Two BCRR Teams - a recreational team headed by Eddie Rodriguez - and a joint BCRR-Houston Strider competitive team headed by Bob Brown -participated in the Reno-To-Tahoe Relay (www.renotahoeodyssey.com), a 178 mile long non-stop relay from urban wonderland through desert and mountain terrain to Lake Tahoe paradise June 29-30th, 2007. Due to the wildfires in the South Lake Tahoe area there was initially a lot of angst about what kind of conditions would exist and even whether there would be a race, but our intrepid runners prevailed (although the course was shortened) and had an excellent adventure. Throughout this endeavor, Bob Brown sent email updates from his trusty Blackberry. Read his contemporaneous account below.

In fact, the BCRR-Striders were third overall with a time of 14:14:35 and the Houston Bayou City Road Runners were 88th with a time of 20:54:12, and 1st and 4th in the Club competition respectively. Their success was detailed in Roberta Macinnis's Running Notebook Column in the Houston Chronicle, July 18, 2007. Read it here .

The Houston Bayou City Striders were BCRRers Bob Brown, Simon Brabo, Mark Fraser, Anna Sumrall Helm,  Bruce Mansur, and Striders Andrew Keller, Peter Prescott, Steve Shepard, Ted Traynor, Phil Trumby, Mark Utgard and Matt Wright.

The Houston Bayou City Runners were Richard Brown, John Crowther, Alga Gar, Chris Harris, Tom Helm, Lana Moody, Roger Redding, Eddie Rodriguez, Janet Sutton, and Michelle Wolpert


BOB'S BLACKBERRY CHRONICLES FROM THE ROAD  

From: Brown, Bob [EPM/HOU]
Sent: Thu Jun 28 22:30:37 2007
Subject: A Rocky Start

The course has been shortened but we arrived at the airport in good spirits looking forward to the adventure.  Eleven BCRRers arrived at about the same time anticipating the 9:05 flight.

Once we got through security, we discovered that our flight was delayed by 2 hrs and 45 minutes. Fortunately, everyone took the delay in stride as we were beginning to think the trip was cursed.

We found a sports bar far from our gate. We ordered food and drink and watched Craig Biggio get his 3000th hit. Chris and Roger met us about an hour later. Chris lost his boarding pass and went to retreive another pass.  He rushed back to the restaurant to tell us the flight was rescheduled and was boarding in 25 minutes at a different gate.

Fortunately, Alka called me at that time and I was able to convey the new flight information.  I texted Brenda  She was downtown assuming the flight would leave around midnight.  So, she's out unless she can get an early morning flight.

Now on the plane, but there are still problems. I'm guessing we get to our rooms no earlier than 1AM Reno time which is 3AM Houston time. The poor rec team, now minus two runners starts at 8:30AM !!!!

I'll report back later.

Bob


From: Brown, Bob [EPM/HOU]
Sent: Fri Jun 29 04:03:52 2007
Subject: Re: A Rocky Start

4AM Houston time.  2AM Reno time.  We are in the hotel. The Rec team will get 4-5 hours of sleep.

From: Brown, Bob [EPM/HOU]
Sent: Fri 6/29/2007 12:41 PM
Subject: A Rocky Start

The start was pretty cool. The BCRR rec team was in the first wave at 8:30 AM. The teams were introduced to the Rocky theme.  There were ten teams in the first wave and Janet Sutton was the first runner. She called in and said she ran about a minute slower per mile because of the altitude.  Temperatures are cooler than normal with wispy clouds.

More later


From: Robert.Brown
Sent: Friday, June 29, 2007 2:59 PM
Subject: New update

We are getting periodic updates from the rec team. Roger is nearly done with the fourth leg- the toughest of the course. It is about 1PM in Reno and it's warm dry and windy. We are returning from Best Buy having just bought some CDs for the road. Simon has never heard of the Who. Are we that old?

The Bayou City Striders team will meet in a half hour and start at 2:15. Most of the BCRR participants are in the second van so we have a few more hours to kill.

The second van (aka the Party Van) for the rec team should start within the next hour. The Party van includes Tom Helm, Lana Moody, Pres. Rodriguez, Treasurer Wolpert and Richard Brown.  They will miss you, Brenda.

Bob


From: Robert.Brown
Sent: Friday, June 29, 2007 3:25 PM
Subject: Re: New update

Update from the party van. Boredom has set in as they wait for the first group. They completed a sardine and beer picnic lunch near the Truckee River. The water is cold. The first van will come back to Reno, enjoy the afternoon and evening, and then get up vey early to make a 4AM start tomorrow morning.

Anyway off to our start!!!

Bob


From: Robert.Brown
Sent: Friday, June 29, 2007 4:43 PM
Subject: Bayou City Striders Have Started

On a blustery, windy sunny but relatively cool afternoon, the Bayou City Striders have started. Steve Shepard took the early lead amongst the 2:15 group.

