Gap2Gap 2011

I get exhausted just thinking about the Gap2Gap. This is our third year having the kids participate and it proved to be just as chaotic, exciting, stressful, and energizing as in the past. Alex decided to go solo this year and competed in the the Junior Iron Man division. The other kids joined forces with the Cox family and competed in the 8-10 year old and 6-7 year old divisions. You might laugh when I say that I was totally wiped out when we got home -- all of the races are staggered started and going on at the same time so Birch and I were running around like crazy nuts trying to get the kids their gear, taking pictures, figuring out where each event started, and being cheerleaders.

Alex started the morning off as team "One Man Band."

Uncle Ryan was Alex's support person -- we couldn't have done it without him.
The first leg was a 1 mile run. Then 2.5 mile bike ride along some beautiful but hilly terrain. Next Ryan helped Alex gear up for the roller blade portion. This was the toughest part of the race for Alex; partially because he was using Birch's roller blades and also because he didn't take the time to tighten them to feet.
Then Alex wrestled with the tiny life jacket (I think we are going to need to invest in a bigger jacket for the future races) and hopped into the kayak for that portion of the race.

The final leg was the obstacle course and run to the finish line. Alex pushed himself HARD and was totally wiped out when he got to the finish line. He threw up in exhaustion. Alex finished in fourth place (only two minutes behind the first place competitor) at 32:55.

Then "Team Venom" took off.

Tyler kicked off the race with the 1 mile run portion. He did awesome and really pushed himself even with a bum leg.
He handed off the bracelet to Colin Cox who did the 2.5 mile bike portion. This is NOT an easy course and Colin did awesome. Next was the roller blade portion with Tyler doing awesome! Then Tyler handed off the bracelet to Colin for the kayak section.

Meanwhile I was going crazy trying to figure out where Alysee was supposed to be for the next hand-off. The race officials kept telling me different spots we were supposed to be at and I was running around like a mad woman trying to find the right spot. After a little bit a nice man ran up to me (he must have been brave because I was all out of sorts) and crying Alysee and directed us to the right spot. Alysee had just enough time to calm down before her section began.

Alysee did awesome on the tricky obstacle course and finished off the race with a fast sprint to the finish line. Alysee was wiped out when she finished.
Team Venom finished 12th out of 17 at 38:26 in the mixed 8-10 year old division.

Meanwhile, "Team Iron Boys" - Nate and Chase Cox were competing in their race (see why this is all so stressful).

Nate did the 1 mile. He ran like a maniac and finished at the top of the pack.

Chase hopped on that bike and did the 2.5 mile run like it was nobody's business.

Then Chase handed off the bracelet to Nate for the roller blade portion. Nate improved so much from last year and did a such a fantastic job. The final portion (the 6-7 year old's do not to the kayak section) was the obstacle course. Chase loved every minute of this section and came sprinting into the finish line.

"Team Iron Boys" finished first place in the 6-7 year old division at 23:07.
A big shout out to the number one cheerleader "Team Eye Balls" for never getting lost and yelling extra loud for his siblings. He's excited to participate next year!
Emi, Ryan, and the girls were such troopers being their all morning and filling in where needed. I don't know what we would have done without them.

I made this fun movie of the day's events. It's long but entertaining, well at least for our family. Hopefully the sound will work for you -- it is also posted on my facebook account if you are not able to get the sound.

I love that our community promotes such fabulous events for our kids! I'm going to need all year to rest up for next year's fun!