Thursday, May 21, 2009

The things in my head

We are launching another new event and it is gonna be crazy. Be there in year one and you'll be telling your grand kids about it in the future.

Fleet Feet Sports Dirt Cheap Stage Race presented by Salomon

When: November 14th and 15th
Where: Mendon Ponds Park
What: A trail running stage race

Stage # 1 - Add-en-on TT
11/14/2009
9:00 am
3 mile time trial. 1 runner at a time against the clock. Tough hilly course

Stage # 2 - Devils Bathtub
11/14/2009
1:00 pm
5 - 6 mile trail run. Should be similar to Dirt Cheap # 1 with some modification

Stage # 3 - The Queens Stage
11/15/2009
9:00 am
10 - 12 mile trail run. New course taking in a lot of the park

Winner is the person with the fastest combined time for all three stages. Go for a stage win or for the General Classification (that's bike talk for the overall)

The leader after each stage will be be presented with a GC leaders jersey to be worn during the next stage. Yellow for the men in honor of Le Tour de France and pink for the ladies in honor of the Giro d' Italia.

Race Head Quarters will be Stewart Lodge but races 1 and 2 will start and finish in different locations. Hang out at the lodge between stages and enjoy some light food, drink and relax for the next stage. Awards after each stage at Stewart lodge.

Stage three will start and finish at Stewart lodge and GC awards will be done after the race at the lodge.

Being a Fleet Feet Sports Cheap Adventure means that entry fee's will be great$12.00 for any one stage or $25.00 for all three. Food each day, Chip timing for all three and shirts for those that FINISH the stage race. There will be plenty of other cool stuff as well.

We will have courses finalized shortly and entry forms will be up within the next month at www.yellowjacketracing.com and online at active.com

This event has been in my head for 3 years or so. I finally found the layout and time of year that should work well. The courses will each be unique and challenging. The park has the amenities we need and the event can act as an end of the season trail party during the best time of year to run trails.

Wonder what else is bouncing around in my head.

This is gonna be fun!

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

When Life gets in the way

It's been a bit since I wrote any product reviews or articles but I plan to change that. The reason for the lapse has been that little thing called daily life.

Our busy race season has kicked off and we are working on events every weekend. The trucks and trailer and have been traveling around producing races and helping others make their events better. We'll be working on over 100 races this year, crazy growth again this year, should be interesting. We've added timers and support crews to try and keep things going smooth.

The store has been very busy. Even with the not so great economy and less then warm spring we've been pleased with the growth we've experienced. Plans are in the works for a bunch of new programs and events so stay tuned.

Corporate Challenge is coming up next week and that is always a busy time for us. Ellen is the volunteer coordinator, I work on the finish line crew and we provide shirts for 20 different companies. I swear I spend all day for a week straight doing nothing but CC shirts. Crazy but the teams get some great technical shirts at a really fair price

Lab Rats v1.5 is kicking off, late but starting. I'm working with 4 runners and hope to keep them improving and reaching their goals. I've got some seriously nasty workouts planned for them. It's actually tougher having the smaller group as each one will get a custom program.

Ellen and I managed to sneak away for three days to Florida to visit most of her family. I was not ready for 95 degree heat that's for sure. Also got to have dinner with Erik and Stacey, the owners of Fleet Feet Sports Orlando, which is always fun.

I got to watch a few high school track meets since we sponsor three local invitationals. We had a booth at each and got to talk with a lot of kids. Saw a few good races as well.

I've even been running a bit since I decided to register for a 50k in Tahoe in July. Not my smartest move but I've done dumber things. A few friends and teammates had already registered so I decided to jump into it. Unfortunately the race was sold out but lucky for me Fleet Feet Sports Carson City is a sponsor and pulled a few strings. It's good to know people. In the very least it will be nice to get away with Ellen for a few days out west.

So there you have it. My big excuse on why I haven't been writing. Two companies that are growing fast, tons of events, a little bit of travel, and a few days a week of running. I think I'm getting things under control so you'll be seeing a lot more reviews and stories. I've got new shoes to write about, a new event that we are starting, more fun runs and training programs fro mthe store and more adventures with the Salomon Fleet Feet Sports Endurance Team.

I'll see you out there