The race director has been very enthusiastic and appreciative of three teams making the trek from Houston. The rec is about to finish the sixth leg which means it is near time to exchange vans. We are currently sitting at the Java Jungle down the street from the start.  Those of us in the second van-Mark Fraser, Anna Helm, Simon Brabo and me-- are still four hours from running.


From: Robert.Brown
Sent: Friday, June 29, 2007 5:57 PM
Subject: Update

I have a report from Roger Redding (rec team). The first van is done for the day  Roger ran the toughest leg which was 8 miles straight up a mountain. He said he had nothing eventful to report-typical Roger!!!

The Bayou City Strider team is on the third leg and running very close to projected time. Mark Fraser and I are having a prerun Thai meal.

We leave in about an hour.

Tell Brenda that the person who ran her leg got hurt because she had to run two legs. - just kidding.

Bob


From: Brown, Bob [EPM/HOU]
Sent: Fri Jun 29 18:34:25 2007
Subject: Re: Bayou City Striders Have Started

Currently getting ready to drive to the van exchange. The Bayou City Strider team is running very well and has just started the difficult fourth leg.

The BCRR rec team is starting Leg 9 and has struggled a bit with the altitude.


From: Robert.Brown
Sent: Friday, June 29, 2007 7:53 PM
Subject: Re: Bayou City Striders Have Started

A recent text message from Roger to my summary of their first six legs:

Nothing eventful to report??? The fact that I almost died wasn't eventfull?

Our second van is about 30-40 minutes from actually running. We are feeling some pressure as the first van is cruising through their legs at faster than projected pace.

At the van exchange, this finally feels like a running event. We are in the mountains, it is a bit dusty and windy but the weather is pretty good.  The group from the first van from the rec team is enjoying a nice dinner in Reno.



From: Robert.Brown
Sent: Friday, June 29, 2007 10:23 PM
Subject: Update

We have completed three legs. Anna, Mark and I are done. It was a relief finally getting to run. Everyone has done great!  Our team is currently 14 minutes ahead of our projected time.

The issue is altitude and dry air as the winds have died down. There is no smoke. It is very festive now at the drop offs.

The rec team is finished for the day and had trouble with altitude.  Michelle attempted two legs in a row and was happy the rest of the team came to her rescue. The rec team just caught up with us in their van.  The Sierra Nevada is flowing in that van.

Besides Michelle, the hero was Richard who had to put up with sumburn, wasp sting, and a broken ear drum from Eddie's whistling. It is now twilight and the temperature is pleasantly cool.  Despite all of the earlier obstacles, we are very happy to be here.



From: Robert.Brown
Sent: Saturday, June 30, 2007 2:10 AM
Subject: Re: Bayou City Striders Update

The day has come to an end. All six members in the second van did great. Through twelve legs, we are 23 minutes faster than projected. We are truly disappointed we have to take an extended break. Our six legs were highlighted by some challenging hills and some beautiful scenery. The last two legs were run along Lake Tahoe with a full moon overlooking the lake.

One of the runners spotted a bear during one of the legs.  Simon looked like an alien from outerspace as he ran in the dark with a headlamp and reflective vest. Simon ran very well.

There is an interesting contrast between the runner and the environment inside our casino hotel. Most of them think we are nuts. I think we find the interior of the casinos depressing.

The rec team starts tomorrow at 4:30AM which means they will wake up at 2:30. Our schedule is more civilized. Our van 2 starts at approximately 9:15.

Time to get some sleep


From: Robert.Brown
Sent: Saturday, June 30, 2007 11:06 AM
Subject: Re: Bayou City Striders Have Started

Half way through the last twleve legs. We are alledgedly in third place overall. I find that hard to believe. We are in historic Virginia City waiting for the exchange. Mark Fraser and Bob have a steep ascent which we just drove. Anna has six miles of downhill and then it is home free. Anna does have a slight calf injury which is cause for a little concern.

The rec team's first van is here. We saw Michelle running as we drove in.  We yelled words of encouragement to her and she cracked a smile. It is a beautiful day-sunny, dry and not windy. We are in the middle of this restored mountain town famous for being the home of the fictional Cartwright family of Bonanza fame.

All is great. Everyone is in great spiirits.  We'll see how we finish.

From: Brown, Bob [EPM/HOU]
Sent: Sat Jun 30 19:08:33 2007
Subject: Re: Bayou City Striders Have Finished

It's over. What a wonderful day!! Yesterday, we found out team running pretty much on our own. We normally would see only 1-2 runners per leg.

