins.
of runners (there are a total of about 75 teams on the course, some of
whom started as early as 8:00 this morning). Started with one other
team...and so it begins.
--
Sent from my mobile device
Both vans en route to the Catskills
Both vans are on the road after enjoying a delicious meal at the Phillips home. A big thank you to Ellen for her hospitality.
Next Stop: Woodstock
After a delicious tortellini lunch (cooked by Tom's wife) we packed the vans and we're on our way to Woodstock for the start of the 181 mile trek to Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx. We have a solid team. Joining me from the NYC office is Jared Grusd, Brian McDevitt, Anthony DiMarco and, of course, our captain Tom Phillips. From Cambridge: Grant and Matt K. From: Mountain View: Chris Mah, Andrew T. SFO: Eddie Higgins and Will. Kirkland: Chris H. And we are led by our fearless drivers Elita Walker and Esther Lim.
Mobile test
A quick test for the mobile posts (though in true Google fashion,
we'll have laptops in both vans). Beautiful friday here in the big
apple. Heading to the Chelsea office now and then driving to
Bronxville.
we'll have laptops in both vans). Beautiful friday here in the big
apple. Heading to the Chelsea office now and then driving to
Bronxville.
--
Sent from my mobile device
Thursday, May 14, 2009
The team assembles
The full Google team is now in New York City, getting ready for tomorrow's race. The weather is shaping up a bit--the rain is now predicted for Saturday (http://www.wunderground.com/US/NY/New_York.html). We'll be missing a few relay mainstays, but our captain Tom Phillips will be running the show again.
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