Team Ragged Glory – Adventure Racing, Multi Sport, Friends

Bloomington endurance legend Dave Tanner will race once again with Team Ragged Glory in the Indianapolis Adventure Race, September 11, 2010 at Bradford Woods near Martinsville, Indiana. Nancy Gawrys, Dave and me (Doug Theis) are looking forward to the new venue and the new Race Director, Ryan Burke. Mighty hilly around Bradford Woods. See you there.

August 7, Team Ragged Glory (Twitter: @TeamRaggedGlory) races in the Planet Adventure Urban Sprint (Twitter: @PlanetAdv) with Nancy Gawrys, Jeff Boxell and me (Doug Theis). The race is back in the downtown area this year, according to Jay Newlin, the veteran race director. Looking foward to seeing our friends!

Team Ragged Glory is racing in August and September. Our plans for the Planet Adventure Urban Sprint Race have changed slightly, because of teammate availability due to vacations and a broken clavicle. Still working on teams, but it looks like Nancy Gawrys, Bob Mueller, Jeff Boxell and I (Doug Theis) will be racing for sure.

The Urban Sprint is reported to be almost entirely in downtown Indy this year. The race was sub-urban in the last couple of iterations.

Indy AR is at Bradford Woods near Martinsville, Indiana this year. Super hilly. Sounds like fun.

18 teams and 62 racers hit the trail on Friday night for the 10th Planet Adventure 24 and 36 hour expedition races in Paoli, Indiana. Nancy Gawrys and I (Doug Theis) volunteered this year because we couldn’t stand the idea of missing this race.

At 9pm, the maps were distributed to the teams. Racers would start with a run, then a paddle, then a bike ride to Abe Martin State Forest with a six-point orienteering section on foot. After the first o-section, they would do a long bike with both roads and trails to the second o-course on foot at Natchez. The second o-course included a rappel. After the Natchez o-couse, the final bike leg would take them back to the start/finish line at Paoli Peaks ski resort.

The heat on Friday was oppressive. Nancy and I set a couple of controls late in the day and helped prepare for the 1am race start.

More to come.

Two members of Team Ragged Glory, Nancy Gawrys and I, will be heading to Paoli, Indiana to help out with the simultaneous Planet Adventure 24 hour challenge and 36 hour old school race. This is the first year in the ten year history of the Planet Adventure race that TRG has not fielded a team. Steve Kincade will end his streak at nine consecutive Planet Adventure races. But we’re happy to be going down to help. Volunteering is super fun; is like being on everyone’s team.

See you there, racers!

Team Ragged Glory plans to race with at least two teams in the Planet Adventure Urban Sprint on August 7.

In the mean time, Nancy is visiting Chattanooga in July to run one leg of a relay triathlon team. She runs in memory of her late brother, Joe Gawrys, who taught at Baylor in Chattanooga. Cheer her on!

Here are the Team Ragged Glory photos that Brightroom and a few other people shot at the 2010 Muddy Buddy Nashville.

Congratulations to Bob Mueller and Julie Nor for taking first in their division finishing ninth overall in a field of 520 teams.

Steve Kincade and I took first in our division as well.

The picture of Nancy Gawrys and Maddie Gawrys-Strand crossing the finish line is awesome.

Last weekend, six members of Team Ragged Glory packed up and headed to Nashville, Tennessee to give the Columbia Muddy Buddy race a try. The windshield time with TRG, the race itself, our hosts and their hospitality made for a super fun weekend.

Here’s a shaky pre-race interview with Julie Nor and Steve Kincade:

The Muddy Buddy is a “ride and tie” style race: two people, one bike, and four transition areas where the racers navigate an obstacle (high wall, balance beam, rope climb, and low crawl) and switch from mountain biking to running. At the end of the race, teammates must crawl together through a mud pit to cross the finish line together.

The race was fast, the course was hilly, the mud was spectacular, and the event was extremely well managed. Hats off to the Muddy Buddy operations people and all the volunteers.

Here’s a YouTube video of the mud pit:

Bob Mueller and Julie Nor took first in their division: coed 76-85 (the sum of their ages) in 53 minutes flat. They were the ninth overall finishers and the second coed team to cross the finish line. Click on the picture of Bob and Julie for more photos.

Steve Kincade and I (Doug Theis) took first in our division: male 96 and over with a 1:02:53 finish.

Our host Andy Gullahorn and his teammate Mark Deering (The Captain and Tennille) took 16th in their division: male 56-65 with a 1:04:56 finish.

Nancy Gawrys and Maddie Gawrys-Strand took eighth in their division: female 66-75 with a 1:13:50 finish.

Results are here.

Cool memories: Driving down in the rain, the ticket that Nancy got on the way to the park, seeing fellow Indy AR guy Greg Grossart before the race, the downhill mud slide in the second leg of the race, the Gullahorns’ amazing property, and fish tacos with awesome conversation in the afternoon.

I told our host Jill that Team Ragged Glory is “one big love.” Thanks to the Gullahorns and all the members of TRG for a fun weekend.

Bob Mueller, Julie Nor, Doug Theis, Steve Kincade, Maddie Gawrys-Strand and Nancy Gawrys will race the Nashville Muddy Buddy on Saturday morning, May 22. Weather looks promising and the field is large.

If you’re racing, look us up! We’re teams 333, 335, and 336. See you there!

• Steve and Doug
• Nancy and Maddie
• Bob and Julie

Three Team Ragged Glory teams are racing Saturday May 22 in the Nashville Muddy Buddy. This is a first for all of us, and we’re looking forward to it! Thanks to Jill and Andy for putting us up.

Look us up if you’re racing!