Today, there was a greater concentration of teams.  The Houston teams frequently crossed paths during the 12 legs on Saturday. As I mentioned earlier, Saturday was a glorious day. In our van, Mark Fraser got us started quickly with a difficult leg. He finished so quickly that Bob had to sprint up to the exchange point to make the exchange. Bob's leg went to the summit of Geiger Pass the highest point of today's run. Fortunately, what goes up must come down and after reaching the summit, there was a nice fast downhill.

Anna had a long downhill descent. The calves held up but the downhill was tough on the feet  Nevertheless, Anna flew down the hill in spectacular fashion. Anna handed off to Phil Trumbley of the Striders who ran the long 7.5 miles in nearly a 6:30 min per mile pace. Simon was next. He ran through town around noon. The course was relatively flat and the altitude lower, but it was it was getting hot. Simon always looks like he is struggling, but he ran his typical fast pace. The last 6 miles were run by Matt, a Strider.  He took us home to a third place overall finish


From: Brown, Bob [EPM/HOU]
Sent: Sat Jun 30 19:20:05 2007
Subject: Re: Bayou City Striders Have Finished

Post race party;
As post race parties go, this was OK. The beer and food was not free but the setting along the river was great. All members of a team were photographed finishing the course. All three Houston teams met and with beer in hand most of us ventured to the river to soak our feet in the cool water.

Everyone agreed this was a fantastic event and had a great time. Most people indicated they would want to do a similar event in the future. Kudos to Janet Sutton who at one time was the overall leader and Michelle Wolpert who did multiple legs for their short manned team.

Again, we are disappointed in not being able to do the full course.

Finally, the Bayou City Striders a team comprised of menbers of the Houston Striders and BCRR won the Club Men's division and finished 3rd overall- quite an accomplishment for a group the is 2/3 masters who cannot train in hills and altitude.

On a side note, I thoroughly enjoyed meeting and running with our Strider teammates.


From: Robert.Brown
Sent: Monday, July 02, 2007 11:03 AM
Subject: Lake Tahoe Update

It is clear and cool and beautiful here in Lake Tahoe. We took a two hour hike yesterday. I think we are going to rent bikes today and are considering whitewater rafting. (Webmaster's note: With all the rain we are getting here in Houston, we may go rafting too!!)


From Roger,

(about Race) The first leg was six miles uphill and then two miles down a rocky unpaved road where the challenge was to go as fast as you could without falling flat on your face.  My second leg was one mile uphill and four miles mostly downhill.  We actually biked part of what would have been my leg if we had done the middle part of the course.  It was not fun to bike, it might not have been so bad to run. 

We're in Lake Tahoe now.  Along the way we picked up a couple of Striders who are astounded at our "cultish" behaviour.  Today, as I said, we biked (rented mountain bikes) up a road that was never meant to be biked upon (as one lady who passed us in an SUV told us in no uncertain terms.)  After a while, most of the Cell turned back, while a few apostates forged on with the Striders.  Those of us who turned back had a nice lunch, kayaked, and got to see the Governator, who was in Lake Tahoe to declare it "open for business"..

Roger


From:Robert.Brown
Sent: Monday, July 02, 2007
Subject: Lake Tahoe Update

Yesterday: After a lot of confusion exchanging the van for a car at the airport, eight of us Chris Harris, Roger Redding, Michelle Wolpert, Eddie Rodriguez, Lana Moody, John Crowther, Simon Brabo and I crowded into two cars with all of our luggage and left over food and left for South Lake Tahoe. It took a little over an hour to reach our condos. The condos are very nice. Each condo has three bedrooms and are next to each other. Everyone's door is open and we all mingle back and forth between condos. Besides the eight of us, Janet Sutton, Mark Fraser and two of our new Strider friends- Barry Chambers and Ted Traynor also are staying here.

The BCRR group ventured on a hike of about 2 1/2 hours in the Tahoe forest. The hike includes breathtaking views of Lake Tahoe. We ate dinner at restaurant on Lake Tahoe. I'm not sure I would order a halibut Rueben again. We concluded our first evening drinking a few beers in one of the condos.

Monday:
We woke up to a beautiful morning. I ran about five miles in the cool, crisp air with Ted . We ran along the lake and through the wooded areas. When I came back we decided that all twelve of us would rent bikes for the day. The twelve of us proceeded to scenic Emerald Bay. Getting to Emerald Bay requires riding up a series of steep hills which we struggled through but were able to complete. The view was stunning. At that point the group split. The hard core group opted for more biking and hiking. The rest of us decided to eat lunch at a lakeside restaurant. A live band was playing 80s cover songs.  Some of us rented kayaks for an hour. When we returned, there was a crowd near the kayak rental area. Governor Arnold was about to hold a press conference to declare that the fires were TERMINATED and Tahoe was open for business. This was quite a thrill for young Simon as earlier in the trip, when asked for role model, he said Arnold.

 Bob

You can contact Bob at Robert.Brown@EmersonProcess.com