Team Photo

That's a funny joke, Nathan. What he means is that we got to the start with time to spare before the gun went off.

 I'll add a slideshow from our team's new Picasa alias in just a sec.

Results and roster

We should have probably taken the time at the beginning of the race to take a team photo, and share it along with a roster of who was running. Given that we made it to the starting line with about 1 minute to spare, I think we have a reasonable excuse. Team photos were taken at the finish, so those will be shared soon, but here are some links to results and a brief roster.

We beat our 2009 time by 17 minutes, although the weather was much much better this year, and were nearly an hour in front of our nearest competitors by the finish.

2010 Results Google 1 wins: 21 hrs. 9 min. (200 miles)
2009 Results Google 1 wins: 21 hrs. 26 min. (200 miles)
2008 Results Google 1 wins: 20 hrs. 22 min. (199 miles)
2007 Results Google 1 wins: 20 hrs. 43 min. (199 miles)

As for the roster, here it is by leg assignment (there are 12 runners, and the course has 36 legs -- see The Relay 2010 course route on Google Maps -- so each runner has 3 legs, and runner #3 would run legs 3, 15, 27):

1 Scott Milagro-Fotre
2 Paul DuPuy
3 Ben Liebald
4 Jeff Czyz
5 Devin Anderson
6 Andrew Tibbits
7 Mike Brandell
8 Grant Burgess
9 Matt Kane
10 Eddie Higgins
11 Nathan Stoll
12 Chris Holstrom

Finished!

We've finished and we've successfully defended the Google titles, fourth straight win!

Just got our medals -- they're for all finishers though, not anything unique for the victory.

Van 1 hanging out at the farm

sent from my nexus one

Bringing LA to SF

Matt Kane night ninja

We now have a van full of 4 relay finishers! Devin is on the road and Andrew's on deck. I hve the weirdest food cravings. After eating half a bag of beef jerky I scarfed down a bagel with peanut butter. Food of the gods.

On the road again

After a few winks of sleep, we are ready to take over after van two's diligent work on the night shift. Feeling a bit sore, but ready to finish our last set of legs. No sitting pretty though. DSE is likely still within striking distance. Time to get to work.

SF Office

72 minutes of sleep over! Crusing down 280 for our last leg.

More than just running

Standing out on skyline blvd, helping direct runners through a series of turns in the course that at 3am are very easy to miss, I'm reminded about how much more than running these relays are about. 

Many other teams runners were helped by us being in that intersection. Would they have missed the turn? Perhaps not, but if they had it would have added a very large toll on the athlete and team time, and is very demotivating.  We were there to try to be there to help our athlete, for whom thinking can be a huge struggle, from exhaustion and adrenaline.  Its what great teams do to increase their chance s of getting through unscathed.

My first leg was a great example -- I wasn't sure of a turn's street sign, one I was even expecting, had trouble reading it, and Kerry was there with the rest of the crew to help me correct sooner. Instead of losing a minute or two, I was back on track in seconds.

All of this is in addition to emotional support, which is even more important. There are eight mile slogs uphill in debilatating heat, when the team being there for encouragement is all that keeps the runner going.

Competing in these relays is truly a team effort.

SF office

72 minutes sleep starting now.

The men from the boys

Van 2 woke up at 1:39am right next to the golden gate bridge on the sf
side. Brandell will have the leg through the sleeping city, cruising
through seacliff and legion of honor then heading down the great
highway, feet from the pacific. Grant will take us from sea level up
skyline, which matt, chris, nathan and I will also traverse.

--
Sent from my mobile device

Paul gearing up for leg 14

Catching up

Van 1's combined kill count on our second legs: 77!

1 mouse, 2 skunks, 1 raccoon ... really want that coyote

Golden Gate

It feels so much better to run at night than during today's ridiculous heat. This was my first night run ever and it was definitely an experience. Lots of time to yourself to think and admire the stars with no city lights. A few animals rustling here and there scared the crap out of me but probably for the best because it got the adrenaline going. It was great to see Van 2 if only briefly. They managed to pull ahead of DSE during their six legs. I got 8 kills during my leg and I'm looking forward to a power nap before doing it all again.

Nathan's healthy snack

Van 1 driving through some sweet Marin countryside

sent from my nexus one

Delayed photo log due to blackberry being craptastic.